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Why You Need a Resume
THE NUMBER
ONE PURPOSE OF A RESUME
The
resume is a tool with one specific purpose: to win an interview. If it does
what the fantasy resume did, it worked. If it doesn't, it isn't an effective
resume. A resume is an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less. A great
resume doesn't just tell them what you have done but makes the same
assertion that all good ads do: If you buy this product, you will get these
specific, direct benefits. It presents you in the best light. It convinces
the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new
position or career. It is so pleasing to the eye that the reader is enticed
to pick up and read it. It "whets the appetite," stimulates interest in
meeting you and learning more about you. It inspires the prospective
employer to pick up the phone and ask you to come in for an interview.
OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS TO HAVE A RESUME
- To pass the
employer's screening process (requisite educational level, number years'
experience, etc.), to give basic facts, which might favorably influence
the employer (companies worked for, political affiliations, racial
minority, etc.). To provide contact information: an up-to-date address and
a telephone number (a telephone number which will always be answered
during business hours).
- To establish you as
a professional person with high standards and excellent writing skills,
based on the fact that the resume is so well done (clear, well-organized,
well-written, well-designed, of the highest professional grades of
printing and paper). For persons in the art, advertising, marketing, or
writing professions, the resume can serve as a sample of their skills.
- To give to
potential employers, to give to your job-hunting contacts and professional
references, to provide background information, to give out in
"informational interviews" with the request for a critique (a concrete
creative way to cultivate the support of this new person), to send a
contact as an excuse for follow-up contact, and to keep in your briefcase
to give to people you meet casually - as another form of "business card".
- As a covering piece
or addendum to another form of job application, as part of a grant or
contract proposal, as an accompaniment to graduate school or other
application.
- As a formality for
an employer's personnel files.
- As a means of
helping you in the process of clarifying direction, qualifications, and
strengths, as a means of boosting confidence, as a positive way of
starting the commitment to a job or career change.
WHAT IT ISN'T
It is a mistake to think of your resume as a history of your past, as a
personal statement or as some sort of self expression. Sure, most of the
content of any resume is focused on your job history. But, write from the
intention to create interest, to persuade the employer to call you. If you
write with that goal, your final product will be very different than if you
write to inform or catalog your job history.
Most people write a resume because everyone knows that you have to have one
to get a job. They write their resume grudgingly, to fulfill this
obligation. Writing the resume is only slightly above filling out income tax
forms in the hierarchy of worldly delights. If you realize that a great
resume can be your ticket to getting exactly the job you want, you may be
able to muster some genuine enthusiasm for creating a real masterpiece,
rather than the feeble products most people turn out.
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