Ryan KingThese are my thoughts...

OMG, Resume! 03/06/10

Over the past couple of weeks I have seen quite a few resumes and even helped some people with their’s, which I did not expect since I am done with school. Every resume I looked at was set up differently. One friend asked me what she should put down as her objective statement.

That got me thinking about the concept of a resume. Resumes came about for a few purposes. Resumes give the employer a quick glance on what you have to offer their business and what kind of qualifications you have for the job. That way they don’t have to read through the entire application. Resumes also make an application look more professional. It shows that you (the prospective employee) put some time and efforts into your application to make it personal and have it stand out from other applications. On the same time it makes it easier for you to fill out your application. You just have one resume that you can print off multiple times and simply put “see resume” on areas in an application that are already covered by the resume.

I have taken multiple classes where we have worked on resumes. Each class taught us to setup our resumes in a different way. My mother has always been on my case about putting a resume with my applications so that they would stand out. On the first job I added a resume I was turned down the position because I was “over qualified.” It turns out that I was the only to have a resume and that was what kept me from getting the job. Now that I am out of college I have talked to multiple employers and they all have different views on how a resume should be set up.

As it is nowadays when you want to make a resume for a job you have to tailor you resume for that job. On top of that, applications now say that “see resume” is not a valid answer. This renders the idea of resumes being easier for you. It now takes more work to add a resume to an application anymore. How are you even supposed to know how your employer wants your resume to be set up. Does it have to be one page, or is two pages ok? What about an objective statement? How do you make it appealing so that it stands out from the rest? There is a lot to think about when making a resume.

Any more there is no longer a standard for how a resume should be set up, yet they play such a pivotal role in whether or not you will get hired. As far as an objective goes, I would never put one down. An object can be a limiting factor in how an employer looks are you as an employee. An objective that is too broad makes an employer think that you are either indecisive or don’t really know what you are applying for (such as what the business does). At the same rate though, an objective that is too precise can cause an employer to think that you aren’t willing to look at the possibility of working in a different department than what you applied for. There is no way that you can tell if you objective is going to be too broad or too precise.

The best way to understand what you need to put on your resume is to simply look at the application. In the end, the resume is basically a summary of the application. Which makes you wonder how obsolete a resume really is. If the only read the resume then why the application; if they only read the application then why the resume; if they read both, isn’t that rather redundant? I see resumes as a waste of time anymore and wish that they didn’t have to be made. That or only rely on resumes and completely get rid of applications. All applications seem to be the same, if there are differences they only deal with the amount of information that is needed.

Since resumes are still apart of the application process then I just have one thing to say about them. If you want your resume to stand out from all of the others, don’t worry about water mark paper (people honestly really don’t care), instead think about making your resume look more creative. Add a little color to it and give it a unique organizational setup. A little bit of creativity in a standardly bland document can go a long way. While you are at it, think of investing in a cheap old type writer for filling in your application. It makes it easier to read and helps that stand out from the rest as well.