[thechat] List etiquette, resume advice

[Erik Mattheis]

You have this going for you: The job market is better then when I
graduated in '91. My first job out of college was as a headhunter; two
resume tips for every job that's not academic or overly technical in a
specific manner:

They'll never get to a page 2, so make sure your resume ends on page 1.
The goal of submitting a resume isn't to describe yourself and your
abilities, it's to get an interview. Don't be afraid to be prosy. Be
intriguing without being vague:

Good: My personal web work has attracted the interest of a wider
variety of people than I could imagine.

Bad: Created a website that received 50,000 hits in it's first month
online.

Good: My [x] course work was especially valuable as it included
internships with company "A" , which allowed me interact on a personal
level with professionals in the field. Seeing how the industry really
works has made me eager to apply the principles I have learned.

Bad: Areas of concentration:
   blah blah bling: independant study doo dad under professor Widget.
   bleck belk bluck: internship under company B

Also, an "other" or "special interests" section at the bottom can be
key. Being an interviewer for entry level positions is boring ... I'm
quite sure I got more than one interview because I listed my year off
from college to hike the Appalachian Trail ... and the interviewer just
wanted to hear about that.

So, you're asking yourself "Why does a former headhunter have so much
advice about getting entry level positions?" It was '91 with like 7%
unemployment ... and you were about as likely to get a hit by making a
lower level applicant pay the fee, or split it with the employer. It
was a fun job: I'd call emergency rooms and pretend to be an employee
of the hospital asking "Who are the [insert type of person I was
looking for] on call tonight?" Then call back later and ask for them.
Another one was to say I'd met a really nice lady in the mall ... "and
I'm blind and she wrote down her number, but nobody can find it ... and
this is embarrassing, I don't remember her name but I remember she said
she worked there and that she was a [insert type of person I was
looking for] ("No, it wasn't Mary. Patrice? No I don't think so. No,
not Anna either ...")

On Monday, February 24, 2003, at 04:42  PM, Ken Kogler wrote:

>> Is it OK to send a "hey I graduate college in 70 days and am currently
>> looking for someone to work for" message to thelist?
>>
>> I don't wanna step on no toes, but I'm about 40 days away from
>> full-blown panic... :-)
>
> I haven't heard "no" yet... Is that the same as "yes"?
>
> --ken
>
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Erik Mattheis
GoZz Digital
<http://goZz.com/>
Flash and ColdFusion Development
Minneapolis, MN
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