TheLadders Reveals Research Reporting that Resumes Spend Six Seconds with a Recruiter

In a new eye-tracking study by job-matching service TheLadders, the average recruiter spends just six seconds determining the fitness of a candidate based on a resume. This statistic is in stark contrast to the self-reported data reported by recruiters who claim to spend a minimum of four minutes with each resume during the hiring process. The quantitative study of professional recruiters assessed the decision-making process for dozens of recruiters over a 10-week time period.

Through the use of eye-tracking technology, which analyzes the movement of the eye and how long the eye is focused on a piece of information, the behavior of participating recruiters was tracked while they viewed online job profiles, resumes, and other applicant data. One finding of the study showed that 80 percent of the six second review time was spent on information such as name, current title, previous titles, start and stop dates of previous employment, and education.

“We knew that the resume is obviously the cornerstone of the job-search process, but we wanted to really understand and facilitate the most meaningful connections between recruiters and job seekers,” said Alex Douzet, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of TheLadders. “Our groundbreaking eye-tracking study provides valuable insight around a fundamental question: ‘How do recruiters and hiring managers actually make decisions about candidates?’ Now that we know, we can more efficiently and effectively help our more-than 5 million members find the right match.” The full study is available on TheLadders Blog at Blog.TheLadders.com.