'Tweaking Your Resume: What Absurd Thing To Do.

Forbes

5 days ago

The concept of employment and job interviews. Young woman during job interview, main focus on CV.
It's the most common request I get as a career coach.
I'm talking about 'tweaking' resumes. Being in the career coaching business, I deal with thousands of resumes, not to mention all other facets of career coaching, and as a hiring manager most of my career, I've read probably 10,000 resumes or more (imagine how many I received that I didn't read).
With my background in mind, it should come as no surprise to you when I say (and I have said it many times) that your resume is the most important piece of communication you'll ever write. It is the way the world sees you before it meets you, the critical first impression you make, your declaration of self, the case you make for inclusion in someone else's future. It is a sacred document.
So why do so many people think that something this important should be 'tweaked' rather than seriously written? 'Tweaked,' not revised? 'Tweaked,' not updated? 'Tweaked,' rather than modified? 'Tweaked' – OMG!
Sorry I overused that word, but the best way to point out an absurdity is to exaggerate it. And that's exactly what I intend to do – until I make my point. I'm not done.
'Tweaking' implies a casual approach. It implies improvisation, lack of gravity, simplicity, and lack of consequence. I really don't believe anyone thinks a resume is a thing to take casually, but then everyone wants to 'tweak' their resumes. Ridiculous! Not only is 'tweaking' the wrong approach, even the word 'tweak' itself is a silly word, like 'Twitter' and 'Tweet,' but don't get me started on that. That's for another day soon. I promise.
To further emphasize the absurdity of 'tweaking' let me ask: Did Michelangelo 'tweak' David? I doubt it. Did Leonardo 'tweak' the Mona Lisa? Not a chance. Did Jefferson 'tweak' the Declaration of Independence? Ha!
These questions are relevant. Writing, you see, is an art, and what you write can have anywhere from no effect to high impact – just like the examples above. It's not for nothing that I do a whole unit in my communication class on revision alone. It's a serious, disciplined effort. It's not 'tweaking.'
Let's take the Declaration of Independence, for example. The second paragraph begins with the immortal sentence, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' Most of us know this by heart since childhood.
But what you may not know is that Jefferson, unanimously chosen by his peers to write the Declaration despite being only 33 years old, actually wrote something different. 'We hold these truths to be sacred,' he began. But sitting on what amounted to the editorial review board was wise old Benjamin Franklin, more than twice Jefferson's age at the time. Old Ben suggested to young Thom, 'If we say sacred, that is arguable. If we say self-evident, we shall make the King look the fool he is.' The rest is history.
The point is that Franklin didn't send Jefferson's draft back to him with a suggestion to 'tweak' it, for God sake. Although the change he suggested was only one word, we see deep reflection, we see concentration on the effect of just one word, we see a major reconstruction in one word, and we see the result of just one word. It was not 'tweaked Your resume is much too important to 'tweak.' It is your declaration, and even the smallest of revisions is major. The slightest change in one word, let alone bigger changes, can make all the difference in the world. You need to take your resume more seriously than thinking of it as something to be 'tweaked' on a whim or a fancy.
Even the placement of one word – and the variations of emphasis on that word – can create influence on the reader. Imagine, if you will, the question, 'What are you doing?' Now, repeat the question aloud four times, each time emphasizing a different word in the question, like this: 'WHAT are you doing?' 'What ARE you doing?' 'What are YOU doing?' and 'What are you DOING?'
See? You heard a different implication each time, no? The written word comes across that way, too – so thought, care, and consideration are in order – not 'tweaking.'
I know I've been whipping this horse down the stretch, but that's exactly my intent. And while I'm at it (and not out of room yet, either), I'll give you one more way of looking at this. If you had a contractor doing the addition of a room or your roof or your floors, would you settle for a 'tweak' or would you be more insistent on a total job and careful workmanship? Or if you were going in for surgery, would it be OK if your doctor said, 'I think I'll just 'tweak' your coronary arteries' or if your plastic surgeon said, 'I'll just 'tweak' your face lift?'
So OK, if I had to get a little absurd to make the point, then so be it. But I hope you get the point.
No more 'tweaking' resumes.