As a hiring professional, you understand the importance of a good resume.
But when it's your turn to write one and start applying for recruiter jobs, you may feel stuck knowing that your resume won’t be competing against the resumes of average job seekers.
Instead, it will compete against fellow recruiters and human resources colleagues who spend their working hours screening, reading and assessing job applications. In other words, it will fight for the employer’s attention against others who have built their careers on reviewing resumes.
And hiring managers will have high expectations.
When recruiting for their hiring teams, they expect to receive perfectly-written job applications from potential candidates.
Therefore, if you want to put your best foot forward, it is more important than ever to prepare a top-notch recruiter resume. In order to win an interview and land a job, your resume must be flawless.
However, even though you may have experience reviewing resumes, writing your resume is a different story. After all, being a recruiter doesn’t equal being a professional resume writer.
So, the main question is…
How to write a recruiter resume that sets you apart from other qualified candidates?
To write a resume that puts your recruiting experience in the spotlight and helps you stand out among other qualified candidates, follow this step-by-step resume writing guide to learn how to:
read job descriptions to find what to cover in a recruiter resume
include relevant recruitment skills, qualifications and experience by tailoring your resume to the recruiter job description
create a recruiter resume that stands even among other professional recruiters and gets you hired
You'll also get:
five examples of a ready-made recruiter resume summary
a list of 25 action verbs tailored to recruiting jobs
five examples of metrics to quantify your achievements
What's best, you can apply these resume tips if you're looking for similar recruitment jobs and writing:
an entry-level recruiter resume
a recruiting coordinator resume
an agency staffing recruiter resume
a college recruiter resume
a senior recruiter resume
Ready? Let's write a perfect recruiter resume together.
Try professionally designed resume templates. Choose one of 40+ resume designs and have your resume ready for the next job application in 10 minutes! ➝
What to do before you start writing a recruiter resume?
Writing a perfect resume starts with understanding job requirements from the job description.
Job descriptions contain information about:
the company and the team
specific duties
skills and qualifications needed to apply
In other words, job descriptions hold the key to successful applications as they give you direct insight into what hiring managers look for in candidates.
Job descriptions hold the key to successful applications as they give you direct insight into what hiring managers look for in candidates.
Before you start crafting your resume, take a look at this sample recruiter job description.
Recruiter Job Description Sample
As part of our Human Resources, you'll work as a member of our international hiring teams to hire the best talent for internal technical and commercial positions, actively helping our company continue being one of the fastest growing IT companies.
The main focus of your role is managing recruiting operations and recruiting strategies, including the following tasks:
designing and implementing recruiting strategies for technical and functional positions
managing full-cycle recruitment for vacancies in our IT hub
prepare job postings and hiring marketing materials and post to relevant job boards
sourcing and recruit candidates by using databases, social media and alternative recruitment channels
managing communication with and between candidates and hiring managers
Ensuring full compliance with the highest hiring standards and best practices, caring about candidate experience and promoting our company as the best place to work for local candidates will be your top priorities.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
a minimum 3 years of experience as a Recruiter (either an in-house recruiter or an agency staffing recruiter) managing all aspects of hiring, from posting jobs to job boards to preparing job offers
BA/MA in Human Resources Management or equivalent
Experience with various selection techniques such as phone interviewing, psychological assessments, face-to-face interviewing, assessment centers
Hands-on experience with LinkedIn Recruiter and another recruiting software, preferably Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS)
Strong interviewing skills, including excellent written and verbal communication
Strong organizational skills and ability to adapt and re-prioritize tasks
Understanding of the German job market and proficiency in German would be an asset
Resourcefulness, a high level of self-motivation, and readiness to take ownership
WHAT DO YOU GET?
Career Opportunities: a variety of international possibilities for professional development
Learning Opportunities: wide range of training options, optional language classes, further education and professional qualification support possibility
Variety: exciting projects and challenges within or beyond your scope of responsibility
Team Spirit: strong team spirit and a great working atmosphere in a friendly team
Flexibility: remote work opportunities and flexible working hours
This job ad sums up the most common requirements based on 10+ job descriptions posted by Fortune 500 companies.
