resume

Steve’s Job Search 2012: Resumes

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And more on my 2012 job search and what I learned . . .

Resumes are vitally important to a good job search.  In fact, they’re even more important because:

  1. They communicate a level of skill.  A bad resume and a bad cover letter just make you look bad.  There’s no excuse to have a bad one with so many tools out there.
  2. They communicate about you.  If you’ve  ever seen a dull, inhuman resume, you know no one cares because it’s a pile of text.  A resume and cover letter say who you are.
  3. They help out recruiters and HR people.  Your resume is not there to convinece people to hire you, it’s there to help people hire you.  Keep that in mind (the convincing part is part of the whole job search picture).  The resume should help people get a handle on you.
  4. A good resume is also scannable and analyzable, be it by software or people.  That’s part of #3.

I knew I was onto something in my job search when people complimented me on my resume.  I’m not bragging – this has been the results of years of perfecting it.  It let me know I’ve been on the right track.

It also tells me that these people have seen some terrible resumes.

So here’s what I found works:

1) A format of it’s own.  Unless you’re an artistic type, your resume doesn’t have to be all fancy, but it shouldn’t be a dull pile of points.  Add some lines, boxes, spacing, etc. to make it look like something.  Newspapers, newsletters, guides, instructions all look like “something” – you need to find a something for your resume.

A quick trick here – find a template that works.  Is your resume better like a newsletter, manual, guide, chronology, etc.?  Find something and make it work.

2) Communicate a narrative.  This is something I heard several times – your resume must coherently tell your story.  I’ve written on this extensively, and am telling you again.

If you don’t know your story, find one first.  But a resume must illustrate what you’re telling about yourself.  If there’s no story, there’s your problem.

“I want a job” is not a story, or at least not a unique one.

3) Hit the high points.  A resume must include the skills, titles, buzzwords, and so forth that say you can do the job you applied for.  Make sure they’re in there.

4) Helps the recruiter.  Look a recruiter is there to get the right people into the jobs.  Ask yourself what they want to see, put yourself in their shoes, truly feel what it’s like to be a recruiter.  If you can’t do that (more on that later), then you will have a problem.

As alway’s there’s my Epic Resume Go guide!

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/

Ask A Progeek – When Do Skills Not Go On A Resume?

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And our question today . . .

Are there some skills that are considered too common (like Word) or too bland (like people skills) to be worth mentioning?

In an age of overloaded resumes it’s actually an interesting question to ask – what do we leave out?

The answer, of course, is that there’s no simple yes/no rule.  No, that’s not a cop-out, because the question itself is actually the wrong question.

Read more

And You Thought Your Cover Letter Was Bad

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At least you weren't this guy.

Here's the thing – I can see where he thought this thing would work:

  • He plays up his background.
  • He calls to his strengths.
  • He calls out his achievements.
  • He seeks challenges.
  • He projects confidence – well actually he carpet-bombs you with confidence then sets you alight with confidence.

The problem is:

  • He does all of the above in a wordy, over-detailed, overblown manner it's ridiculous.
  • He over-includes things that should be on his resume
  • He never truly says why he's right for the specific positions and what he brings much beyond his own awesomeness.

The letter is ridiculous, but the ridiculousness is even more apparent in that, if you dissect it, you can see how he may have thought this was a good idea.

The problem is the letter is an overblow, disconnected piece of work.  His overdoing it disconnects him from the people he sends it to, from the job (it's a Pile of My Awesomeness), and from those he works with.  Somewhere he thought he had the right idea.

Now odds are your cover letter or resume are overly modest, but it's always a good reminder that your letter – and resume – display your abilities while connecting you with others.  Oh, and not annoying them.

– Steven Savage