The Role of Writing Quality in Effective Student Résumés

Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 1989

The Role of Writing Quality in Effective Student Résumés

Davida H. Charney ; Jack R. Rayman Pennsylvania State University

Abstract

While writing teachers view the résumé as a sophisticated rhetorical chal lenge, students tend to see it as a "technical specification"of their employment qualifications. This study investigated the reader's perspective by examining how writing features influence recruiters' assessments of résumés. Eighteen recruiters rated 72 résumés describing fictitious mechanical-engineering stu dents. Four résumé features were systematically varied: relevance of previous work experience, elaboration ofindependent coursework, stylistic quality, and mechanical correctness. The major result suggests that technical work experi ence is important but not sufficient: If the résumés of technically well- qualified applicants contained grammatical errors, recruiters rated these résumés lower than résumés listing less experience but containing more accu rate writing.1

Journal: Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published: 1989-01-01
DOI: 10.1177/105065198900300102
Open Access: Closed
Topics: rhetorical theory multilingual writers

Citation Context

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Cites in this index (1)

McDowell (1987)

Perceptions of the Ideal Cover Letter and Ideal Resume

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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