My four year old daughter, Jaida clapped her hands in uncontrolled excitement. I was serving up dinner and she was thrilled to be receiving her favourite food item – “The handle”. Some months earlier, whilst serving up a roast chicken dinner, our children were claiming their stakes on their favourite chicken pieces. Jaida, who is no wilting flower, announced she wanted the handle! We were amused when she pointed out the chicken leg. Now our entire family affectionately refer to the chicken leg as ‘the handle’! It looks like a handle and perhaps it could be a handle. (I pity the chicken if it were not yet plucked and roasted). Jaida was simply telling how she saw it, calling it for what it was. 

In the real world, the grown up world, we commonly treat things for how we see it and we usually don’t delve any further. 

In the world of job hunting, the recruiter will rarely use their imagination. When presented with so many options, an abundance of choice, why bother reading a poorly constructed resume! A poorly constructed resume is just that – a dud…….which won’t be read, won’t be investigated, it won’t be looked upon as a possible solution to filling a vacant position! And there are many reasons a resume could be classified as a dud. A gap in your career history may raise questions. A lack of qualification when one is desired implies you don’t meet the prerequisites. A lack of referees incites you have something to hide. The overall presentation could be unimpressive, resulting in the assumption you don’t care much for the role or lack the motivation to impress. You could be the most qualified and well suited person for the position, but if your resume doesn’t highlight how you match the role, then don’t expect the reader to go digging. 

Just as my daughter described a portion of her meal as a ‘handle’ (because that is just what she saw) recruiters will often react to dud resumes with the same approach. They will call it for how they see it. Why read on if the resume is boring? Why read further if the resume doesn’t tell them what they want to hear? In summary, you will receive the same level of respect and attention, as you give your resume. If it looks like a dud, reads like a dud, within less than 30 seconds, the reader will treat it like a dud. 

If you are wondering, “Is my resume a dud?” email the Career Origin team today for review and feedback.