[thechat] List etiquette, resume advice

[Martin Burns]

On Mon, 24 Feb 2003, Erik Mattheis wrote:

> 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.

+42 on that. And it's only to get you past the *first* hurdle - it isn't
going to get you the job.

> 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

Yes, yes, yes. Write it for your audience, who are *not* your professor.
Make sure you list the company, especially if it's got name recognition
for your target (I *always* make sure I name-check http://www.rbs.co.uk/
if I'm targeting the financial sector, but probably wouldn't if I were
after the CPG sector (where I would cite http://www.diageo.com))

The other thing to bear in mind is that if you're after an IT job, the
vast majority of IT recruiters are recruiters, not IT people. They're
keyword scanning either electronically or visually (and often without too
much discrimination - I've seen jobs advertised requiring Pearl skills).

Hit the buttons and you make it out of the discard pile. You still don't
get the interview, let alone the job, but you're through the first filter.

Cheers
Martin
 --
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie