3 key takeaways
- Recruiters only spend 7–9 seconds scanning most resumes. Learn how to make your most relevant job titles, companies, and industries easy to spot right away.
- Understand how to tailor each resume by aligning your job title to the role, highlighting your most relevant accomplishments at the top, and adding keywords from the job description.
- Use Teal’s Resume Builder for clean, ATS-friendly formatting with single-column layouts, clear headings, and plenty of white space—making your resume easy to scan in the “F pattern” recruiters actually use.
If you had to sift through 85 applications to find qualified candidates for every single position your company needs to fill, how would you do it?
You’d probably scan each resume quickly for key skills, achievements, and job titles. If you didn’t find a match? You’d simply discard it. After all, if you spent just 5 minutes on each document, you’d be at your desk for 7 hours! You owe it to your team to move as fast as possible.
It turns out that this is exactly how recruiters work. According to eye-tracking studies, they spend an average of just 7 to 9 seconds scanning resumes on their first pass.
So, the message for candidates is clear: if you don’t have a scannable resume, you won’t get noticed. In this article, I’ll explain in more depth how recruiters approach reviewing resumes and show you how to stand out by using a resume builder.
Why do recruiters scan resumes?
If you’re job hunting, you’ve probably noticed that it takes dozens of applications to get a single job offer—according to Zippia, the average is about 50. Recruiters sit on the other side of that coin, sorting through dozens of applicants to each open position. In fact, those Zippia statistics show that 250 people apply to the average corporate job post.
Of course, a typical recruiter doesn’t just have one open position. They’re working on many open roles at once to ensure that companies have the workforce they need to meet their targets. This makes scanning resumes an absolute necessity.
What do recruiters say?
As head of the business recruiting team at Zapier, I know what sort of time pressure hiring managers deal with. And it’s not just me. A quick review of recruiter posts on Reddit shows that this practice is typical. As one says, “Sometimes we have to sort through 75-100 resumes. Most of us just do a quick glance to see if the resume meets the minimum qualifications and then onto the next resume.”
Recruiting firms have much the same message. For instance, Barclay Simpson reports that 2 credible studies found recruiters reviewing resumes for less than 11 seconds. However, once resumes make it on to the next round, they’re reviewed for an additional 25 seconds.
If you want your resume to make it to round 2, you need to make a good first impression. In many cases, the only way you’ll be able to do that is with a clean, tailored resume. However, if you know a recruiter’s contact info or have a friend working at the company, I’d also recommend contacting recruiters directly. The best way to do so is through a friend or colleague at the company who’s willing to refer you. If that’s not possible, even a polite email will go a long way towards helping your application stand out.
How to make your resume stand out in seconds
What does a recruiter focus on in those first seven seconds?
They are going to focus on the following factors:
- What industry you’ve worked in
- What companies you’ve worked for
- What job titles you’ve had
This is going to help them understand how closely your experience aligns to the role they are working to fill.
How to get past the first round of resume screening
If I were to sum up the ways to get past the first round of resume screening in one word, it would be “tailoring.” You need to customize your resume to each position you apply for. That way, you’ll seem like the perfect fit from the get-go.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Adjust your job title
The header of the resume should include your name, contact info, and the title of the position you are applying for. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t actually held the position in the past—the resume title isn’t descriptive, it’s aspirational.
Example: You’re a Project Coordinator now, and you’d like to be a Project Manager. Just put “Project Manager” at the top of your resume! Remember, the aim is to make your resume more searchable in the ATS and help recruiters understand the focus of the resume.
2. Add relevant keywords
Read the job description and identify keywords recruiters might be looking for, such as those referring to professional skills. Then, add these keywords to your resume. Ideally, keywords should be interspersed throughout your document, but it’s typically a good idea to have a “key skills” or “areas of expertise” section at the top of your resume.
Pro Tip: If you’d like to speed up the resume customization process, use Teal's Resume Builder to add job-related keywords from the job posting in your resume.