As you can see, everything that a hiring manager is looking for -- and consequently what you need to cover in your resume, is written here.
Read carefully the sections called 'Person specification', 'Essential and desirable skills' or 'What are we looking for?'.
So always take time to read the job description of your target job.
Highlight the repeated keywords and main job requirements. Refer to them while you're working on your job application and tailor your resume accordingly. By doing so, you will not only write a strong job application but also optimize it for the applicant tracking system (ATS).
Now when you know what the employers will look for, let's start working on your resume!
1. Choose the right resume format.
Resume format determines the way the information is organized on a resume. As such, it plays a vital role in the success of a resume, so it's important to select a proper resume format for your experience, work history and career situation.
There are three main formats of resumes you can choose from:
Chronological format
The chronological resume, or better yet reverse-chronological resume, is the most common and traditional type of resumes that lists work experience in reverse chronological order with the most recent position on top followed by earlier employment history.
Chronological format works best for applicants with a stable and linear employment history and work experience closely related to the position. It's also the resume format most employers prefer.
Download a ready-made chronological resume template and submit your winning job application today. ➝
Functional format
The functional resume focuses on the applicant's skills rather than their work experience, listing qualifications and job duties in separate sections.
This type of resume is mainly used for those who want to highlight specific areas that they feel are relevant to the open position. This format is also good for people with a lot of diverse experiences as it focuses on the applicant's abilities rather than former job titles.
Hybrid format
The hybrid resume is a combination of the chronological and functional formats. It includes both qualifications and skills in one concise document. The most important information goes first, followed by secondary content (educational or professional experience).
This type of resume is good for applicants who have a non-linear career path or significant gaps in their work history, which may affect their chances of being hired. The hybrid format also allows a candidate to add skills or qualifications that would not be included in the chronological resume.
Still need help with deciding? Read the complete guide on resume formats to decide which format will work best for your recruiter resume.
2. Start with your contact details.
First things first - write down your name and surname.
They are the first thing employers will read on your resume. You want your name to be seen and remembered. So, it must be easy to find it.
Here are a few practical formatting tips:
Emphasize your name and surname by capitalizing them or using a bold font.
Increase the size of the font to differentiate it from the rest of the content.
Make it pop, but not too much. Don't exaggerate by using font size 60. Using 16-24pt, depending on the font style, is perfect.
Then, tell employers how to reach you.
What to include in contact details on a recruiter resume?
If you were ever tasked with cold calling or calling dozens of applicants, you know how important it is to have clear and updated contact details.
So don't confuse hiring teams with three different phone numbers and two email addresses. One phone number and one email address - those that you are most frequently available on - are more than enough.
Add only the following contact information:
city and country
a phone number
a personal email address
Optionally, you can include your website or LinkedIn profile. This is recommended only if your website and LinkedIn profile are as polished as your resume.
Here are a few more things worth noting:
Take out the full mailing address. Since mail is no longer used for communication with candidates, you don't need to include your full home address. Ditch the street and home number, leave only your city and neighborhood. If you are applying for international opportunities, include your country/state too.
Add a professional email address. Don't forget that your email address needs to sound professional. Research has proven that an informal and unprofessional email address significantly decreases a candidate's hirability. This mistake was equally as bad as typos.
How to format contact information on a resume?
Your contact details section should be concise and straightforward.
To properly format contact details, follow these suggestions:
At this point, you need to save valuable space for the rest of the content. Thus, the best way to format contact details is to condense the information in one or a maximum of two lines, separated by symbols.
Don’t forget to remove the hyperlink from your email address. MS Office and Mac Pages automatically add hyperlinks to web addresses, but it can mess up an otherwise nice formatting or mess with an applicant tracking system.
Contact details example
Check out below how to put contact information together in the proper form.
Right:
ELLE CHIDLOW
London, United Kingdom · 0123 000 0000
name.surname@email.com · linkedin.com/elle_chidlow
Wrong:
ELLE CHIDLOW
Sesame Street 89, Holborn, London WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom
FB: facebook.com/Elle_Princess_Chidlow
3. Write a compelling resume summary.
A resume summary, also called a personal statement, professional profile or career summary, is essentially a snapshot of your career.
