The Most Important Parts of Your Resume.

written by Yuan-Wei Tan

According to a study released by online job-matching service The Ladders, recruiters spend about six seconds scanning through each resume they receive. This same study also states that recruiters will spend those six seconds focusing on these parts:

1. Your name.
2. Current (or most recent) position and company.
3. Start and end dates.
4. Previous position and company.
5. Start and end dates at that position.
6. Education.

With this in mind there are various ways that you can make your resume stand-out. Focus on modifying those parts of your resume that will be focused on by recruiters. For example, highlight your name, as you would like to be addressed, and keep it consistent across all your professional and social media profiles. 

As Amanda Augustine, career expert at The Ladders, explains: "If you have a common name, consider including your middle initial on your résumé and online professional profiles to differentiate yourself from the competition." If you would prefer a nickname, you could mention that as well. (Example: Katherine (Kat) Watson or Kat Watson).

In addition to that, be careful about the email address you share in your contact details. Keep it professional. Coolguy76@, sweetsmile21@ could be good personal email IDs, but on the résumé, they just appear amateurish. 

It is also possible that your title in your current or previous organizations is not recognized in the industry. So although you could be "Chief Evangelist of Code" in your organization, the more appropriate but less flamboyant "Software Developer" may be the title to put on your résumé.

Do not use your photo on the résumé, unless you are applying for a position that requires one — model, actor, etc. According to Careerbuilder, "If they (employers) have a picture of you and choose not to hire you, it's possible that you could come back with a discrimination lawsuit. In most cases, they'll throw your résumé away without looking at it, to avoid the issue altogether." 

Unless you are a fresh graduate or have relatively few years of experience, place your education details after your experience. You don't have to list the years you went to school either — unless you've just graduated, in which case it can help explain the lack of experience. Jenny Foss at The Muse advises that you should exclude your GPA (if it is less than 3.5 or if you graduated more than three years ago). Instead she says, showcase on your honors at your university.

Read the full article for more tips here.