The Cynic Says……

Well, there might be a good reason for it. We’ve all been there, after all. You turn in your resume, hopeful that you’ll get an interview but that call never comes. You wonder what the deal is. Most likely your resume isn’t so hot. It’s not the jobs you’ve put on it or the experience but just how it’s written. Here’s a nice article on what not to put in your resume. I’ll even be the first to admit that I know jack shit about writing a decent resume. Sad thing is that it’s NOT something they teach you in school. And why the fuck not? High school is supposed to prepare us for “the real world” in some form or fashion so why in the world is it that they don’t teach you how to get a job? They don’t teach you how to write a resume, how to handle an interview, what to expect from an interview, etc. It just doesn’t make sense. Fact of the matter is, high school isn’t about preparing you for the real world at all. High school is about making sure you score well on standardized tests so the state doesn’t lose government funding for public education. On the other hand, I believe most colleges offer some sort of course or class on how to write a resume and how to do well in an interview and all that. At least some form of assistance with such things is generally available through your advisor, I would assume. Still, it seems as though virtually no emphasis is placed on such things when in fact they’re probably the single most important thing to getting the job. You could have the most perfect qualifications for a given job but if you don’t sell yourself, you’re not getting the job. Master’s degree from Stanford in a related field, 5yrs experience, excellent GPA in college, shitty resume, obviously uncomfortable during the interview…. you’re probably getting passed over. Personally I’ve found that as long as your resume isn’t complete bullshit and/or terribly-written you can often make up for it with an awesome interview. However, a piss-poor resume isn’t going to even get you an interview. Regardless, I don’t understand why this stuff isn’t taught at some level. Heck, I don’t know that it’s ever been taught in school at any level. It sure as heck wasn’t when I graduated (1997). Obviously I’ve never been to private school so things may be different there, but those kids are paying for their school. Public school kids aren’t paying for their school; their parents are through taxes, technically. Anyway, read the article… It’s pretty good stuff.