Does your resume immedidately answer the “why should I hire you” question? In today’s market you’ve got to be able to compete and stand out – in a good way. Based on these stats, it’s essential to have a personal brand and communicate your value on a resume. Liz Harvey, a Careerbuilder.com exec said she reviews resumes on her Blackberry! Would your resume grab attention on a 2-inch screen?

Here are some quick stats from Careerbuilder.com’s survey of 360 human resources professionals.

Twenty-seven percent of human resource (HR) managers say they receive more than 50 resumes, on average, for each open position. More than one-in-ten (13 percent) HR managers receive more than 100 resumes per job opening. The survey, “Resumes 2007,” was conducted from November 17 to December 11, 2006 and included 360 HR managers.

When evaluating candidates’ applications, 77 percent of HR managers surveyed say they look for relevant experience. They also frequently consider a candidate’s ability to demonstrate specific accomplishments (48 percent) and whether the resumes are customized to the open position (41 percent).

HR managers also frequently search for keywords when screening resumes. Top-searched keywords include:

– Problem-solving/decision making (56 percent)
– Leadership (44 percent)
– Oral/written communications (40 percent)
– Team-building (33 percent)
– Performance and productivity improvement (31 percent)

“In today’s competitive job market, it’s essential for a candidate’s resume to be flawless,” said Richard Castellini, vice president of consumer marketing for CareerBuilder.com. “Still, 33 percent of HR managers say more than half of the resumes they receive through online sources have formatting errors. To ensure your resume is error-free, be sure to proofread, proofread, proofread.”

Sixty-three percent of HR managers report that spelling errors are the most annoying mistakes they see on resumes. Other top mistakes include:

– Resumes not customized to the position (30 percent)
– Lies (23 percent)
– Including too many insignificant details on job responsibilities (21 percent)
– Resumes that are more than two pages long (21 percent)

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between November 17 and December 11, 2006 among 360 hiring managers (employed full-time; not self employed; with at least significant or full responsibility in hiring decisions), ages 18 and over. Weighting for employers was adjusted by company size to bring them more in line with their actual proportions in the population.

With a pure probability sample of 360, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-5 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from subsamples may be higher and may vary. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.