This short paragraph at the top of your resume should concisely and effectively display who you are, what you do and how you match the job requirements. It should also provide an overview of your skills, strengths and achievements relevant to the job.
Being just three to four lines long, this section is often the shortest part of a resume and, at the same time, the hardest one to write.
Being just three to four lines long, a career summary is often the shortest part of a resume and, at the same time, the hardest one to write.
For more information, head over to our guide on how to write a personal statement. Or read on to learn to craft a resume summary for recruiter jobs.
How to write a recruiter resume summary?
Considering that an average recruiter or hiring manager spends 7 seconds per resume, the best way to grab the reader's attention is to immediately start with the information they are looking for.
When it comes to resumes, they want to see that you have the experience and skills specified in the job description and that you are the right person for the job.
Speaking specifically about jobs in recruitment, they want to see that you have:
experience in managing a part of or full cycle of the recruitment process
experience with other recruiting responsibilities, such as handling candidate inquiries, conducting job interviews, participating in job fairs and attracting potential candidates
hard skills as using applicant tracking systems (ATS), LinkedIn Recruiter, candidate relationship management software (CRM) or other relevant recruitment system
soft skills such as good communication, time management and teamwork
Write an effective recruiter resume summary using the following examples for inspiration.
Recruiter resume summary examples
Self-motivated and well-organized in-house recruiter with more than 5 years of experience in the retail industry. Strong communication skills combined with ability to adapt to changing requirements and to re-prioritize with ease. Experienced in leading full cycle recruiting, shaping recruitment strategies and managing internal stakeholders. Currently looking to utilize the existing skill set as a senior recruiter in ABC company.
CIPD-certified agency recruiter with more than seven years of experience in the IT industry. Solid communication skills combined with ability to identify hiring needs and generate innovative solutions for clients looking for experienced professionals. Extensive experience in recruiting engineering candidates and providing consultative advice on the best recruiting strategies.
Talented and resourceful recruitment specialist with more than two years of experience recruiting candidates for investment banks and hedge funds. Skilled at sourcing, presenting opportunities to potential recruits and utilizing CRM software systems to identify top talent in specific industries/positions.
HR Management graduate with 6 months of experience recruiting for a Fortune 500 company. Strong verbal and written communication skills combined with the ability to effectively prioritize, multi-task and manage tight deadlines. Experienced with sourcing candidates, evaluating resumes and supporting recruitment team in selecting top talent. Looking to broaden experience as a junior recruiter at ABC company.
Recruiters, HR managers and hiring managers and applicant tracking systems (ATS) all work like scanners - they quickly skim your resume looking for the cues signaling whether or not you fit the position.
So, don't forget to fill this section with the same keywords that you had highlighted in the job description before you started working on your recruiter resume to ensure it matches the requirements.
Make sure the relevant keywords are noticeable in the first three sentences of your resume. It's an easy yet highly effective way to grab and keep the reader's attention.
4. Structure your work history.
The work experience is the most important part of your resume.
It's what a recruiter and hiring manager will be looking through first. From what we've seen, hiring managers frequently skip everything else and focus solely on the information about your previous employment.
To give your resume the best chance of landing you an interview, this section needs to be nothing short of perfect.
How to list previous employment?
The most common -- and the best way to structure your work history is to list it in reverse-chronological order, starting from your current job and then listing older ones.
For all the jobs you include in your resume, you need to have the following information:
name of the company
your job title
time-frame (starting date - ending date)
description of your responsibilities
How to format the work experience section on a resume?
Pay close attention to the formatting.
Choose one formatting style and stick to it.
For example, if you decide to write the time-frames on the right side of the page, keep them there throughout the whole resume. Don't move them to the left side or anywhere else.
Additionally, if you decide to write it in the following form:
08/2016 - 07/2019
Don't mix it with:
May 2014 - July 2016
from 2014-05-15 to 2016-07-15
or any other option
Pick one date format and stick to it.
Writing consistency plays a vital role when it comes to creating an easy-to-read, well-structured resume.
Even though this might seem like a minor detail in your resume, it can make a significant difference in the overall impression of your job application. And hiring managers notice these things.
