Resumes
 

Just graduated from college and I want to create a dynamic resume. What are some of your secrets to resume building and, in general, the interview process? How about some brief examples of good cover letters?

Not sure about the cover letters as I've never used them but as far as the resume goes:

1 page is good, definately no more than 2
Keep it structured, I usually start with an objective, list education, experience, then additional information such as organizations achievements and certifications.

Works for me. You can do a google search to find more info.

Check and re-check your grammar and spelling. Last thing you want is to have it sent back, corrected in red marker.

Try to stand out from the other letters by having that certain extra bit. Humor will do, as will self-convidence. Try to draw them in.

I'm from the world of higher education, so our resumes are called vitas, and they're usually 14-20 pages long. The more presumptious and sanctimonious, the better.

Platypus has the best advice possible: spelling and grammar. In every job application I've reviewed, the first discard pile is always for all applications with even the least, slightest typo. No matter what the qualifications are, I won't recommend anyone who can't spell or write properly.

no matter what skill you think is small, add it in since it only adds to what you are able to show you can do, from filing, photocopying, typing, organizing, etc.

It's not actually the spelling and grammar that kills it. We all make mistakes (just look at my posts). It's the lack of attention to detail on something so small (1-2 pages) yet so important. I wouldn't hire a person who can't be bothered to proofread their own resume.

My father used to send poorly written resumes back, corrected in red, with no note. He figured the corrections were explanation enough and that maybe the people would learn from their mistakes.

Don't forget to tailor your resume for each job you apply to.

anything from below.. make sure to mention...

• Problem-Solving Skills
  Many of the tasks we face each day in our personal and business lives are complex in nature. People who can identify problems, research solutions and make effective decisions are increasingly desired in such fields as business administration, management consulting, public administration, science, medicine and engineering.
  
  Vocational-Technical Skills
  Today, technology is advanced in all areas of human endeavor. Installation, testing and repair of most electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment in fields such as engineering, telecommunications, automotive, transportation and aerospace requires people with advanced vocational-technical skills.
  
  
  Human Relations Skills
  All companies with more than one employee face inevitable problems dealing with how people interact with each other. Often, the success of a company depends upon how well people can work together. It is the job of human resource managers, personnel officers, department managers and administrators to understand the needs of workers and how best to meet those needs within the confines of the employment environment.
  
  
  Computer Programming Skills
  Understanding how to harness a computer's power and program it to meet the specific needs of a particular company can dramatically increase your employment opportunities. Specific languages most in demand today include C++, Java, HTML, Visual Basic, Unix and SQL Server.
  
  
  Teaching-Training Skill
  Our modern society develops and collects more new data in a day than our ancestors did in a year. As a result, there will continue to be a demand for people with teaching and training skills in the fields of education, social services, management consulting and commerce.
  
  
  Science and Math Skills
  Great advances are being made daily in the fields of science, medicine and engineering. Bright minds skilled in the sciences and math are needed to meet the challenges of these fields.
  
  
  Money Management Skills
  With Americans enjoying a longer life span, it's essential today to carefully plan one's finances to ensure a comfortable life and retirement. Investment brokers and security officers, retirement planners, accountants and CPAs are in continual demand to meet this need.
  
  
  Information Management Skills
  In the Age of Information, America now produces information as the basis of its economic system, and individuals who possess the ability to manage information are critical to most businesses. Systems analysts, information technologists, database administrators and telecommunication engineers are examples of people with highly developed information management skills.
  
  
  Foreign Language Skills
  America depends upon many nations for raw materials and goods, as well as for global markets for our own goods and services. The ability to speak a foreign language -- today's hot ones include Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and German -- can enhance your employment opportunities and compensation.
  
  
  Business Management Skills
  The business of America is business! Understanding of how to run a successful company is highly in demand. At the core of these skills is the ability to manage people, systems, resources and finances; to understand the needs of consumers and how to translate those needs into business opportunities.
  

I have read that you get, on average, 7 seconds to make an impression. In that amount of time, the reader needs to know:

-your strengths
-where you want to go
-little about background

If this goes well, this will lead to more exploratory reading. Keep in mind that this includes all the grammar and spelling items mentioned above. Think of it like a macro that downloads info to the reader. The faster and more efficient, the better.

