Resumes are such necessary evils. It’s never a true summary of one’s career, objectives, or skills. They have become a game of masking the red flags and touting some rather lackluster, or insignificant, accomplishments during a menial position that you’ve fled or are fleeing. Do you honestly ever get a true account of someone’s knowledge, skills, and abilities on one or two pages?
Let’s think about it. If you can’t judge a book by its cover (a one-page document) or tell what a movie’s about from it’s 30-second trailer, how can a resume accurately reflect someone’s strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, ambitions, motivators, commitment, dedication, passion, intelligence, social skills, or home training? Yes, home training. You’d be surprised as to how many Americans don’t know how to act when they left their parents’ home.
I know that everyone wants a synopsis, straight-to-the-point and no beating-around-the-bush. We, by “we” I mean corporate executives, don’t have the time to review or assess the skills of the right person, let alone create a decent overview of the position we are looking to fill. So, it’s more of a matching game. Match up the vague needs of the company with the exaggerated skills and “experience” of a candidate. That’s one role of HR in a nutshell.
Yes, I’m in the process of redoing my resume, but it’s so hard to fit yourself, aspirations, and goals in life on to a page. How do I put all of my multifaceted goodness into several short précis? And yes, I am chock full of multifaceted goodness. I guess my next employer will have to be a great judge of character and an even better discerner of aptitude. I guess that means that my next employer will have to be a graduate of The George Washington University. <wink> Just joking.
