After 3 months of job hunting, and many many interviews( phone and in person) , I've gotten quite a bit of feedback from hiring managers and recruiters.

Buzzwords related to the job description - good because you get picked up by keyword filters.

Skill summary up front - big plus for the screening phase. Human eyes get tired fast. Give them what they want now.

Tailor to the job requirements - Not exactly. At least in my case, it was experience not related to the job requirements that caught their eye and got me hired. Don't misunderstand me, you have to get through keyword and requirements steps first, but after that, how are you different than the 200 other people who met the requirements?

Education - It's important enough to have it on your resume.

Associations/Clubs - I'd leave it off. Only once did a hiring manager ask me about by Java users group membership.

Work history - important, besides specific skills, going through my work history was the most common section of my resume that got attention.


It's sad that on a few occasions I was set to be hired, but then go beat out by a local candidate on remote jobs, or hiring freeze( killed 3 jobs ) , or government spending cuts ( killed the opportunity that I wanted the most ) . Life isn't fair,that is for sure. Leverage everything you've got, and then some, to get the word out that you are in the market and interested in certain positions.