Page 2, Paragraph 5
This paragraph states “even strong résumés hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job” It makes me question the need for a résumé if employers can’t really tell if the employee molds into the spot that they are looking for.
How do employers know that your words match your credibility to complete a job?
Page 4, Paragraph 1
This paragraph speaks about how “résumés do violence to language”. They make vocabulary dry and boring and drain the humanization of the person writing it. I thought this paragraph was interesting because cover letters seem to be very personable.
Why are résumés so impersonal, contrary to cover letters?
Page 1, Paragraph 7
“Even strong resumes hardly ever predict an applicants real capacity to do a job.”
This sentence stuck out to me because what it’s saying is that a resume isn’t a full representation of a persons ability to perform the job they are applying to. This means that no matter how strong or weak a resume, the HR will still be making some sort of guess on who they select for an employee. The message I received from this sentence is that your resume must stick out in a way that will grab the attention of the HR because of the amount of resumes they review.
What is a useful strategy to create a unique, but concise resume that will stick out to an HR?
Page1, Paragraph 12
“So while this might be the first time someone deployed resume to refer to a professional summary, it predates the evolution of the word into a stand-alone term.”
What’s important about paragraph 12 in the document is that resumes won’t all look the same because not all jobs are the same. The most important person to consider in the hiring process is always the person who in charge of reviewing the CL and resume. If the resume submitted doesn’t match the expectations of a certain job then it won’t succeed.
How do you know when you should be more concise with a resume and how essential is the one-page format?
Page 1, Paragraph 1
Quote: “The strongest will fit on a single page. Exceptions are few. An 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of letter paper fits about 700 words. So be efficient. Recruiters often say they spend six seconds reviewing the average candidate. Are you worth seven?”
Comment: This is, functionally, the abstract of this opinion piece. In the same way that scientific papers have an abstract that gives the skinny version of the rest of the paper, I feel as though this quote is the thesis of the entire rest of the article. Even outside of this largely being the abstract for this paper, I think that this particular comment is incredibly important isolated and by itself. This is something that is also echoed by the textbook chapter, which emphasizes the importance of making sure that the information on your resume is relevant. In some ways this furthers my initial conception about protech writing being about keeping things succinct, and concise. Even if it’s the case that what we should strive for isn’t necessarily to be as bare-bones and succinct as possible, efficient writing and keeping things short in such a way that the potential employer can read it quickly (six seconds) is important.
Question: What are the most important things to include in any given resume, and when trying to cut things down to one page, or simply trying to cut them down to be succinct, what are the easiest things to remove from the paper?
Page 1, Paragraph 8
Quote: “Yet the résumé’s demise (promised since the 1980s, when VHS profiles figured to replace paper) seems always to recede beyond the horizon.”
Comment: I’ve heard similar things to this for quite some time myself. In the modern day, much of the concept of cover letters and resumes meeting their demise hinges on the nature of AI technology in our modern age. I’ve heard arguments that eventually people will strictly be feeding a collection of data related to their experience into AI generators which will produce something that they will they show to another AI, and this will effectively replace the modern conception of resumes. But still, as the author indicates, this has not yet come to pass much in the same way that VHS profiles did not take the world by storm.
I think people tend to like handmade things. This is the same reason I believe that, regardless of how good AI generated technology like AI music or AI writing gets, people still tend to place a higher value upon things that are human made in terms of consumerism. This is the entire purpose of a website such as Etsy, wherein people want things strictly made by hand. Perhaps this is because it is tradition, but I tend to agree with the author that resumes don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Question: Would would it ultimately take to truly replace resume culture in Western society? Or worldwide, for that matter? What kind of advent would need to be implemented into the professional world to make resumes totally irrelevant?
Page 2, Paragraph 5
Quote: “Even strong resumes hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job.”
Comment: I think this quote points out the truth that putting all of this “fluff” on a resume cannot predict someone’s true potential. There are other factors that play into whether someone is capable of doing the job they are applying for. I think that resumes are helpful with determining someone’s capability to some extent, but it is very surface level. What I mean by surface level is that the employer only knows what the individual put on that paper, nothing else. A resume is like an open door to someone’s skills and experiences for the job, but there are more things behind that door that should be addressed by an employer, like asking clarifying questions during an interview.
Question: How can an individual be assessed so that the employer knows whether they are good fit for the position they are applying for, if resumes are not good enough according to the author?
