5 Things Your Resume Is Not

By Arnie Fertig

You know you need a resume in order to get a job. But have you taken the time to step back from the resume-writing process to ask yourself what a resume is and isn't? Fundamentally, it is important to recognize that your resume is your marketing document. Its purpose is to garner enough interest in you to get an employer to think: "This person may well have the capacity to do the work associated with the job that needs to be filled." And once an employer has reviewed your resume and initiated contact with you for a phone or in-person interview, it has successfully fulfilled its purpose.

When you speak with recruiters or others who regularly review resumes, you'll learn that the vast majority of people have ill-conceived notions of what makes a resume compelling.