FOR THE LAST 150 YEARS, US writers, readers and critics have looked for a supremely great work of literature that could epitomize the greatness of American culture – the Great American Novel. Starting with “Moby Dick” and “Huckleberry Finn” to John Updike, Philip Roth, David Wallace and many others today, the search continues – no one has been crowned yet!
In job search world, I would suggest there is a similar desire for “Great American Resume” – the resume version of a winning “lottery number.” No doubt, every jobseeker wants a sure-fire, guaranteed document that will always work and get them that great job. But the reality is – no “magic wand” has been found – some will continue the search for that Great American Resume… and since there are no billionaire resume writers, the secret formula for success goes on!
One big reason that no one has ever created this magical tool is that far too many resumes have fatal flaws. Many people assume that too often resumes really are “fictional,” padded full of false facts and figures that the jobseeker cannot back up. This is probably the worst stereotypical label that resumes have earned because so many people indulge in their dark side and make stuff up – and, as we’ve seen regularly in the news, it does come back to bite such offenders.
But to illustrate my point about connecting flawed resumes and literary giants, I have chosen four top American writers from the 20th century – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. Certain particulars of their styles highlight what can hurt the narrative packaging of a perfectly good career arc.
Of course, this is not meant to be a definitive analysis of a writer’s approach – this is a job for literary critics. Rather, I want to showcase one obvious aspect, translate it into a resume context and explain how it is a negative. Jobseekers can, in turn, review their document and move to resolve the issue before it hinders them further.
Fiction writers write to entertain and inform. The four writers I have chosen have their many fans – I’m a fan of all of them. Two of them won Nobel Prizes for Literature – Hemingway and Faulkner – all four have had movies made from their books. Of course, their styles won’t equally appeal to everyone but they have generally been accepted and appreciated by our literary culture.
Jobseeker resumes can’t afford to run the risk of having readers misunderstand or miss out on what is being described or promoted. In contrast to writers who want lots of people to buy their books, jobseekers are ultimately looking for that one “fan” that will hire them. Potential employers, i.e. fans, must be able to read a resume and quickly grasp skills, achievements and how they can fit into their organization. And they don’t want to read made-up fiction.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: A favorite in high school and college classes, plus Hollywood – “Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald’s writing has a distinct lyrical quality that sticks with readers for a long time and helps to make his work very cinematic. In fact, he wrote screenplays in old-time Hollywood at the end of his life, but he struggled with the requirement in screenplays for stripped down dialogue – it did not mesh well with his luxuriant style.
Unfortunately, this more glitzy quality does not always translate well into resumes, but many people still try it. When this happens, the content is too flowery and over-focuses on delivering subjective impressions – these don’t make easy sense or connect dots for the practical workplace. Rather, jobseekers should concentrate on providing a straightforward career narrative that is accessible and understandable by potential employers. Services like Copy My Resume can be helpful in this regard. This is far more crucial than creating an “artistic” touch – even for those in the more creative jobs… The employers relevant to you will want to see what specific and quantifiable achievements you have delivered. If your resume emphasizes that kind of narrative, you’ll get the kind of “fan” reaction you want.
Quick Action Tips
- Review your current resume – Can you back up everything you claim?
- Double-check your details – Did you include best-of-best achievements?
- Read your resume out loud – Do you recognize yourself?
- Avoid “forest & trees” issue – Get feedback from a professional resume writer and a couple of colleagues for outside perspectives.
Steve, Your article was beautifully written. However, as somebody who has been a recruiter for years and looked at countless resumes and having had to “coach” candidates about how a professional resume needs to look like while getting feedback from hiring managers all day long about resumes I fundamentally disagree with you on most of your points. Yes, you need to list your achievements and have the experience you have written but those are only small components. Your skill set is what is looked at most, as is your job stability amongst many other factors. Asking colleagues to give you feedback on your resume is NOT something I would ever recommend a candidate do. I respect what you do but at the sametime I have not seen many resumes that impressed me that were written by a professional resume writer. If a candidate needs to pay somebody to write their resume for them chances are they are not top-tier candidates. Resume templates are found all over the “boards”, on MSN, etc. which means all you have to do is follow the template.
Thanks for your note and feedback from your personal experience – I agree, opinions will vary! Let me clarify about colleague feedback for you – I’m suggesting jobseekers get opinions about content choices from people who have seen them in action – many times jobseekers get too granular and miss a more strategic narrative. What I create as tools for my clients comes from almost 25 years of actually writing and supporting resumes, over and above reading them – so I’m confident in my particular approach and have found it successful for my clients. Plus I worked as an executive recruiter for some time before focusing only the resume part of the process – so I understand how opinions will vary in the “Wild West” of the job search – it certainly is not a scientific and completely predictable process…lol!
Steve, I understand what you are saying but nonetheless I disagree with the strategy of about getting opinions from people who have seen them in action. Experience, skills, job stability, etc. are what get candidates in the door. I have seen some of the worst looking resumes (in my opinion) that were sent to me by other recruiters who not only where interviewed but hired. One girl whose resume had to be redone several times over until it was semi-presentable was deemed to be a “rare talent” by the hiring manager who met her. When it comes to resumes I am very tough on candidates due to the fact I know what I need to see in accordance with what my client wants. It is a pleasure conversing with a fellow professional. I look forward to further dialogue with you providing of course I can figure out why everything all of a sudden is in italic font.
Thanks for the note!
I agree that there is no single approach to the Job Search – many people take many paths.
And Resumes are always being re-written based on few or more opinions or input.
You have your way of doing things, your benchmark that you’ve found to be successful, as do I – as I mentioned this process is not scientific, as there are so many moving parts.
Very important is the personal connection – I encourage my clients to maximize the personal contact through network or recruiters – anything to minimize the “cattle call” of online posting where thousands and thousands compete directly against each other…