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Make a resume
I mean, it’s only your life
Packed into one page.
Here is a scenario. Say someone is looking for a job. He will undoubtedly go through many different pathways in order to someone who would want to hire him. He could go to a job fair that could be school sponsored or open to the public. He could research directly from the comfort of his own home and send in an application online. He could ask friends if they or people they know are looking for new hires. There are so many methods he can use. However, all of these pathways hinge on one vital document–the résumé.
A resume typically includes a list of a person’s applicable job skills, previous experiences, and his educational background. It will provide the reader a well embellished background of the writer of the resume. And, it does this in a sad way–by compressing a life of work into a single page.
Of course, it is an exaggeration to say that it is always limited to one page. But the truth is, a resume tends to be short and to the point. It tried to give the reader a positive impression of what might be several years of work in merely four bullets. Thinking logically, one can’t help but think that there is something wrong. Some people will spend years writing autobiographies, tomes that detail a person’s life. How can this form of text exist, if a resume has a similar purpose?
The point can be made that the intended audience is different, that one reader is likely being paid to read and judge, while the other is reading for leisure, or genuine interest (I assume it can be easily inferred which audience each document is targeted towards, though some people may argue that both audiences are applicable to both texts. Those people can stuff it.) But the purpose is the same. A resume is written to impress.
And does it work? Well, it seems to get some people though initial screening. But after that is where the cracks show, and the resume begins to lose its use. An interview always follows the initial acceptance, and only after this discussion is a job offer extended to the applicant. The interview is very important, as it is what differentiates the applicant from the rest of the interviewees. But it may be that the resume is the single most important thing, as it is what gives an employer a reason to want to speak with you.
This is why the resume is so powerful. Of course, it may contain some exaggerations, it may exclude some events. But the idea is that it will give an outline of the writer, that it will make the applicant more appealing. And yes, it seems to work.
Well, for some people. I’m still looking for a job.
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