Résumé Preparation Workshop for University Students

A workshop to help university students prepare résumés is described and evaluated. Part of the workshop discusses the purpose of a résumé and describes its “advertisement” aspect. Another portion encourages participants to inventory their assets and experiences, and to gather information about their chosen occupational areas. The third segment of the workshop explains traditional formats, and the final segment offers suggestions for attractive layout and reproduction. Preliminary evaluations of workshop participants' and nonparticipants' résumés resulted in ratings that were higher for the workshop group. In general, it was found that persons who talk with counselors or friends about résumés produce more effective résumés than those who get their information only through reading materials. A pilot evaluation instrument is included. Implications of this study for counselors are discussed and suggestions for developing similar workshops are made.     

Exploring Social Justice Via Résumés

Much expert advice about résumé writing is available. Whereas some job seekers will use self‐help guides to construct their résumés, others will seek the assistance of career counselors. Career counselors have a significant opportunity to engage clients in holistic career considerations when helping them to construct résumés. Especially significant is the opportunity to identify possible client disadvantages stemming from social injustices. Résumé‐writing assistance is enhanced through the application of career microcounseling. This article examines social justice issues that may be embedded during résumé writing. A review of microcounseling skills is presented, and examples of applying them during résumé writing are provided.     

Applicant Desirability Influences Reactions to Discovered Résumé Embellishments

This study investigates responses to a discovered résumé embellishment as a function of initial impressions of the applicant. In Study 1, managers and recruiters rated the extent to which a discrepancy uncovered by a background check would lower their opinion of an applicant, using a between‐subjects design crossing the applicant's apparent desirability and type of embellishment. In Study 2, business students completed a simulated hiring task in which they first evaluated applicants based on their résumés, then read background reports, and subsequently made a final evaluation. Results indicate interactive effects of an applicant's apparent desirability, type of deception revealed, and response dimension. The discovery of a minor embellishment has little effect on evaluations of favored applicants, but negatively impacts less desirable applicants.     

Test of a Model Linking Applicant Résumé Information and Hiring Recommendations

Previous research has shown that résumé information (i.e., including both content and aesthetics) influences recruiters' hiring recommendations. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing a model that examines mediating processes underlying the relationship between résumé information and hiring recommendations in real employment interviews for actual job openings. Results from 62 interviewers of 30 firms partially supported our hypotheses and showed that the three types of recruiters' inferences (i.e., including professional knowledge, interpersonal skills, and general mental ability) from applicants' résumé information mediated the effects of résumé information on hiring recommendations.     

The Differential Effects of Extracurricular Activities on Attributions in Résumé Evaluation

This study examines the effects that extracurricular activities have on the attributions a résumé reader makes about an applicant. Three characteristics of extracurricular activities (number of activities, holding positions of leadership, and relevance of the activities) were manipulated across 24 résumés of fictitious college graduates. Some 219 raters read the résumés and made judgments about the level of the applicant’s quality. The results showed a main effect for the number of activities, a main effect for holding leadership positions, and a main effect for relevance of the activity. Furthermore, a three–way interaction revealed the differential effects that the relevance of the activities had on the attributions at different levels of leadership and number of activities. A mix of career–related and social activities garnered higher ratings for those who held leadership positions in five activities. However, for those who were leaders in only two activities or were not leaders in five, having only career–related activities earned them higher ratings. For applicants who were not leaders in two activities, relevance of the activities played no role.     

Recruiters' Assessment and Use of Social Capital in Résumé Screening1

An experiment was conducted with undergraduate business students to investigate how human resource (HR) recruiters use social capital conceptualized as friendship between applicants and the recruiter in screening résumés. Results showed that social capital influenced recruiters' assessment of applicants above and beyond human capital. In addition, the influence of friendship ties in applicant assessment was more prominent among female HR recruiters than among male recruiters. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed in the context of employee selection.     

Documenting the Adverse Impact of Résumé Screening: Degree of ethnic identification matters

We investigated the adverse impact of résumé screening, taking into account the intersectionality of minority characteristics. A correspondence audit test showed hiring discrimination depended on the strength of applicants' ethnic identification. The odds for rejection were 4–6 times higher for résumés with ethnic minority identifiers (Arab names; Arab affiliations) when compared with ethnic majority identifiers (Dutch names; Dutch affiliations). Sex moderated the ethnicity effect but the particular effect (ethnic prominence; double jeopardy against women or men) depended on the type and degree of ethnic identification, lending support for a within‐category approach to study ethnic prejudice. The four‐fifths rule resulted in similar findings. Theoretical implications regarding the intersectional effects of minority characteristics and practical implications regarding ways to avert adverse impact during résumé screening are discussed.     

