CAREER MECHANICS™ 
A MORRIS  ASSOCIATES, INC. PUBLICATION
Issue #10.1April 2010
Tom Morris, President, Morris Associates, Inc.
Tom Morris III, President, Morris Associates, Inc.
 
RESUMES FROM THE READER'S POINT OF VIEW

Writing a good resume begins with understanding how people read them. By and large, they don't. People scan resumes, sometimes for a few seconds, often less. What do they look for in this "quick scan"? 

The overall layout and format tend to direct the eye to information most prominently featured and highlighted. Most readers scan for key words and phrases -- or the lack of them -- which is why almost every book and article written about resumes for the last 30 years recommends a key word summary or profile. 

Readers also look for reasons to eliminate resumes and the candidates they represent. The hiring process, after all, is more "selection-out" than it is "selection-in": for every resume selected in, dozens, maybe hundreds, are selected out.

So what can you do? 

● Format, write and edit your resume so both the "quick scan" and the" long read" appeal to the reader.
 
● Meet or talk with people first, follow up with your resume second; if people form a favorable judgment about you then get your resume, they are more likely to read it to get more information about you.

ANALOGY
A Recession As a Bungee-Jump

Think of a recession as if we bungee-jumped from a bridge. Coming to the "end" of a recession is like reaching the bottom of the bungee jump; we're not going down anymore (at least the stock market isn't), but we're still a long way from the bridge, especially in terms of employment.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH RESUMES?

Question: Have you ever had to go through a pile of resumes, say 100 or more? What do you look for; how do you evaluate them? Do you make several piles from the original file? How many? What do you call them?

Replies: E-mail [email protected].

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