5. Describe your responsibilities and achievements.
Descriptions of your previous responsibilities and achievements will prove to readers whether or not you have what it takes to perform the needed tasks and duties required of a recruiter in their company.
So, be sure the list includes both responsibilities and accomplishments that are relevant to the position you're applying for.
It's also important to be precise with details, so use numbers when possible - they go a long way in making your resume stand out from those of other candidates.
How to tailor the work experience section to the job?
Tailored resumes are the best -- and most successful resumes.
The key in tailoring your resume to the job is in including and focusing only on relevant information regarding your recruiting experience, achievements and skills.
To ensure your resume carefully consider every word and bullet point you include there.
Assess the value of each sentence in your resume by asking yourself these questions:
Does this information show relevant recruiting experience?
Does this information display a relevant recruiting achievement?
Does this information showcase technical knowledge you could use in your new job?
Does this information evidence useful soft skills?
If the answer to any of these questions ranges from no, not sure or maybe, then tweak the information or take it off your resume.
Tailoring the work experience section step by step
At first, tailoring a resume to the job description can seem abstract or complex.
So, just in case, let's do it together.
Going back to the initial job description, here is the list of job requirements.
3+ years of experience as a Recruiter (either an in-house recruiter or a an agency staffing recruiter) managing all aspects of hiring from posting jobs to job boards to preparing offers
BA/MA in Human Resources Management or equivalent
Experience with various selection techniques such as phone interviewing, psychological assessments, face-to-face interviewing, assessment centers
Hands on experience with LinkedIn Recruiter and another recruiting software, preferably Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) or Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS)
Strong interviewing skills, including excellent written and verbal communication
Strong organizational skills with ability to adapt and re-prioritize tasks
Understanding of the German job market and proficiency in German would be an asset
Resourcefulness, a high level of self-motivation, and readiness to take ownership
The section above tells you what kind of tasks, responsibilities and skills need to be covered in your recruiter resume.
So, if you have the relevant recruiting experience and want to cover the main requirements, you should write down something like this:
Managed in-house full-cycle recruiting for 20 to 30 junior- and mid-level positions per month.
Led end-to-end recruitment processes, from preparing and posting job adverts to conducting psychological assessments, phone interviews, face-to-face interviews and assessment centers.
Organized and facilitated 5 assessment centers per month while supporting hiring managers with assessing candidates.
Conducted over 700 phone and face-to-face interviews in 2020.
Advised and supported over 30 hiring managers with all recruitment-related topics.
Managed 1000+ candidate applications per month in SAP and HRMS.
Headhunted candidates on the German, Austrian and Swiss job market via LinkedIn Recruiter and Xing.
Improved talent pool gender diversity by 17% through proactive implementation of innovative sourcing channels.
Color code indicates that each bullet point matches a specific requirement from the job posting.
By mirroring the job description, we have created content for a resume that provides employers exclusively with relevant information.
To tailor the resume content to the job posting, you can:
use the same keywords for technical stuff, such as in-house recruitment, phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, assessment centers
Don't worry if you can't cover all the requirements in your employment overview.
Unless you held exactly the same job in the past, it's virtually impossible.
Instead, focus on your recruiting experience and emphasize the transferable skills.
Sprinkle the keywords or matching verbs from the job description as much as you can over the personal profile section at the beginning, work history, and the skills overview.
How to describe previous work experience?
To write compelling descriptions for previous work experience, follow these guidelines:
A. USE BULLET POINTS
Bullet points significantly improve readability of a resume.
It's much easier to highlight the relevant information in a bulleted list. Also, from the reader's perspective, reading bulleted lists is quicker, easier and more understandable. It's a win-win writing approach.
Here are a few practical resume tips regarding bullet points:
To ensure your bullet points are easy to read and compelling, keep them short and concise.
As a rule of thumb, try to keep your bullet points short enough so that they can fit into one or a maximum of two lines on a resume.
Keep the bulleted lists concise too. Write five to seven bullet points for more recent jobs.
Keep the descriptions even shorter for older roles by reducing them to two to three main bullet points.
Wondering how you can describe everything you have been doing within just a few bullet points?