3. Trim your professional summary
Make sure your professional summary is a maximum of 4 sentences long. It should highlight job-relevant skills and experiences as concisely as possible.
4. Bring out your achievements
Recruiters love achievements that show you deliver results. Place job-relevant achievements in bullet points under each role, and don’t be afraid to bold the results so they stand out. Of course, numerical achievements—such as “Boosted sales by 25%”—are the most scannable.
In addition to quantifying as many of your achievements as possible, it’s also vital to start each sentence with an action verb. Rather than saying “Responsible for leading a team of project managers,” say “Led a team of project managers.” Action words give your resume a much more powerful impact.
5. Review your layout
When it comes to scannability, layout matters a lot. Here are some pointers to make your resume scannable:
- Format your document to align with F- and E-motion reading.
- Use a single column.
- Instead of cramming information, balance white space and content.
Note that these formatting rules apply no matter what layout you’re using. Most of the time, resumes are written in reverse-chronological format. That means you lead with your most recent job and work backwards. Using a reverse-chronological format helps ensure that your most relevant skills and achievements are at or near the top of the document, where they will make the most impact.
If you’re using a less common format, like a functional format, you’ll still need your contact info, job title, and professional summary at the top. Then, you should clearly list your most important achievements from each functional area (like “Leadership,” “Finance,” or “Engineering”). That way, recruiters will quickly pick up on your strengths.
For more tips on creating an effective resume, check out our guide on how to make a resume.
Why resume formatting really does matter
Resume formatting doesn’t just make documents easier to scan on first review. A good resume format will also help you progress through subsequent rounds by helping recruiters focus on your most important skills and accomplishments. During interviews, you should be able to use your resume as a launchpad for discussions about your past roles and how they position you for future success.
Teal's AI-powered Resume Builder and ATS-friendly resume templates ensure your resume is not only legible but also structured in a way that draws attention to your most impactful accomplishments.
Learn more about the best resume format to land an interview in this detailed guide.
Land your dream job with a scannable resume
You might be the perfect candidate for the role, but unless your resume is scannable, you won’t get noticed. Write your resume for a busy recruiter who only has a few seconds to make an initial review, and you’ll get the attention you deserve.
Teal's Resume Builder and its built-in resume guidance and templates feature are designed to maximize your resume's impact, ensuring you make those crucial seconds count.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do recruiters collect resumes?
This will vary based on the company, position, and applicant pool. Some companies leave positions open until an offer is made and others may close it once they believe they have enough applicants to make a hire—for some positions, this could be just a few days. Some companies use rolling deadlines while others set deadlines of 7 or 30 days. Never assume a company will still be accepting applications for a role tomorrow because they posted the role recently. If you’re interested in an in-demand position at a large company, apply as soon as you’re able.
Do recruiters look at resumes for longer than 7 seconds?
Yes, the 7.4-seconds recruiters and hiring managers spend is for the initial screen of every resume submitted, so the recruiter can determine which to continue reading. If they see strong alignment in that initial review, they will spend more time with your resume.
What do hiring managers look for in resumes?
Hiring managers know the job they are hiring for better than recruiters, and they are feeling the pain of that job opening. While recruiters may spend just a few seconds on a resume review, those that get passed along to hiring managers will be read thoroughly. Some hiring managers spend 20 minutes or more researching a job seeker before an interview. That means they are digging into your bullet points and ensuring you have the essential skills for the role, and that your experiences align to the challenges they are trying to solve.
How long do recruiters look at resumes for?
Recruiters look at resumes for 7 to 9 seconds before either rejecting an applicant, or deciding to look further. In those first seconds, recruiters hope to verify that the candidate’s skillset and experience matches the job description. If it doesn’t, they’ll reject the applicant straightaway.
How long do recruiters take to respond to applications?
In the United States, companies tend to move pretty quickly. On average, it takes 1-3 weeks for recruiters to respond to job applications. Unfortunately, many recruiters don’t send rejection emails anymore, so if you haven’t heard back within 20 days, it’s best to assume that you didn’t get the job.
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