Page 4, Paragraph 1
Quote: “Resumes do violence to language. They are poetry, inverted. You must dry the joy from the bones of words; drain the human sauce; leave a labored husk of an eggshell.”
Comment: This quote stood out to me because of how the author points out how when we write resumes, we drain the emotion from our humanity. It seems as though the point of resumes is to get the point across about the important skills and experiences that fit with the job you are applying for. Resumes are not like cover letters, in the sense that you can have some personality when writing a cover letter. It is easier for employers to scan through resumes when they are in bullet points in organized sections, rather than having long paragraphs or something else.
Question: How can a resume be written so that it gets the point across and will stick out to the employer?
Paragraph one on the third page. “The earliest request for a resume in a classified ad that I could find comes from The New York Times in November 1917.”
I have actually talked in previous classes about resumes in a historical context for middle class women. During this time period a resume, more like a cover letter really, would detail her experience and why she needed a job. The specific case we looked at the woman actually talked about how she didn’t want to get a job and that she was only doing it because her father had passed and she was down on her luck with money. In describing her skills she describes the great shame she feels in applying for this job at all and how she only intends to work there for a few months. So I think it’s really interesting to see how the precedent around things like this have changed
I wonder about the comment he made about resumes becoming obsolete. I don’t ever see a future where we don’t use resumes. What could we use instead of resumes?
Q: “Use only strong verbs… even if you think different words better describe your achievements during these grueling years…” (pg 3)
C: I think some aspects of résumés are definitely embellished or written to sound better than they seem. The goal of your résumé is to paint yourself in the best light, so of course you’ll want to use strong verbs to describe your work. The idea of professionalism is a concept, one that is very rigid and shouldn’t be strayed from. On the surface, you have to love your job and be willing to give everything to it. Your résumé has to show your dedication and the worth you bring to the workforce. We can use negative words to show positive things; to show that we went through adversity to get to where we are now.
Q: Everyone doesn’t like work at least a little bit, why can’t we acknowledge that?
Q: “You must dry the joy from the bones of words; drain the human sauce; leave a labored husk printed on eggshell.” (pg 4)
C: Compared to cover letters, résumés are extremely detached. Some jobs don’t even require cover letters, so the only time the employers would get to know an applicant beyond surface level statements would be during the interview (if they get one). I understand that it’s only practical for résumés to be written how they are. Employers can go through a ton of résumés a day, so it makes sense to have them written in a way that’s quick and simple to glance over. Societal expectations around working have shaped how we write résumés. Time is money, and thoroughly reading applications seems to be considered a waste of time. In order to get past that barrier, you don’t have a choice but to write your résumé in a simplified and impersonal manner.
Q: Will résumés ever feel more personal rather than transactional?
Page 2, Paragraph 5
This section states, “even strong résumés hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job” which makes me question if employers really need resumes since they can’t even tell if an employee would be a good fit for the position just based off of a resume
How can employers trust what is said on paper and rely on it being the truth?
Page1, Paragraph 12
This section says, “So while this might be the first time someone deployed resume to refer to a professional summary, it predates the evolution of the word into a stand-alone term.” This talks about how not every resume will look the same because there are all kinds of jobs, therefore the look of resumes very depending on the job and person. You also need to remember that the person that’s reviewing your cover letter and resume is the most important person when applying for a job. It’s also important to make sure your resume matches the expectations the hiring team has for the position because if it doesn’t, you have a very small chance of getting the position.
How essential is it for the format of your resume to be one page??
Quote – Page 2, paragraph 3
Comment – Even in the early stages of normalizing the resume, stating what you have to offer and how it’s applicable follows the AIDA format. This quote creates a desire for what Leonardo has to offer.
Question – Was there always the underlying form of creating interest, desire, attention, and action?
Quote – Page 4, paragraph 1
Comment – I believe we’re frequently taught to write in a detailed storytelling format. The idea of ‘draining the human sauce’ can be difficult for those who have minimal practice.
Question – Where is the line when creating an engaging resume but still concise?
Q: “No one seems to know how, precisely, experience molds people to fit labor slots.”
C: I thought this quote was very interesting as in the beginning of my professional experience that I have had in college, I can almost feel my own psyche being molded to fill a position.
Q: How do companies decide what kinds of experiences that they are looking for in a candidate, and how does this process differ by company?
