A Framework for Résumé Decisions: Comparing Applicants’ and Employers’ Reasons

Chalice Randazzo Eastern Michigan University

Abstract

What reasons do applicants use to write résumés, and what reasons do employers use to evaluate them? This article advocates for teaching reasons as a way to empower writers to make more nuanced, adaptive résumé decisions. Drawing from a study of 63 students, 20 advisors, and 24 employers, the article touches on résumé format, sections, and items; then it moves beyond formal features to compare eight reasons that participants used as a framework in their decision making: relevance, recency, value, personality, fluff, unprofessionalism, discrimination, and applicant fit. It ends with pedagogical suggestions for teaching this framework alongside résumé formal features.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2020-12-01
DOI
10.1177/2329490620963133
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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