The answer to this question takes us back to one of the previous points -- the key to writing strong, yet concise bullet points is tailoring the descriptions to the job and including only information relevant to the job.
B. START EACH BULLET POINT WITH A VERB
The most efficient resume bullet points jump into action straightaway.
By omitting filler phrases such as ‘I am responsible for' or 'in charge of’ and starting all bullet points with action verbs, you'll save valuable space and the reader's time.
Consequently, if you kick all sentences off with action verbs -- such as 'designed', 'implemented' and 'accelerated', your resume will sound stronger, more dynamic and achievement-oriented.
Recruiter action verbs
Here is a list of 25 power words for job seekers looking for jobs in recruitment.
accelerated
advised
assessed
conducted
coordinated
created
designed
developed
evaluated
facilitated
guided
headhunted
hired
improved
implemented
influenced
interviewed
led
managed
optimized
organized
recruited
reviewed
screened
supported
C. BE CONSISTENT WITH THE TENSE YOU ARE USING.
As mentioned earlier, consistency plays a major role in content readability.
One of the resume elements where this particularly applies is when you're describing your previous work experience.
The rule of thumb is to use either the present (i.e. -ing verb form, such as assessing, conducting, analyzing) or past tense (i.e. -ed verb form, such as accelerated, implemented, improved) in this section.
Remember the following:
Present tense is suitable for current and ongoing employment. When you use the present tense, you're signaling that at this moment in time, you are still actively involved with the company or project described in your resume.
Past tense is more appropriate for all your previous jobs and accomplishments. It indicates that you are referring to past experiences.
D. BE SPECIFIC
When reviewing job applications, recruiters and hiring managers are looking not only at what a candidate has done, but also how they did it and the end results of their work.
In order to make your resume stand out from other job seekers’ resumes, be specific about all aspects of your previous experience: responsibilities, achievements, and measurable outcomes.
These details contribute to a reader's decision to progress your application in the hiring process and call you for an interview.
Add details to your descriptions and be specific.
Referring to our recruiter job description, the company is looking for someone experienced in managing full cycle recruiting.
There are two ways you can cover it in your resume:
Candidate A wrote:
responsible for managing full-cycle recruiting
Whereas candidate B wrote:
managed full-cycle recruitment for over 200 junior- and mid-level IT roles in 2020, from preparing job adverts to conducting phone interviews, face-to-face interviews and assessment centers
If you would need to choose between the two of them, which one would you pick?
Probably the candidate B.
The thing is, details draw attention and build your credibility.
Instead of saying you have ‘a proven track record of leading end-to-end recruitment' prove it by providing employers with details and specific information.
E. QUANTIFY YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
If there is only one thing you apply from this article, let it be this one: quantify your responsibilities and achievements.
Considering that missing out on adding quantified data is one of the most common resume mistakes, adding numerical measures of success will make your resume stand out from the rest.
Add numbers wherever possible.
Numbers help readers really picture the impact a candidate has made in their work history. Consequently, they make a resume sound much more impressive.
Numbers help readers really picture the impact a candidate has made in their work history. Consequently, they make a resume sound much more impressive.
Below you can see the same job description, without any numbers or details:
Managed in-house full-cycle recruiting for entry- and specialist-level positions per month.
Led end-to-end recruitment processes, from preparing and posting job adverts to conducting psychological assessments, phone interviews, face-to-face interviews and assessment centers.
Organized and facilitated assessment centers per month while supporting hiring managers with assessing candidates.
Conducted phone and face-to-face interviews.
Advised and supported hiring managers with all recruitment-related topics.
Managed candidate applications per month in SAP and HRMS.
Headhunted candidates in German, Austrian and Swiss job market via LinkedIn Recruiter and Xing.
Improved talent pool gender diversity through proactive implementation of innovative sourcing channels
The content is still fine. But numbers draw attention and make it much stronger. Simply put, adding numbers takes your resume to the next level.
For jobs in recruitment, think about including the following metrics:
an average or a range number of managers/business areas you supported with hiring
a number of recruitment processes you managed/positions you recruited for on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis
a number of interviews or ACs you conducted on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis
a number recruitment programs you managed (e.g. high-volume programs, such as internships, seasonal workers)
a candidate or hiring manager satisfaction measure
any other KPIs you used to track your efficiency and performance (time-to-hire, response rate, new hire turnover rate)
6. Include your education.
The education section is the second most important part of a resume, right after the work experience.
