TheLadders conducted a study tracking the eye movements of recruiters when looking at resumes (online and off) and LinkedIn profiles. Besides revealing that recruiters only look at resumes for about six seconds, the study also points out the most important areas job seekers should focus on.
Surprisingly, the thirty recruiters tracked over the ten-week study spent nearly a fifth of their time (19%) on a LinkedIn profile looking at the profile photo. Pitching its own candidate profiles, TheLadders points out that the photo gets more attention than more vital career information—but the takeaway may actually be to make sure your LinkedIn photo is appropriate and professional. (AvidCareerist's Donna Svei has some great LinkedIn photo tips here.)
Secondly, your online resume gets the same amount of minimal attention as your paper one. TheLadders found, however, that recruiters rated resumes with a clear organization (e.g., even formatting and prominent section headings) about 60 percent higher than others.
Besides making sure your basic information and qualifications are easy to find, how you organize that information—and your mug shot on LinkedIn—could make a big difference in your job hunt.
Read the eye-tracking study (PDF) at the link below.
Keeping an eye on recruiter behavior | TheLadders via MarketingProfs