What Employers are Thinking When they Look at Your Resume

Have you ever wondered what crosses the minds of employers when your resume comes across their desks? Do they think, "Oh my! Now here’s a great candidate!" Or do they mumble under their breath, "More of the same," as they toss your resume away.

It’s hard to know exactly what an employer is thinking; however, sometimes they will share their thoughts with the world. So to give you an idea of what might cross their minds, here is a sneak peek into the questions hiring managers ask themselves when evaluating resumes. Knowing what questions they ask themselves might help you in giving them the answers they want to see.

Can This Applicant Fill My Need?

One of the first questions that a hiring manager might ask when reviewing a resume is whether or not that candidate can fill his need. This is an easy question to predict because the hiring manager obviously has to think about whether the candidate is the right person for the job. In other words, no hiring manager looking to hire a computer programmer is going to call you in for an interview if your only experience is in sales.

So as you’re writing your resume, it’s good to keep this question in mind. Your job will be to prove that you can fill the employer’s need. How can you do this? Mainly by listing your accomplishments - not just the roles you were given for the job. For instance, your role may have been to answer phones, but how many phone calls did you answer? Were you routing calls on a complex system? Who were you routing them to? And so on. The best way for the employer to know you can fill their need is to paint a vivid picture of just how you fall in line with their needs, which you can do by detailing your accomplishments.

Does This Applicant Intend to Stick Around?

Another concern for hiring managers is whether the applicant plans to stick around after being hired. In this tough economy, there are a lot of applicants taking jobs they don’t necessarily want in order to make a few bucks. Employers know this old trick and definitely don’t want to become the victim of it. So they make special efforts to ensure that they don’t hire anyone who is a potential flight risk.

What’s a way that you can prove that you’re not a flight risk? Showing proof of a stable work history is a great start. If you come across as a job hopper, you might have a challenging time being hired. Now if you actually are a job hopper, you don’t want to submit a chronological resume for it will show your flaws. Instead, try submitting a functional resume that is organized around your skills, experiences and accomplishments.

When thinking in terms of questions employers are asking when looking at your resume, you might also be prepared to showcase your professionalism, as this is another concern. This means, don’t have drunken pictures on your Facebook page, because hiring managers are definitely be checking this sites. If you can manage to keep these questions in mind when writing your resume, you’ll have an easier time presenting what the hiring manager most wants to know.

Heather Eagar is a former professional resume writer and is passionate about providing working professionals with current, reliable and effective job search tools and information. Need a resume writing service? Compare the top ones in the industry at resume lines.