Re: Should resumes be perfect?

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM>]

Jim Purcell wrote:
>A more balanced approach to evaluating resumes is more
>> likely to yield the most qualified candidates.

That's a little ambiguous, Jim, so I'm not sure what you mean--
the greatest number of qualified candidates or the candidates
that are the most qualified for the position????

As a hiring manager, I'm not out to find the greatest number of
qualified candidates; I'm looking for the fewest number of
candidates with the most qualifications. I need to "zero in"
on the two or three candidates that I think are the most
highly qualified to fill the position.

Do I miss a lot of -- probably really good -- people? Sure.
Do I care? No. Bringing a candidate in for an interview is
really expensive in terms of time and "real" work that's not
done. My resume review tactics (and this discussion tells
I'm not alone) allow me to narrow down the field quickly.

As job applicants, we'd like to think that we're all given
a fair shake at the job. Nothing could be further from the
truth; but nobody ever told you life was going to be fair.  ;-)
That's why it's so important to make your resume as impressive
(positively impressive, that is) as possible. This is one
time when you really *don't* have a second chance to make a
first impression.


Susan W. Gallagher               Manager, Technical Publications
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com         Expersoft Corporation, San Diego CA
                                 http://www.expersoft.com

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html