The importance of resumes during the job search

In today's highly competitive job market, a well-crafted resume can be the key to unlocking opportunities and capturing the attention of potential employers. Understanding what sets a resume apart and makes it exceptional is crucial. It strengthens your application and gives you the confidence to emphasize your professionalism, attention to detail, and strong communication skills, setting your application apart.

To gain deeper insights into today's resume practices, Adobe surveyed over 500 hiring professionals and over 500 active job seekers in the United States to uncover trends, preferences, and challenges in the resume process and help to guide you in fine-tuning your resume.

Key Findings:

• 64 percent of hiring professionals approve of using AI on resumes
• 56 percent of hiring professionals say a cover letter is helpful, 20 percent say having one is essential
• Spelling or grammar errors, lack of experience, and too many job changes are the top resume red flags
• There is approximately a 1 in 17 chance that the resume you submit will get you an interview

Resume revelations revealed

Crafting a resume that truly represents your skills and aspirations is the crucial first step in navigating the path to your dream job. Let's explore insights from hiring professionals and job seekers to guide you in fine-tuning your resume.

Did you know that over half of surveyed hiring professionals prefer a concise, one-page resume? Sticking to this format can significantly enhance your visibility, giving your resume a better chance to stand out. Use the one page to showcase your most relevant skills and experiences clearly and effectively.

The use of AI in resume crafting is on the rise, with 64 percent of hiring professionals approving its use. Consider leveraging AI tools to optimize your resume content and ensure it stands out. Our chat with PDF tool can allow you to receive AI recommendations to better create and edit your resumes. However, it's important to note that AI-assisted resumes may still face some resistance from a small percentage of hiring professionals.

3 in 4 Hiring Professions Want PDF Resumes in 2024

In today's highly competitive job market, hiring professionals only spend an average of 8.48 minutes reviewing a resume, meaning you have less than 10 minutes to stand out without the hiring professional even talking to you.

Here's what you should keep in mind while creating your resume:

• PDF has been noted as the number one preferred document format for receiving resumes. To cater to this preference, ensure your resume is in PDF format by using Adobe convert to PDF tools. If your resume is currency in a Word document, use the Word to PDF tool for easy conversion.
• Only 15 percent of hiring professionals thoroughly read a resume upon receiving it. Crafting a document that is both engaging and informative from the start is crucial. Your resume should capture attention and provide relevant information upfront.
• 29.68 percent of HR professionals consider highlighting unique skills as the top strategy for applicants to distinguish themselves. Create visually appealing resumes that highlight your unique skills and exceed hiring professional’s expectations of hiring professionals by using online PDF tools.

By using Adobe Acrobat's online PDF tools, job seekers can craft resumes that meet and exceed the expectations of today's hiring professionals, thereby gaining a competitive edge in this challenging job landscape.

Here’s what job seekers are doing with their resumes

Understanding how job seekers are feeling about the job market can provide valuable insights for those who may be on a job search themselves or a part of the hiring process. Here's what we found:

According to our findings, only 6 percent of resumes have a chance to transition from application to interview for every 50 submitted applications or a 1 in 17 chance of landing an interview. This shows the competitive nature of the current job market, highlighting the importance of optimizing your resume to increase your chances of success. With all of this competition, we found that over 1 in 4 job-seekers are currently feeling discouraged by the job market.

You can optimize your resume by harnessing the power of Adobe Acrobat online PDF tools. By leveraging our PDF tools, you can ensure that your resume stands out with a polished and professional presentation while providing a seamless viewing experience for hiring professionals. Investing time and effort into crafting a compelling resume highlighting your skills, experiences, and accomplishments can showcase your unique value and stand out from other candidates.

The generational resume divide

The differences in how each generation creates resumes and approaches job applications are quite noticeable and provide insight into how candidates of different ages navigate the complexities of catching the attention of potential employers.