Q: “Use only strong verbs… Do this even if you think different words describe your achievements during these grueling years…. This will improve the impression that you make on the reader!”
C: When writing my resume, I find that using strong and positive verbs for some of the activities I have been involved with to be quite challenging, as many of these experiences were stressful, and I felt as though I barely made it through. Being careful of word choices surrounding these activities will be important for me.
Q: Is there ever a place to talk about struggle in a resume when spinning it in terms of perseverance?
Q: “Even strong resumes hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job.” (pg 2 para 5)
C: I fully agree with this—and vice versa. An applicant can have a strong resume without the capabilities actually to work the role they are applying for. On the other hand, a candidate can have all the necessary skills for a role but have a weak resume and get passed over. Even if their skills align, at the end of the day, a resume is a piece of paper and can never provide a complete picture of an employee.
Q: How do you present your capabilities in an interview once you are beyond the resume part of the application process?
Q: “ Resumes do violence to language. They are poetry, inverted.” (pg 4 para 1)
C: As a writer, I fully agree with this. A resume lacks creativity, engagement, etc. However, a resume is one of the most important things you will ever write. Especially when applying for a writing position, I’m curious how to flex one’s writing skills on a resume.
Q: How do you show creativity and capture interest with the contents of your resume?
Quote #1: “Recruiters often say they spend six seconds reviewing the average candidate. Are you worth Seven?” (Page 1, Paragraph 1)
Comment #1: This is an interesting way to announce this point, but it is true. Time restraint is super important and helps you with organization and revising important parts of your resume. I think the strategy of being concise and accurate with the time it will take to receive an automatic yes or no.
Question #1: When he says “are you worth seven?”, what exactly does he mean by that?
Quote #2: “They make peer-reviewed arguments about how resumes convey meaning-and what happens when we feed people with rich histories and full identities into the labor market’s meat grinder,” (Page 2, Paragraph 7)
Comments #2: This one is very hard to read at the moment, but for me, I interpret this quote as one that brings up the idea of knowing your audience. Knowing what your employer is looking for is important, as it could make you stand out in a positive way. You want your resume to convey meaning, and not just type into the void.
Question #2: What is the best way to make your resume stand out from the rest?
11 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 11”
Page 2, Paragraph 5
This paragraph states “even strong résumés hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job” It makes me question the need for a résumé if employers can’t really tell if the employee molds into the spot that they are looking for.
How do employers know that your words match your credibility to complete a job?
Page 4, Paragraph 1
This paragraph speaks about how “résumés do violence to language”. They make vocabulary dry and boring and drain the humanization of the person writing it. I thought this paragraph was interesting because cover letters seem to be very personable.
Why are résumés so impersonal, contrary to cover letters?
Page 1, Paragraph 7
“Even strong resumes hardly ever predict an applicants real capacity to do a job.”
This sentence stuck out to me because what it’s saying is that a resume isn’t a full representation of a persons ability to perform the job they are applying to. This means that no matter how strong or weak a resume, the HR will still be making some sort of guess on who they select for an employee. The message I received from this sentence is that your resume must stick out in a way that will grab the attention of the HR because of the amount of resumes they review.
What is a useful strategy to create a unique, but concise resume that will stick out to an HR?
Page1, Paragraph 12
“So while this might be the first time someone deployed resume to refer to a professional summary, it predates the evolution of the word into a stand-alone term.”
What’s important about paragraph 12 in the document is that resumes won’t all look the same because not all jobs are the same. The most important person to consider in the hiring process is always the person who in charge of reviewing the CL and resume. If the resume submitted doesn’t match the expectations of a certain job then it won’t succeed.
How do you know when you should be more concise with a resume and how essential is the one-page format?
Page 1, Paragraph 1
Quote: “The strongest will fit on a single page. Exceptions are few. An 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of letter paper fits about 700 words. So be efficient. Recruiters often say they spend six seconds reviewing the average candidate. Are you worth seven?”
Comment: This is, functionally, the abstract of this opinion piece. In the same way that scientific papers have an abstract that gives the skinny version of the rest of the paper, I feel as though this quote is the thesis of the entire rest of the article. Even outside of this largely being the abstract for this paper, I think that this particular comment is incredibly important isolated and by itself. This is something that is also echoed by the textbook chapter, which emphasizes the importance of making sure that the information on your resume is relevant. In some ways this furthers my initial conception about protech writing being about keeping things succinct, and concise. Even if it’s the case that what we should strive for isn’t necessarily to be as bare-bones and succinct as possible, efficient writing and keeping things short in such a way that the potential employer can read it quickly (six seconds) is important.
