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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.""

3 of 1,010 comments (clear)

  1. Another batch? Yes! by medscaper · · Score: 5, Interesting
    From the article : Don't apply for too many jobs. I don't think there's ever a reason to apply for more than three or four jobs at a time. Resumespam, or any sign that you're applying for 100 jobs, just makes you look desperate which makes you look unqualified.

    Gees. I gotta disagree, here.

    First of all, what does my prospective employer have to do with what other positions I apply for?

    And second, I think that shows a sign of determination and, in these times, you seem to need just that to get a job. Gone are the "one phone call to the recruiter" days of finding 50 job offers. In fact, my last recruiter called ME a few months ago looking for a position for herself...

    Go ahead, apply for every job THAT YOU'RE QUALIFIED FOR, and sort through the results yourself. Get out, get noticed. If your prospective employer thinks you should sit around on your ass and pretend that you're qualified and live off of Ramen and potatos for months while you wait, then you probably don't want to work for him.

    --
    Any sufficiently well-organized Government is indistinguishable from bullshit.
  2. Re:Another day, another batch of applications by RufusFish · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was interviewing an individual not too recently and in reply to a question about why our company and this position was interesting to him, he replied, 'I've been out of work for a year, I have a wife and three kids and we're hungry.'

    He fit most of the qualifications for the position fairly well, but that was the answer that swayed our interview team's vote. He's been an ideal employee since day 1.

    Exception? Probably, but his brutal honesty was what really threw the vote his direction over the other candidates.

  3. The real problem is incompetent employers by deathofcats · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've been in the job market for several years. I have a perfect resume, lots of experience that is suitable to a variety of positions, and a lifetime of experience searching for jobs. Since I usually get nibbles when I do find jobs to apply to, I would argue that the problem is the terrible job market and incompetent employers. This rant about bad resumes might be amusing to those of us used to belittling our fellow co-workers, but when I've been involved in the hiring process, most of the resumes I've seen have been pretty adequate.

    The real problem here are incompetent, rude, and stupid employers. I've been through enough interview situations to know that the real incompetent factor in the job interview process is usually the employer. What burns me up these days are employers who can't even bother to contact you after you've gone in and interviewed with them. Think about it. You go out of your way to dress up for an interview, get your butt to the interview, spend an hour or two answering questions, and then the potential employers can't be bothered to contact you about the outcome of the interview.

    Here is a short list of rude and stupid behavior that I have experienced from potential employers:

    1) If you are contacting me to set up an interview, I assume that you have noticed the fact that I live halfway across the country from your office. Do you understand what a *phone interview* is?
    2) It is rude behavior to leave an interviewee in a room so you can go get some cake at the department birthday party (Aspen Sytems in Washington, DC).
    3) When you ask me stupid questions like "What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?" I make a mental note that I will not work for your company.
    4) I sent you a nice resumer, cover letter and thank you letter after the interview. The least you can do is send me a rejection letter when you have made your decision.
    5) Please don't spring "tests" and "homework assigments" on me when I show up for an interview. Please have some respect for my experience, skills, and time. Just because you think that it is a cute idea to send me home with "homework," doesn't mean that you are finding out anything more than you could have learned from my resume and interview. Stop wasting my time!
    6) If the interview is going to take more than an hour, please tell me ahead of time so I can adjust my plans accordingly. It really sucks to show up for an interview only to be handed an "itinerary" for three hours of interviews.
    7) It says a lot about your organization when you interview me once, then interview me again three months later, and never bother following up with me with a phone call or letter (ACLU).
    8) Don't assume that I will leave the job because I am "overqualified." If I bothered to show up for the interview, then I have solid reasons to want the job. Did it ever occur to you that I might want a part time job so I can have time for the family or other projects or jobs?
    9) Where do I see myself in five years? Probably in your job, if this is the most intelligent question you can throw at me.

    Yeah, people write bad resumes, but let's talk about stupid employer tricks!