Designing a Resumè

[thatwasnifty]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...resumepic1.jpg

Completely OT, but College Park I wonder if I ever had you as a TA . . .

[The Stig]

This is often a problem for any number of reasons. Our best clients give us regular and specific feedback. Recently I had a guy go in for an interview for a VERY tough to fill position. He was *PERFECT* because they wanted a very specific background and he had it all. He was always a nice guy on the phone with me too. Went for the interview and a few days later they got back to me with "not interested." They still won't tell us why. I have another person that got turned down because word got out she was interviewing and someone she had worked with in the past objected, saying she stabbed people in the back etc. Who knows how true it is. Could be spite. Could be real. Could be someone doesn't want someone else coming in that may surpass them in the promotion line. Could be that they were arrogant in the interview. My dad served on a hiring committee once for a university professor and one member voted no on a candidate because they wore brown shoes that didn't match their black pants or something. These aren't things you tell people.

They could be waiting to see if funding comes through. Sometimes the hiring manager wants to hire but he can't get budget approval. Sometimes the hiring manager is being TOLD to search because people under him are complaining about work load so they put on a show but never bother actually hiring because they can't afford it. Sometimes the hiring manager and the HR people don't get along or the hiring manager is a loser and doesn't have his shit together. You never know. I'd say we get specific feedback like 40-50% of the time.

Yeah I understand the funding issue as well. Although a lot of the time I just put it down to "lazyness" or "boredom" that they just wanted to interview someone to past time, I'm aware of the potential issues involved with hiring, especially as during that time (Summer 2008) was when things got a bit worst overall (economy crashing, no money, everyone will die etc).

Still, I don't regret where I am now or I will probably still be jobless. But it's hard to imagine so many places are looking for people, and yet, it seems they will never find the correct people. I do very wish to be involved with recruitment some day, I want to ride that line of power interviewers seem to have over you as well since I've been subjected to it many times. I love out of the ordinary interviews and if I was in charge I'd make it fun and creative.

i.e., in a 3rd person perspective:

TheStig walks into the CEO's office. He shakes hands with the CEO and smiles, exchanging greetings. They both sit down.

The first thing the CEO asks is "What is risk?"

TheStig replies "This is risk."

He gets up, and walks out the office.

Mweh, just a fun idea I had in mind... I want someone to do that to me.

I think I'll take a 2 week holiday sometime soon and put my CV on monster again, and go around for a couple of interviews for fun.

[kyod]

A resume that's 2 pages (not including cover letter) is 1 page too long (at least in the USA). It's more likely to be ignored because no one wants to read 2 pages of a resume. always go for 1 page and list your best relevant experience and skills. i personally toss resumes over 1 page over to the side because it sounds like people are trying to tell me how big their e-penis is because they worked at Dairy Queen one summer when they were 14.

also quadruple/quintuple/infinity spell and grammar check your resume. One of the people I met immediately disqualifies people from jobs because of any spelling or grammar mistakes, because it shows the person has no attention to detail.

[MisterBob]

Yeah, avoid 2 page resumes in the US unless you actually have that much experience. (And I don't mean your two internships and the time you fixed mom's computer. If you're not 35+ your resume does not need 2+ pages).

Do not over embellish your resume, itll get tossed out immediately. Also, nobody cares if you were the captain of your fraternity's soccer team or if you raked some old lady's yard. Be concise and to the point, or enjoy wasting paper.

[Khamsin]

A resume that's 2 pages (not including cover letter) is 1 page too long (at least in the USA). It's more likely to be ignored because no one wants to read 2 pages of a resume. always go for 1 page and list your best relevant experience and skills. i personally toss resumes over 1 page over to the side because it sounds like people are trying to tell me how big their e-penis is because they worked at Dairy Queen one summer when they were 14.

also quadruple/quintuple/infinity spell and grammar check your resume. One of the people I met immediately disqualifies people from jobs because of any spelling or grammar mistakes, because it shows the person has no attention to detail.

What if all your prior experience is relevant? For example, I've only had 4 jobs since graduating from college, and all were civil engineering positions at engineering firms. What happens when I hit my 5th or 6th job later in life, do I just exclude my first one, despite its relevance?

[The Stig]

I will include it, on one line using:

(place)(position)(started - left)

If they're interested they'll inquire about it.

[Okan]

Not quite about the resume, but..

