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Admin
for a "Technical" position that lists multiple technologies, I tend to ramble about everything I've ever touched. for C# positions, I drop out some of the stuff that's not OO (and reduce Java stuff in case the interviewer is a C# FANBOI) for (non technical) senior positions I focus on how great a person I am, and how much money I am able to waste achieving nothing (in fact, I have noticed in government roles {not so much Private Enterprise, I'll admit} people perceive the best manager to be the one that spends the most money and gets the least done - I think they assume either they're having a hard time with staff {hence the $$$} or that they're working on something big that hasn't been delivered yet)
I have once or twice reduced my resume to 1 page, but generally it is between 2 and 5 depending on the job.
TBH, I'm always amazed at what the difference in opinions on what a good resume' is between 'experts' - I've had people tell me my shorter ones don't elaborate on skills enough, and othrs tell me that the longer ones are tedious. These days I tend to use a resume' as a summary, and add something like "More detailed description of roles and achievements available on request" - then you put some nice tantalising points on the resume' and wait for them to say "This sounds interesting, what else did you do there?" - but I always make the point there is more information availble lest they think the detail is a little thin.
On a almost unrelated note (now that I'm raving on), when I was at Uni, I was forced to do a Semester on "Communication Skills" (apparently there's a perception that people in Math, Science and Engineering disciplines have limited ability to do anything that involves people). As part of this course, we had to prepare a resume, and were then told (by HR 'experts' running the course)that it's totally wrong and it should be presented another way. For 2 years I persisted with their resume design with no luck, and the moment I reverted to roughly what I had been using before that I started to get calls....
One of the problems with following rules about how resume's should be, is that the people who come up with the rules, are often the ones hiring - and they realise that once they've announced "This is the best way to prepare a resume'" they then become immune to that approach, because even the muppets are using it...
Even further off track: I've considered preparing a resume in programming language-like syntax - although many would ignore it, I reckon it might stand out enough for people to at least say "Might be worth seeing what this blokes like"):
If you got really carried away you could write something that compiles - and displays your resume....
Admin
They're not accusing you of being in jail or unemployed, their simply verifying that you were doing someting in that time
Admin
What's really odd is why the MD was so angry about his perceived lack of experience or education. A perfectly appropriate reaction might be to think "hmm, I think we want someone a little more senior for this position" and to thank the guy and send him on his way.
But to start pulling your hair out and angrily yell at the guy for not being qualified enough? WTF!?
It's not really clear but I was assuming the MD was mislead because he was looking at the wrong side first.
Either that the 'merkin was confused because they put CVs in the opposite order in the UK, similar to how they drive on the left!
Admin
I still haven't figured out why so many places think that's important. "hmmm, lets not hire this guy, he was unemployed for 9 months back in 2004. Who knows what he's capable of!?"
Admin
Admin
OMG, this has to be one of the lamest veiled threats I've ever come across. Reminds me of a loudmouth drunk who gets kicked out of a bar and then wont stop screaming about how he's friends with some mafioso who are going to come back and bust the place up.
Admin
Employment is a two way arrangement. Both parties should be able to get something out of it (for the employee it might be as simple as money, but it might also be satisfaction, up-skilling etc). It seems in the modern world we have this big idea that we are all entitled to have a job, and we forget the reason the job exists is because our employer has some sort of objective that we are helping with. We help them by doing the work, and they help us by training and paying us.
Current Equal Opportunities attitudes (at least in my neck of the wood) are detrimental to the work environment, because they focus on demographic balance rather than demographic independence (and demographic balance is only possible if we assume that everyone is equal to the job, which is simply not the case). Equal Opportunities should mean that nothing except qualification is important, but for some reason instead we seem to say "Hmm...the general population is 1% Tunisian, and we don't have any Tunisians in our 100-strong workforce, so lets go find one"....
Ok, I've drifted a little off topic, but the point is that a job exists because an employer has a specific need. When you are hired to do a job, it is primarily for the benefit (or perceived benefit) that you will be to an organisation. If you get something out of it (other than pay) too, that's great, but the priority always has to be to get the job done for the employer. If this means boredom and tedium, then perhaps it's time to look elsewhere where you enjoy the work that's required.
NB: THat's not to say that employers shouldn't look after their staff - after all, they want them to stay if they're any good. However the employee shouldn't take the job for granted (and the employer shouldn't take the resource for granted). When you find the right balance between employees enjoying themselves (this might be by hiring the right people as opposed to buying them pizza every day) and the epmployer's work getting done, you have a harmonious and productive workplace.
There's a series of books (I think the first is called FISH) that looks how enjoying work makes you more productive. An interesting read.
Admin
There are people that can adapt to any technology, but they get bored quickly and move on. There's others who may not seem quite as capable, and may even look ordinary in contrast, but they often end up staying forever, learning domain-specific knowledge and becoming experts in the application (as opposed to the technology).
That said, I'll disagree on calling either sub-standard - both types of workers are very important - you want the long-term person who knows a reset fixes this problem (even if they don't understand the problem) as much as you want the analyst who loves wading through code to track down the source of an issue - even if he won't be there in 12 months...