In the education section, provide employers with the information about relevant degrees, qualifications and credentials.
Where to position education on a resume?
The position of the education section on a resume depends on your experience.
If you are a fresh graduate crafting an entry-level recruiter resume and applying for a junior recruiter position, your educational background will be your strongest asset.
Therefore, keep it close to the top of your resume; above the work history section.
If you already have some work experience and are applying for senior recruiter positions, a hiring manager will be more interested in the skills and experiences you have acquired through your career thus far.
In this case, your work experience should go first, so put your education section below the work history section.
What information should you include in the education section?
To make sure you're providing employers with the most relevant information about your educational background, add the following data:
the type of degree you gained
your major (and minor - if applicable and relevant)
school, college or university
location
graduation date (month and year)
If you are currently undergoing a professional qualification, specify the expected date of graduation.
Simply state when the ‘expected’ or ‘anticipated’ graduation or certification date is.
What additional info to include in an entry-level recruiter resume?
Students, fresh graduates or career changers who are looking to step into human resources, may want to expand the education section of their recruiter resume.
If your educational background is more relevant to the recruiter position than your work history, consider adding:
academic achievements
coursework
projects
honors and awards
GPA
extracurricular activities
This information can help you present yourself as a skilled and suitable candidate even without the industry experience.
How to format education on a recruiter resume?
Formatting the education section is similar to formatting the work experience section.
Here are a few basic rules:
Start with your highest degree first.
Add other degrees in reverse-chronological order.
If you finished college, don’t add your high school information.
Add training, qualifications or certificates only if they are relevant to the job.
Need more information about writing a perfect education section? Read our detailed guide on how to list education on a resume. It has over 30 word-for-word examples for every scenario. (coming soon)
7. List relevant skills.
The skills section of your resume includes an overview of abilities related to the target job.
To emphasize your suitability for the job and optimize your recruiter resume for the applicant tracking system (ATS) by listing skills that are relevant to vacancy, such as technical skills, language skills or soft skills.
Recruiter skills list
Add recruitment and soft skills to the skills overview of your recruiter resume.
Recruitment skills
recruitment lifecycle
talent acquisition strategy
talent candidate screening and assessment
volume hiring
executive recruiting
candidate management
applicant tracking systems
Soft skills
communication skills
negotiation skills
analytical skills
stakeholder management
attention to detail
Where to place skills on a recruiter resume?
The position of the skills overview on a resume depends on your level of relevant experience.
Qualified candidates with a strong recruitment background can benefit from placing skills at the top, so they are seen first by employers.
Candidates with limited to no experience in recruitment, should place their skills towards the bottom of the entry-level recruiter resume to avoid making it too long and overwhelming.
Do you have to add skills to a recruiter resume?
The skills list is not a mandatory part of any resume, including the recruiter resume.
However, if you want to emphasize additional and relevant skills that you didn’t have a chance to apply or show throughout the work history section, this can be the right place.
8. Prepare a reference list.
Skip the 'References available upon request' sentence at the bottom of your resume. It simply doesn’t add any value – it only takes up valuable space.
Employers assume you have references and will ask for them, if necessary. The most common practice is to request a reference list at the end of the hiring process.
However, even though you don’t need to include them in your resume, we wouldn’t recommend waiting for the last minute.
Prepare a reference list in advance, securing at least three to five references.
Bear in mind that references should be people who have supervised you or had a chance to collaborate with you in an academic or hands-on setting like an internship, job or volunteer position, as they can advocate about your potential for success.
In a new document (separate from your resume), sum up the following information about your references:
name and surname
their job title and company/institution
contact details – phone number and email address
Practical tips for preparing a reference list
1. Give your referrals a heads up
Before you add someone’s name on the list, ask your referees for their approval to avoid any awkward situations. Additionally, advise them if there is anything they need to know in case your potential employer reaches out to them to avoid any confusion.
