You've probably heard the stats: most recruiters and hiring managers spend less than 10 seconds looking at resumes. That's why it's so important that you can get your key messages across as quickly as possible.

Our favorite way to do this is by adopting the use of headlines: quick, punchy language that gives someone a sense for what you did without requiring them to read every word.

Here's an example of someone's experience without headlines.
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‍Sandwich Shop | Restaurant Manager
February 2021 - Present‍

• Manage the schedule, payroll, and daily responsibilities of the Sandwich shop team. 
• Responsible for inventory management for all of Sandwich Shop; drove costs down by 5% over 2 years by developing more efficient purchasing processes and deeper relationships with vendors. 
• Ultimately responsible for meeting our monthly and annual targets; works with an outside Marketing consultant to help drive awareness and attendance to the Sandwich Shop without the full-time overhead of an in-house marketing team.
  
  

In this example, you can see that a reader needs to read the entirety of each bullet point to understand what this person did in their job. This takes a lot of time.

By introducing headlines to each of the bullets, you give the reader an option to scan your resume while still having an understanding of what you accomplished. Check it out:

Sandwich Shop | Restaurant Manager
February 2021 - Present

• Team Lead | Manage the schedule, payroll, and daily responsibilities of the Sandwich shop team. 
• Order Management | Responsible for inventory management for all of Sandwich Shop; have driven costs down by 5% over 2 years by developing more efficient purchasing processes and deeper relationships with vendors. ‍
• Drive Business | Ultimately responsible for meeting our monthly and annual targets; works with an outside Marketing consultant to help drive awareness and attendance to the Sandwich Shop without the full-time overhead of an in-house marketing team.
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With this updated version, a recruiter or hiring manager can get a sense for what you've done (Team Lead, Order Managment, Drive Business) but with much less required reading. Win/win!

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