Resume writing in the real world - do business communication textbooks really give good advice?

Abstract

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.