Effect of a résumé‐writing workshop on résumé‐writing skills

What is the best way to teach someone how to write an effective résumé? A workshop format was used to teach college students the skills needed to write a successful résumé. Archival data consisting of student résumés and rubric score sheets were used to determine the effectiveness of a résumé‐writing workshop by using a pre–post design evaluating student résumés. The authors used a rubric to produce quantitative data for comparison purposes. Participants’ postworkshop résumé rubric scores were significantly higher than their scores were before attending the workshop. The authors offer possible explanations for the results and make suggestions for future research.     

The Effects of Applicant Résumé Contents on Recruiters' Hiring Recommendations: The Mediating Roles of Recruiter Fit Perceptions

The résumé is the most commonly used selection tool for organisations. Past studies have demonstrated that recruiter hiring recommendations can be predicted based on the content of applicant résumés. However, the mechanisms underlying the links between résumé contents and hiring recommendations remain unclear. The present study extends previous research by examining the mediating roles of recruiters' multi‐faceted fit perceptions in a field setting. Data were collected from 216 organisational recruiters who participated in campus recruitment at seven universities in Taiwan. The results showed that applicant work experience and educational background increased recruiter hiring recommendations through recruiter perceived person–job (P–J) fit. In addition, applicant work experience predicted recruiter perceived person–organisation (P–O) fit, which in turn enhanced recruiter hiring recommendations.     

the résumé's secret identity: a tool for narrative exploration in multicultural career counseling

The résumé can be a window into the life story of a client and help address barriers to work and life success. Using the résumé as a narrative tool, career counselors can address these barriers and increase clients' employment potential. The strength of this approach is its cultural relevance to clients who may not otherwise seek counseling and as a talking tool within counseling. This article explores the potential for the résumé development and refinement process to enhance the counseling process akin to narrative career counseling. A model and case example are provided to illustrate the application of this approach.     

A theory‐driven investigation of prospective applicants' intentions to submit video résumés

As a quickly growing trend among job seekers, video résumés represent an area where practice has outpaced research. This study investigated whether the theory of planned behavior (TpB) can be used to understand future job seekers (n = 154) video résumé submission intentions and behaviors. Results supported the TpB model. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predicted intentions, which in turn predicted video résumé creation behaviors. Compared with perceived behavioral control, attitudes and subjective norms were more important predictors. As one of the first empirical studies on video résumés, this research breaks important new ground. It also extends what is known about the TpB because it is the first study to use a relative importance analysis to statistically compare the influence of the theory's antecedent constructs.     

For and Against de Régnon: Trinitarianism East and West

Modern systematic theologians frequently claim that Eastern trinitarianism begins with the persons while Western trinitarianism begins with the divine essence, and fails to truly differentiate the persons. This article explores the origins of this claim in the writing of Theodore de Régnon, noting recent criticism of his paradigm's applicability to the patristic era. In response to these criticisms, I argue first for the limited validity of the de Régnon paradigm by demonstrating its applicability in the Carolingian–Photian dispute surrounding the filioque. I then argue against the deployment of the paradigm as a controlling schema in systematic theology by pointing to problems this narrative has created in the theology of Robert Jenson and John Zizioulas.     

Counseling Without Truth: Toward a Neopragmatic Foundation for Counseling Practice

The author presents an overview of contemporary developments in philosophy regarding the status of truth and discusses the implications of these ideas for the practice of counseling. Counseling without truth is presented as a desirable option when a neopragmatic frame of reference is adopted.     

Toward a New Paradigm for Multicultural Counseling

Wisdom is introduced as a fundamental quality of the effective multicultural counselor. Wisdom is defined, discussed, and differentiated from intelligence. The authors propose that to be an effective multicultural counselor requires more than textbook knowledge. Wisdom, as a transcultural concept, is considered in relation to culture, context, dialectical thinking, awareness, metacognition, deep interpersonal insight, and advanced empathy. Implications for counselor education and professional practice are discussed. Wisdom is an ancient subject that may provide a “new” paradigm with the potential to bring the field to a higher plateau of effectiveness in practice and training.     

Counseling Theories Within a Postmodernist Epistemology: New Roles for Theories in Counseling Practice

Counseling theories have traditionally been considered within a modernist epistemology. Reconsidering theories from a postmodern vantage point opens up new possibilities for theory utilization in the counseling process. The author discusses 3 of these possibilities—theories as narrative structures, theoretical truth redefined as pragmatic utility, and egalitarianism in the counseling relationship—along with their implications for counseling practice.