Resume writing in the real world - do business communication textbooks really give good advice?
With an increasingly competitive job market, graduating students in Singapore have little else but a resume to convince companies to call them up for job interviews. Given the high value of resume in this context, it is no wonder that there is a deluge of resources on the topic. Nonetheless, the...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145556 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | With an increasingly competitive job market, graduating students in Singapore have little else
but a resume to convince companies to call them up for job interviews. Given the high value of
resume in this context, it is no wonder that there is a deluge of resources on the topic.
Nonetheless, the question remains as to whether advice from Business Communication textbooks
can reflect accurately current industry practices, especially in relation to an Asian context. This
paper seeks to address the question by comparing the actual preferences of human resource (HR)
professionals with information on resume-writing provided in Business Communication
textbooks. In the study, eight HR professionals with vast experience in gate-keeping exercise
were interviewed. Their opinions on the important aspects of resume-writing were examined
against suggestions offered in eight selected Business Communication textbooks. The results
from the study revealed that advice from these textbooks, to a large extent, did reflect current
industry practices. However, some differences were also evident, mainly in terms of resume
content that was deemed sensitive, vis-à-vis job applicants’ personal information. A contributing
factor to this disparity could be the context-dependent expectations of HR professionals that are
not dealt with in the textbooks. The study addresses the need for more industry-related research
on professional writing to equip language teachers with relevant knowledge in actual workplace
practices in order to help graduating students to hone their communication skills in preparation for the workforce in future. |
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