For example, let your referrals know if you have changed surname in the meantime since you have worked with them -- or if your current employer is unaware of the fact that you are actively looking for a job, so this needs to stay confidential.
2. Match formatting style
For a polished look, use the same design and formatting style on your references list like the one you used for your resume.
Having matching documents will help you come across as a well-prepared, detail-oriented and professional candidate.
9. Polish up formatting.
Up until this point, you have been working on the content of your recruiter resume.
Now let’s put a cherry on top by polishing up the layout!
When it comes to the formatting and layout, little things make a big difference when you’re putting together a resume -- especially a recruiter resume.
Choices about font, spacing, margins and alignment affect the overall impression your application makes.
You can do it on your own. Or... you can save precious time and pick one of our meticulously designed ready-made resume templates!
To create a perfect recruitment resume, pay attention to:
fonts
structure
margins
white space
A. Fonts
Select a professional, readable font for the body of your resume. Avoid by any means too complex, unprofessional or hard-to-read fonts. Here is a short list of best and worst resume fonts:
best resume fonts: Calibri or Calibri Light, Arial, Corbel, Cambria, Georgia, Source Sans Pro/Light
worst resume fonts: Comic Sans, Book Antiqua, or any cartoonish or handwriting font styles
Another factor in making your words highly readable is setting an appropriate font size. Generally, you should stay between 10 and 12 points.
B. Structure
Employers should be able to navigate through your resume with ease and good resume structure allows them to do so.
Knowing that a hiring manager may spend just a few seconds with your resume, they need to know where to look for specific information at first glance.
Differentiating headings of each section in a professional way can help.
You can stylize your headers in a few different ways:
write section letters in capital letters
use a “bold” font on your section headers
increase the size of your section header fonts to 12, 14 or 16 points
Underlining headers is also an option. However, an underlined text tends to be hard to read, so we don't recommend it.
C. White space
Last, but not the least element that contributes to readability of your resume is an amount of white space -- an area of your resume that remains unused when separating sections and paragraphs of text.
Lack of sufficient white space can make your resume look cluttered and disorganized, whereas too much can leave your resume feeling bare and lacking in content.
Therefore, in order to make a resume easy on the eye, it’s important to achieve the right balance between white space and content.
Pay attention to:
Spacing: If your resume looks cramped, set the spacing between lines to anywhere between 1.0 point to 1.5 points.
Margins: Margins (white space around the content) will depend on the amount of text you have. It should be between 0.5’’ to 1’’. Play around with it until you get a layout that is easy on the eye.
Alignment: The most common recommendation is to align your text to the left. Alternative solutions is to justify it (align both to the left and right distributing your text evenly in line between margins). This depends on your preferences. The only option that needs to be ruled out is centering the whole content – it’s fine for the headings, but not for the body of a resume.
And that’s about it!
When done professionally and meticulously, this step in creating your recruiter resume can make it stand out from the pile of other job applications - even if they all come from experienced recruiters.
Recruiter Resume Example
Following this step-by-step resume writing guide, together we've created a recruiter resume that sounds like this:
JANE DOE
London, United Kingdom • 0123 000 0000 • name.surname@gmail.com
CIPD-certified recruiter with over seven years of experience in agency and in-house recruitment. Skilled at identifying top talent and implementing innovative sourcing channels. Extensive experience in recruiting mid-, senior and executive-level candidates and providing consultative advice on the best recruiting strategies. Improved average time-to-hire by 21% through the hiring process analysis and optimization.