Scary. 7 seconds....time it!

Good luck.

I read a lot of resumes and do my fair share of interviewing and hiring. Cynthetiq gave some great tips. Proofread the entire thing and make sure there are no typos. Even one little typo screams, " I have poor attention to detail." Make it look professional. Don't scratch words out and correct/update it with a pen.

Regarding the interview: sit up straight, make frequent and steady eye contact, don't zone out, be confident with your answers, don't act nervous or say that you're nervous. An interview is just a conversation and if you think of it that way, you'll have a better shot at staying calm. Don't say anything insulting or negative. Don't make jokes. Be amiable but serious.

A thank you letter to the interviewer is a nice touch and it will give the interviewer the impression that you're serious about the job and respected the time they took to interview you.

Best of luck on the job hunt!

I interview people for a company that's pretty relaxed. Typically we interview in whatever casual clothes fit the climate. In summer, shorts and sandals are fairly typical. That said, our company is a at the top of the heap in our industry. 100% of the time the applicant is most professionally dressed in the office.
I'm putting all of this in to illustrate that whether you work in a law firm or a skateboard manufacturer all employers are looking for the same thing- someone who fits the company.
Those before me have said important things, I'd like to offer a few other things:
-Do a little research on the company so you can construct a more applicable resume
-Don't worry about including your hobbies or interests. If we're interested, we'll ask you in the interview
-References are not necessary either. Again, if needed you'll be asked.

Zotz brought up and excellent addition with the follow up thank you letter. Be sure to do this, and promptly. Make sure you take the time to get the names of those that spoke to you.
-

if you hate writing resumes like i do, you can pay a nice person to do it for you. there are many pro. resume writers out there - even some online. many of the pros will know how to leverage your educational background to dusguise the (potential) lack of experience.

c_b

A link to my resume

I started working full time straight out of high school (while still in high school, actually) so I had to find a way to balance my resume more towards the skills that I've aquired on various jobs, and less my official educational experience. I think I did an alright job, and am open to ideas if there is a better way to go about it.

looks great straight up as it is! You could take away the references part because it's understood that they are available on request.

*huggles* :D

Use a small font and limit it to 1 page. if you have to use front and back. put in anything that makes you a show in. awards (eagle scout), every job thats related to the position you are applying for. and make a GREAT first impression. there is proably some great examples on the net or resumes.

@ go to your careers service.
@ ask for their advice and show them your resume.
@ do practice interviews.
@ apply to companies you have no interest in, but who run similar recruitment processes to ones you are - use them as practice runs.
@ if you get a job offer at one of these other firms, use it as a bargaining chip.
@ white space is important. you want lots of it on your 2 pages.
@ bullett points are good too. no one reads paragraphs (the 7 second rule is true).
@ always ask for feedback.
@ don't be put off by rejection. many companies have so many applicants right now that they almost randomly reject a portion of candidates to keep the numbers manageable.
@ always taylor your application to the key skills the company is looking for. every company has them. usually between three and five. if they aren't on the recruitment literature then phone up and ask what the company is looking for.
@ good luck!!

I think these are the two most important things to keep in mind.

i'll save this for later.

Cynthetiq,
Your first post to this thread is totally valuable!
Thanks!

In fact, thanks everyone for great contribs.

University career centres have plenty of info.

Resume/CV = 1 Page 2 MAX
For resume/CV
-describe work experience in terms of what you accomplished, don't just list the tasks you performed on a daily basis
-be confident and direct, but don't sound over confident or arrogant
-don't tell the employers what they need
-be polite and courteous
-

Of course my background is business and I'm sure some of the customs vary in other industrys like tech

the best resume i ever saw:

it was a guy applying for a position in advertising.

He took out the recruitment advertisement from the paper, and redid its format exactly on a piece of a4 paper. Where they had a requirement on the original ad, he wrote in how he fulfilled that requirement. He emailed his "ad" with the original ad to them on a thursday morning, and by friday afternoon he had the job.

