As you can see, the list is the same, just reversed. Group 1 read the positive attributes first and group 2 read the negative attributes first. Asch asked the participants to form impressions and write characterizations of the person who the list described. Participants who read the list where positive traits came first formed more favorable impressions than those who read the list with negative traits first.

The primacy effect can be seen in many areas of our lives. However, we can use it to our advantage when writing a resume.

When a recruiter or HR person first looks at your resume, they will usually scan it. I hate to admit it, but it’s true that a scan will only take 6 seconds. If they don’t see the words that they are looking for or if they see words or misspellings that turn them off, your resume will probably go in the virtual “no” pile. As you can see, this first impression is vital.

So how do you make sure to make a good impression? While every inch of space on a resume is important, the top 1/3 of the first page is like Park Place. Here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of it:

START WITH A BRANDING HEADLINE

The Branding Headline is the title at the top of your resume. Instead of starting with “Summary” or “Professional Experience”, specify the title that you want the reader to see first. Again, it’s the primacy effect in action. If you are applying to a position for Director of Client Services, your headline could be “Client Services Leader” or “Director of Client Services” or “Director Client Services  |  Customer Happiness Leader”. By having your branding headline at the top, in the most noticeable spot on your resume, your reader will see it first and it will create an immediate focus.

NO OBJECTIVE!

Change is hard. Resumes have traditionally had an objective. But this is old school. At some point, your potential employer (if they’re any good) is going to want to know what your career aspirations are. But at this point in the game, your resume reader doesn’t really care that you’re “seeking a position to use your customer service and management skills”. Instead of telling your future employer what you want, tell them what you can do for them.

INCLUDE A BRANDING SUMMARY

The Branding Summary should be at the top of your resume. It can be in summary form or, I prefer, in bullet points. The Branding Summary describes what makes you special for this job – why should they want to meet you? You may be an awesome Project Manager. But if you were in a room with 10 other Project Managers, what would make you stand out? This is your brand. It’s the unique combination of skills, experience and personality that makes the “professional you” exceptional. This is where you highlight your brand.

SKILLS SECTION

Another important section to put near the top of your resume is the Skills section. The skills section is important for two reasons:

1. It’s a way to place the most important keywords in your resume to trigger search results.
2. When a recruiter scans your resume, they’ll easily see the keywords that make them want to take a closer look.

If you are applying for technical positions, it’s great to add a technical skills section here also.

Tip:  It’s tempting to put your skills in an MS word table to make it look nice – don’t do it! Applicant Tracking Systems usually omit content in tables.

CUSTOMIZE!

The best part about these sections of your resume is that they make it extremely easy to customize your resume for different positions. 

Change your Branding Headline to match the role that you’re applying to.

Change the skills section to match the exact skills that the job ad has listed.

Change your branding summary to speak to the attributes that the job ad is looking for.

 Even if you don’t change anything else on your resume, if you customize those three sections for each role you will have a much better chance of getting interviews!

Before you even start, make sure that you truly have the experience that the company is looking for. Or at least, that you can make the case that you can do the job well. Assess your experience, your strengths and your education. Does it fit with the position? Don’t waste the hiring manager’s time by applying to a manager position that requires 5 years of management experience when you are an entry level applicant. If this is the company that you want to work for but you don’t have the experience for the job, start networking with people who already work there. Gain connections. That way when a job opens up that really does need someone with your experience, you will be ready.

After making sure that you are an appropriate candidate, it’s time to adapt your resume to appeal to the specific recruiter or hiring manager.

How to do that? Here are some tips:

Tip #1 Research Research Research!

We are living in the age of information overload. Use it to your advantage! LinkedIn, Glassdoor, even just a simple google search will bring up loads of information regarding the company that you are applying. You can read reviews from current employees, find out what questions were asked in interviews and how long the hiring process generally takes, look at multiple job listings to see what type of employee that they value the most, research the company’s market segment and figure out who your position will report to, among other things! Use this information to tailor your resume to highlight your skills and experience that the company representatives would want to see. Obviously, be truthful, but know who they are looking for!

Tip #2 Catch their attention quickly.

Know that your audience is busy and will take a mere 6 seconds to look at your resume – sometimes less. If they don’t see something that interests them in the first 6 seconds, that resume is going in the trash folder.

Notice I said trash “folder”. Assume that your audience will be looking at your resume on a computer screen – not printed out. Make it attractive for someone looking at the screen. This means white space, easy to read, easy to pick keywords out and have it draw the eye down the page.

Tip #3 Adapt your resume to the needs of the company

It’s easy to fall into a “me-me-me” mindset when you’re knee deep in a job search. After all, you’re making a huge change in your life. The more you can put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager, the better your resume will appear. The hiring manager’s job is not to hire the person that wants the job the most (although, of course, excitement for the company can go a long way). The hiring manager’s job is to find the person that fits the requirements of the position and the culture of the company.

One of the best ways to do this, is to ditch the objective section and, instead, write a Summary of Qualifications. If you were trying to get through a stack of 200 resumes looking for someone with 10 years of experience managing a retail store, which resume would make you want to read more:

Of course the resume with the Summary of Qualifications! Recruiters are skimmers. They want to look at your resume and immediately see a reason to look closer. If not… into the trash folder!

Tip #4 Follow up… kindly.

Give it some time. If you still haven’t heard anything from the hiring manager or recruiter after 2 weeks, send a follow up email or give them a call. But please be kind. There is nothing that turns a hiring manager off more than a candidate who is rude on the follow up. Don’t burn bridges!

Do you have any tips for writing your resume to address your audience? I’d love to hear them in the comments!