RE: Tips on Getting Hired

["John Rosberg" <jrosberg -at- interwoven -dot- com>]

As a hiring manager, er, sheep, I agree it is my responsibility to make
certain I understand what an applicant has to offer -- no doubt about
that.

It is the applicant's responsibility to make that information easily
found and understood -- it's an exchange between equals -- the writer
likely has more than one firm expressing interest, and the firm likely
has more than one potential candidate.

It is also true that, if you are paying attention, you will be learning
something new in each job or assignment.

The two-page limit in CV's IS capricious, arbitrary, and reasonable, in
most cases. I would not discard a CV (and the applicant it represents)
solely on the length of their sales materials, but I'll admit a
five-page CV night move to the "after lunch" pile . . . . . . 

One of the things I look for in an experienced writer (either for a
staff position or as a consultant/contractor) is a trait best expressed
as a lack of ego -- I've found that writers who cannot divorce their ego
from an assignment often do not serve the project/employer as well as
they might.

Time for my morning sheering ;-}

John Rosberg

-----Original Message-----
From: Edwin Skau [mailto:eddy -dot- skau -at- gmail -dot- com] 
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2007 1:53 PM
To: Ami WRIGHT
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Tips on Getting Hired

Every job I have held has contributed to what I know and who I am as an
employee. The CV I use for publications jobs provides an insight into
how I
have grown professionally, and how each successive job has built on
skills
learned in a previous position.

My five-page CV is a concise map of my professional growth, where I do
not
bother to provide details about my employer (a link to their web page
should
suffice), or describe my role. I list achievements and highlight unique
challenges.

---------

Not everybody knows how to read a CV. Most just look at the data
presented
and draw the easiest inference possible.

'You've moved around a bit," and "You seem to have varied experience,"
are
reactions my CV often elicits. The best insight, however, came from
someone
I currently work with. "You seem to have been looking for meaningful
work. I
think you'll like it here." She apparently correlated my achievements
with
my tenure at various positions...

Well, she was right on both counts.

---------

I guess it isn't the length of your CV that counts... it's what you say
with
it. Although conventional wisdom on the two-page length abounds, and
when it
comes to managers and recruitment, sometimes sheep look like independent
thinkers in comparison...

Edwin



On 1/21/07, Ami WRIGHT <ami -at- ziplink -dot- net> wrote:
>
>
> Tip #1:  Don't send a 5-page resume.
>
> Resumes should be a maximum of two pages.  If yours is five pages, it
> suggests that you are overly wordy, and have trouble prioritizing and
> organizing information.
>
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> Ami Wright
> "Technical" tech writer
> American with international experience
> www.amiwright.com
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>

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