What’s a Resume For?

Take thirty seconds to brainstorm the answer to this question:

What is a resume for?

Possible answers:

  • Demonstrate your skills.
  • Give a hiring manager a reason to pay you some attention.
  • Encourage a recruiter to put you in his database of potential candidates.
  • Show what an outstanding employee you are.
  • Demonstrate your achievements.
  • List your education and certifications.

The list goes on and on—I’m sure you have a few ideas of your own.

But you’re wrong.

The goal of a resume is TO GET YOU THE INTERVIEW. That’s it. There are a million resume self-improvement sound bytes out there, some useful, most useless. But these are simply techniques for grabbing the brass ring.

Bear in mind that the only point of your resume is to market yourself in the best way possible to get the interview. From there, it’s all what you say, how you present yourself, and how you negotiate on your own behalf.

5 replies
  1. Nigel Corneal
    Nigel Corneal says:

    Excellent, well put! Too many resume services sell to jobseekers by leading them to belive that a resume all by itself will actually get them the job. I hope those who read this appreciate the truth and honesty in your post and don’t fall victim to those others.

    Reply
  2. mkeeffer
    mkeeffer says:

    And the beauty of it is that once the hiring manager has read your resume and decided to interview you, they’ll use your resume to organize the interview – another win! Thanks, Amy!!

    Reply

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