Interview vs. Resume: What’s More Important to Employers?

The debate over the job interview versus the resume has raged on for centuries.

Okay, maybe it hasn’t been going on that long, but it’s one that seems to be occupying a lot of employers’ and job seekers’ minds lately. We all want to know which element of the job application process is the most important to the people actually doing the hiring.

Unfortunately, it’s not an easy question to answer. Recruiters certainly don’t spend as much time looking at first-round resumes as job seekers spend writing them (the average amount of time for recruiters to look over a resume is six seconds!), but job seekers can’t slack on the resume because you need it in order to even be considered for an interview. Then, if you get to the interview stage, you may need to refer back to and expand on your resume, but you also need to focus on showing you’ve got the right kind of personality to be a good employee.Interview vs resume

Although every company is different and there’s no way to come up with a good definitive answer, let’s take a look at both the resume and interview to see where their value lies – and how a job seeker can use them together to impress employers.

The Resume

It doesn’t matter how good you are at interviewing; if you don’t have an outstanding resume you’ll never get the chance to show off your interpersonal skills. An average of 100 people apply to an online job post, and about 3 out of 4 resumes are quickly screened out by a recruiter or a computerised applicant tracking system.

In order for your resume to make it through the initial screening, you need to make sure that you’re using the core keywords included in the job posting, being concise, and making key areas like Companies Worked For, Positions Held, Start/End Dates, and Education easy to find.

Knowing that recruiters spend so little time on each resume might be discouraging, but keep in mind that if you do make it to the interview stage, employers will typically refer back to your resume during the interview and ask you to elaborate on certain positions or responsibilities.

The Interview

Far too many job seekers think that if they get as far as the interview stage, they’re home free and can just count on the achievements listed on their resume to carry them through. However, there’s a reason that employers include an interview stage: when you have a pile of outstanding resumes in front of you, the best way to whittle down that pile is to see what the candidates are like in person.

Job interviews are the employer’s opportunity to see whether candidates are poised, able to think on their feet, and would be a good fit with the company. The first impression in the job interview is key – according to one survey of 2000 employers, 33% know they will hire someone within the first minute and a half of an interview.

Job seekers shouldn’t place emphasis on one component of the application process over the other; employers use input from both the resume and the interview to inform their hiring decision, and the ideal employee will be able to demonstrate that they are the perfect fit through both their resume achievements and their interview.

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