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Resume Tips For Jobs
JerseyTom writes "SAGEWire reports that with the economy speeding
up, more and more people
are freshening up their
resumés. They've printed an article by Tom
Limoncelli, co-author of TPoSaNA, that offers specific advice for geeks writing resumes." 'Course, I'm not sure how much I believe the economy speeding up - but still good information.,
Don't write a 10 page essay about your previous jobs
http://whatexit.org/tal/mywritings/resumetips.html
*snark*
.com I work for (and yes, there -are- many still in business) is -profitable-, and has been for the last year and a half, or so. I have a job for the next couple of years, for sure. That said, I haven't had a problem finding another job (which I start Nov 4).
It -may- be the longest bear market, but it certain is -not- the worst, job wise.
We're still under 7% unemployment (or is it still under 6?). That -by itself- tells me that while it's hanging on, it certainly isn't nearly as sever as it could have been.
Additionally, the market is -now- at about the levels it should have been if the tech bubble hadn't existed.
As an investor, I'd be buying. Things are cheap, and at least for the short term, getting cheaper.
As for the IT sector getting hit hardest: so what?
How many other "techies" have you worked with that didn't have a clue, and only had the job because some manager needed a body to put in that seat? The
If you're having problems finding a new job, after getting laid off, one of these is true:
1. the area you live in sucks. MOVE.
2. you aren't nearly as skilled as you think you are.
3. you aren't nearly as skilled as the -other- applicants are.
More than likely it's a combination of 1 and 3. or 1 and 2 (although 2 and 3 is a good combo, too).
And don't let that lack of a degree get you down, 5 years experience makes up for it...even in academia *smirk*
Something a lot of people out there need to do is build up a solid network of friends and contacts, moreso than anything else. A solid recommendation from someone inside an organization will go farther than anything else; there is more than a grain of truth to the fact that the good jobs never make it to a forum like Monster. Especially so in today's economic climate.
/. crowd do not represent the demographic who sell themselves best :).
It's worthwhile to keep business cards. It's worthwhile to go out of your way to socialize with people in your industry. Go to trade meetings when you can. Hell, get involved in some open source projects where you can meet some people.
Learning to sell yourself is the biggest thing. A resume is part of that, but it's only a part. Unfortunately, the
..don't panic
Thirdly, the "Jack of All Trades" background is getting harder to place. Employers want someone with large (sometimes unreasonably so) amounts of experience in particular (sometimes obscure) areas. It used to be that having a generic background was a good thing.
I have heard the opposite from a training institute instructer and IT placement specialist (although they may be biased somehow).
They said that mostly small companies are hiring, not larger ones at this point in time. These small companies *do* want a jack-of-all-IT person because they don't have a big enough staff for specialists that we are used to (DBA, programmer, network specialist, help desk, etc.).
Thus, I am getting conflicting information.
I would also like to see a forum/story on making a *backup* career for oneself being that IT tends to be very recession-sensative.
Table-ized A.I.
Avoid spelling mistakes and typos. Come on folks, this is a resume. If you misspell something, then your chances just got cut in half. Once we were interviewing for a documentation person, and she misspelled 3 words on her resume. She had no chance after that.
A good tip about experience with different things is to rate your experience. I know on mine, I broke up technical experience into three categories: experienced, some knowledge, familiar. That way when you say "familiar with dbase" you can expand on that in the interview to tell them exactly what "familiar" means.
Know what you say you know. We were hiring someone into our QA group, and we were testing on Unix servers. We had to have someone with Unix experience. One guy had the word "unix" in several places on his resume, but when we got him in the interview, he couldn't even answer my basic questions. (what is your favorite shell in Unix?) He asked me what I meant. He didn't know what shell scripting was, but he thought he could learn it. Then came the blunt questions "how well do you know Unix?" He said "pretty well". Guess what, for proclaiming to know Unix and not knowing a damn thing about it, he got to see the door.
Don't put the standard, tired, canned crap on your resume (Objective, hobbies, etc). Believe me, they all start to look the same. What you say in your objective really doesn't help at all, it can only really hurt you. If your objective isn't worded for the position you are interviewing for, then HR may not even pass your resume on. And if I want to know your hobbies, I'll ask you about them in the interview. And printing your picture on it is dumb. Being "clever" for the sake of being clever probably won't help.
