Should the Definition of a Resume be Changed?
Posted By Amanda Collins on May 31, 2011
This weekend, I listened to Liz Ryan’s teleseminar about putting a human voice in your résumé. Ms. Ryan has a background in HR and is currently a writer for various online publications. Her stance throughout the presentation was that résumés need to have more of the candidates’ stories, including addition of pronouns.
I listened patiently to this seminar and just kept shaking my head at the example. I give presentations about résumés all the time, and one of the first myths I look to dispel is that the document is not about the person who’s name is on it. People give me funny looks at this, and I explain that a résumé is designed to share a person’s value with the employer. It is not about you and full of “I’s”; it is looking forward and sharing the WIIFM Factor (what’s in it for me?).
Yet, in less than 90 minutes, my whole theory on this was thrown in the toilet.
The example shared in the teleseminar told stories, which is what Ms. Ryan kept saying: we need to share stories in our résumés. HR administrators want something more than just the black and white of most documents; they want to hear the meat and potatoes.
As I read the example, all I could think was, “Wow, this is all about the person and shares nothing about how he can help the employer.” And I wondered why an employer would want to read that. Wouldn’t that decision maker want to know the benefit of hiring this person?
Perhaps I’ve just been writing résumés too long, and I’m now set in my ways. A chunk of pronouns on a résumé seems so foreign to me. It feels too informal for something that should be a quite formal document. And it doesn’t paint the candidate as a benefit to the employer.
Thankfully, Ms. Ryan did say that this “human voice” approach isn’t applicable for all situations or positions. I kept thinking about how I could change the approach to be personal but more focused on the employer. So, while I may incorporate some of the suggestions, I think I’ll keep the pronouns for the cover letter, thanks.