Recently the results from a survey sponsored by TheLadders revealed that resumes are reviewed for six seconds by recruiters and talent professionals before they make the initial ‘fit or no fit’ decision on job candidates. The study used eye-tracking technology to determine what recruiters were looking at on the resume when making that initial screening decision, and the results were not really surprising. Name, current and previous job title and company, current and previous position dates, and education were the main data points reviewed. Honestly, what else could you review in only six seconds?
What else takes six seconds?
1. A marshamallow ‘peep’, that popular springtime treat, gets cranked out in six seconds.
2. In soccer, once the goalkeeper takes possession of the ball he or she is allowed only six seconds before releasing the ball back to general play
3. The ‘Amen break’, a widely sampled, borrowed, and re-mixed drum break popular in both early hip-hop and in current corporate advertising lasts about six seconds
Let’s pretend you’re an average talent pro, (I know, that’s crazy talk. I mean you’re reading FOT, so we both know you are way above average. Right?), what are some of the potential reasons that you only have to spend six seconds on a resume review?
1. That is all the time you can allot. Sort of an ‘On Tuesday I plan on reviewing resumes for the Marketing Manager position. I have 48 minutes, (really an hour, but I have to factor in a trip to the coffee pot, a bathroom break, and time to check my mentions on Twitter, I just came in at #79 on the latest list of ‘Top South Central Western Recruiters to follow’), there are about 500 resumes to look at, so do the math….’
2. Six seconds is all you need baby.
3. You actually don’t know how to count. Or estimate. Or both. Like when you ask someone who has recently presented at a conference about how many people were in their session, their answer can always be confidently reduced by about 40%. And guessing how much time you really spend on individual, discrete tasks is kind of silly anyway.
But back to the main finding, resumes are reviewed for an average of six seconds.
One, two, three, four, five, six. Done.
Man, that is nothing.
If the study really is accurate, and that to you as an experienced evaluator of talent, six seconds per resume sounds about right, I’d love for some of you talented professionals reading this to share how they manage to make the right, (or at least enough of the right), judgments on candidates in such a short timeframe. My guess is that we will get some ‘I have been doing this forever, so I am just that good at it’ responses, as well as some, ‘Six seconds is an average, I can screen out obvious misses in two seconds, and then can spend about 12 or even 15 seconds on the tougher calls’, or even some calls of BS on the study’s findings.
Either way, I’d be interested in knowing what FOT nation has to say about these crucial six seconds in the lives of your candidates and for the future of your company.
FYI – More details of study, can be found here.
FYI Part 2 – A really interesting recorded history of the ‘Amen Break’ can be found here.
These reviewers will be people with some subject matter expertise who have had the resume pulled for them by a clerk who retrieved the resume from the db using search terms. So job seekers still have to reflect the language of the job ad, in context, inside their resume, both to get pulled and to convey their experience to the hiring manager, if and when they get to that interview.
What this study demonstrates is how important your first page profile is, and what should appear in it. It also validates the format used for LinkedIn profiles.
Jennifer
If your dermatologist looked at your mole for six seconds and determined if it’s cancerous or not, you’d be pissed off. A recruiter who looks at your resume? It’s cool. Everyone roll over.
I always tell people they’ve got 5 seconds with their resume and a good recruiter/manager, but that’s not for the comprehensive review – that’s straight up “no stack” and “yes stack”. It takes a max of 5 seconds for the manager or recruiter to put people in the no stack – you’re spammers.
Got anything that looks like a match? Then you go in the yes stack, and the second review of that pile is going to give you at least a couple of minutes….
KD
Plus Steve, there’s some much ###t going on with your resume, I had to take a nap.
Media. Software. Teaching. I don’t know what this guy is. No Stack.
Stop sending me your resume, Stevie B.
KD
KD – 5 seconds? I knew you were above average…
I am a complex guy, I can’t be categorized is less than 8 seconds, maybe 9. Maybe I need to drop a keyword or two.
Steve/Kris,
Five to Six seconds? Sounds about right. I just finished a file of 250+ apps for an entry-level req. I’m old-school and want to see each app. Unlike Kris, I use three categories – time wasters, backups, and follow-ups.
The time wasters are spammers and people out of their league (e.g. I need a high-level network engineer, CCIE style, and the person hasn’t touched technology in ten years.) What’s sad is that I know some of the spammers by name/domain.
My backups will get a second look if my third group is scant.
The follow-ups get whatever time they deserve. Many will end up in one of the other two areas. Some will get a call or email.
When applying, I encourage people to become recruiter mind readers. Look at the req, beef up your resume (truthfully) with key words / phrases that will get you into a yes pile.
Nick – dig the approach – 3 stacks? You’re out there man. Complex. A thinking man’s recruiter.
Stevie – a dropped keyword or two might do you good.
The K
Sounds about right. Only takes about 4-5 seconds to see if they meet minimum qualifications.