* In the tech industry 3 or 4 pages is EXCEPTABLE.
College & Instructional samples are going by old standards.
There is no possible way if you're experienced that you can get everything on ONE page.
Software lists are necessary, in almost every industry now
And with short-term project jobs that are a part of the tech industry,
you cannot get this all on even 2 pages with some credible detail.
It has become understood, as long as the information is valuable & pertinent.

* Don't only check spelling & grammar; check your spacing and format.
If it looks disorienting, people won't read it.
Detail-oriented interviewers will notice spacing & format inconsistencies.
Make sure you are consistent.

* Your name should be bold and bigger just a bit than the rest of the resume to stand out,
especially as they flip through hundreds of apps.

*** Write down most every software & version you know, don't assume they know;
they use a checklist or a computer filter.
Sorry, to be cynical but assume the people reading it are unknowledgeable about your position.
Human Resources don't know about computers often
Managers don't know really what a position does
Some are idiots
It is YOUR job, to give it all to them in a easy to read list
They will check off this list, if you're missing something, then it goes to the side.
DO NOT ASSUME

* Categorize this list; make it easier for them to look at

* Write down what platforms you've worked on.

* List languages you have knowledge in, you do not have to be completely fluent,
but you can "get by" in most cases

* List what "business" or "technical" related classes/experience you might have had.
Accounting, Statistics, Management, Purchasing, Cabling, Graphics
Even things you've done on your own, and might be used professionally.
If you are a Photoshop hobbyist, then it might be a marketable skill.
Just don't emphasize that you learned it at home.
EVERYTHING is legit as your skill set; you CAN use this knowledge at work.

* Keep your Education, Accomplishments & Skills List on the first page,
Experience should go AFTER...why? Because HR sees it first, management sees it last.
They will be scanning hundreds of docs; they need to see the list fast, not detail.
Detail will be useful later, with the interviewer.

* Don't include references on your resume; those should be on a separate doc when asked for.

* Use power words like "team" or "talent" in your objective, people & computers scan for those.

* Even though places like Monster.com require it, I wouldn't include your years experience with skills,
these don't truly represent your skill or knowledge of the app, just list it & explain if asked.
I've seen people who know more in a short time, than others that have done it for years. It's deceptive.

*** PLEASE, in your descriptions of a job, write down any softwares and platforms and STATS you have used,
this explains to the interviewer how you did your job and what.
It impresses, and shows them you know what you did and how.
I have had manager say they WANT TO see this.
Example...
Not "I supported and helped troubleshoot the staff's system issues"
Do "I supported & troubleshot a staff of over 250 users on a UNIX (Sun Microsystems) network backbone
on systems with a range of operating systems (Windows 95-XP, MacOS 7.5-10, Red Hat Linux 8.0)
Same person, which sounds better to you?

* Write, down more significant projects you did in these details.
Too many people don't give themselves the credit they should.
Example...
Documentation, Relocation, Redundant Site, Replication, Original Side Projects, Travelling places,
Original Works by you, Classified Doc/Data Interaction, EVERYTHING is legit.
Write to impress, keep it brief & professional, but show off a bit.
Don't exaggerate or lie, but give it some oomph.

* You might want to briefly describe what the company did,
especially if it sounds impressive. Remember you are talking to humans here.

*** DO NOT, put down any job that is irrelevant to the position you are looking for,
unless you have so few jobs that you have to.
A job at Subway is not important, unless you were manager/leadership position.
This undermines your credibility otherwise.

It's amazing how many exceptional people undermine their own ability to get a job with their resume.
This is YOUR advertisement for yourself.
Make it stand out, but in a professional way.
SHOW your best, SHOW everything you know.

#1 Make sure it is easy to read and important information can be found at a glance.

I cant tell you how many resumes I have put in the "stack that isn't going to get a second look" because the layout of the resume was so crappy.

Some things I have seen on recent resumes:

- No callback number
- scratch-outs and lines through words
- terrible spelling and grammer (about 25% of all resumes)
- hand written

Granted that the last position I hired for was an $11/hour job, the above things are in-excusable.

Please, just make it easy to read / comprehend.

