A/B Testing a Resume
Before you cast your resume out to hundreds of your favorite jobs, you want to make sure you have the right resume because that resume will forever be stored in the ATS at each of those companies. A/B testing your resume is a great way to ensure you have the right resume and maximize your chances of obtaining job interviews. By A/B testing resumes, you can quickly compare different versions of your resume to determine which resume format is the most effective. Here are a few steps you can take to A/B test your resume.
What is A/B Testing?
Many people A/B test things. Marketers a/b test ads. UX designers a/b test concepts and webpages. Even companies a/b test job descriptions to see which ones will resonate more with their desired candidates.
A/B testing is simply a way to compare two versions of something to figure out which performs better and it’s a great way for you to test your resume with a small sample size of hiring managers before you send it off to every employer you want to work for. If you’re receiving automated rejection after rejection within days of applying for jobs, maybe it’s time to do some a/b testing on your resume.
Setting Up the Resume Experiment
The first thing you want to do is create a way to keep track of your applications, the version of your resume used, and variables such as how you were introduced to the job.
You can download a free A/B Testing Resume Tracker from our site below.
Define Your A/B Test
If you are testing your resume content, submit each version of your resume to different job applications, but for similar jobs. For example, send both Resume A and B to Senior Accountant jobs at different companies.
You want at least two resumes tailored for the same type of job, but with different information. Because people interview people only after they read words that make them want to interview you, stay focused on testing your resume content rather than formatting. If you use a standard reverse chronological resume format similar to the one taught in our resume courses or used by our resume writers, you won’t have to test formatting.
For example, if you were applying for a Director of Sourcing job within the Supply Chain space, you might tailor your resume content in Resume A toward creating a cost savings culture and craft that resume narrative about how you are the leader who builds this type of organization. Resume B then may be centered around a different message of centralizing reporting structures to improve supply chain performance.
Another example for a CFO may include creating one resume targeting due diligence and post-merger M&A work. Your second resume may target how you drive operational efficiencies and leverage data to support operational improvements.
The reason you are A/B testing these resumes instead of including both narratives (or more than two) is that you don’t want to pack your resume with every piece of information about your career. You want to stay focused on what your audience cares about. Your resume shouldn’t be a documentary about everything you’ve done, but instead a concise, well-organized narrative about your capability to solve a narrow set of problems for your future employers. And A/B testing resumes is a great way to make sure you have the right narrative.
On the other hand, if you want to A/B test which jobs you may be most qualified for or to determine if you’re ready for the next step, you may submit one resume and then a fake resume with additional qualifications such as an MBA to determine if you need more schooling, for example. You may be surprised to learn you’re more ready than you think for the next job. If you think this is unethical, keep in mind companies post jobs they aren’t actively recruiting for all the time to feel out the market and determine their needs. If they can do it, you can do it too.
Rewrite Your Resume
Ideally, you want two versions of your resume to test. When people don’t see the traction they want in their job search, it’s often because their resume story is a mess. They often lack a cohesive narrative and oftentimes have so many messages in their resume that it distracts hiring managers and leaves them confused about why they should entertain an interview with you. Before you start A/B testing your resume, have a story-based resume written by a qualified resume writer or enroll in a resume program that will help you do this. Your grandma’s resume isn’t going to meet the challenge of today.
Submit Your A/B Resumes to Hiring Managers
Remember the idea is not to send these resumes to everyone you’ve ever wanted to work with. In fact, targeting companies that are not on your favorite list is probably a better practice. The point of A/B testing your resumes is to identify what works and what doesn’t so you can then craft the resume that will land you interviews with the employers you want to work for.
Pick ten to twenty job postings and apply to them using the two versions you’ve created. Start tracking your results using our A/B testing tracker or your own.
Analyze Your A/B Resume Test
This step should be very obvious, but you’ll want to take note of which resume was the most successful. In addition, you may want to break down your analysis based on factors such as whether you had a referral or if it was a cold application.
Is one resume working for local roles, but not remote roles? Think about what could impact that. If you’re located in Boston and the company is in San Francisco, they may give preference to applicants in their own time zone thinking they will be easier to communicate with. But they don’t know (yet) that the three-hour time difference will be worth it because of what you bring to the table. You may consider removing your address from the resume and testing it again to see what variables may work best for remote jobs.
Don’t shortcut this step. Take your time with your analysis and get help when you need it from a recruiting and resume expert. Our Partner Resume Writer, Cole Sperry, occasionally offers free resume consultations. You can check our resume strategy call page to see if he has openings.
What About Resume Tailoring
Of course, you’ll still want to tailor your resume, but tailoring a resume shouldn’t be a complete overhaul or rewrite. If you have the right master resume, tailoring should take five to ten minutes - not thirty minutes to an hour. If you have a solid job targeting strategy, then you can A/B test that master resume for the right core narrative to ensure your resume resonates with your audience. This exercise is not meant to eliminate or replace tailoring, but to ensure you have the best master resume. This way, you won’t waste time later tailoring resumes for hours on end.
Land Your Next Job
Once you know you have the right resume, start putting it out there to the employers and hiring managers you want to work for. How do you know when you have the right resume? If you a/b test a resume with 20 companies and 10 of them reply wanting to interview you, it works! If only two or three companies reply, you probably want to invest some more time rewriting your resume.
Keep in mind there are many factors and variables that go into writing a successful resume. Having the right job targets and job plan is equally as important as writing a resume itself. There’s no one right way to write a resume, so A/B testing resumes is a great way to know you have a winning resume and don’t burn your job opportunities with a poorly written resume.
In Summary:
A/B testing resumes will ensure you don’t throw away your first impression because that first resume you send will live in the company’s ATS forever
The first step is to set up a way to track your a/b resume test
Next, define what you are a/b testing
Write two versions of your resume or use an old one and a newly rewritten resume
Submit each resume to ten to twenty jobs and track the results
Analyze those results to find out what works and what doesn’t and make the necessary changes