What is the True Objective of Your Resume?
It is true that you job hunt in order to snag a job, but do you know what your resume should really be focused on? There is a great saying that goes “you must crawl before you can walk” – this is also true when it comes to your job hunt.
Although you may not know it, the true objective of your resume is not to get a job. If it were that simple, then there would be no need for the interview processes. Rather, the objective of your resume should be exactly that – to snag the interview and make it to that ‘next round’ of the fight. Once you get to that level, that it when you go in for the kill – otherwise known as the job.
In order to make your resume effective in terms of landing an interview, you need to ask yourself what you would want to hear as an employer, to make you interested in knowing more about a job candidate. This interest is what will persuade the employer to call you in for an interview, which will give you a real fighting chance at getting the job. Before that, you are just another piece of paper in a stack of hundreds – or even thousands – of papers.
As with any marketing strategy, you should keep your customer and your objective in mind. Many times, you aren’t actually selling to the customer, but pre-selling them. In this instance, you are making the case for why the customer should click the link to the website and take a look at the real sales letter. In a job hunt, your resume is pre-selling you. You will do the real selling once you meet the employer face-to-face. If you keep in mind the true objective of your resume, it will help you make a better pitch to the employer.
So remember this when writing your resume: you should not write your resume focused on ‘will this get me the job’; rather, you should write it focused on ‘will this pique the employers interest enough that they will want to know more about me’. You need to distinguish yourself from all of the other pieces of paper and avoid having your resume tossed in the trash. Once you get you foot in the door, then you can convince them that you belong at the company.
