While many job seekers understand that crafting an attention-grabbing resume can help them land top positions in their field, many fail to take the necessary steps to secure the Oracle certifications, Microsoft certifications and Cisco accreditations that can help them truly stand out from a wide pool of potential applicants.
According to a new survey, adding in-demand industry credentials – and featuring them prominently on a resume – can be beneficial. For example, on March 21, TheLadders, a job-matching service for professionals, released the results of a new survey that found recruiters typically only look at the average resume for six seconds before deciding if a candidate is a good fit for a position.
While many recruiters told the study that they spent four minutes on each resume, the report revealed that those who are responsible for hiring qualified candidates at companies across the country only spend a fraction of the time reviewing the finer details of each job seeker.
"We knew that the resume is obviously the cornerstone of the job-search process, but we wanted to really understand and facilitate the most meaningful connections between recruiters and job seekers," Alex Douzet, the COO and co-founder of TheLadder, said in statement.
The study used gaze-tracking technology to show that recruiters spent 80 percent of their time looking at a candidates, name, current title, previous work experience and education. Also included in this time, where the start and end dates of the candidates current and previous positions.
However, IT workers who want to stand out from the crowd may benefit from highlighting their certifications, since education plays such a big role in the process for most recruiters. Demonstrating the ability and willingness to constantly learn can help IT job seekers secure interviews so they can then compete for top industry positions with a narrower field.