Our findings highlight a digital divide, with Gen Z most likely to use templates or artificial intelligence to craft their resumes. On the other hand, a significant 71 percent of Baby Boomers choose not to use resume templates, indicating a more traditional approach.

Interestingly, 45 percent of Gen Z job seekers said they do not tailor their resumes, while 71 percent of Baby Boomers do. Spending the extra few minutes to tailor your resume could lead to you landing that job. By customizing your resume to align with the specific requirements and preferences outlined in the job description, you demonstrate a thoughtful and targeted approach to your application. This tailored approach increases your chances of standing out among competitors and shows your commitment to presenting yourself as the ideal candidate for the position.

Resumes impact on hiring across industries

With the job market continuing to remain tough, the constant ebb and flow of resume submissions across industries over the years offer revealing insights into the pressures facing both candidates and companies.

In 2024, an increasing number of professionals are actively seeking new employment opportunities due to layoffs and other job market changes, leading to a surge in job applications and heightened competition. Consequently, job searches are taking longer as hiring professionals navigate through a larger pool of candidates for their limited open positions.

Given this, we asked hiring managers what industry they work in and how resume quality and quantity have changed during the last year's job market. Industries like Business Support & Logistics and Advertising & Marketing have seen a significant increase in the number of applicants but a decrease in the quality of resumes by 39.39 percent and 38.89 percent, respectively. This means that while there are more candidates, many may not have the qualifications and experience hiring teams seek. As a result, hiring professionals have to spend more time and resources reviewing resumes to find suitable candidates.

Understanding which industries are witnessing a decline in resume quality can be a game-changer if you are applying to industry-specific jobs. By aligning your resume more closely with the job description, you can distinguish yourself from the influx of resumes. This strategic approach can significantly enhance your chances of standing out and securing the job.

Hiring professionals in industries such as Advertising & Marketing, as well as Agriculture are still saying that a cover letter is what could be your ticket to landing that interview. Use the Word to PDF tool to convert your final cover letter into the preferred format of hiring professionals. Take it even further by merging PDFs of your resume and cover letter files into one.

What does tailoring a resume actually mean?

Tailoring a resume involves customizing it to closely align with the job you're applying for. This means highlighting the most relevant skills, experiences, and achievements that match the job description.

To do this, start by carefully reviewing the job posting to understand the required qualifications and responsibilities. Then, adjust your resume's content to emphasize your experiences and skills that are directly related to the job, using keywords from the job description. If your resume is already in PDF form, you can use Adobe Acrobat to edit your PDF online.

Tips for editing and converting your resume from Adobe:

Now that you know what hiring professionals may want to see in a resume, here are some tips for editing your resume and converting your resume to the preferred format.

Edit your resume: Use the Adobe Acrobat Online Edit PDF tool to edit your resume easily. Remember, many hiring professionals shared that a 1-page resume is preferential, so aim to cut your resume to this when you can. You can also use this tool to edit your resume while tailoring to job requirements.

Convert to PDF: Whether you're submitting your resume via email or an online platform, making sure it's in the correct format is crucial. As we found in our study, 3 in 4 hiring professionals say a PDF is their top preferred format for receiving resumes. Acrobat makes conversion simple if you need to share your resume in a different format for further editing. Use the Convert to PDF tool to transform your resume from Word or another format into the PDF hiring professionals want to see.

Find out more tips on how to write a resume.

Methodology:

Adobe conducted a survey of 502 hiring professionals and 517 active job seekers in the United States to reveal insights into resumes during the current job market in 2024. The data was compiled and analyzed in May 2024.

The data is based on self-reported answers, meaning respondents may have had biases or discrepancies between their own reported ability and their actual abilities. To ensure respondents answered accurately, they were required to correctly answer an attention-check question. Survey data have certain limitations related to self-reporting.

Fair Use Statement:

Now that you know more about how hiring professionals and job seekers alike think of resumes — feel free to share this data. We ask that you do so for non-commercial use and provide a link to this original study page so that your audience can explore the research in its entirety.