[TriLUG] looking for resume writer/improver

[Chris Merrill]

On 1/23/2011 11:21 AM, Joseph Mack NA3T wrote:
> How do you not insult the reader, without risking leaving out things that they may be looking for?
> 
> You could leave out the old stuff, on the basis that no-one uses that technology now, but you solved
> the problem of the moment with the tools available then, showing that you can solve today's problems
> today.
>
> Presumably what to leave out is obvious to the hiring person, but will all resume reader's find
> the same points superfluous? I don't know.

One thing to remember - the purpose of a resume is NOT to get a job!  The purpose of a resume is
to get the interview.


There are lots of ways that a resume can ensure you DON'T get the interview. Poor grammar,
poor communications skills, obvious lack of research about the job/company.

To get the interview, the resume needs to do two things:
1) get you past the HR filters - which means having the right buzzwords
2) peak the interest of the non-HR resume reviewers - typically the hiring project manager

The resume does NOT need to answer all their questions. In fact, it should make them want
to ask you more questions.  (in an interview!)

How do you peak their interest?  Well, that's going to be different for everyone - so it helps
if you know somebody who knows the hiring manager. Are they the kind of manager that is just
looking for a cog with the right skillz and certs?  If so, you want the resume to highlight that.
Others will be looking for experience tackling a particular problem or with a particular
technology.  It can be hard to know for sure and sometimes even surprising. For example, when
we hire engineers to do load testing for our customers, we specifically do NOT look for people
with load-testing experience. Crazy, I know. Instead, we look for someone who brings other
skills and knowledge that we don't have that are useful during our client engagements. We can
teach any smart person how to load test.

If you don't have any knowledge of the hiring manager and can't use your extensive social
network to find out, then you have to guess.  In general for our industry, the resume should
show that you can think and solve problems, work well with others and communicate clearly
and effectively. And work hard. And follow directions.

If possible, craft it (or the cover letter) to indicate that the job they have is exactly
the job you want. This should not be hard...because if you don't want exactly that job, you
shouldn't be applying for it. Unless you're a great actor, it'll probably come out in the
interview, should you get one.


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Chris Merrill                           |  Web Performance, Inc.
chris at webperformance.com                |  http://webperformance.com
919-433-1762                            |  919-845-7601

Web Performance: Website Load Testing Software & Services
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