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5 min read

The 10-Second Resume Rule

No one is going to read your entire resume. If you're lucky, they'll glance at it before deciding whether or not to call you for an interview. This means that the first 10 seconds of your resume are crucial. Fortunately, there are easy ways to make sure this doesn't happen - follow these simple tips for writing an effective 10-second resume!
Written by
The UK Careers Fair
Editorial Team
Published on
September 27, 2022

No one is going to read your entire resume. If you're lucky, they'll glance at it before deciding whether or not to call you for an interview. This means that the first 10 seconds of your resume are crucial. If you don't have a strong opening sentence and keywords in place, then there's no way that person will want to learn more about what you have to offer! Fortunately, there are easy ways to make sure this doesn't happen - follow these simple tips for writing an effective 10-second resume!

Ø  What is a 10-second resume rule, and why should you follow it

A 10 -second resume rule is the idea that you have very little time to make an immediate impression when someone sees your resume. When they see your resume, it should be clear what type of job or industry you are interested in and why you would be a good fit for that position. If they cannot understand this information within ten seconds, you do not stand a chance of getting the interview. Therefore it is important to make an immediate impression. If you do not, the person reviewing your resume will likely move on to someone else. While you might have a larger resume that contains more information, if it takes them longer to read your resume, then they will not be interested in the first place.

The goal is to make an immediate impression, so when someone looks at your resume for the first time, they understand what job or industry you are pursuing and why it would benefit both parties.

Ø  The three key points to keep in mind when following the 10-second resume rule

The three main points to keep in mind when following the ten-second resume rule are:

Make sure that your resume is targeted.

The cover letter should be tailored for every single job you apply for. Make an immediate impression by showing them what they can accomplish with you on their team. Follow up within 24 hours of sending off your resume and cover letter, even if it's just a short email saying, "thank you." If there was something about the role or company culture that stood out to you during the application process, make mention of this in your thank-you message too! Show gratitude towards anyone who helped along the way, including contacts working at companies where positions have already been filled but gave some tips anyway. This isn't necessarily expected, but it will surely be appreciated.

The second key point to keep in mind when following the ten-second resume rule is:

Be engaged as much as possible.

Whether you're looking for part-time work, more flexible hours, or even a career change entirely, it's important that your personality shines through on paper and online always. Most employers will be looking for more than just a day rate of pay - they want someone who can bring something unique to their team beyond what others can do! If there are things about yourself that make you stand out from other candidates (a passion project started during downtime at work over the weekend?), mention this early on so hiring managers to know exactly why you'd fit right into their company culture too!

The final key point to keep in mind when following the ten-second resume rule is:

Don't assume anyone else will do it for you.

While an employer might have a dedicated human resources worker responsible for all recruitment, this person will not be doing any of your job search work for you! At least not if they want to see results and save time and energy by limiting their workload. Emphasize how much effort and care went into tailoring or customizing each part of your application (resume, cover letter, etc.) so that there's no room left over for any mistakes - which can happen easily with resumes gone wrong! Even though we're used to seeing resumes posted online nowadays, please don't make the mistake of thinking it's easy to get through them all. The more time you spend searching for job openings, sending out applications, or just making notes on your experiences that are worth sharing with others in an interview, the better chance you have at catching their attention!

Ø  Tips for making your first impression count

In the age of open offices, it is no surprise that people are looking for ways to stand out from a sea of applicants. You can do this by following the ten-second rule: make an immediate impact or lose your chance at being remembered. This means putting yourself in a position where hiring managers have no choice but to remember who you are and what you bring to their company. Here's how:

Tips on perfecting this strategy during interviews include bringing up something unique about yourself that does not appear on paper, such as volunteer work, extracurricular activities, or anything else that might catch somebody's attention when they look over your resume. In addition, be sure to keep things brief and to the point. This means no long-winded explanations or stories. Ideally, you want your resume to be a maximum of two pages (preferably one) because hiring managers are not going to take an hour out of their very busy day reading about what you did in high school twenty years ago!

Ø  Examples of how to make an immediate impression with your professional profile, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile

Mention specific job postings you're applying for.

When sharing the details of a specific position you'd like to apply for, be sure that it's clear what makes you uniquely qualified for that role or company. This is also where any related experience could help establish this connection between yourself and the desired role/company.

When applicable, you may want to include examples from past roles since they can serve as strong evidence of qualifications; however, it is important not to over share (i.e., only share examples relevant to the current position). You don't want employers thinking, "why didn't she mention she had prior experience doing something similar to what we're hiring for?"

Include a link to your LinkedIn profile.

Remember that you can add links in the "Experience" section of your resume, so be sure any relevant ones are included here! And while it's not essential, including a link to your LinkedIn profile is a good idea if there aren't too many other places on the web where one could find this information easily. This way, employers can quickly verify qualifications and note any connections they may share with you - plus, being able to confirm these details without having access to additional resources makes them more likely to consider you as an applicant. Also important: make sure that all contact information listed on both your resume and portfolio site match up (i.e., that both your email and phone number listed on the two platforms are correct).

This is also a helpful chance to include links to any social media profiles you may have, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (if relevant to your industry), so employers can check out what kind of content you share with friends/followers! Even if not all information applies directly to this job application process, these pages could still serve as valuable references for future opportunities down the line within this field - plus, many employers will look at them regardless just because it's an easy way to keep up-to-date on who they're hiring.

Letters of recommendation

Suppose there is someone qualified and willing enough (i.e., someone who knows you well and could provide a strong reference) to write letters of recommendation for you. Go ahead and include their contact information here! It's not necessary, but it can help demonstrate your merit. Some employers may have certain requests regarding this aspect, so feel free to mention that while these are optional, they're also available upon request if needed.

This is also an opportunity to briefly describe how long the individual has known about yourself - especially if more than ten years’ worth of experience comes into play since knowing someone on such a personal level can help demonstrate why there are qualified enough for the position being applied for (i.e., because they've watched you grow up or worked with them throughout various points of your career).

You will get hired faster because of the good impression you made within that first few seconds. Employers are busy people who look at hundreds of resumes daily, so make yourself stand out by following this rule.

If you want to build a network with local and national companies to discover new opportunities, you’ll want to attend our events! As the UK's number one platform for face-to-face recruitment, we at The UK Careers Fair promise several opportunities to meet with the best companies for you. Book a ticket today!

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