Journal Iamthefallen's Journal: Random thoughts on resumes 9
These are things I have learned recently, and I maintain that they have no correlation to any resumes I may or may not have read the past few days. Nope, just random thoughts.
Do: Highlight acomplishments in a prevous position.
Don't: Attribute those accomplishments to "Loop optimization".
Comment: I attribute the great success in my projects to variable declarations. They were critical to several pieces of software I have worked on recently. Oh, and "if" statements. If statements are fucking awesome.
Do: Elaborate on relevant experience.
Don't: Write a novel.
Comment: If your resume is more than 2 pages + cover, it had better be good. Fluff makes baby Jesus cry.
Do: Customize your cover letter.
Don't: Repeatedly reference "your company" or "this position" while avoiding the actual names.
Comment: Dear [CANDIDATES NAME], we at [COMPANY NAME] must inform you that our bullshit detectors were overloaded in regards to your cover letter in the application for the [POSITION NAME] position, you probably failed before I even read your resume. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME HERE]
Do: Take an interest in the company and the purpose of it, add this to the cover letter.
Don't: Use a standard cover letter with spelling errors or incorrect use of technical terms.
Comment: Seriously, if you write a cover letter that shows that you spent 5 minutes learning about the company, actually read the job description, and have a reasonable grasp of English, you'll be in the top third.
Do: Praise the things you agree with.
Don't: Exagerrate your praise.
Comment: Our "excellent reputation"? While we're arguably the largest company in the US of our type, we're also probably not known to anyone except our immediate partners.
Do: Have references prepared.
Don't: Waste half a page listing them.
Comment: We assume that you can produce a list if asked at or after your interview.
Summary
Write a cover letter, list education, experience, and primary duties. Write a cover letter. Briefly mention the technologies you used in the execution of those duties. Write a cover letter.
Oh, and write a cover letter.
Take an interest and show that you want the job. Any one can be an "excellent asset", now tell me why you want to be one.
If that looks good, we'll give you a call.
However... (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I consider resumes and those cover thingies (Score:3, Insightful)
Things that I thought didn't serve any real purpose. Until I suddenly realized that people get them WRONG. And, worse, don't even realize it.
Yes, I have a standard cover letter, which I do minor customizations on for each position. Yes, it uses terms correctly. Yes, it passes spellcheck (unlike many of my posts here). Yes, it uses proper "standard" grammar (ditto). I generally customize it just enough to prove that I know the employer and position names, and that I read the job announcement. Oh, and that by wild coincidence, I have the exact set of skills that they need.
I have two resumes. The "programmer" resume gets tweaked - very occassionally - to reflect the job being offered (Mostly in the "position sought" part). The "I manage stuff" resume is used a lot less often (probably will change, as I am not excited about programming any more, and am looking to transition to project management), but gets tweaked extensively to the position. The "manage stuff" is one page, the "programmer" is one and a half.
Re: (Score:2)
These things just show that you want this job.
When I was job hunting, I never realized that a cover letter mattered so much. Perhaps now I'm placing more importance on it than I should, but with our techn
Re: (Score:1)
I don't, so I'm curious, how long are they?
I've always operated under the assumption that people who are trying to fill position(s) have other duties to fulfill (and I include HR people in this), and don't have the time to read a letter-sized cover letter from everyone, so I've always submitted a short "cover paragraph" with my resume. Something short and sweet, consisting of a nice greeting, acknowledgement of some awareness of the
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Ie.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am currently employed at the Springfield nuclear powerplant as an safety inspector performing inspections and creating safety policies. While my current
Resume length (Score:4, Insightful)
But how else can I list the 40 jobs I have had in the past 15 years, including that first five jobs at various fast food restaurants? The best part about my resume is that not only does it include jobs from 10+ years ago that have no bearing on the job I want, but it highlights the fact that I usually don't stay at any one company for more than 4 months. Who wouldn't want to hire me???
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What I have learned... (Score:2)
And I’ve learned not to look directly at them. Some of them have given me the chills. You’re carrying a stack of them from the laser printer to your boss’s desk and something catches your eye. Before you know it you’