What Recruiters Look for in 30 Seconds (Resume Teardown)

Your resume gets half a minute. Make every second count.

The 30-second scan

1. Current title + location (0-5s)
2. Skills match — do your top skills mirror the job post? (5-15s)
3. Last 2 roles — scope, numbers, relevance (15-25s)
4. Education + red flags — gaps, typos (25-30s)

How to pass

• Put a 2-line summary tailored to the role at the top
• Skills section with exact keywords from the job post
• 3-5 bullets per role, each starting with a strong verb + number
• No clutter: one page, clean, no photos

Example bullet upgrades

• Weak: “Responsible for social media”
• Strong: “Grew Instagram from 2k to 8k followers in 4 months (+300%) via reels”

Checklist

• Job title in headline matches target role
• 3+ quantified bullets
• No typos, consistent dates
• PDF, professional filename

FAQ

Do recruiters really spend only 30 seconds?

For initial screening, yes. Detailed reading comes later.