Resume Blasphemy By Nick Corcodilos

I've looked at resumes every which way, and I just don't like them as a job hunting tool. They're just too static. They get lumped in with all the other thousands of resumes an employer receives and they provide too many reasons for an employer to turn you down. More important, they don't offer an employer any solutions, because resumes are purely historical. Who cares what you did two years ago, if you can't convince me you can do this job now?

So, I've invented The Working Resume™. It doesn't list your academic credentials or any of your prior employers. It doesn't show any of your past experience and it doesn't list any jobs you ever did. No accomplishments, no achievements or awards. (Blasphemous, isn't it?) So, what do you put on it?

• A clear picture of the business of the employer you want to work for.
• Proof of your understanding of the problems and challenges the employer faces.
• A plan describing how you would do the work the employer needs done.
• An estimate of what/how much you think you could add to the bottom line.

Now, there's a customized resume! I call it The Working Resume because it requires you to do the job, not just apply for it.

You could use this resume only once, for one employer. You would need all sorts of information before you could write it -- it would take a lot of research, investigation and careful thought. You would have to really want that job and know you can do it. Or, why invest the effort to produce The Working Resume? If the job is worth wanting, it's worth doing.

Sound like a lot of work? Well, so is the job you want. If you're not prepared to demonstrate your ability to actually do the job, why should the employer bother to interview you? (Hint: it helps if you Put a free sample in your resume.)

And guess what? The Working Resume is also the perfect script for your interview -- The Working Interview™, where you provide the employer with just what he or she is looking for: proof of your understanding of the work that needs to be done, proof that you can do the work, do it the way the employer wants it done, and proof that you can do it profitably.

In fact, once you have produced a Working Resume, you will likely have done the kind of research and made the kinds of contacts that will probably make a resume entirely unnecessary -- you will already be "in the door". (That's the point.)

I challenge anyone to write such a resume and send it to me via email.*

Imagine. Any takers?

* This is not an offer for "free resume review services". I will respond only to people who write a Working Resume™ that shows an honest attempt to apply the rules laid out above. If I'm not impressed, you won't hear from me because I simply don't have time to respond to everyone who sends a resume. No offense intended.

More Headhunter Articles

			We welcome comments and suggestions. Please email to Ask The Headhunter.