Question: What are the most important things to include in any given resume, and when trying to cut things down to one page, or simply trying to cut them down to be succinct, what are the easiest things to remove from the paper?
Page 1, Paragraph 8
Quote: “Yet the résumé’s demise (promised since the 1980s, when VHS profiles figured to replace paper) seems always to recede beyond the horizon.”
Comment: I’ve heard similar things to this for quite some time myself. In the modern day, much of the concept of cover letters and resumes meeting their demise hinges on the nature of AI technology in our modern age. I’ve heard arguments that eventually people will strictly be feeding a collection of data related to their experience into AI generators which will produce something that they will they show to another AI, and this will effectively replace the modern conception of resumes. But still, as the author indicates, this has not yet come to pass much in the same way that VHS profiles did not take the world by storm.
I think people tend to like handmade things. This is the same reason I believe that, regardless of how good AI generated technology like AI music or AI writing gets, people still tend to place a higher value upon things that are human made in terms of consumerism. This is the entire purpose of a website such as Etsy, wherein people want things strictly made by hand. Perhaps this is because it is tradition, but I tend to agree with the author that resumes don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Question: Would would it ultimately take to truly replace resume culture in Western society? Or worldwide, for that matter? What kind of advent would need to be implemented into the professional world to make resumes totally irrelevant?
Page 2, Paragraph 5
Quote: “Even strong resumes hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job.”
Comment: I think this quote points out the truth that putting all of this “fluff” on a resume cannot predict someone’s true potential. There are other factors that play into whether someone is capable of doing the job they are applying for. I think that resumes are helpful with determining someone’s capability to some extent, but it is very surface level. What I mean by surface level is that the employer only knows what the individual put on that paper, nothing else. A resume is like an open door to someone’s skills and experiences for the job, but there are more things behind that door that should be addressed by an employer, like asking clarifying questions during an interview.
Question: How can an individual be assessed so that the employer knows whether they are good fit for the position they are applying for, if resumes are not good enough according to the author?
Page 4, Paragraph 1
Quote: “Resumes do violence to language. They are poetry, inverted. You must dry the joy from the bones of words; drain the human sauce; leave a labored husk of an eggshell.”
Comment: This quote stood out to me because of how the author points out how when we write resumes, we drain the emotion from our humanity. It seems as though the point of resumes is to get the point across about the important skills and experiences that fit with the job you are applying for. Resumes are not like cover letters, in the sense that you can have some personality when writing a cover letter. It is easier for employers to scan through resumes when they are in bullet points in organized sections, rather than having long paragraphs or something else.
Question: How can a resume be written so that it gets the point across and will stick out to the employer?
Paragraph one on the third page. “The earliest request for a resume in a classified ad that I could find comes from The New York Times in November 1917.”
I have actually talked in previous classes about resumes in a historical context for middle class women. During this time period a resume, more like a cover letter really, would detail her experience and why she needed a job. The specific case we looked at the woman actually talked about how she didn’t want to get a job and that she was only doing it because her father had passed and she was down on her luck with money. In describing her skills she describes the great shame she feels in applying for this job at all and how she only intends to work there for a few months. So I think it’s really interesting to see how the precedent around things like this have changed
I wonder about the comment he made about resumes becoming obsolete. I don’t ever see a future where we don’t use resumes. What could we use instead of resumes?
Q: “Use only strong verbs… even if you think different words better describe your achievements during these grueling years…” (pg 3)
C: I think some aspects of résumés are definitely embellished or written to sound better than they seem. The goal of your résumé is to paint yourself in the best light, so of course you’ll want to use strong verbs to describe your work. The idea of professionalism is a concept, one that is very rigid and shouldn’t be strayed from. On the surface, you have to love your job and be willing to give everything to it. Your résumé has to show your dedication and the worth you bring to the workforce. We can use negative words to show positive things; to show that we went through adversity to get to where we are now.
Q: Everyone doesn’t like work at least a little bit, why can’t we acknowledge that?
