Accepting Resumes

If you do not plan to hire or replace many people in your business, you may not want to create or use a job application. You may instead rely on resumes when you have a job opening.

The Pros and Cons of Resumes

The downside of using resumes to gauge applicants is that each resume is different and gives different information. Some give too much information, and some don't give enough, which may make it difficult to compare applicants.

The flexible format and individual license that some applicants take can also make it difficult to ascertain exactly what they did in past jobs because they have the option of wording things in the most positive way and of leaving off things that might be damaging to their chances of employment.

On the other hand, resumes are usually accompanied by a cover letter in which the applicant tells about his or her experience and background. You can get a good idea about the applicant's communication and writing abilities from a cover letter. Well-written letters and resumes can give you a much clearer sense of the applicant's qualifications than a standardized application could. For these reasons, some employers prefer to use both a resume and an application. That way they can gather all the information they need on the application in a standard format, and also get a good sense of the individual's personality from the resume and cover letter.

Evaluating the parts of a resume. Resumes usually consist of several main parts, which you'll need to evaluate:

• job objective and work experience
• education and references