Show that you know how to use your experience, put down some quick details about projects that you have worked on (# of people on the project, the type of project, etc) Don't go into too much detail, but don't just say "coded in C". Be specific, but not boring. If you read what you wrote, would some questions about it come to mind? (and not - what the hell does that mean?) Pretend to have been interested in past projects, even if you weren't. Nobody wants to hire someone who is just there to get a paycheck and doesn't care about what they are doing.
Be honest. Really, that is about it. Don't blow smoke up anyone's butt, don't interview as someone you are not. Be yourself, that is who they should be hiring. If you aren't right for the job, then it is because you aren't right for the job, not that you didn't put on the right game face.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
The unemployement figures dont count people who stop looking for various reasons. The link suggest over three million may have stopped looked already in the current recession. A more accurate way is to look at Bureau of Labor total payroll figures which seems to be falling.
First off, nobody should look for a job without reading Nick Corcodilos' excellent Ask The Headhunter.
Second, think like a hiring manager. Remember that the hiring manager has 50 resumes in a folder that HR has dumped in his lap, or worse, 50 emails that have been forwarded from HR.
Tell me, as a manager, exactly what you can do for me. This might mean some extra work on your part customizing a copy of your resume, and of course writing a job-specific cover letter. DO IT. Don't skimp here.
I want to know exactly what the applicant can do to help me out. Make a thumbnail sketch of what you are. The top of my resume looks like this:
Five lines sum up my background and experience, and highlight my key skills. Compare this with the standard meaningless "Objective" heading. Besides, "To obtain a position as a developer that will utilize my skills & experience" is just cargo-cult resume writing.Other little notes from my resume sins file:
Ask The Headhunter makes the key point that managers WANT to hire you. They want to find someone that they can hire so that we can all get back to doing real work. Make it easy for me to see that you are the person for the job.
There are a TON of sites that give cover letter advice. http://www.about.com has plenty. The body of a cover letter should go like this: Dear (get the NAME of someone, don't write HR Manager unless they tell you to), I am writing to inquire about the recent position for a (job title) listed in your advertisement (list where advertised). I am seeking new employment and this position seems a perfect match. I am currently (list college attendance, or "working as a (job position)"). I have xx years experience and am skilled in (plug your skills here). Feel free to contact the technical references listed in my resume'. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, (your name) A cover letter makes you different from those around you who weren't willing to go the extra mile. It's like wearing a tie and slacks to an interview, even if you're not big on dress clothes. When 50 people are interviewing for a job, make sure you do everything possible to make sure you're not one of the 49 who doesn't get it.
Never look down your nose at others. Someday, someone is bound to see your boogers.
I've reviewed a lot of resumes. A lot. One piece of advice; write a cover letter, very brief (a paragraph!) that is costomized _specifically_ for where you are applying. Furthermore, I suggest that you touch up your resume for every job.
The point of the cover letter: to get the interviewer to read the resume, and to positively bias them towards what they read there.
The point of the resume: to get the interviewer to want to interview you.
Don't oversell any one point. It's a waste of energy. The point of your resume is not to get the interviewer to want to hire you. The point of your resume is to get the interviewer to want to interview you.
For tech jobs, make sure you have a "buzzword" section. Little to no prose is acceptible in this section. We interviewers have short attention spans. It's common for us to use a yellow hiliter and simply hilite your technical skills. It's quite possible that we can make the decision to interview you on your cover letter alone. To wit:
"
Dear Sir or Madam,
I noticed that XYZ widget company is looking for a skilled senior XXX engineer. I've long had an interest in your company, and I'm enthused with the work that you've done, particularly in the area of ZZZ research. I have up-to-date skills in XXX-A, XXX-B, and XXX-C. Let's schedule an interview to see how it would be possible for me to contribute to your team.
--[Signed, hotshot]"
Anyway, hope this helps.
C//
Oh, and another thing: my "Education" section is the best way I've found to honestly document that fact that I don't have a sheepskin. Over the years, I've had several people read it, ask about the degree, shrug, and make the offer anyway. Be honest.
Know your audience. The type of job you are searching for should form your resume. It should also emphasize your strengths.
Sadly, when employers hire these days, they can truly pick among the best. Out of fourty people who applied for a temporary position I'm hiring for, seven are so talented and well fit that I'm almost down to tossing a die.
Anyhow, you should also make a good application. Write briefly about what skills in your resume you think will enable you to do a good job.
That's all I can tell you. The rest is probably position specific. Tailor yourself to the position as far as possible.
Stop the brainwash