January 23, 2016 at 1:30 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Crafting Your Resume
January 25, 2016 at 2:56 am
There are many ways to write a good CV as there are many opinions and many different types of jobs.
For example, I work as a freelance developer and people tend not to want to spend ANY time in recruiting someone who will come in, do a job then leave. The desire for investment in time is not there. So I detail technical experience and education on page one. If they don't see what they want in the facts on page one then they can ditch my CV (and I am happy to do so as a match is a two way street).
Someone looking for a permanent position may want to get across what kind of person they are and have a paragraph or two describing their working attributes and desires. Some people believe that this is best for freelancers too (they may be right for some managers but my CV as a good "get to interview" strike rate so I am guessing that my CV style works for some too - it would for me).
There are two things that I find essential in a CV.
1) The ability and care to run the spell checker.
2) Honesty.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
January 25, 2016 at 5:47 am
I have found that when responding to a job posting it is very helpful to describe in the cover letter where you have acquired the experience or talent needed and what you did in getting that experience or talent.
Having been on both sides of the table as someone hiring another and being hired, I recognize that there are a few items that are important in writing cover letters and resumes/CVs. In the cover letter write complete sentences in the active voice (subject, verb, object) just as you would speak. Take the time to read out loud what you have written. Listen to how your words sound to your ears.
Think of your cover letter as an elevator speech; if you don't know what that is, I'll explain. An elevator speech is what sales people think of where they have just enough time to make a sales pitch in an elevator ride. You have less than 30 seconds to make the reader interested in listening to you further. Here is a sample:
Hi, I understand you need of a C# coder with extensive Sql Server development. I believe I can help you with this as I have been doing C# since the onset of .NET and have developed stored procedures, triggers, SSRS reports, SSIS jobs and the like since 1999. My experience with C# has been mostly in web development although I have done some Windows programming. Over the last two years my work has been focused on Sql Server development for the XXX Company. They are going through a re-organization and as a contractor I don't want to be left standing when the music stops.
When it comes to resumes/CVs you have several options in formatting: chronological, functional or a mixture of the two. Chronologically formatted resumes tend to show a history of working and as long as there are no long breaks tells of your work ethic. Functional resumes are best when there have been breaks in work due to the economy or other factors. I recommend using the action/object sentence structure. In this case the subject, you, is presumed. This structure requires not only what you did but also what the results were. Here is an example: "Developed a database driven rules engine that provided configurable business rules without recompilation."
A final note: be honest. Most companies in the financial arena will do a background check on your education and work experience. Many will want to do a drug test.
January 25, 2016 at 6:54 am
eric.notheisen (1/25/2016)
...Many will want to do a drug test.
Unless there is an IT position at IAAF 😉
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
January 25, 2016 at 7:15 am
When crafting a resume, keep in mind that your primary audience is either a recruiter (external or internel to the organization) or a non-technical HR manager. That's who gets the first impression. It has to pass muster with them, or else it gets nipped in the bud wihout even reaching IT. By and large, the actual IT managers who you would be working with or under don't spend their day reviewing resumes. Instead they get forwarded batches of curated resumes for candidates from which they must choose. Therefore, the cover letter and first paragraph should be an easily digestable summary that matches closely the description of the job you're applying for and within the context of your past experience. At the same time, it needs to be creative, unique, and well written.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
January 25, 2016 at 7:29 am
Good editorial and good link to the StackOveeflow article.
I wonder how long resumes/CVs are going to be around. I could be wrong but kids in kindergarten today won't know what a resume/CV is when they graduate college. I think resumes will be replaced by your LinkedIn profile or something similar. It may be something different but 10 years from now but it won't include a cover letter. When I refer someone my boss asks for "their linkedin address". I think that's where things are headed.
In the meantime...
Don't lie or exaggerate, you'll be found out eventually.
-- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001
January 25, 2016 at 7:50 am
Alan.B (1/25/2016)
...but it won't include a cover letter...
