5 Reasons Why Your Resume isn't THAT Critical in a Jobsearch

I feel too many people are spending too much time, effort and money on their CVs.

They download fancy templates, source for powerful keywords, and even pay exorbitant prices for Resume-writers to do the work for them.

If only they knew how futile these efforts are in helping them land a job quicker, they'd be less stressed over this silly piece of paper and focusing more on the other elements that matter.

Here's why your Resume doesn't matter as much you think it does.

1️⃣ Hiring Managers do not read your Resume in detail.

Having spent over a decade in Headhunting, I can safely tell you that we do not spend more than 20 seconds glancing over your CV before deciding to call you because

i. We receive hundreds of resumes a day and simply have no time

ii. We already know what we're looking for - and can spot a good candidate within that half-minute

iii. Most CVs are an unreadable wall of words anyway

2️⃣ Your LinkedIn Profile is more important

We often don't realise that your CV is your #SecondaryMarketingCollateral ... More people see your LinkedIn Profile than your Resume, and based on your #Positioning on LinkedIn, they decide whether to reach out to you or not.

As a result, they spend more time choosing the font sizes on their CV rather than painting an accurate picture of themselves on LinkedIn.

3️⃣ More Jobs are Landed via Referrals - Your CV is an afterthought

I once landed a job by connecting with the Managing Director and becoming his friend...without even submitting a CV. Only after 3 months on the job, HR asked for the CV and we realised I never submitted one!

Start building relationships with the key decision-makers and you might not even have to flash your resume at all.

4️⃣ Your Reputation Precedes Your Resume

We once had a client who was so famous in her industry for hunting and closing deals that she kept getting calls job interviews at her competitor companies... and to nobody's surprise, she hadn't updated her CV in 9 years.

"My reputation in the market and my achievements are my calling cards - the 'People Who Matter' know me...Don't need any HR to 'screen me for suitability'."

5️⃣ ATS-Hacking/Keyword-Stuffing Could Land You the Wrong Job

We also had another client who wanted to badly to get into the Digital Marketing market, she stuffed her CV with the latest buzzwords like "SEO Optimisation", "Lead Generation" and "Omni-platform marketing" - and when she landed the job, she was fired after 3 months because her Resume was more impressive than she ever was.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Spend more time on your LinkedIn Profile than your Resume - you'll get better traction on your jobsearch.

2. Try re-writing your CV from scratch - I'm sure there are portions that are over 10 years old, written by a 'junior' you that's pretty dated.

3. Spend less time on your CV and put in more effort on your Outreach - It's tougher, but there's bigger ROI there.

Would you like to get your hands on some real-life Resume Samples of Executives in similar roles to you?

Visit CoachCAROL.ai today and download them all!