Re: Non Tech Writing Experience on Resume?

[Emily Berk <emily -at- armadillosoft -dot- com>]

Hey, Tom:

I find that your t-letter format addressed my chronological issue (as a consultant, I have worked on many projects simultaneously, discontinuously, some for long periods, some for short) while allowing me to focus on the skills and experience that qualify me for any particular job.

On the other hand, I have gotten a great deal of push-back on the t-letter, even from people who wanted to hire me.  Perhaps this is because of the current state of the market.  On the other hand, people have specifically told me that their initial reaction was that I must have chosen the t-letter because I lacked real experience at real companies.  They often insist on a chronological resume as follow-up before they are willing to speak with me.  (Or, they speak with me, are convinced I can do the job, but want a chronological resume to present to their boss or HR or the team.)

Usually, once they see my clips, they know I can do the work.  But I do think that the t-letter CAN be off-putting to certain audiences...

Thanks for publicizing this format.  Again, I am a believer and I use this format.  But as with anything else, there are some downsides to the t-letter.

--Emily

On Mon, 23 Dec 2002 04:47:32 -0800 (PST), Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
>... I have long been an advocate for an objectives and accomplishments focused resume rather than a chronologically organized resume. I think the best, most concise, and most effective resumes focus on what you have accomplished that will be of interest to prospective employers in the field for which you are seeking work. I offer one of my own resumes as an example of how you can get around questions about gaps in employment by shifting the focus to what you have accomplished in your Technical Writing career (see http://home.columbus.rr.com/murrell/writer.html). 
>
>In this time where job and career changing is the norm, presenting a chronologically organized resume can give out too many mixed signals to employers about what you can do for them, which is their prime concern, and about how you are positioned to offer them skills and accomplishments with which to judge you more beneficially for all concerned.
>
>Of course, I still maintain that your job finding will be greatly enhanced by using a T-Letter approach to all employers and using your resume, focused on the employer's needs, as a follow-up piece of information. (More on the T-Letter can be found at  http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/employmentarticles/tletter.html.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~                                Emily Berk                              ~
~   www.armadillosoft.com\091101    ***     Armadillo Associates, Inc.   ~ 
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