WORK HISTORY
SENIOR RECRUITER 01/2018 – present
OPQ Company, London
designing and leading full-cycle executive recruitment strategy for mid- and senior-level roles in four supporting business units (IT, HR, Finance, Legal)
developing assessment tools; reduced new hire turnover rate by 17% within 12 months by re-designing and implementing standardized interviewing framework
managing diversity in recruitment process; increased talent pool gender diversity by 17% through research and implementation of innovative sourcing channels
optimizing hiring process; analyzed and re-structured hiring process improving average time-to-hire by 21%
RECRUITER 11/2015 – 12/2017
XYZ Company, London
led end-to-end hiring process for entry and mid-level roles, from creating and posting job adverts to screening resumes, conducting interviews and facilitating assessment centers resulting in 130+ new hires over 2 years
organized and facilitated activities on 10 assessment centers per month
shaped graduate attraction and recruitment strategy and successfully recruited 40 graduates in 2 years
advised and supported over 20 hiring managers with all recruitment-related topics
RECRUITMENT ASSISTANT 04/2014 – 10/2015
ABC Company, Birmingham
sourced over 200 candidates per month for entry- and mid-level positions in HR, IT and Finance
headhunted candidates on German, Austrian and Swiss job market via LinkedIn and Xing
designed 25-40 job ads monthly and posted on LinkedIn, company career website and international job boards
handled over 20 candidate inquiries per day and administered candidate database
EDUCATION
CIPD Advanced Diploma in People Management
The Chartered Institute of Personal Development 11/2015
Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources Management
Birmingham City University 06/2013
SKILLS
Languages: English (native), German (bilingual)
Technical skills: MS Office (advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills), LinkedIn Recruiter (working proficiency), HRIS (working proficiency), SAP (intermediate knowledge), HRMS (basic knowledge)
When we polished the formatting, this resume turned out like this:
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Do you need a recruiter cover letter?
Cover letters are still a cause of heated debates among hiring professionals.
Some say they're unnecessary as long as you present a professional resume, while others swear by them for their ability to highlight and promote the most relevant aspects of your job application.
Regardless of the opposing views, cover letters are still very much a part of almost any recruitment process.
To put your best foot forward, we recommend writing your cover letter in line with the requirements of the job listing and using it as a way for you to tell what makes you qualified for this specific opportunity.
These are key aspects to keep in mind when crafting a perfect recruiter cover letter:
Personalize your letter to the recruiter and company. Addressing a cover letter with 'Dear Sir or Madam' or 'To Whom it May Concern' is not an effective way of getting noticed by recruiters who are looking for something more specific and customized.
Keep it short. A cover letter should be one page long, so keep it concise by providing further details only on the resume items that are essential for the opportunity you're applying to.
Elaborate on your motivation and qualifications. Include information about why you want to work at this particular organization and how it can benefit from hiring someone like yourself. Include what skills and experiences make you qualified for this specific job. Similar qualifications should be grouped together in one paragraph with bullet points where applicable.
Address potential concerns. Address any potential concerns or doubts a recruiter may have about your application, especially regarding your motivation for the job change, career change, or relocation. Cover letter is also the right place to briefly explain potential employment gaps.
Proofread. Read through your cover letter to spot any errors or typos in advance and edit them before submitting. Trust us on this one - we saw firsthand how costly these little mistakes can be!
Recruiter Resume: Resume Writing Guide Summary
Writing a resume is not an easy task.
Everyone can use a bit of help when writing their resume, even professional recruiters who work with resumes every day. To create a perfect recruiter resume, you need to:
Start with the job description. Make sure you understand the main requirements. Highlight the most important keywords, as you will need them to write your resume content.
Choose between a chronological, functional and hybrid resume to select the best resume format for your needs.
Add contact details. Make sure they are clear, correct and updated.
Write a tailored resume summary. Fill it with relevant keywords to tailor your resume and optimize it for the applicant tracking system. Use one of our ready-made recruiter resume summary examples.
List your previous employment and describe your work experience in bullet points by using action verbs and focusing on achievements.
If you want to emphasize your hard and soft skills, add a skills overview to your recruiter resume.
Polish up the formatting, including resume fonts, margins and white space.
Whether you're writing a general recruitment resume, or a more specific one such as:
a recruiting coordinator resume,
a staffing recruiter resume,
or a senior recruiter resume,
These resume tips can help you create a resume that outshines the competition and puts in the top 1% of all applicants. We wish you a lot of success with your new resume!
Go that one extra mile to impress employers!
select a professionally designed resume template
download and add your work history, skills and qualifications
save and apply for your dream job
Remember -- you only get one shot at impressing recruiters or hiring managers with your resume! If you want to speed up the process and land your dream job fast, we're here to help! Read more resume writing tips or jumpstart your job search with a professionally designed resume template and impress employers right from the start.