As a Certified Professional Resume Writer and President of Surcorp Group,  Career and Resume Solutions, I provide workshops and seminars on what makes a resume, what it entails, and how to create that great document that immediately generates interest from a potential employer. A few days ago it occurred to me, are many job seekers aware of what a resume is not? I decided to write an article on what a resume is not:

1. Your personal biography: HR or hiring managers are not very interested in learning all facets of your life when reading a resume such as that award you won in grade 4 for your exceptional piano playing. Try to keep your resume to maximum 10-15 years depending on the role you are targeting. Keep in mind by exhaustively listing all of your work history; you may open yourself up to age discrimination, thereby excluding yourself from being considered for a role.

2. A tool that guarantees a job offer or interviews: Your resume is the document that launches your job search; however, if it does not reflect the qualifications in the job advertisement you will not get an interview. Also keep in mind, a résumé does not guarantee a job offer from a future employer; this is based on your performance in a job interview.

3. A form of self-expression: Unless you are in a creative field, a resume should always be professional in the content and layout. A graphically designed document with different colours and fonts could result in your application being dismissed as unprofessional and “tacky.”

4. A document stating what you want from a potential employer: Many job seekers focus on what they want, sometimes leading their objective statements to emphasize what they want from a potential employer and a role. On the contrary, a strongly written resume demonstrates to an employer what you bring to their company, whether it is technical expertise, sales capabilities, staff leadership or cost minimization talents.

So what is a resume?

A resume is the document that supports you before, during, and after a job interview, and helps to secure you a satisfying and well-paying job. The goal of a strongly written resume is to generate interest from a potential employer, to persuade them to call you for a personal interview. It should make that hiring manager quickly sit up and take notice of your capabilities and what you can bring to the table to add value to their organization. As a job seeker, your job is to successfully market yourself to potential employers using your own personalized marketing brochure – Your Resume.
While your resume will never be perfect and by itself will not get you a job, it is the most important aspect of your job search. Therefore, start writing, if you need help do not hesitate to call on a Certified Resume Writer at Resume Solutions. Your long-term career success may depend on it!