Chapter 15 offers a hard-hitting, quick cut guide to resumes, application letters, interviews, portfolios, and follow-up thank you letters. This chapter specifically discusses the importance of tailoring your documents to emphasize particular skill sets. Content can be emphasized by both design factors such as fonts and size, and where it is placed in the documents. Archival resumes, the most common, stress your previous experience by placing all information from educational background and prior work experience at the top. Functional resumes emphasize your particular skill-set by utilizing categories such as leadership, communication, and technical skills.
This article offered tons of advice on creating these all-so important documents. For example, when writing the career objective or career summary, it’s important to specify the type of position your applying for and the industry it’s in. These statements should be brief and to the point, and should consider the scope—not too narrow and not too broad. Also, in the digital age, it becomes important to create a resume that contains popular keywords that apply to your field, so job search engines can properly index them. I also agree that creating a portfolio is a good idea; one that holds examples—proof, of your prior work and experience.
I also understand the importance of audience when creating these types of documents. When I left my summer job as the lead web developer, my boss was trying to find a replacement and reviewed the resumes of 10-15 applications. My boss didn’t have the technical knowledge of the subject necessary to know which applicants really knew enough to take over my position, so he had me review their resumes as well. In this case I was a secondary reader, and could give my boss the advice he needed to make the decision on who to hire.
Response week 2
I definitely agree with your comment about the importance of audience. Just because you may know that your resume is primarily going to a human resources person doesn’t mean that you write as though you are speaking to someone who doesn’t know the specifics of your career. I think the easiest way to go about it is just to write honestly and naturally. If you are a historian then write like one and make the proper references to your career because if the person reviewing your resume does not understand what is being said then it is up to them to find out how to interpret it.
Shane
Reply
I agree with you on your comments about audience, but I also think that that is a dangerous way to look at it. Since you know that, most likely your resume is going to end up in human resources being reviewed by someone that might not know all of the technical jargon of your field, you have to take that into serious consideration. It is totally within these people power to completely ignore your resume if they choose. Just because it is their job does not mean that they are going to do it. It is not likely, but possible.