During the interview, NEVER slander your previous company/boss/position. You can briefly explain that you are leaving/left that position due to personal reasons, but don't rant that your boss was making you eat cat poop for lunch and you hated it and that they had horrible management and they or anything like that. Everyone has to deal with some crap at their job regardless of what it is and they'll want to know that you don't mind doing that extra weekend shift or staying a few hours late on days that you're needed.

Have confidence. Seriously. Shoulders back, stand up straight. If you're a bearded guy, you don't have to clean shave, but you want to be cleaned up. Same with your hair. And dress comfortably. A lot of people do put on those slacks and a button up shirt, but they don't wear it properly so they look silly and it really does hurt believe it or not. You don't have to be fashionable, but if you are it is a plus. Go to a mid-grade store (JC Penny, Macys, etc) and ask someone to help. It sounds silly, but some of them do have a decent fashion sense.

A side from being physically confident, be vocally confident. Don't give "I don't know" or "I don't care" answers. When they ask for your feelings on the hours you prefer to work, don't give the bull answer of "Whatever you need me to ^_^ kk?" Tell them straight up "I would prefer to work 8am to 5pm or 12am to 8am, but I'd rather not work the second shift of 4pm to 12am." Telling them what they want to hear and then going back on it really can hurt you in the end.

Just be honest. You need to make them feel they'll suffer without you on their team without really acting like that. Especially in this business where people are getting laid off left and right.

Edit:

i personally toss resumes over 1 page over to the side because it sounds like people are trying to tell me how big their e-penis is because they worked at Dairy Queen one summer when they were 14.

I don't add any job that lasted under 3 months if it was relevant (temp agency job) or anything non-relevant like my summer working for Texaco changing oil. No one should do that. My resume creeps around 1.5 pages because I list all my positions in the USAF as a different job/employment since they all varied so much. I'm not talking going from help desk to net admin where you'd be resetting passwords with different titles either.

Do not over embellish your resume, itll get tossed out immediately. Also, nobody cares if you were the captain of your fraternity's soccer team or if you raked some old lady's yard. Be concise and to the point, or enjoy wasting paper.

ROFL@My ex. She thought she was awesome because she was captain of her college tennis team at North Eastern.. I think it was that one.

[Nystul]

What if all your prior experience is relevant? For example, I've only had 4 jobs since graduating from college, and all were civil engineering positions at engineering firms. What happens when I hit my 5th or 6th job later in life, do I just exclude my first one, despite its relevance?

You include it.

Again, the focus should not be on "maintain a 1 page resume" but rather on making a clear, easy to read, QUALITY resume that has only relevant, targeted information. If you drop relevant experience then the company is going to wonder what you were doing. Employment gaps are not a good thing.

[Okan]

Most definitely. You don't want to go crazy with font sizes, colors, designs... Just keep it simple. Maybe bold the company name as the header as you go down the list of previous positions, but don't go overboard making it 72 point font and whatnot. Just a simple bolded line with the company name so they stand out. Every recruiter/hiring manager glances at these. They'll read them after weeding out the bad resumes and finding the ones that are easy on the eyes.

[kyod]

Not quite about the resume, but..

During the interview, NEVER slander your previous company/boss/position. You can briefly explain that you are leaving/left that position due to personal reasons, but don't rant that your boss was making you eat cat poop for lunch and you hated it and that they had horrible management and they or anything like that. Everyone has to deal with some crap at their job regardless of what it is and they'll want to know that you don't mind doing that extra weekend shift or staying a few hours late on days that you're needed.

not only that but if you're so quick to slander your former employer, they'll think you'll do the same to them.

[Khamsin]

I don't add any job that lasted under 3 months if it was relevant (temp agency job) or anything non-relevant like my summer working for Texaco changing oil. No one should do that.

What if it was your most recent job and you were fired in under 3 months? Still exclude it?

[Zhais]

I have a question in regards to the cover letter...

Is there anything you /can/ put for a general submission of a resume (ie, not for a particular job opening?). Lockheed Martin is gonna be at my school Tuesday looking for new hires as a developer, getting my resume up to date to submit to them and figuring out what all I might need to impress them ._.

I demand an answer!




ie: Is a cover letter needed for a general submission? Assuming it wouldn't hurt

[Charismatic]

Good advice but dont forget to tell them what missions you have completed and what gear you have in ffxi.

I actually got hired here because I am up-to-date on WotG missions, true story.

[Nystul]

I demand an answer!




ie: Is a cover letter needed for a general submission? Assuming it wouldn't hurt

I personally think the cover letter is vastly overrated. It is circular logic- why insist on a 1 page resume because no one will read a 2 pager when that should be concise, bulleted highlights and then write a page long coverletter? If someone can't read an outline then why on earth would they read the prose? I think including some kind of information is useful. But keep it simple.

