Reading Response Week 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
Great Advice
Your comment, "It is just important to remember that the world can be a cruel place but it is important for us not to get discouraged and keep on trying our best." is great advice for anything but especially on applying for jobs. It is something everyone should remember when searching for a job or an internship. Very nicely said! I agree that without the readings this week, it would have been more difficult to write my resume and I would have done many things wrong. With the advice from the instructors and the readings, I felt very guided when I was writing my resume. It was great to feel that I was actually writing a quality resume. I was also surprised with the article, "A Glimpse and a Hook". I would agree with you that education would be one of the first things to be read on a resume. However, each person is looking for something different in a resume and like you said, you could get denied at one job, and hired at a similar job. I will definitely try to remember you advice when I'm applying for internships next year and a job in the next couple of years!
Reply
You have a good thought process on making the employer feel as though they are getting the most qualified person. It is true that in order to do this you must recap parts of the job description in your resume. I think that he would read the educational data last because it is easy to have stereotypes based on that. It is obvious when job recruiters come to Purdue that most people are Purdue university students. Also, as we grow in our careers are education is going to become less and less important. This could add some more answers as to why the recruiter first skips that section.
Getting Denied
I’m glad you brought about the statistic about getting a number of denies before being offered the first job. Often times, I bet that first job offer is not quite the one you were looking for in the first place. After reading this, it made me think of my brother. My brother graduated in May with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue. He had his resume out (not a bad resume I might add) well before his last semester ended. As graduation neared, I could tell he was getting slightly upset. After graduation passed, he seemed to not know what to do. About a week later he got three interviews with great companies and within a matter of another week he had three job offers. He is now living in California working on flight testing, which is what he wanted to do. The reason I shared this experience is because he did not change his resume except for minor details to fit the companies. Sometimes is just takes the right company to find the person they are looking for.
reply
I really like the way you said that the employer should feel like they are getting the most qualified person for the job. I think having your resume catered to specific jobs makes you a better candidate for the job.
Also I like how you said that resumes are a gable. I think your resume at the end of the YOU need to like your resume because if you don't then why should an employer even take the time to read your resume. Sometimes you may not make the cut but I always look at getting denied in a really positive way. I always feel like if I get denied a job I am going to find something better. I know it can be considered living in a fantasy world but it works for me.
I really liked you reading response, I think it captured majority of what we tried to accomplish this week.
Work Experience
I'm going to have to comment on the fact you were surprised that the author of the resume writing article wrote that he looks at the educational background first. I completely agree that it is something that is not as important as work experience. In the real world, I have seen workers not complete college but have a work ethic much stronger than someone of higher education. I think it also depends on the job. Some jobs absolutely require that you need a college education, while others just require that you need a great work ethic with excellent people skills.
I also wanted to point out your comment about the fact that we will get many more denies than we do acceptances on our resume. One reason I feel I was so successful on my job search this past spring is because I gave my resume to so many people. Even though you may only get responses from half of the people you give your resume to, that could be 8 people if you gave your resume to 16.
Work Experience: Reply
I definitely agree with you two, on being surprised that the author of the resume article looked at educational background first. I think education is important, but most of us don't gain that much experience sitting in the classroom. Experience for some may just be the icing on the cake. If I was hiring for my business, I would want someone with 5 years experience rather someone with a bachelor's degree and no experience. I also agree about the idea of getting that at least half of the responses to resumes will be no. We just have to realize that every job may be looking for someone with our qualities, and keep trying other possibilities and it will work out.
I agree
I completely agree that getting a job can be much cruel than we think and it is important for us not to be intimidated but willing to go though with it trying our best. One of my friend who has already got her job advised me that supposing that I send a hundred resumes to a hundred different companies, I might get only 10 calls for interviews and get only 1 final offer for the job. Even this might sound very extreme, I think it is true in the real world. So we have to be confident of oursleves and not to be discouraged even if it takes for a while until we get a job offer. I also surprised that the professional employer doesn't look at the school. I think it is fair not to give top priority to the school, since there are a lot of people who are professional without college degree such as computer programmers.
This article helped me to assess my own resume with strict and objective views.