Resume Reading

Munschauer's article was informative on a number of levels. In particular, I intend to use the section on C.V. to help me to better plan my own vita. Reading this article made me think of several things.

One of my hobbies as a recent college graduate was to apply to new jobs. During this time, I already had a job, but was very unhappy with it. I thought I was doing the "right" thing by simply changing the companies' names and my objective. Now I realize that not adjusting the content and layout potentially costed me the chance for several interviews. I was sure that as long as I changed the company name, objective, and had soft yellow resume paper that I would get any job. I was terribly wrong.

Secondly, this summer I was able to see firsthand how a hiring manager wades through stacks on resumes. The hiring manager I observed, my sister, explained to me that she looked for keywords and presentation in resumes. Even though I tried to slow her down to get her to consider some applicants I thought she may have overlooked, she exclaimed that more people will eventually apply and that the discarded resumes lacked clarity and relevance.

Lastly, one of my students in ENGL 103 class asked for help writing resumes. After almost two years in the MAPC program, I felt obligated to remind him that he needs to consider his intended audience and its purpose or needs for offering the position. I am hesitant to give him an example for fear that he, as an impressionable freshman, will take my example and use it as the "Ten Commandments of Resumes" as I had when I was younger. Consequently, I think I will let him write what he believes to be a "good" resume and talk with him about it. Maybe I will even benefit from helping him.