They say you can always submit one after the interview, and tailor it to the particular job.
My advice is: consider yourself typical. A strong resume emphasizing your objective and back ground, properly composed and used, is your most effective job-hunting tool. And most job counselors agree. Not only is it useful for getting the proper entrees, but it forces you to organize what you have to sell.
Unfortunately, many people have poor experience with resumes because they don't know how to prepare and present them. Resume or no, all counselors agree, the most critical mistake that many job hunters make is failing to analyze what they have to offer and developing an effective means of presenting it.
Does a good resume make a difference?
Paul Johnson was a production executive with 20 years' experience who lost his job in a merger. During several months of his job search he relied primarily on a network of personal contacts, with little success. He finally decided to mail his resume to a large number of companies. Recognizing the importance of this mailing, Johnson carefully revised his resume. He then asked four people he knew who were interested in helping job hunters to evaluate it.
Johnson was delighted when these four people, after careful thought, told him that his resume was essentially a good one and that only superficial changes were needed. Johnson then mailed his letter and new resume to 100 company presidents and asked for an interview. And after three weeks, he had not received one response.
Shortly afterward, Johnson ran into a friend who had just been through a job search. This successful job hunter said she'd be happy to go over the document, and the first thing she said when Johnson met with her was, "Your resume is no good." In an hour she helped him revise it. John son mailed this revision to 250 presidents-and got 21 interviews and four good job offers.
A chronological or a functional resume?
Almost all resumes fit into one of two classifications; chronological or functional, although there are some that are basically a combination of the two. A purely functional resume would not include the employment section on the second page. Leaving this section out would reduce the resume's effectiveness for an executive. Including it where it is, however, puts the emphasis on the type of experience the individual has and plays down where and when it was accumulated.
Getting your resume critiqued
A key step in your campaign is to get your resume properly critiqued before it's in final form.
Remember, the best specialists will review five or six drafts, often using the opinion of several counselors within the firm. Effective criticism is particularly helpful for less-marketable individuals. Getting good criticism isn't easy. Typical criticism is "Your resume is fine. I think I'd reword this phrase and put this third item ahead of the second. Otherwise your resume is good. You shouldn't have any trouble with it." This criticism is almost worthless because it's superficial. And it can be misleading, because you may think your resume is much better than it actually is.
If you see any critics in person, ask them to read your resume quickly. Then ask them to describe what their thoughts are on you as a candidate for the job you're seeking. Ask, "If you were looking over 25 candidates for the job I'm seeking, in what way would you see my resume as deficient?" Then ask:
"Is it clear what kind of a job I'm looking for?"
"Is it a reasonable objective for me?"
"What are the likely key functions of the job I'm seeking?"
"Have I left some out?" (You might also ask them to look over your job description.)
"Have I included some which are of minor importance?"
"Have I given proper priority to them?"
"Have I presented each of my accomplishments effectively?"
"Have my principal liabilities been played down?"
Also have someone criticize your resume at his or her leisure. This has the advantage of his being able to give careful thought to it. If you must de liver your resume to a critic, you may want to consider doing that in person and picking it up to save time. You do lose the give-and-take of an informal counseling session, although you can make this up by a subsequent phone call.
Who should review your resume for you? You should be guided by the recommendations of others. Evaluate their recommendations by specific questions. Not "How was Sarah Jones as a critic?" Rather, "What specific criticism did Sarah Jones give you?" In the absence of favorable recommendations or professional counseling, you should seek critics among the following:
1. Instructors and counselors at clinics, voluntary counseling services, colleges, and trade association placement offices.
2. Professional recruitment officials (employment agencies, executive recruiters, corporate personnel staffs), if they'll give it. Bear in mind their selection standards focus on highly marketable people.
3. Corporate executives.
4. Advertising people (particularly for format and wording).
Explaining to your chosen critics that your resume isn't working properly will stimulate their interest.
How do you determine if your resume is good enough? There's no definite answer to this question except, "Is it working?" If you have carefully followed the procedure outlined here, you should have a resume that will serve you well and be better than most of your competitors.
Should you send a revised resume to companies which already have your first one? If your new resume is a marked improvement and you don't know of any active interest in you by an employer, send your revision. You have little to lose and a lot to gain.
