September 17, 2008 10:02 AM

Difference of opinion
Posted by Jesse Nunesat 10:02 AM

Ever wondered what hiring managers think when your résumé flops across their desk? Do they intently scan every word, or does it quickly get crinkled up and shot through a mini basketball hoop and into a garbage can?

This is one of the things we wanted to know when we solicited résumés from Boston.com readers and sent a select few to hiring managers, HR experts, and recruiters across greater Boston.

Some of the things we learned: First impressions are key, however you will probably make different first impressions on different hiring managers. And is there really a perfect résumé? Well, it depends -- there are definitely some basic things most employers like to see, such as clear, concise, specific accomplishments in bullet-point format. But on the whole, there seemed to be enough divergance in opinion on any number of résumé features to dispel the notion of a perfect résumé.

Take the following feedback on one job seeker's résumé as an example:

10. Overall, how does the résumé flow from section to section?

Tom Egan of Veritude: For better flow from section to section, I would definitely change the order of the candidate's credentials presenting her summary of qualifications first, followed by her knowledge base (technical skills). I would then immediately follow that with her professional experience and move her education, specialized certifications, and specialized training to the end of the résumé .

Randy Stevens of RL Stevens and Associates, Inc.: The résumé leaves a reader begging for answers to what makes THIS candidate different or special from all others. There are too many thick and long paragraphs, and it makes the reader skim through it.

Radhika Rana of the Professional Staffing Group (PSG): The flow of the résumé from section to section is smooth and very easy to read. It's not a jumpy résumé, so there's no hopping around from page to page. It's a smooth read all the way through the end.

Check out the rest of the "Rate my résumé" feature. It's a meaty piece, and will take a while to go through all six résumé critiques, but it contains a lot of insight into how hiring managers view résumés, what their most common pet peeves are, and how getting called in for a job interview can really just depend on the type of person your résumé first encounters.