Admin
It took them a long time to work out why they had 100s of applicants, but only one resume.doc (which appeared to be from the most recent applicant)
Admin
These days I'm networked well enough in the industry in my locale that I never have to work particularly hard on a resume: by the time people are seriously looking at me, it's just a formality that nobody really reads.
When I'm interviewing people for positions, I also pay comparatively little attention to the resume; but that might be because what I'm looking for are pretty rare skills that I can recognize and evaluate much more readily in a pairing interview than I can on paper.
Of course, I only get interviewees after they've passed successfully through HR, and I don't really know what that takes.
Admin
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For example, when I finished my degree, there was very little IT work in my hometown (still is very little work), so I worked in a range of roles including in a dip factory, driving buses, delviering pieces, driving trucks etc while I looked for work.
It's not about doing relevant work, it's about being prepared to work - and if you are genuinely unemployed for a prolonged period, the interviewer probably wants to hear that you were trying to get work, or were on holidays etc (it's also a subtle way to find out if you've been in gaol, I suppose).
Admin
She has no problem getting work.
Admin
I find long resumes to be indicative of someone who doesn't know what optimization means. In a programmer, this is a bad trait.
Admin
Something to add to the "CV vs resume" discussion: I have always been taught that my CV doesn't change much but my resume is modified for every different job I apply for. My resume is work and education information relevant to this job application; my CV is all my work and education information. My resume should fit on one page.
As a side note, depending on the impression you want to give, you might spell it résumé.
Admin
FYI: Tor doesn't protect your privacy, you can still be back traced.
Admin
in the UK MD = managing director (usually the owner of a Limited (Ltd) Company). Not doctor of medicine
Admin
I think mien is 2 sides to. Not UK but europe too. However it is usually said to only list the latest Jobs starting with the one you had last(or still have ;) ) at the top. That one is usually also the most relevant one.
Admin
My CV is typically longer than one page.
My approach is to have :
I seem to do ok.
Admin
As I accumulated more skills and experience my CV started to expand, you rarely get feedback on this sort of thing but on three occasions I did and needless to say, they did not concur.
At first it was a HR person at place I had applied to, I didn't even get an interview but they were kind enough to tell me that I should slim down my CV because "Nobody can be bothered reading all that."
Later I was applying for a job internally at a large organisation so I knew the person I was applying to, he looked at my CV and told me that at two pages it didn't tell him anything and that listing my old jobs is irrelevant because he doesn't want to know what I was doing ten years ago, who wants to know who he is hiring now.
The third doesn't really count as it was an agency and we all know what they are like, they are just trying to fill holes and they have no problem changing your own CV to fit the job they want to fill. Anyway, the advice there was the opposite again and pretty much like the first, keep it short because I can't be arsed doing my job and would rather just skip over it.
So nowadays I have two CV's and I've changed the way both are structured.
The short version just covers a list of key skills, employment history and qualifications.
The long version goes into detail about what I have achieved and how.
In both cases the key skills come first to get the message straight over and the employment history and qualifications are listed newest to oldest.
Now when I put in for jobs I send both, of course the HR drones only skip over the short one but they always at least have the long version there if anything catches their eye.
Smaller employers however like the longer one, they want to know who they are hiring because in a small team one person makes up a larger fraction of the workforce, they want the right person.
People say things like 'Make it eye catching!' but that is bull too, I could format the whole thing in multicoloured Comic Sans but would you hire someone who's CV looks like it was written my a nine year old girl? Of course not, you need it to look professional and neat but you need it to catch the eye... impossible without knowing who's eye it is you want to catch as everyone will appreciate a different style.
In short there is no right way to write a CV, you can't boil down your entire professional life, knowledge, skills and experience to one page and everyone knows it.
P.S. When I started this job, I got to choose my own job title. You might be more interested in negotiating for benefits and pay but given the imperfect nature of the CV, the job title is just as valuable.
Think about it, even a relative low down the IT chain job can be glamorised and I don't just mean the kind of fancying up management do to make dull jobs more interesting. (You know, like renaming the cleaner a hygiene technician.)
Instead of being "Computer repair guy" you could be "Digital systems maintenance specialist".
You'll find its easier in smaller organisations because they don't have so many internal systems to be adhered to, in larger places the job title is decided before it is advertised. To a smaller company though, what do they care, your official job title could be "Lord and master of the universe." but you'll still end doing the same job for the same pay under the same chain of command.
If you do have jobs on your CV with unimpressive titles it isn't too late to jazz them up a bit. Don't lie, but re-describe the same job in different, more impressive words.
Admin
It's like Shiite vs. Protestant. Or is it Catholic vs. Sunni, I always keep forgetting which is which. Long CV for Visual Studio and short resume for vi, which you can keep straight because vi isn't really short for Visual Studio but it looks that way. Now where did I leave those middle endians?
Admin
I can understand they may be concerned if you were in jail, at least if you were actually guilty anyway. Innocent people have been known to spend time in jail too, either on remand and then got acquitted, or a miscarriage of justice and winning on appeal.
And even if they were guilty, they've done their time, and now should be allowed to work in an honest job or they'll just end up in a life of professional crime.
