Some job hunters have succeeded without resumes because they were able to present themselves effectively in another way-by writing an impressive personal letter, getting interviews through telephone cold calls, and so on. Some job counselors agree that a resume is unnecessary, at least initially. They say you can always submit one after the interview, and tailor it to the particular job.
My advice is: consider yourself typical. A strong resume emphasizing your objective and background, properly composed and used, is your most effective job-hunting tool. And most job counselors agree. Not only is it useful for getting the proper entrees, but it forces you to organize what you have to sell. This makes it easier to be effective in interviews.
Unfortunately, many people have poor experience with resumes because they don't know how to prepare and present them. Resume or no, all counselors agree, the most critical mistake that many job hunters make is failing to analyze what they have to offer and developing an effective means of presenting it.
Paul Johnson was a production executive with 20 years' experience who lost his job. During several months of his job search he relied primarily on a network of personal contacts, with little success. He finally decided to mail his resume to a large number of companies. Recognizing the importance of this mailing, Johnson carefully revised his resume. He then asked four people he knew who were interested in helping job hunters to evaluate it.
Johnson was delighted when these four people, after careful thought, told him that his resume was essentially a good one and that only superficial changes were needed. Johnson then mailed his letter and new resume to 100 company presidents and asked for an interview. And after three weeks, he had not received one response.
Shortly afterward, Johnson ran into a friend who had just been through a job search. This successful job hunter said she'd be happy to go over the document, and the first thing she said when Johnson met with her was, "Your resume is no good." In an hour she helped him revise it. Johnson mailed this revision to 250 presidents-and got 21 interviews and four good job offers.
What was the difference between the first and second resumes? Johnson's first was probably fairly typical. The second differed in two important ways: (1) In the second resume, Johnson's accomplishments were much more clear and dramatically worded, and (2) the accomplishments selected were those that were more likely to appeal to an employer who was trying to fill the kind of job Johnson was looking for.
The typical resume is a simple listing of background and experience. This makes it easy for recruiters or employers to categorize an applicant. But any competent job counselor will tell you that this isn't enough. Your resume should be your personal advertisement for a job. The word advertisement is chosen because your resume should clearly organize your experience to create the most favorable impression for you (both initially and after careful reading). A simple listing will not do this.
What does a good ad do? It attracts attention and it makes it easy for the reader to get the message. It's oriented to the reader, it highlights favorable points, it's easy to read, and the details stand out under careful reading. What does a good ad avoid? It doesn't try to get the whole message across, and it doesn't include (or at least plays down) negative points. A good resume should adhere to the same standards.
The employer's Employers are deluged with resumes. Your goal point of view is to get your resume into the hands of executives who can hire you and to make sure it is given careful consideration. To accomplish this goal, it must answer the questions that almost always run through an employer's mind when reading a resume. What kind of a job is this person looking for? This triggers two other questions: (1) Do I have any real need for a person in this field of expertise? (2) Is this person worth the time of an interview? Your resume has to make clear the kind of a job you're looking for and make a convincing case that you have strong credentials for such a position. Most people read a newspaper story in the following manner: first, the headline; then if they're interested, the lead paragraph; and finally, if their interest continues, the whole story. A great many people read a resume in the same way: first to get a general impression, next to look for details necessary to support a decision on whether to grant an interview. Your resume must make a strong initial impression but it also has to stand up under careful reading.
Professional recruiters have the most demanding standards for evaluating resumes. They are skilled in evaluating applicants for positions that have been carefully defined by others. Within perhaps 30 seconds these professionals decide on which pile a resume goes: "probably interested," "possibly interested," or "not interested." The "probably interested" will definitely be given more careful screening. The "possibly interested" may. The "not interested" (usually 90 percent or more) definitely won't. Recruiters first look for people whose qualifications match the job specs closely. After several interviews and a careful check of references, these professionals then select for referral to the employer those candidates whose qualifications and personal chemistry seem to fit best.
Most executives read resumes only occasionally, and they are more flexible in their appraisal of them. They put a high priority on personal compatibility. They want key people on their team that they relate to well, so a close match to the job specs is of lesser importance. These executives also have considerable latitude to create jobs for people they want on their team. A resume that scores well with professional recruiters should score equally well with operating executives. The converse is not true. A good unconventional resume may be of little interest to a professional recruiter, but it may catch and hold a key executive's attention.
Employers look for specialists. They seek them out, offer them the highest salaries, and give them the most challenging jobs. Big company recruiters try to recruit specialists or potential specialists on college campuses. Executive recruiters find their specialists in major jobs in business and industry. If you're seeking a job with a large or medium-sized company you should present yourself in such a specialist role. Except in small companies, the job market is poor for the jack-of-all-trades. The most successful professional job counselors urge you to set a specific objective and mold all your presentations to it.
Maybe you think that you should present yourself as a generalist because it makes you a candidate for a wide variety of jobs. While in theory this broadens your market, by using such a straddling approach you won't appear as a strong candidate for any job. But if you show good credentials for a job that's not available, you may be offered another job in the company.
Almost all resumes fit into one of two classifications: chronological or functional, although there are some that are basically a combination of the two. William S. Morrison's is the most common type-chronological. This shows experience in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent job. The resume of Frank J. Harrison is functional. Here the prime emphasis is on type of experience (regardless of when and where it occurred). A purely functional resume would not include the employment section on the second page. Leaving this section out would reduce the resume's effectiveness for an executive. Including it where it is, however, puts the emphasis on the type of experience the individual has and plays down where and when it was accumulated.
Most professional recruiters prefer a chronological resume because an employment record is easy to understand. Recruiting personnel evaluate you primarily on your record of job progress and increasing accomplishments. If you have a good record of advancement in a single field, a chronological resume is probably best for you.
