THE AVION
B4 Technology
The Science Behind Standing Out How to Catch an Employer’s Eye
Emily, Devin, and Kobe are students in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology. RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that explores different technologies typically used by Embry-Riddle students. Emily Rickel & Devin Kelley Graduate Researchers Kobe Reese Undergraduate Researcher As college students, the one thing we will consistently work on throughout our time in school is our resumes. Trying to format it properly, getting advice from multiple people, and hoping it lands us that job or internship at the career fair. A resume acts as a bridge between you and your prospective employer.
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Your resume should tell a story about you, it speaks about you as a professional and what you have done, what you are currently doing, and where you are heading.
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To make a positive first impression about you as an asset, you have to ensure your resume stands out, convincing the employer you're the one with the skills they need for the job. A resume is often the only way to get noticed by an employer. Employers spend an average of only 8 to 10 seconds on a resume before skipping to the next one, and depending on the company,
the job opening can attract many applicants. During those 8 to 10 seconds, employers are looking for keywords that match the job description, relevant skills, experience, and a personal brand with an online presence (Portfolio, LinkedIn, etc.). To better understand how employers read resumes, the RUX Lab recently used eye-tracking technology to monitor eye movements as participants read a student resume.
Capturing Eye Movements Eye trackers can be used to study where people look by detecting and recording their eye movements. This information provides insight into how people interact with their surroundings, what captures their attention, and how their environment influences their behavior and decisions. Modern eye tracking uses small cameras to analyze light reflection angles as they bounce off a person’s eye. Many eye trackers are devices that can be placed under a person’s computer monitor to inves-
Photo Courtesy/Tobii Pro
The Tobii Pro Glasses 2, a wearable eye-tracking device.
Photo Credit/Devin Kelley
The original (left) and modified (right) resumes used in the eye-tracking study.
tigate how they look at software programs or websites. Other eye tracker devices, such as the Tobii Pro Glasses 2, are wearable and designed to be used for a wider-range of environments. The Tobii Pro Glasses 2 was used to understand how individuals read student resumes. We used two black-and-white, one-column resumes that presented information about a student with an aviation-oriented Human Factors background. The “original” version of the resume included the applicant’s name, contact information, objective statement, degrees earned, relevant coursework, project experience, work experience, and skills. The “modified” version had the same content, along with a more
specific objective statement and the addition of project dates and bolded project titles. Students viewed the resumes twice for a short period, once to peruse the resume, and once to determine if the applicant was well-suited for an HF job in aviation.
Elements of an Effective Resume We found that when participants were asked to review either the original or modified resume for the first time, they tended to start at the top of the resume and work their way down. We also observed that CONTINUED ON B5 >>