Trends in the employment process: résumés and job application letters

Abstract
Gaining suitable employment is a major concern of job seekers. Times change and preferences of Human Resources Officers (HROs) in relation to résumés and job application letters change with the times. What trends have developed over the past 20 years that may give clues to present and future preferences of HROs for content of résumés and application letters that they receive? Authors of this paper have conducted three surveys of large companies (The Fortune 500 Corporations) at evenly spaced intervals over the past 20 years. These surveys reveal trends and preferences of HROs of large businesses concerning content they expect in résumés and job application letters. This paper presents these preferences and trends.