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Joel Rants About Resumes

Posted by Hemos on from the keep-on-ranting-on dept.

rbrandis writes "Mr. Spolsky's latest rant is about writing a resume that will be read "Please do not use cover letters that you copied out of a book. If you write 'I understand the position also requires a candidate who is team- and detail-oriented, works well under pressure, and is able to deal with people in departments throughout the firm' then at best people will think you're a bullshit artist and at worst they will think that you were not born with the part of the brain that allows you to form your own thoughts and ideas.""

5 of 1,010 comments (clear)

  1. Commas and Indians by bheer · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    OK, this one really bugs me. Learn where spaces go in relation to other punctuation. Attention, the entire population of India: whenever you have a comma, there is always exactly one space and it's always after the comma and never before it. Thank you.
    No kidding. It's amazing, how many crappy resumes are written in a country that uses English as its associate and primary business language. I blame it on the volumes game Indian services companies play -- anyone with half a cerebrum can apply for a job and there are idiot HR who'll recruit them, so there's no freaking incentive to write better.
    --
    Go somewhere random
  2. Spaces? by GoofyBoy · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    >whenever you have a comma, there is always exactly one space and it's always after the comma and never before it.

    He should take his own advice and put two spaces after periods.

    --
    The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
  3. A Few Quick Bits of Wisdom for Mr. Spolsky by MeauxToo · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    While I can emphatize with Mr. Spolsky's travails when filtering candidate resumes, he needs to consider the well-being of his company when ranting on his personal website. Spouting racists remarks about Indians and stating that he shreds resumes without any consderation are two perfectly good ways to get a not-so-nice visit from the Department of Labor. Especially when linked from slashdot -- allowing an even wider audience.

    Bottom line, his resume advice is good, but his business acumen is quite lacking. CEOs and company owners do not make these kinds of remarks publically. End of discussion.

  4. I know why he's so pissed... by jigyasubalak · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Somebody spelt his company's name as Fag Creek.

    --
    The best planning can be done after the project completes.
  5. Maybe if you ate meat... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ... you wouldn't be a skinny unhealthy freak with a permanent cold and allergies to everything from housedust up.