Q: “You must dry the joy from the bones of words; drain the human sauce; leave a labored husk printed on eggshell.” (pg 4)
C: Compared to cover letters, résumés are extremely detached. Some jobs don’t even require cover letters, so the only time the employers would get to know an applicant beyond surface level statements would be during the interview (if they get one). I understand that it’s only practical for résumés to be written how they are. Employers can go through a ton of résumés a day, so it makes sense to have them written in a way that’s quick and simple to glance over. Societal expectations around working have shaped how we write résumés. Time is money, and thoroughly reading applications seems to be considered a waste of time. In order to get past that barrier, you don’t have a choice but to write your résumé in a simplified and impersonal manner.
Q: Will résumés ever feel more personal rather than transactional?
Page 2, Paragraph 5
This section states, “even strong résumés hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job” which makes me question if employers really need resumes since they can’t even tell if an employee would be a good fit for the position just based off of a resume
How can employers trust what is said on paper and rely on it being the truth?
Page1, Paragraph 12
This section says, “So while this might be the first time someone deployed resume to refer to a professional summary, it predates the evolution of the word into a stand-alone term.” This talks about how not every resume will look the same because there are all kinds of jobs, therefore the look of resumes very depending on the job and person. You also need to remember that the person that’s reviewing your cover letter and resume is the most important person when applying for a job. It’s also important to make sure your resume matches the expectations the hiring team has for the position because if it doesn’t, you have a very small chance of getting the position.
How essential is it for the format of your resume to be one page??
Quote – Page 2, paragraph 3
Comment – Even in the early stages of normalizing the resume, stating what you have to offer and how it’s applicable follows the AIDA format. This quote creates a desire for what Leonardo has to offer.
Question – Was there always the underlying form of creating interest, desire, attention, and action?
Quote – Page 4, paragraph 1
Comment – I believe we’re frequently taught to write in a detailed storytelling format. The idea of ‘draining the human sauce’ can be difficult for those who have minimal practice.
Question – Where is the line when creating an engaging resume but still concise?
Q: “No one seems to know how, precisely, experience molds people to fit labor slots.”
C: I thought this quote was very interesting as in the beginning of my professional experience that I have had in college, I can almost feel my own psyche being molded to fill a position.
Q: How do companies decide what kinds of experiences that they are looking for in a candidate, and how does this process differ by company?
Q: “Use only strong verbs… Do this even if you think different words describe your achievements during these grueling years…. This will improve the impression that you make on the reader!”
C: When writing my resume, I find that using strong and positive verbs for some of the activities I have been involved with to be quite challenging, as many of these experiences were stressful, and I felt as though I barely made it through. Being careful of word choices surrounding these activities will be important for me.
Q: Is there ever a place to talk about struggle in a resume when spinning it in terms of perseverance?
Q: “Even strong resumes hardly ever predict an applicant’s real capacity to do a job.” (pg 2 para 5)
C: I fully agree with this—and vice versa. An applicant can have a strong resume without the capabilities actually to work the role they are applying for. On the other hand, a candidate can have all the necessary skills for a role but have a weak resume and get passed over. Even if their skills align, at the end of the day, a resume is a piece of paper and can never provide a complete picture of an employee.
Q: How do you present your capabilities in an interview once you are beyond the resume part of the application process?
Q: “ Resumes do violence to language. They are poetry, inverted.” (pg 4 para 1)
C: As a writer, I fully agree with this. A resume lacks creativity, engagement, etc. However, a resume is one of the most important things you will ever write. Especially when applying for a writing position, I’m curious how to flex one’s writing skills on a resume.
Q: How do you show creativity and capture interest with the contents of your resume?
Quote #1: “Recruiters often say they spend six seconds reviewing the average candidate. Are you worth Seven?” (Page 1, Paragraph 1)
Comment #1: This is an interesting way to announce this point, but it is true. Time restraint is super important and helps you with organization and revising important parts of your resume. I think the strategy of being concise and accurate with the time it will take to receive an automatic yes or no.
Question #1: When he says “are you worth seven?”, what exactly does he mean by that?
Quote #2: “They make peer-reviewed arguments about how resumes convey meaning-and what happens when we feed people with rich histories and full identities into the labor market’s meat grinder,” (Page 2, Paragraph 7)
Comments #2: This one is very hard to read at the moment, but for me, I interpret this quote as one that brings up the idea of knowing your audience. Knowing what your employer is looking for is important, as it could make you stand out in a positive way. You want your resume to convey meaning, and not just type into the void.
Question #2: What is the best way to make your resume stand out from the rest?