By Jackie Simmonds, NEJS Blog Editor

Today the sad and bitter truth is that your resume is reviewed in less than 20 seconds.  In that short period of time someone looks at your entire career and decides if you are good enough to make it to an interview.  I have heard many people rail against this during their job search.  Unfortunately no matter how much we complain we cannot change the very quick once over our document, our very life, is getting.

If you are like me you have always wondered exactly what the resume screener is getting out of their 20 seconds.  And the next thought is how can I beat the 20 seconds and make my resume get into the interview pile.

Brad Remillard of Impact Hiring Solutions has written an article, How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less,  that explains how he reviews a resume.  Brad has been a recruiter for 30 years and has reviewed over 500,000 resumes.  In fact Brad thinks he reviews most in less than 20 seconds, he estimates the average is probably around 5 to 7 seconds.  It just went from bad to worse, didn’t it?  What can he possibly grasp about me in 5 seconds?

Brad starts by setting up a hierarchy of certain “must have” or you’re out. If he can’t check the box as a yes, then you are knocked out of the competition.  This box checking eliminates 80% of the resumes.  Here is his standard list:

1. Location. If the client is in Los Angeles, CA and you aren’t – goodbye. Few if any clients want to relocate anyone in this economy. If they do have to consider relocation the position has to require some very unique experience that few jobs do. Time: 1 second. » Read more: Resumes: Reviewed in Less Than 20 Seconds