| Summary: | Available research on the resume genre assumes that the communicative purpose
of the resume is promotional and persuasive. While there is ample evidence that this
premise is true for North American resumes, the research on resumes across cultures is
limited (Popken, 1993). Yet in light of the current trends of globalization and migration
of skilled workers, the resume becomes an important genre to study cross-culturally.
Research Question 1 explores the communicative purposes of the resume genre to see
whether they are culturally universal. The findings here add to the limited research base
by investigating the resume-writing practices of North America, Japan, and Russia.
Research Question 2 is linked to Research Question 1 as it explores the issue of
genre analysis: How can choice as revealed in insider accounts link genre,
communicative purposes, and the social and cultural context of a genre? The study looks
at the resume as a process and uses Systemic Functional Linguistics to examine language
as a system of choice from which certain options are selected to achieve the desired
outcomes (Halliday, 1994; Hasan, 1996). The thesis further draws on Mohan's (2000)
look at language as choices based on reasons which are rooted in socioculturally
grounded values and beliefs. Taking this decision-making perspective, the study
examines the "insider accounts" (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1983) of 12 groups of
participants through the discourse of the resume-editing sessions and interviews. It looks
at how people make decisions about the genre while writing a resume and talking about
it. The participants' explanations of the reasons behind their choices are examined to
illuminate the sociocultural aspects of the resume and interpret its communicative
purpose across the three cultures.
The findings show that while the broad purpose of the resume may be the same
across cultures, it can be expressed differently through resume layout, content, and
language. The reasons behind each of these choices are based on cultural beliefs which
can be made explicit by examining the discourse of people who are engaged in talking
about their choices while constructing a genre.
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