How to Write a Resume-The Purpose of a Resume

posted September 15, 2009 - 3:17pm

How to Write a Resume-The Purpose of a Resume

This is a first part installment from my resume writing booklet. Watch this feature column for a continuation of the series taken from my self-published book, How to Write a Resume, Cover Letter, and More.

All good writers know their purpose, before putting pen to paper on any piece. All writing is persuasive writing, designed to motivate a change in the reader’s attitude, emotion, or behavior.

The purpose of a resume is to obtain an employment interview, not a job. The purpose of the employment interview is to obtain a job. Employers hire people, not paper.

A resume is a calling card.In the days of old, say Victorian times, when a gentleman, such as yourself, came calling, the butler would open the door, and ask your business. You would put your calling card, your introduction, on a silver plate, and the butler would take this calling card to the master, or mistress of the house, in order to announce your presence. It was up to the butler’s employer whether then, they would receive you on that day, or send you on your way.

A resume serves the same purpose. A resume’s singular purpose is to persuade the hiring authority to interview you. Or in another more modern analogy, it’s like making the first cut on a ball team, or talking that special girl’s parents into passing the phone along to her, when you made that certain call to ask her out for the prom. The employment interviewer is actively looking for negative information in order to weed out the enormous number of applicants. In this economy, this number can run up to the hundreds, or even thousands. Your purpose is to give the interviewer, just enough positive information to make the first cut, without volunteering any negative information.

But just like you don’t want to tell that special girl all about yourself down to showing her your baby pictures on that first date, less is more. Don’t oversell yourself, by overloading the reader’s senses with extraneous data. As in that first date, a sense of mystery is the key. Leave the interviewer wanting to know more about you. Keep it down to one or two 8 ½” x 11” pages. To learn more about you, the interviewer will set up an appointment to talk to you. Don’t answer all the questions, on paper, or you’ll have nothing to talk about in person.

As you can see, a sense of balance in a resume is essential. You want enough information to make the first cut. Like an athlete trying out for a team, you want to hit the ball out of the park, but like a prom date you don't want too much information out there that will scare that special prom date’s parents off. Her parents being the Human Resource Representative that makes the first cut of course.

Watch this feature column for a continuation of the series, How to Write a Resume, Cover Letter, and More.

ENDNOTES

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For all your resume writing book needs visit L Wagen's Bookstore.

Author: L Wagen

Comments

Cover Letters Important Too!

L Wagen - Thu, 2009-29-10 1:07 pm

Yes cover letters are important too! And I've read some really funny ones too! If you have never researched the company, and researched yourself before you wrote that letter, it really shows up!

I'm going to "cover" cover letter writing too, Doodlebugs! Doodlebugs, love that name!

L Wagen

For all your cover letter, and resume writing book needs visit L Wagen's Bookstore.

Resume Info, good tips

doodlebugs - Fri, 2009-18-9 2:09 pm

Thanks for the great article on resumes. A good cover letter is almost as important as a resue. I know because I have been biased that way when looking at them.

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Yes Mia Usually one page resume is the best, but it depends

L Wagen - Fri, 2009-18-9 1:54 pm

Yes Mia usually one page resume is the best, but it depends. I hear for Engineering resumes they can go up to 15 to 30 pages. I think it depends on what's accepted in your industry. It also depends if you are a mid-life career changer. Let's say you worked in retail in high school, and college, and then you graduated with an engineering degree, and just can't find a job in engineering. The only jobs out there are retail, and you must eat, so retail is your new career for now. But what to do? Your most recent experience is in Engineering. The first page might want to go back 10 years showing you worked steady in Engineering for a long time and you are stable, but your second page under Relevant Experience might want to list your time working in retail, so you can get through the Internet's HR filter which will weed you out if you have no experience in retail!

Also, for government security clearance jobs they require you list every job on your resume you every had back to your paper route! Really, I'm not kidding!

So like I said it depends. You can also list for that mid-career changer on one page under Current Experience-Engineering, 1999-2009 Worked as an Engineer. More information available upon request, and then immediately dive in under Related Experience, and list your retail positions on one page. Because you are right in that 2 pages can turn off some recruiters, and they will not read it all! Two hundred is not a lot, on the average in AZ recruiters receive 300 to 500 resumes per position!

So good rule of thumb go back 10 years on one page only, unless you think it will indeed benefit you in some way to have more pages!

And Wdzz glad to help!

Great resume info - one question

Mia Northwest - Thu, 2009-17-9 1:32 am

I thought it wasn't a good idea to have a 2 page resume? This might be old school thinking on my part but I remember the hard rule of 1 page only no matter what. Do you think an employer would prefer a 1 or 2 pager? Resumes are so important especially when hundreds are applying for one position. We just had a half-time Assistant position open and received almost 200 resumes. Our HR Director started weeding them out quite deftly! Can't wait to read more tips from you.

~Peace, Mia