It is a common belief that resumes land jobs. Well, this is not the case. The main purpose of a resume is to land you an interview. It gives a feel to your potential employer about your skills and past experiences. By writing a resume, you are trying to sell yourself to an organization so, it’s important to emphasize your strengths. This article is all about guiding our learners to clearly understand the purpose of a resume and how to create an impressive one, after all any resume can list employment dates and job titles, but only the best ones say what employers want to hear.
So, here we go!
Resume:
A Resume also known as Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a formal document that is created by job applicants to itemize their skills, background, qualifications, and accomplishments to apply for a position. Hence, it is a person’s short career summary. What you must add to your resume depends on the type of job you are applying for but at minimum, be sure to include the below-mentioned sections in your resume.
- A brief introduction about yourself
- Contact details
- Work Experience
- Education
- Skills
- Achievements
Types of Resumes:
Mainly there are four types of Resumes. Depending on your skill set or work history, you can choose one format that better suits you to highlight your skills or qualifications.
- Chronological Resume:
It is a standard type of CV and the most commonly used style. In it, the sections are listed in reverse chronological order. This is the most frequently used type of CV for people with less than 3-5 years of experience. Work experience is listed along with relevant job duties in a chronological resume.
- Functional Resume:
This format is helpful in case you desire a career change but don’t have much-related experience. A Functional resume focuses on various skills of an individual rather than focusing on work history.
- Combination:
As indicated by the title, this type is a combination of chronological and functional resumes. It is mostly used when work experience is more than 5 years.
- Targeted Resume:
This resume is written for a specific job opening. It highlights the work experience and skills related to that position. You should tailor your targeted resume each time you apply for a job to be more relevant to that position.
Related: Which Resume Formats Are the Best for You? | Tips & Examples
Main Purposes of a Resume:
The primary goal of creating a resume is to get employed by landing an interview. The chances of getting a job are higher for those who have a resume than for those who don’t have one at all. It fulfills the need of introducing yourself, your qualification, skills, and experience to the employer without you being there. The classier and more attractive your CV is, the more likely your chances of getting ahead for the interview phase. Resume mainly serves two types of purposes:
- Personal Purpose: What can a resume do for you
- Business Purpose: What resumes do for a recruiter
Personal Purposes:
It represents you globally:
Resumes are uploaded to global job boards such as Indeed, CareerBuilder, etc. nowadays in just a few minutes. It can then be sent to a company’s online database with just a push of a button. Dozens of recruiters can view it without you not even knowing about it. Thus, it’s easier to upload your resume to such job posting sites rather than being physically present there. Make sure to have a well-written resume to get an interview call.
It enumerates your accomplishments:
The best resume explains your accomplishments and achievements clearly and easily. Quantifying your achievements gives the readers point information they need to know about your talent.
It highlights your skills:
Your resume should be able to answer, “what you can do and what you have done”. Mentioning your skills grabs the attention of hiring managers and they can assess if your potential can fit in the specific job title.
It creates key points for your future interviews:
By clearly listing your achievements and skills, your resume can create some discussion points for your interviews. Therefore, you must list and quantify your accomplishments to give a good impression to hiring managers.
It simplifies self-discovery:
Resume lets you ponder on your abilities, skills, and potential. Before writing a resume, you might think “I haven’t done anything” or “I can’t make an impact” but when you sit to draft a resume, you discover yourself by focusing on your strengths and your ability to overcome your weaknesses.
Acts as a guide for future applications:
Not all resumes are accepted at once and the company straightaway doesn’t need to call you for an interview right after receiving your resumes. Sometimes they keep some resumes in their database to consider them in near future or for some other job opening. So, it’s good to update your resume and keep on sending it to potential companies for you never know when your resume can get the manager’s attention and land you an interview at any point in life.
Business Purposes:
Hiring managers and employers know more to do with resumes rather than reading them simply. Resumes are a valuable tool for them to analyze career trajectories. Down below we have mentioned some important uses of resumes by employers.
- Resumes allow employers to analyze trends
- To identify specific qualifications and certifications
- To identify certain skills and keywords
- To determine overall career progression in the industry
- To identify opportunities by keeping a backlog of people’s resumes for future use
Importance of Resumes for Job Seekers:
Resumes are the main element of hiring processes and are the base requirement to be considered for any job opening. A good resume is the first thing that any hiring manager will see, therefore your resume must convey everything about you accurately and convincingly. Resumes give you a chance to prove yourself during an interview. A resume gives a brief overview of the candidate. Therefore, it’s highly important for a job seeker to draft the best resume matching his/her talent.
Final Thoughts
We hope after reading this article you are ready to get started drafting your resume. If yes, then simply download your favorite resume template and start defining yourself.
