Resume
 

I know this forum wouldn't be a good place to post my resume but I was looking through my resume and I realized that after 2 years of college, my resume's description of what skills I have was a little too vague...

Before updating
After a facelift
Does the new one seem to add up alright? The older one was a run off from my high school resume. So, I just simply deleted it and started a new one from blank...

I would say simply include the languages you know with no mention of skill level, the courses you've taken so far related to your field, the operating systems and software your familiar with, leave out the BS stuff like internet explorer and word.

Your resume should be strictly a single page, list related work experience first, followed by unrelated and volunteer work (which mostly gets ignored)

Employers are less concerned with how many buzz words you can drop, and are more concerned with whether you show the potential to learn what is necessary to get the job done. The resume is just to get you in for the interview, so it's in your best interest to be succinct and clear about the things that matter.

If you feel that all of that is important, put it on a second page and make a note on the resume to something to the affect of "All computer skills available upon request."
I'd personally be sure to say them in the interview or possible followup interviews instead of on the resume because after a few lines it starts to look like bragging.

Out of college your resume shouldn't be longer then a single page. I can't emphasize this enough. If you don't get your point across quickly they will drop it into the pile and you won't get even get an interview, and without an interview you don't get a chance to show them your intelligent and well mannered.

YES, YES, and YES. No one believes me when I rant about this. One page is good, two pages is pushing it. People don't realize that a long resume is a bad resume. I completely agree kel.

I know that certain large corporations, amongst others, practice the ancient art of the keyword search on potential candidates. It the technology isn't listed, your CV doesn't appear.

Two page resumes stand out. Don't be afraid to use them if you have the content to show you have a lot of skill.

If you really have the requisite skill to fill two pages, I can see how that would be fine. But I would definitely not go over two.

Who out of college can make a two page resume?

You have next to no relevant work experience, your coding projects aren't worth the space it takes to describe them in detail, and anything else you tell them will be ignored. If you make it to the second page and haven't told them everything important, then it's probably going to be ignored:
A. Because it's on the second page which the guy shuffling through five hundred resumes isn't going to bother looking at. S/He is going to eliminate you simply based on your credentials, GPA, relevant work experience, and course of study.

If you have experience and aren't applying for an entry level position then it is a whole different story. Your two+ pages are relevant and are not just filler. There are fewer applicants for the position so each resume gets a closer examination.

I

Well said. What I meant to say, but couldnt quite squeeze out ;)

I have had the opportunity to look at my fair share of resumes, and I will not even look at a resume if it is more than 2 pages (if it is more than one, the first page had better give me reason to look at the second page), if it is on anything other than white paper, printed in any other color ink than black, or uses any fancy fonts. You want to get the persons attention based on your merits, not because your resume hurts their eyes.

Yes. Everything that cj2112 and kel said are completely correct. This is just a really good summation of anything a "resume advisor" in college will tell you.

According to a "resume advisor" the only reason your resume should be two pages is if you have a Masters or better. Also, don't put your GPA on your resume unless it is higher then I believe they said a 3.5.
Tonight I can probably look at all my notes and let you know.

For what it's worth, I got my first job by sending an e-mail resume in plaintext. It was for a game company and my cover letter only talked about how much I love video games...

Every other job I have gotten, since then, didn't require a resume. It was either through contacts or... contacts. Of course, I still had an interview but I never wrote another resume. I'm actually kind of worried about having to do that, again, someday...

I have known the general GPA guideline to be 3.0, at least in Engineering. But that is probably specific to the major. After all, I think we can agree it is a little easier to get a 3.0 as an Art major, than to get a 3.0 in Engineering.

Screw you man! I disagree! Strongly!

Getting my BFA was no cakewalk. We're in class 5 hours a week, but only get 3 credit hours for it. In some of my animation classes I did an extra 40+ hours a week in homework.

Glassblowing required 5 hours in class, plus 6 hours in lab each week. 11 hours total for 3 lousy credit hours. Not to mention the extra couple hours a week cold working (grinding) pieces.

An art degree isn't just a bunch of fun and easy classes. Its a lifestyle. And thats just the start. Once you've got your degree you still have to deal with the stereotype you exhibited so well in your post. That translates into a lot of difficulty finding a job.

I'm sorry if I've come off like an ass but its very tiring constantly hearing people tell me that my 4.5 years of school was easy, when it wasn't.

might want to add if you got ne certifications like CCNA or A+ i didn't see ne in there perhaps i missed it :( sry if i did miss them

people who aren't an art major (or any other major that is thought of as "easy") always say this. they are completely wrong.

working on a project for MONTHS and then getting a C on it isn't "easier." it's just a different type of work.

Intro to Art is one of the hardest Introduction classes at my university. Instead of calculations and math and that sort of stuff, you have to be creative beyond belief, and if your art doesn't work well, you are fucked into a C in the class. I hear it only gets harder as well.

k, people, this is a thread for someone who is asking about HIS resume, not about how art is harder/easier then tech stuff or business admin or whatever.

Bump,

I just got my diploma and heading to University to get the degree, does that mean I no longer will be needing to include my high school information? Obviously I did go to high school in order to get into college and university.

I don't include anything about my highschool on my resume and haven't at all since I got to college. Of course, now I'm stuck with what facts I should include about my college experience on my resume (shipping it off to places with lengthy application times, since I'm due to graduate in the Spring).

If there's a special achievement you made in highschool (perhaps valedictorian), I'd say include that - otherwise you may as well leave it off.

I'd at least keep the schoolname/location/GPA. It can lead to "Oh, one of my roommates in college was from that town" kind of conversations during an interview. Just leave it as one line.

I thought it funny that you have experience in Java/Java 2 programming, and then go on to mention that you have experience in OOP. Ambiguous?

hah
Sorry, just thought it was funny.

Hey feelgood - which of those skills did you learn in college??

All of them, I cut the list down and the resume looks quite different now after taking some advice posted by some of the guys.

I think the biggest drawback to a two page resume is all the people who, for no real reason, seem to insist that a resume only be one page. If you've got something to say, say it. If you are just trying to fill space, save it.

I'm just out of college and i have a two page resume. This is because of education (BA Philosophy, MS Computer Science) and extensive work history. I had 4 different tech related jobs that are relevent to what I do now while in school (internships, volunteer dba for the cs department, stuff like that). But I also had a long and successful career in the hotel and restaurant industry and want to mention my management experience from that part of my life. So I list 6 jobs on my resume, the 4 related to CS, my last restaurant job (GM of a fine dining restaurant), and a single composite 'job' summarizing the 20 yrs i spent working hospitality.

And just today I had an interview for a job for which I do not have the technical qualifications, but they are interested in me because of my management experience. It's a management tracked position and they seem to believe I can learn the technical skills quicker than most people with the tech skills can learn management skills. I'll let you know if I get the job.

[edit]A great article on resume writing: http://www.rockportinstitute.com/resumes.html [/edit]