Making a Resume for Today’s Short Attention Spans

What’s the Latest Development?

It’s time we start adapting our resumes to how overloaded bosses read them: quickly and mercilessly. To do that, you’ll need to learn about what space, dumb algorithms and lingerie. So while concision is essential, packing too much information into a crowded space will make the boss’ eyes glaze over. “Rick Johanson, a senior search partner at Cannon Search Partners who reviews hundreds of resumes weekly, says ‘the best way to stand out in the first millisecond is to break the visual monotony by using negative space.'” And because many resumes are fed through word-searching machines, be sure to use language from the job description. 

What’s the Big Idea?

Think of your resume as a piece of lingerie, says David Perry, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. “Your resume’s only purpose is to pique their curiosity: Make them phone you, get you a face-to-face interview. That’s it,” he says. The point is to make your resume seductive without frightening people by your sexual adventurism. But do not interpret that advice literally. Research done by the Economist shows that attaching your portrait to your resume is not a safe bet: “An attractive woman would need to send out 11 CVs on average before getting an interview; an equally qualified plain one just seven.”

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