How to write a resume that a recruiter will actually read
Recruiters spend under a minute on a first pass. Here is how to make that minute count — structure, keywords, and the mistakes that get resumes skipped.
Start with the reader, not with yourself
Most resumes are written for the person writing them. The recruiter reading it is looking for a fast answer to three questions: does this person do the kind of work the role needs, at the level the role needs, in a way that suggests they will succeed here? Everything on the page should serve one of those questions.
Lead with the evidence
Put your most relevant experience in the first third of the page. Use the language of the job description where it is honest to do so — a recruiter scanning for "Kafka" or "GST filing" should find it without hunting. Numbers help: team size, systems handled, budgets, volumes.
Cut what does not help
Objectives, declarations, hobbies and long lists of every tool you have ever touched rarely move a decision. If a line would not change a recruiter's mind, remove it. Two focused pages beat four unfocused ones.
Make it easy to contact you
Phone, email and city at the top. A working LinkedIn URL if you have one. Recruiters will call — make sure they can.
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