When JSR was asked to build a resume development practice, you might imagine how we reacted as former search firm owners who hated editing resumes. The thought of doing this as a regular service was repulsive.

We did,however, agree to research the industry, hoping we would find a  firm we could simply endorse. We are posting this in an attempt to give you some insight into the recruiting world.

In this process we researched multiple areas:

1. Employment communication

2. The mind of the employer (from the moment they first look at a resume until they make an offer)

3. The existing resume services available in the market (hoping we could simply endorse someone)

4. Why candidates build their own resumes

Employment Communication

Employment communication, all by itself, is a limiting factor in obtaining new employment.  It is much different than ordinary communication. At least in ordinary communication each party has the same options. They can:

1. Set up a face to face meeting
2. Make a phone call
3. Send an email
4. Send a letter

With employment communication, the candidate is forced to send only a resume first. This forces the candidate to decide the most important information the employer will learn about them. It confines the candidate to 2 pages.  Instead of having an interaction,there is a one way statement that limits the candidate to what the resume says they offer.

The Mind of the Employer

Our research revealed that each employer has their own specific job requirements relative to the position they are trying to fill. They have questions about the candidate relating to those requirements. Here are our conclusions:

1. Every employer has 7 questions on their minds that have nothing to do with the job description.
2. Every single employer has these same 7 questions.
3. These are questions the employer has to answer in order to actually hire the candidate.
4. These questions have nothing to do with the job description.
5. Employers know the questions, but are not conscious that they can be anticipated and strategically answered in a resume.

The employer is then forced to schedule a series of interviews to obtain the answers.

1. First Interview – The candidate’s resume is out, and the questions asked are about statements in the resume. The employer is attempting to clarify missing information that could have been in the resume.
2. Second Interview – The resume is still out, but the employer has picked topics that they want to have more specific information about.  Information that could have been in the resume.
3. The Third Interview – The resume has been put away.  The employer is now revealing the true nature of their need for a new employee and asking the candidate what they would do if they had the job.

What if the answers to all of those questions were written into the resume? How would that affect the questions in the interview? We tested it and learned that the candidates with that kind of resume were being asked 3rd interview type questions in their first interview. While their competitors were providing the missing information from their resumes, our candidates were being asked for specifics of what they would do if they were hired.

The types of Resume Writing Firms out there now

This was a frustrating experience to say the least. We knew that a great resume writer was someone who could write about a candidates ability in such a way that it would communicate well with a potential employer.  Unfortunately, we also learned the following:

1. Career resume writers spent their days talking to people who are in a job hunt and did not know the mind of the employer. They were not even conscious of the 7 questions.
2. Career resume writers build essentially a brochure to be presented to the employer in an attempt to secure an interview.  Few to none of them had any real experience selling to employers.
3. Most of the career resume writers were people who had a journalism or writing background. They could write well, but could not be strategic in their writing.
4. Most of them did not become career resume writers by choice, but rather by circumstance (long term unemployment).

So here are the questions that developed in our minds:

1. If a career resume writer spends their time talking to people in a job hunt, how do they know what the employer needs to see on the resume?
2. Why would anyone hire someone to build a brochure for them when that person had no exposure to the targeted buyer?
3. Why would anyone hire someone to build a strategic document when they had no strategic experience?

The final piece of our research was to understand why people, especially executive and leadership types, built their own resumes.   By this time we already had our answer.  That is what led us to develop our 7 questions into the 7 Dimensional Resume communication system.

Unless the core competencies that built your career to what it is today are resume writing core competencies, you’ll need help refining your resume. Get a referral from one of our partners and let us show you what people who have made their living selling to the same employers  you are selling to can do with your resume.

We look forward to hearing from you soon

Jackson Stevens Resumes