I haven't written a covering letter since 1997. The CV structure survives but not the medium.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
January 25, 2016 at 11:32 am
Gary Varga (1/25/2016)
Alan.B (1/25/2016)
...but it won't include a cover letter...I haven't written a covering letter since 1997. The CV structure survives but not the medium.
From what I've seen, often times a job posting will specifically request a cover letter. What I do is include a customized paragraph that summarizes my experience within the context of the specific job description. That's helpful for someone in HR, because it can be difficult to parse through a four page resume of someone with twenty years IT experience and determine if they are essentially a coder, system admin, or manager. It also demonstrates that the candidate understands the nature of the job and how they experience can apply.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
January 25, 2016 at 4:40 pm
Heh... according to the interviews I've been conducting for the last several years, people have spent way too much time crafting their resume instead of learning their craft. :sick:
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
January 26, 2016 at 1:34 am
Sad to say, part of crafting a resumé which will pass the first stage of eliminations and get you in front of an interviewer may well be to omit details which are likely to trigger prejudices. I'm thinking particularly of age. While ageism is illegal in many jurisdictions, proving it's occurred can be very difficult.
January 26, 2016 at 2:16 am
Jeff Moden (1/25/2016)
Heh... according to the interviews I've been conducting for the last several years, people have spent way too much time crafting their resume instead of learning their craft. :sick:
Nothing further to add.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
January 26, 2016 at 7:51 am
Ivanova (1/26/2016)
Sad to say, part of crafting a resumé which will pass the first stage of eliminations and get you in front of an interviewer may well be to omit details which are likely to trigger prejudices. I'm thinking particularly of age. While ageism is illegal in many jurisdictions, proving it's occurred can be very difficult.
Well, if a candidate highlights 20 years professional experience in IT, then maybe he was child prodigy who started university and interning at Google at the age of 15, but most likely it means he has some gray hair. There are plenty of organizations that do discriminate based on age. However, I'm totally not concerned about that, because there are even more organizations who only care about what a candidate brings to the table in terms of talent and experience. Being 40 in 2015 is a lot different from 40 back in 1985. I've worked in leading edge IT departments where no one was under the age of 30.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
January 26, 2016 at 9:19 am
Ivanova (1/26/2016)
Sad to say, part of crafting a resumé which will pass the first stage of eliminations and get you in front of an interviewer may well be to omit details which are likely to trigger prejudices. I'm thinking particularly of age. While ageism is illegal in many jurisdictions, proving it's occurred can be very difficult.
The best antidote for discrimination is demand. Fortunately, if you work in the data world (w.g. DBA, SQL/BI development, Big Data, etc) then the demand is pretty high. Unemployment in this area is like 1-2% (in the US anyhow) which means that if you have the skills then you can get a job that pays what you want pretty fast regardless of age, sex, etc... In the past 6 years I have worked with several guys in their 50s, 60s, 70s including an excellent 79-year old (today) SSRS developer.
-- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001
January 26, 2016 at 9:44 am
Alan.B (1/26/2016)
Ivanova (1/26/2016)
...In the past 6 years I have worked with several guys in their 50s, 60s, 70s including an excellent 79-year old (today) SSRS developer.
Coding and earning $$$,$$$ beats sitting around in a retirement home, watching re-runs of Price Is Right and waiting for your government pension check. I'll bet the guy runs circles around his peers.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
January 26, 2016 at 10:53 am
I'm not in the US but in a much smaller market where some employers are pretty adept at dodging the rules they don't like, and where a number of the larger companies both send work offshore and bring people in from parts of the world where IT workers are prepared to accept a lot less money than the locals.
Last time I changed companies, the CV which got me in front of the interviewer did not mention my age. I cited the SQL Server part of my career as 'relevant experience' and said very little about the nearly 20 years of other IT experience which preceded it. Once I had the face to face contact, the rest was easy.
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