Fantastic thread, thanks a bunch!! Now I'm getting all nervous about bad resumes I've sent out.

Thanks for the tips, i'll use them to spruce up my own resume.

14-20 pages long! What field are you in? Have you been in academia since the dawn of time? Do you publish a paper weekly? I'm in academia as well. I have never seen a vita run that long!

I believe that over-inflating your resume is a big mistake. A lot of people will tell you to use off-white paper or add various gimicks to get your resume noticed, but I feel like these are just distractions. If you have a solid resume, what are you over compensating for? Putting it on special paper comes off as trying to mask what you lack in abilities. I knew a fellow in an HR department that would actually weed through the pile of resumes and litterally throw away all of the ones that were on any specail or colored paper.

Here’s thought from the other side of the desk:


Regardless what your resume looks like…
Whether you get the job or not depends
On the first impression and the interview.
Hold your head up and be confident. NOT COCKY
But confident.

Sell yourself to the employer

Resumes are great but even if you graduated
From Harvard with honors……….
If the guy on the other side of my desk is
A complete goober……he’s not getting the job

The biggest tip I can give you is this : SMILE

I just wanted to say thanks to all who have posted. This is great info!

As someone who is trying to rise up into a better job, these are valuable tips. I got refered to a job-placement agency after getting laid off, and while the guy told us how to write a resume, he didn't come close to giving the suggestions offered here.

Just bumping an old thread with a new question:

I've looked at my resume and I find that I'm not really satisfied by it due to the fact that it doesn't clearly show what skills I have.

This is what I have on my current resume:

• O/S Platforms: Windows 95/98/2000/NT/ME/XP, Unix, Linux, Macintosh
• Business: Microsoft Office Suite, Corel Office Tool
• Programming: Java, .NET C#, SQL, PL/SQL
• Tools: FitNesse, Jemmy, JUnit
• Database: MS Access, Oracle PL/SQL, mySQL
• Servers: Apache, TomCat
• Applications: SAP R/3 – ERP, MS Project, Borland JBuilder, Borland Together, Eclipse Project

I want to change it to show information like this:

• Object-oriented software development methodology
• Rapid application development methodology
• Black and white box agile testing with automated testing tools including FitNesse, Jemmy, and JUnit
• Java J2EE and J2SE programming including multi-threaded environment, enterprise web systems, EJB, Swing, and JSP
• C# programming in .NET development environment for single-user environment
• Database SQL and stored procedures programming using Oracle, mySQL, and Microsoft Access
• Project management using Microsoft Projects
• User requirement engineering
• Technical writing including user documentation
• Software development in Borland JBuilder, Borland Together, and Eclipse environment with CVS repositories for different OS environments including Windows, Solaris, Linux, and Unix
• Web application server includes Apache and TomCat
• Business tools including Microsoft Office Suite and Corel Office Tool
• Understanding of operating systems environment and computer hardware components
• Development and analysing data structure and algorithms

How can I change it? Or organize it in a way that it's easy to read without having to read every single word of the sentence. I understand that recruiters have 7 seconds to go through resumes.

Thanks!

I know it's not cool to point out grammer mistakes on the board, but since that's what we're talking about....

Acceptable is the word I think you're looking for.

Anyways, a big thing I've found people mistake... is led vs. lead:

i.e. I lead a management team which did X

Led = Past tense of Lead, this is what you will probably use in a resume
Lead = heavy metal or the action of leading. It's not past tense

Something that don't care for when interviewing is the obvious Microsoft Word template resumes. It's not a deal breaker but in a sea of them you won't stand out IMHO.

http://www.xepherys.net/resume/Jesse...nal_resume.doc

That's a link to my resume. It's not updated for my current job, but the format has been the same for ages. Yes, you can omit things like Salary Requirements and References as it is assumed they are Negotiable and available upon request, respectively, however they are nice touches.

Don't overdo it with details that don't pertain to the job you are applying for. If you want to be my new IT Security Engineer and you put a lot about how you can file papers and perform office tasks, I won't hire you.

Tailor the resume to either each position you are applying for, or specific to the job you want. This allows for optimal details within the 2 pages without going overboard.