Reading Response #2
From the readings of the past couple days, we can really start to grasp the importance of writing resumes. Reading the posts that were given Monday, I have a new understanding of what I should and should not include in my own personal resume. Honestly if I had not read through each one of the texts provided, I can almost guarantee I would have cluttered up my writing with a bunch of nonsense that would have been irrelevant to the point of the job I was applying for. It is very important to make the resume line up perfectly with the what the job description asks for, and this is done by using the language of the ad. One must make the employer feel they are getting the most qualified worker for the position they are trying to fill, and this is done by reiterating some of the same content. One must also assure that the content of their resume is up to par. It is hard to decide which information to include and which information to leave out because resume writing is such a gamble. Each employer reading resumes has a different view on what they are looking for, and this is why people get stressed out while writing their resumes.
After reading "A Glimpse and a Hook," the author, a professional employer, provides his input on how to successfully write a resume. He describes what he looks for in a resume, which sections he reads first, and which sections he finds of little importance at all. The most shocking part I noticed was that he claimed to read the education background section last. It seems like it would be more beneficial to know about a person's educational background to try to catch a glimpse of how much dedication they would put toward the job. He described that he has received worse results from a college graduate than from someone who has not completed school, so based on that, maybe it is good logic to skip the education until the very end because it really may not be the best indicator for job potential. The whole article seemed to bring up a variety of good points, but after reading some of the response comments, it put some of these into question. Some of the comments posted were very harsh, even containing traces of colorful language. People seem to be adamant about resume writing and the ultimate importance of constructing a well designed resume. It reinforces the idea that writing your resume really is a gamble. If one was to include some of the points brought up in the original article in their resume, then it is very likely that all of the critics of the article would also be quite critical of the resume. It makes it more intimidating knowing you can send your resume to one company and be denied, but send the same resume to a different company of similar work, and be offered a job. The whole process of finding a job is a very difficult process. Statistics have proven we will get a number of denies before being offered our first job. It is just important to remember that the world can be a cruel place but its is important for us not to get discouraged and keep on trying our best.
Comments
Resume Advice and Experience vs. Education
I just wanted to touch on a couple points from your reading response. First, you mentioned how you did not do all the reading because you felt that it would just give you a jumbled result. I think this is something that could be all right to do. As you mentioned, every employer has a different method for reading resumes and, therefore, all the advice out there offers different ways to write your resume. With everyone making different suggestions as the correct way, you are going to come across contradicting information. So, it comes right back to you to make up your own mind about you should write your resume. Having said this, however, I would also like to point out that the more you read the more ideas you will come across and can gain information from other people’s experiences.
Experience is the other part of this response I wanted to talk about. You wrote about how the author of “A Glimpse and a Hook” would skip over education information and go over the rest of the resume first. This raises the question as to what is more important, education or experience? This is an interesting question, because it can be debated either way. Ultimately, however, having both an education and plenty of experience would make the best combination.
RE: Resume Advice and Experience vs. Education
Ultimately, there is no objective answer to whether experience or education carries more weight. Like virtually everything else, this will depend upon situation. A factor in this is that you want to cast yourself in the best light. This means that if you are a college graduate with little or no experience, you will want to focus upon how well your education has trained you. If experience is your strong point, then you want to make that the centerpiece of your resume. There isn't a formula for how much of a resume needs to be devoted to each section, so use your resume to showcase your strengths.
response to aurban's post
As a response to the post by aurban, what you said is what I was trying to say. My post said, "Honestly 'IF' I had not read through each one of the texts provided, I can almost guarantee I would have cluttered up my writing with a bunch of nonsense that would have been irrelevant to the point of the job I was applying for." I wasn't saying that I didn't do all the readings, I was saying it was important for me to do all the readings to get a better idea. When I was writing my resume I had all of these files open as well as a number of sample resumes to try to get ideas. I felt this helped me to brainstorm and try to figure out what I want to include and what I want to leave off my resume. I agree it is important to do above the norm when reading because it gives you a better chance to write a stronger resume. I just wanted to clear this up because it seemed as if we were arguing the same point.