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Subject:RE: Average Length of TW Resume From:MAGGIE SECARA <SECARAM -at- mainsaver -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>, "'pbw3172 -at- yahoo -dot- com'" <pbw3172 -at- yahoo -dot- com> Date:Wed, 29 Mar 2000 12:35:28 -0800
Paula, I've been doing this for 20 years, including a good deal of
contracting, and I still manage to keep mine on 2 pages. Odds are, no one is
going to really READ any more than that. I find it better to summarize
software that sort of thing up front, and include an "Other Experience"
heading at the end to say: and other experience in x, y, and z industries.
That's also where I put related but unpaid/volunteer projects like
newsletter editing, managing amateur theatre, teaching poetry on line, and
so on. My actual employment entries on page 1 are fairly detailed, then on
page 2 are limited to a couple of lines.
Don't try to stuff everything into the resume. It will just get buried.
Remember you've got a cover letter to write, and that's where you can bring
out the particular things you want *this* prospective employer/client to
know.
When I'm next on the market, I *may* let it push onto a 3rd page, but I'm
going to try my damndest to avoid it.
Maggie
Maggie Secara
secaram -at- mainsaver -dot- com
"All the world's a stage, Mick, but some of us are dreadfully
under-rehearsed."
> ----------
> From: pbw3172 -at- yahoo -dot- com[SMTP:pbw3172 -at- yahoo -dot- com]
> Reply To: pbw3172 -at- yahoo -dot- com
> Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 3:38 AM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Average Length of TW Resume
>
> It seems that several listers are contractors or have years of experience
> in the technical writing field. Because of my contracting history, I have
>
> a long resume. It is almost a full three pages. I do not want to remove
> anything on it because I feel that it contains pertinent information
> regarding application/software, documentation, and creative knowledge.
>
> Is a three page resume too long under today's standards for a technical
> writer with about five years of experience?
>
> Paula
> pbw3172 -at- yahoo -dot- com
>
