TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: resume fondling -- am I being too picky? From:Bill Swallow <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sat, 30 Apr 2005 18:23:50 -0400
I'm not advocating tossing a resume because it has a typo on it. I
don't think I ever stated that, and I'm curious as to how I've been
labeled such a stickler on this list under this thread.
The fact is, a resume is not a document to be taken lightly. As a
candidate, it's your foot in the door if you don't have a connection
to use. You should ensure it's perfect for the position you're
applying for in every way possible.
I will not toss a resume for a typo. I will not toss a resume for
layout I deem less than attractive. I WILL toss a resume in which
technologies are misspelled or misused. An example would be "Quark
Express" (round-filed that resume) or "I delivered documentation in
print, PDF, and RoboHelp" (round-filed that resume too).
These are real-world examples. I paraphrased the second example from
memory, but it was on a resume I have received in the past.
On a humorous note, I received a resume that had "VoIP" listed as a
programming language they were proficient in.
Now, the VoIP example is extreme, but it's not uncommon for me to
recieve resumes in which the "Quark Express" and "RoboHelp" scenarios
are present. Do I want to hire someone who doesn't know how to spell
the name of a tool they use? Do I want to hire someone who thinks
RoboHelp is an output format?
No, I don't. THIS is what I will discard a resume for. Not a simple
typo or poor choice of formatting (though the typos and formatting
errors will send your resume down the stack from the top).
To my knowledge I have not tossed a resume due to misunderstanding of
use, since I participate in a triage-style resume review with several
others prior to selecting candidates for an interview. I don't want to
limit my interviewees to what I alone deem "worthy".
Does that clarify my position?
On 4/30/05, John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
>
> There's a differencde between sloppy and an error. It seems that
> everyone will toss into the garbage ple a resume from someone who is
> extemely qualified to produce brilliant deliverables based on one
> error. Sorry, I'm not that perfect, I'm not going to insist ona
> standard that I cannot meet.
>
> Second thought...I wonder how many people have received a resume, saw
> what they thought as an error and dumped it, when in fact, it was
> they who misunderstood the usage.
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
