How do you land the interview? Make me care.

Wanna know why you might not be getting called for interviews?

You are not making me care.

Me. A recruiter. One of those gatekeepers who wants, no NEEDS, to find talented professionals so that my entire family can eat and wear clothes and run around town with gas in our car and such.

When your resume reads like a job description, as in a running list of your duties and responsibilities?

It's very hard for me to care.

It's far and away the most common mistake I see on resumes. Many job seekers focus so hard on listing out all of the duties and responsibilities they've ever held, that they fall (significantly) short on helping potential employers understand what makes them a standout.

When crafting a resume, do yourself a huge, huge favor and answer these three questions before you scratch out even one bullet point:

What am I most proud of? Where have I really killed it, and what am I awesome at?
What would my supervisors/colleagues/employees say are my crowning accomplishments and/or best assets?
If Jenny Foss were to go ask my co-workers, "Hey, what's the best part about working with Susie?" What would they say?

(ok, that's actually five questions)

And then build this information into those tidy little bullet points on your resume.

I need to know your skills line up, of course. But most of the resumes in my pile are going to be people who COULD do that particular job.

If you're the one in that pile who makes me care?

I call you first.