Seeking Resume Advice

[Dallas]

This is a lot of great information and advice and it is very appreciated! I will comment more, but I want to wait until hopefully more people share their experiences and knowledge as well.

#reality

Make it no more than 2 pages. Seriously, I personally never ever look at anything further than the past 3 years or so. Don't go on and on about all of your technical knowledge. That will come out in the interview and in whatever technical review you go through. I take it you are going back into the IT field?

KISSS so to speak.


Keep it Simply Short Stupid.


One last thing. Your cover letter should be brief but show a solid approach to how you write. We use all of our cover letters as examples of all of our prospects writing knowledge, considering there is mucho documentation-O to write about.

 

[viman96]

A good resume gets you in the door. How you present yourself and communicate your skills in the interview gets you the job. I know that may sound ridiculous but since you have not had to interview for quite sometime, I'd spend time practicing answering questions in the mirror. Record yourself if possible.

If you work with a recruiter, be sure you tell them not to submit your resume without your approval per job posting. Tell them they are not permitted to alter your resume in any fashion when submitting you for the position.

Many recruiters work on commission and will shotgun your resume to many companies. This makes you look bad and can put you in an awkward position. One time I literally walked in the door and my wife handed me the phone saying so and so from company x is calling for your interview. I had no idea who he was or an interview had been scheduled.

If you have a face to face interview then be sure to ask the recruiter what to wear. You need to know if they are old school and prefer you in a suit, pressed shirt and tie or if they are more casual and you should wear slacks and a button up shirt.

 

[Hoofbite]

Should you provide bullets providing small descriptors of past jobs, focus on accomplishments and not responsibilities unless those responsibilities are large enough to stand on their own merit. The jobs held previously imply responsibility on their own. I would probably only list a responsibility if it was something that is traditionally assigned to someone higher up than you and only to indicate you have ability that your title may not imply.

Sounds simple but saying what you were asked to do is kind of fluff. You're asked to do things in every job, how does that qualify you for a new position? Shouldn't be much of a problem as you were self employed and likely had some success to do it for as long as you did.

Also, if you have bullets, don't go overboard. When I was creating a resume, I had a preference for a list that included around 4 items. Then again, I haven't really been going with resumes for a while so I'm not so sure how good of an idea this may be.

Make sure everything is in the past tense unless presently doing it.....sounds obvious but I've caught myself trying to put myself into a previous place and time and accidentally used mixed tenses in a sentence. Caught it while reviewing but still a chore in itself to make sure it's not a common problem.

Also, some quick formatting tips if you are having trouble with space.

You can change the text size in your spacing lines to a smaller font and get some more room out of it in that regard.

Or you can just have no spacing lines and set the line breaks to like 6 in between your chunks of writing.

Having not really been employed by someone else might make things tough after a long while. Your previous accomplishments as an employee might be so dated that they don't even register at this time.

At the same time, you likely have a ton of experience that probably doesn't show up on a traditional application so you can probably fill more than enough space with that.

 

[Hoofbite]

As I side note, I heard there was a company a while back (a big one, something along the lines of google or microsoft or whatever) that would screen submitted resumes by using a text finder.

If your resume didn't include certain words or phrases, it wouldn't even be printed off the web. It would just get filed away as though it never existed.

Anyway, some guy figured it out, likely through inside sources.

So he wrote in all these key words and phrases around the border of his resume in really small font. He also set the text to the color white.

As a result, his resume passed through the screener with flying colors and when they printed it off, the text on the border never showed up.

Pretty clever.

 

[cowboyspride1980]

i just googled stuff not to put on resume and came across this list of stuff people actually wrote on their resume...

1. I am very detail-oreinted.

2. My intensity and focus are at inordinately high levels, and my ability to complete projects on time is unspeakable.

3. Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty!

4. Enclosed is a ruff draft of my resume.

5. It’s best for employers that I not work with people.

6. Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.

7. I am a quick leaner, dependable, and motivated.

8. If this resume doesn’t blow your hat off, then please return it in the enclosed envelope.

9. My fortune cookie said, “Your next interview will result in a job.” And I like your company in particular.

10. I saw your ad on the information highway, and I came to a screeching halt.

11. Insufficient writing skills, thought processes have slowed down some. If I am not one of the best, I will look for another opportunity.

12. Please disregard the attached resume-it is terribly out of date.

13. Seek challenges that test my mind and body, since the two are usually inseparable.

14. Graduated in the top 66% of my class.

15. Reason for leaving last job: The owner gave new meaning to the word paranoia. I prefer to elaborate privately.

16. Previous experience: Self-employed-a fiasco.

17. Exposure to German for two years, but many words are inappropriate for business.

18. Experience: Watered, groomed, and fed the family dog for years.

19. I am a rabid typist.

20. I have a bachelorette degree in computers.

21. Excellent memory; strong math aptitude; excellent memory; effective management skills; and very good at math.

22. Strengths: Ability to meet deadlines while maintaining composer.

23. I worked as a Corporate Lesion.

24. Reason for leaving last job: Pushed aside so the vice president’s girlfriend could steal my job.

25. Married, eight children. Prefer frequent travel.

26. Objective: To have my skills and ethics challenged on a daily basis.

27. Special skills: Thyping.

28. My ruthlessness terrorized the competition and can sometimes offend.

29. I can play well with others.

30. Personal Goal: To hand-build a classic cottage from the ground up using my father-in-law.

31. Objective: I want a base salary of $50-$60,000 dollars, not including bonus. And some decent benefits. Like a retirement plan, health insurance, personal or sick days.

32. Experience: Provided correct answers to customers’ questions.

33. Education: Graduated from predatory school with honors.

34. Never been fired, although it could happen anytime now.

35. I have happily been a “kept man” for the past 10 years.

36. Have extensive experience in turkey manufactures as well as new product development and implementation.

37. I am accustomed to speaking in front of all kinds of audiences. I make points as well as I can.

38. Personal: Five children. Dog: Jasper. Cat: Morris. Gerbil: Binky.

39. While in military, was instrumental in creation of a treat detection system.

40. My compensation package at my last job included a base salary of $64,500 with excellent benefits including flextime. I am looking for a position in which I can work a more flexible schedule.

41. Hire me and you won’t regret it - I am funny, cute, smart and creative… really.

42. Referees available upon request.

43. Previous rank: Senior instigator.

44. I have recently sold my home and I now live in a large RV so I will be able to relocate quickly.

45. Reason for leaving: They stopped paying me.

46. Cover letter: Desire the chance to showcase my delightful personality, intelligence and superior judgment, which are so hard to find these days.

47. Personal achievements: Successfully played “Chop Sticks” on a toy piano with my big toes.

48. Objective: To obtain a position where I can make a difference, infecting others with my professionalism, enthusiasm and dedication.

49. Strengths: Impersonal skills.

50. Special interests: I like any projects that are fun.

51. Please explain any breaks in your employment career: 15 minute coffee break while working at a home improvement store.

52. Vocational plans: Sea World.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

"Tweak" your resume for each specific job, look up key words in the job description and try to place them in your abilities. A lot of these places use key word finders that will find key words in your resume.