I can't see the concerns of being unemployed or what business it is of theirs anyway. When I go and get my car fixed, do I ask for a full life history of the mechanic just in case they spent 6 months of their life out of work? As long as they are qualified, are honest, have sufficient experience and won't make a balls-up of my car, why should I care?
Admin
Résumé is indeed a French word, but it only means summary/abstract in French. We use "CV" exlusively for the professional thing.
Admin
So when other people use latin they are only "trying to sound intelligent" (the implication being that they are not)?
But when you use latin, you are doing it out of love, and to correct the mess that lesser scalpels made?
Oh, youre with them.
Carry on.
Admin
Forget 'first page', anything important should be in the first half of the first page. So many people fill that part with shit, like 'DOB' or 'Marital status' - no-one gives a fuck about that stuff until they've already decided they might want to hire you.
Admin
So... what we've learnt from this is:
List your job history in reverse chronological order (duh).
Some like 1 page resumes, containing only job history information relevant to the position you're applying for, others like (or recommend) more exhaustive CV's. And there's no telling what the preference of the person handling your application is.
Having worked in quite a few different job roles for thirty-odd years now, my CV is bound to not fit on one or two pages. I've always chosen to err on the safe side of caution, and be comprehensive rather than concise. I have been told that the fact that I actually have experience with weird, obsolete ((and downright WTF) programming languages (which wasn't relevant to the C# job I was applying for) helped me landing the job I have now (which is so effin't good that I want to keep it until I retire), because it showed that I was intellectually flexible enough to get things to work. On top of that, I've never had trouble landing jobs (although between 2008 and 2009, I have had trouble picking the right one, but that was fixed two years ago).
Captcha: saepius. Sounds like something our resident Latin gramma nazi could be let loose on. Have fun with it.
Admin
Anything that you want to get across to draw attention (and to motivate someone to actually read your resume/CV should not be in the resume/CV, but in the letter accompanying it (which should be less than one page before printing).
When I'm interested enough to actually look at the resume, I know how to read diagonally... scanning the page until my eye gets stuck to a section that I'm interested in. On top of that, reading a 5 page CV really doesn't take more than a few minutes, and when deciding on inviting someone for an interview, this usually pays off.
Admin
I tend to bullet anything older than ten years. It shows that I didn't have a break in employment, and sometimes it starts an interesting conversation. "Oh, you worked in a Pysch lab? Tell me about that!"
I also leave 'expert' out on my resume, because dear god, the crap work we give our experts! "You're an expert in X? Have a go at this product that's a Frankenstein's monster of lazy coding and frantic last minute changes. Ta!"
Admin
"résumé" is French.
"resume" is the English translation with an US keyboard
captcha: "abbas" almost a French word ("abats")
Admin
Admin
So one day, the sales guy and I went for an interview, for some project involving SMS messages and Perl. A few minutes into the interview, they explained what they wanted, and would I be so kind to design the system on the whiteboard, there and then?
And I did. Looking back, I think the interview was actually the most enjoyable part of the job, especially since I was forced to use a completely brain-dead coding style guide written by someone who'd be better off in a room with stuffed walls and heavy medication.
Admin
Lesson of the day: Don't put your important experience on the second page, and don't put the second page on the back of the first page. The founder never saw the back in the first place, lucky for you he discovered it during the interview.
Best practice: drop the school computer lab stuff and put only the important parts of the CV on one page.
Admin
Admin
And put the most relevant information at the start of he CV.
Admin
The joke is that French people use CV. We use "résumé" for a summary.
Admin
In the same way that Brits pronounce French words as is they and not French. Like a fillet of fish. In the USA, it's pronounced "fillay", but in Britain it's "fillit".
Admin
Admin
Best. Comment. Evar.
Admin
Cool story, bro. Where's the punchline?
Admin
Admin
Different attention spans?
Admin
But "résumé" in French is a "summary" and has nothing to do with a career history, that we call a "CV", too.
Admin
In Finland we usually send a small introduction letter (or email) that tells the most relevant information about you. Then, if you get into an interview, you can show your CV, which should contain more details. Or preferably the CV should be attached into the email.
The CV doesn't need to be only 1 page, but of course there's a limit. I have heard many people say that 2-3 pages is fine.
Admin
I struggled to get mine down to three pages, but then I was told I could go to four or five without much trouble! The first page or two should summarise everything with following pages going into more detail.
But then it should be in reverse chronological order, the most relevant details first, etc. I now have enough experience to demote my educational qualifications until after my employment history (apparently).
Admin
"Resumé", in French, means "summary". We use the Latin term.
Admin
better yet.. reverse chronological..
Admin
Although in France we use "CV" (or sometimes "curriculum") instead of "résumé" (which means "summary"). Yet another word that stabs you in the back when you cross the Channel.
Admin
And they are agents precisely because they cant do the job and really know very little about it, getting it and not wasting everyones time.
Admin
I'm in the UK and I tell you to make you CV one-sided (like mine).
Admin
Yea, we have lots of trees. Didn't cut them all down in the middle ages like the brits.