My whole thoughts on the resume/cover letter thing is this: Make your case as quickly as possible. Thats why I think the length of the resume isn't important. If you state key skills at the top that match up well with the job description then the HR person is hooked, and they may be willing to look through the rest. Don't make them HUNT for it, give it right at the top. In the same breath, a simple cover letter that states FIRST what you're looking for then gives a brief statement of your skills is ok. Don't go off with 5 paragraphs though, you don't need to restate the resume.

[The Stig]

Over here (yes yes I know it's not US but...) a cover letter is ONLY required when they ask for it, otherwise just submit a CV.

I personally hate Cover Letters. I sound like such a loser.

And it is very situational. NEVER have "one jack of all trades" CV. For each job you apply to, if there's something you want standing out, tailor your CV for the job. So if you're applying to an IT job, expand on the your previous work experiences in IT + skills, leave the rest a bit more brief (i.e. your average counter work).

[archibaldcrane]

Virtually noone uses a CV in America. Stay on your side of the Atlantic, limey.

[Clyne]

What if all your prior experience is relevant? For example, I've only had 4 jobs since graduating from college, and all were civil engineering positions at engineering firms. What happens when I hit my 5th or 6th job later in life, do I just exclude my first one, despite its relevance?

I tried to read all the posts, but started just skimming the ones towards the end, so I apologize if someone already hit on this. Let me preface this by saying I spent 5 years working in the online recruitment advertising business for 2 national websites; I've literally reviewed tens of thousands of resumes from job seekers of every skill/experience level, both for internal company positions as well as to help our job seekers and employers.

Due to situations like the one questioned, the most effective resume format isn't the old:

Most recent employer
-I did this
-I did that
-I did this also

Employer before that
-look here
-and here

It's very easy to run over the 1 page if you're doing this. And yes, you shouldn't necessarily limit yourself to 1 page, but it's really easy to do it and make your resume short and to the point. The best format I can recommend to you is:

Name & Contact Info:

Qualifications:
List everything appropriate here from all your jobs in 1 place. This should ideally take up the bulk of your resume and be the section you put the most work into.

Experience:
Employer 1 - Title & dates

Empolyer 2 - Title & dates

Emplyer 3 - Title & dates

Etc. If you are a job-hopper you may wish to put the reason you left each employer in this section, or 1 sentence on a unique aspect of this job, but otherwise, just keep it simple. You may wish to leave off employment dates for older jobs, unless it helps to establish longer term commitment to your employer than more recent positions would seem to indicate (see below).

After that, put in your education section. HOWEVER, be very wary of putting dates on your education, and absolutely never put when you graduated high school (secondary school or w/e it is outside of the US). Few people like to talk about it, but age discrimination plays a huge role in recruitment. You could be the most qualified person among hundreds of applicants, but if the person reviewing your resume subconsciously thinks you're going to be too young or old for the company, you probably won't even get a phone call. Yes, they can often figure it out, but at that point it becomes a conscious action and they're more likely to realize how little your age should be a concern in light of your other qualifications. I can't stress how much something this simple can have an adverse effect, especially with older job seekers.

Hope this gives you some ideas to worth with. I'll try to keep an eye on the thread if other questions pop up. And as with everything else, remember: shit's situational.

[Maguspk]

Virtually noone uses a CV in America. Stay on your side of the Atlantic, limey.

What? CV are quite common in academia.

[archibaldcrane]

That's why I said virtually.

[Nystul]

Qualifications:
List everything appropriate here from all your jobs in 1 place. This should ideally take up the bulk of your resume and be the section you put the most work into.

Experience:
Employer 1 - Title & dates

Empolyer 2 - Title & dates

Emplyer 3 - Title & dates

Not a huge fan of this format, personally. I see it a lot and it frequently makes me wonder how long each skill was used. I'd like to know what skills you used at what job for what duration. But maybe it matters which kind of person you're recruiting. Most of the stuff I focus on is very technical (like cell culture process development or small molecule analytical chemists) and it's important to know what specific skills you're using.

Also, you get into dates and yes, age discrimination is definitely a concern. However you SHOULD put in specific months for your positions, especially if you've been there less than 3 years.

If you have
EB GAMES, 2007-2008, then you could have been there 2 months or almost 2 years depending on which month you started and left. Eliminate the questions and just put the months on there.


Also, if you don't have an advanced degree (MD, PhD, etc) then you don't need a CV <_<