A recruiter sourcing for a role runs a small set of filters in their head and in their tools. Your resume either answers them in seconds or gets passed over. Here's what they filter for, and how to answer each.
1. Title and level match. They search and scan for titles at the level they're filling. Make your level unmistakable through scope in the top third, headcount, budget, revenue, so they don't have to infer it.
2. Keywords from the role. They search the exact skills the JD requires. Carry those phrases, in their words, in your skills section and recent bullets.
3. Relevant industry or domain. They check whether your context maps. If you're pivoting, lead with the function and translate the vocabulary so you read as in-domain.
4. Recent, relevant outcomes. They want proof you've done the thing lately. Your most recent role's top bullets should be the most relevant and the most quantified.
5. Reasons to disqualify fast. Title-scope mismatch, gaps with no framing, vague bullets, broken formatting. They scan for these because they're moving fast.
The shift in mindset: stop writing the resume as a record of everything you did. Write it as a set of answers to the questions the recruiter is already asking. Every line either answers a filter or it's noise.
Speak to the filters and you move from the maybe pile to the call list.
— Dr. Hosney Adel