Numerous articles are published everyday that talk about how to write a resume. These articles are usually big on technical details, verb choice etc. I am finding however that people are still getting lost in writing resumes because they don’t quite understand what a resume is, especially in this economy where jobs are increasingly scarce.
Resumes: the big picture
It used to be much easier to write a resume. Employers were searching for candidates, and had to overlook certain flaws in resumes they accepted as a practical matter. The game, as they say, has changed. Employers now have the upper hand, so to speak, in being choosy about job applicants. This means that a resume has to be error-free as a matter of course. That’s the lowest point of entry for being considered.
Resumes are no longer simply a list of employee skills, or a job history, or an education history. A resume is now a combination of influences – where the employee skills meets employer needs. I think the below diagram sums it up nicely:
A resume is an intersection between employer needs and employee skills
A resume should deal with the overlap between the two circles – where employer needs meets employee skills.
How to write a resume?
This is of course the matter at hand – how to write an effective resume? The biggest change that has happened in resumes over the last few years is that the paragraph at the top of the resume has changed – no longer is this paragraph an ‘objective’ – from the standpoint of the employee. This paragraph is now known as a summary – it summarizes how the employee’s skills match up with the employer’s needs. How to know what the employer needs?
Read the job posting
The best way to figure out the employer’s needs is to carefully read (and document) the job posting – what technical skills does the job require? What software programs need to be used? What personality traits does the employer need? These are all questions to be asked and answers to be sought out. The core of this research will go into the summary and the summary will in turn inform the rest of the resume.
