Easter is coming up, and Rainmaker Resumes recently came across a Q&A with Facebook engineering recruiter Ambra Benjamin that mentioned Easter eggs in the resume.

We like some of the things she has to say, and we also checked in for suggestions with the vice president of talent acquisition, David Mills, at another company that’s hiring like crazy, ATG, or Advanced Technology Group. Here’s Mills on his ATG profile:

Today, talent is the most important asset of any company, and managing and retaining talent has become the most difficult function in an organization. In the next few years, the greatest challenge for companies is going to be finding and retaining top talent. Be extremely innovative and creative in attracting and retaining a very fluid and demanding workforce.

Facebook Q&A, Easter Eggs

The Q&A took place in 2014, but it was reposted earlier this year. In it, Ambra Benjamin offered insight into the details that catch her eye in a resume – and the things she ignores.

She mostly ignores education because “experience is king.” And she doesn’t usually care about fancy formatting.

Benjamin doesn’t like exaggerated titles and responsibilities: “Eventually, the truth comes out.” Rainmaker concurs – and you might say bristles – here.

Now, for mention of the chocolaty treat:

“We recruiters are staring at these missives all day long. Throw a joke in there somewhere for goodness sake. Talk about how much you love Nutella (I have this in my own personal resume). If you’re a rock star, throw some cheeky self-deprecation in there (if you can do so elegantly). I think it’s important to keep the work experience details as professional as possible, but trust me, there are ways to have fun with it. I love an Easter egg buried in a resume, figuratively speaking.”

ATG Tips: Impact Trumps Responsibilities, References, Community Involvement

ATG is a company that provides technical services to businesses, and it’s growing rapidly. Translation: Lots of resumes are rolling in the door.

David Mills, VP of talent acquisition, said people tend to write resumes that showcase their responsibilities, but that isn’t what ATG is looking for. ATG wants to see answers to this question:

“What was their impact in their work to the business?”

Certainly, the responsibilities will be on the resume. But indicating how that work affected the bottom line or drove revenue is key.

“It’s how you set yourself apart in the stack of resumes that might be on (ATG’s) desk,” he said.

Mills also said relationships drive recruitment. Mills is based in Denver, but ATG also has offices elsewhere, such as in Texas, Ohio, and Montana. At the Missoula, Montana office, the first thing ATG wants to know when it gets a resume is who among the 100 plus employees on site knows the person.

“There, the referral process is pretty rampant,” Mills said.

ATG doesn’t really hire a person into a job description. “How do we know them? Who are they aligned with as a reference? What is their character? What is their work ethic?”

Answering those questions helps ATG determine if a person is a fit. Mills said the company looks for characteristics that can’t be taught, such as passion, drive, and intelligence.

“You can’t teach that. You have to bring that to the game,” he said.

The way people spend their time off the clock matters too, he said. Do you volunteer at the food bank? Include it in your resume.

Rainmaker in the Game

At Rainmaker Resumes, our process is designed to elicit from clients the results that Mills described. One of the rewarding things about writing resumes is people are often thrilled to see their accomplishments laid out in tangible terms for the first time. Some people feel more confident in applying for positions another rung up the ladder after seeing their achievements on paper, so to speak.

So we like the real impacts, and we like the Easter eggs, too.

My colleague, Cathy Dean, recently wrote a biography for an executive who keeps a stable full of animals, including a zebra, and if that doesn’t give a recruiter a little jolt, I don’t know what will. (We don’t know if the executive will want to keep the zebra detail in the bio, but I’ve considered picketing in favor of it.) I wrote a resume for a professional who helped get a couple on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” That little tidbit wasn’t directly related to her job pursuits, but I bet someone reading her resume might find it a delicious morsel.

If you want to refresh or rewrite your resume, consider the Easter eggs, community service, and especially the true impacts of your work. Naturally, we’re happy to help.