Additional Inspiration for Action
If you are hesitant or insecure about your ability to create a powerful resume, you are most likely suffering from fear of focus. In your day-to-day life, you may have many interests and possibilities, and you may not be ready to choose one at the cost of any others. That is excellent news. It means you are engaged in a serious investigation of your abilities and of just the right career for you.
In the meantime, however, you probably need to get a job of some kind. To do that you need a resume, and to write a resume, you need to define a goal. Don't worry that you're being untrue to all the options in your life; just choose one goal, define it, and use that as your statement of objectives. You can create as many resumes as you like, so if it makes you feel more in control of your future, you can create a resume for each and every one of your professional objectives. The important thing is to use your interests and ambitions to move forward.
Twenty-seven percent of human resource managers report receiving more than fifty resumes on average for each open position. More than one in ten (13 percent) say they receive more than 100 resumes per opening. When evaluating resumes, these same HR managers indicate relevant experience as the most sought-after consideration.
When you write your resume, and even when you send it out to apply for certain jobs, you are not committing yourself to any field or job function. You might consider this a way of conducting research about the fields you are most qualified for. Any response you get from your resumes will tell you how professionals already working in that field judge your qualifications. If a resume lands you an interview, you can consider yourself a qualified candidate in that field for that position. This is important feedback for anyone just entering the job market who is unsure of how their talents and experience can be valuable. It's also good feedback for the job seeker who cannot decide on any one field. Often, the most attractive field is the one where others consider you an asset.
You are free to submit all the resumes you like and to take any interview offered you. But you should only accept an offer if you are prepared to take the job. Research into that particular position, in other words, ends when and if you are made an offer. If you cannot commit yourself to performing those job duties to the best of your ability, thank the employer for their consideration and graciously decline their offer of employment.
