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 Stephen
O'Connor, SPHR, is senior director of Professional Search Services
for the MHA Service Corporation, Lansing, and can be e-mailed at
soconnor@mha.org |
Staff
Matters Newsletter
March/April 1996 |
| It's such a hoot reading résumés. It is instantly obvious which candidates write to impress, instead of express, when describing themselves. Just visualize these people sitting at their computer with a thesaurus open on their lap, a No. 2 pencil between their teeth, their nose about four inches from the screen saying out loud to themselves, "....oo, oo, that's good, oh yeah that's reeeally good." A résumé should not read like the critique of a fine wine. "Arrogant, yet somehow likable; pretentious, but unavoidably qualified." The trouble with some people and their résumés is that they think that if they say it just right, it will be believed as fact. Another problem is that people fall in love with their résumés. They have described their entire value as human commodities in the labor market on two pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" stationery, and they cradle this thing like a newborn version of themselves. You've seen them. They put it in a protective folder and gingerly hand it to you as if it were the holy grail. The theme of this issue is "MHA members show their commitment through community benefits." Just as a hospital needs to illustrate how it benefits or provides a service to the community, the candidate needs to show how they can contribute value and enhance the quality of service the employer provides to its customers. The real value of a résumé is its ability to demonstrate how the candidate can provide service to the employer. The relationship of an employee to the employer is much like that of a service organization to a community. The smart health care provider describes its services in a way that highlights its contribution to the quality of life in the community. The smart candidate also describes how they have been of service to others and the resulting value this service has contributed to the quality of life for the customer. It all flows out of service to others. I have a couple that have come across my desk that are priceless. "Six years experience in management, six years experience in inspection. One term of electrical at the community college. Twenty-two years experience in research on many subjects of interest, ranging from recombinant DNA to electronics." Obviously, this is a guy who is a legend is his own mind! My consummate example of the polysyllabic, self-serving cover letter reads as follows (I swear, I'm not making this up), "By creating an assiduous environment which incubates and breeds an unquenchable thirst for individual, and by default, wholesale team development, accomplishments are guaranteed, innovation is fostered and financial gains assured." Description of a candidate's accomplishments and how they have served others should be crisp and outcome-oriented. They sound more like the following statements:
These statements can more easily be confirmed during reference checking, and they can also become specific talking points for the interview. In describing their accomplishments, candidates need to remember that a clear, factual presentation of how they have been of service to others, and the benefit that it has produced, will be much more impressive than a string of adjectives that sounds more like something their mother would say about them than a list of business accomplishments. Here are some tips from Personnel Journal to help you detect lies on résumés:
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