Business Communication, Third Edition

SQ2 How do you compose an effective résumé?

Although social media is an important employment communication tool, a professional and targeted résumé remains an essential element of your job search. The best résumés communicate their main message quickly because research shows that most employers spend only six seconds reviewing a résumé.²⁷ During this first stage of résumé review, employers aim to identify the most qualified candidates out of a pool of applicants. In these brief moments, employers focus on a few critical data points: your name; where you currently work, your start date, and your title; where you previously worked, your start and end date, and your title; and your education.²⁸ Once employers have narrowed the applicant pool, ...