{"id":140,"date":"2018-08-29T12:04:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T16:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cmn279\/chapter\/9-2-resumes-and-online-applications\/"},"modified":"2023-12-19T21:13:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T02:13:43","slug":"9-2-resumes-and-online-applications","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cmn279\/chapter\/9-2-resumes-and-online-applications\/","title":{"raw":"9.2: R\u00e9sum\u00e9s and Online Applications","rendered":"9.2: R\u00e9sum\u00e9s and Online Applications"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n1. Represent skills, knowledge, and experience realistically for employment purposes.\r\n

iii. Prepare a targeted and persuasive cover letter and resume.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nA r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is the central document of your job application because it\u2019s what employers focus on most when judging an applicant\u2019s suitability for doing the job they\u2019re hiring for. Does the candidate have the right combination of core and soft skills to do that job? Did they acquire those skills with the right combination of education, employment, and other experience? Are they able to put a document together in a clear, concise, correct, organized, and reader-friendly way? Unable to appear in person to make the pitch at this point, the applicant\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 conveniently answers these questions. It\u2019s convenient because (1) it proves the applicant\u2019s writing ability and (2) interviewing every applicant in person about their skills would be logistically impossible. The goal of the r\u00e9sum\u00e9, then, is to convince the employer to include you in the small selection of candidates they will interview to find the right person for the job.\r\n\r\nCan you get to an interview without it? Sometimes a small-business owner will sidestep usual human resources (HR) best practices and hire without placing too much emphasis (if any) on the r\u00e9sum\u00e9. In most cases, however, the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is key to the hiring process. As said in the Ch. 9<\/a> introduction above, if that process is a communications test, the r\u00e9sum\u00e9, packaged along with the cover letter, is the written component. Sometimes one writing mistake\u2014even just one little typo (LedgerLink, 2009)<\/a>\u2014can fail you out of the running so you don\u2019t proceed to the oral component (the interview). Employers demand perfection in the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 for the following reasons:\r\n

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  1. Enough applicants set the quality bar high by delivering a flawless r\u00e9sum\u00e9. When the hiring manager\u2019s task is to whittle down a pile of a hundred applications to about five for interviews, even one writing mistake in a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 gives them the reason they\u2019re looking for to dump the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 in the shredder, thinning out the pile a little further. They might even feel vindictive about it because a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 riddled with errors is insulting; it says to the employer: \u201cI\u2019m not bothering to fix up my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 because you\u2019re not worth my time.\u201d This is why writing errors often rank as hiring managers\u2019 #1 pet peeve (Vandegriend, 2017)<\/a>. If 90% of r\u00e9sum\u00e9s have errors and can be shredded upon first sight of one, the hiring manager\u2019s job of sorting through a hundred applications then becomes selecting the five most qualified from among the ten flawless ones remaining after the quality-of-writing cull.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. A perfect r\u00e9sum\u00e9 speaks volumes about how conscientious a job applicant can be about the quality of work they do. If a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is poorly written, the employer can safely expect a similarly poor quality of work if the applicant became an employee. That may be untrue and unfair, but the employer has nothing else to go on besides this document and the cover letter to make a snap judgment about whether the applicant would be suitable in the position. A perfect r\u00e9sum\u00e9 shows that the applicant cares about what the employer wants, knows how to deliver it, and could potentially continue to do the same if hired.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nEmployer expectations are high and rising. Gone are the days where a printed r\u00e9sum\u00e9 was all you were responsible for. Today you must also project a professional image online in whatever employers find when they Google-search you\u2014because they almost certainly will. Even your electronically submitted r\u00e9sum\u00e9 must be written with a consideration of the electronic filters employers use to scan applications and pre-select only those that truly answer the job posting\u2019s call. This chapter section will help you increase your chances of getting to interview for the job you\u2019ve been training so hard for by writing a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that meets employer expectations.<\/b>\r\n\r\n<\/a>R\u00e9sum\u00e9 Topics<\/strong>\r\n