[TriLUG] looking for resume writer/improver

[Maxwell Spangler]

On Sun, 2011-01-23 at 14:12 -0500, Chris Merrill wrote:

> 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..

Chris is sharing excellent information about the hiring process from his
end at his company.

But I want to use his remarks to point out something that makes the
hiring process so amazingly frustrating.

On one hand, Chris suggests creating a targeted cover letter and resume
for the job in question.  So perhaps you want to work for Chris but you
don't know him and can't get in touch with him.  But you do your
research on his industry, his company, his technologies and perhaps even
his clients.  You are genuinely excited about the work and environment
so you craft a cover letter targeted to this work showing how you've
done it and things similar to it in the past.  If they have 4 people and
need a fifth, you're making the case that you're a perfect fit!

But, as Chris suggested, he sometimes likes to hire people with other,
complimentary skills.  So in this case, you might be out because you are
*too much of a fit* for the job.

This illustrates the reality that hiring managers have to do whatever
they think will get them the best results and how sometimes their
process will be completely the opposite of what you've been told by many
others .  Their process may even be the opposite of the methods that
have been successful *for you* in the past.  In some cases, I think you
truly have to just try your best and accept defeat due to reasons beyond
your control and keep looking.

This is a shame because employers talk about wanting the best people and
job seekers want work they are passionate about but the process in the
middle often fails to link them together.

The painful part of this is the depression and hopelessness that occurs
naturally after so many weeks or months of doing this.  Imagine taking
1-2 days to do research per job and send it out only to hear nothing or
a negative assessment of your fit for the job.  It starts a cycle of
defeat that makes you want to give up: you get interested, more
interested, excited, start considering or "planning" how you'd commute
to this job and what rewards might be there, only to hear nothing as a
result.

I spent months trying to figure out what I could do better to "play the
game" of seeking a job.  But the conflicting information and lack of
feedback from employers left me feeling like I should give up.

So now I try to spread the word that the hiring process is "broken."
It's my *opinion* that the best thing to do is create a solid
"foundation" for finding a job: a resume (or a few varieties as others
have suggested) that YOU believe in, a good network of contacts who can
support you, and good belief that if you throw enough darts at the dart
board you will eventually hit your mark.

-- 
Maxwell Spangler
========================================================================
        Linux System Administration / Computing Services
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        Boulder, Colorado
        http://www.maxwellspangler.com