Monday, January 3, 2022

How to Learn if Your Resume is Memorable



How memorable is your resume?

It might take a stranger to truly reveal that answer.

Ask someone you don't know to review your resume, either online or in a printed format. 

Let them review it for less than 10 seconds, then take the resume back and ask: "What do you know about me?"

It's often said that hiring managers don't give more than six or seven seconds to review your resume, so this test is a good way to gauge what is memorable about you.

Once you've gotten your answer, then it's time to consider several factors:

  • Did the reviewer only remember information that was in boldface, or a larger type size?
  • Did the reviewer remember only information in one area of the resume such as the upper right corner?
  • Did the reviewer only remember job titles?
  • Could the reviewer remember any of your accomplishments?
These are all important questions because they may reveal that your resume simply needs a few tweaks (more boldface, more bulleted points) or that you need to put your most important information in the upper right corner.

Try this test with several people, if possible. While this is certainly far from scientific, it does give you a good idea of a resume that isn't visually appealing or memorable in any way. If a stranger doesn't notice your qualifications, then it's worth making sure a hiring manager doesn't also miss them.

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