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RE: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea
Subject:RE: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea From:Lynne Wright <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- tiburoninc -dot- com> To:yehoshua paul <ysp10182 -at- gmail -dot- com>, Dana Worley <dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com> Date:Tue, 4 Sep 2012 16:12:53 +0000
I still agree 100% with Dana. A candidate who sends me a clean, nicely designed, error-free resume immediately WOULD stand out from the bulk of applicants who submit resumes with glaring typos and grammatical/formatting errors and sloppily written samples.
A cover letter that is professional yet reads like it was written by an individual, rather than by a machine, is the appropriate device for revealing your personality a bit. A video in which you introduce yourself, with a bit of flair in the production maybe. But attempts at humor...never. Its just not relevant to any tech writing job, and you run the risk of looking juvenile and/or just plain lame.
I would be totally turned off by any of the examples you provided, since, if you'll forgive my bluntness, they are pretty cliché. I certainly wouldn't consider anyone using a Star Wars crawl device to be particularly original or creative, since its been done to death. It would annoy rather than amuse me.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=tiburoninc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=tiburoninc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of yehoshua paul
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 11:55 AM
To: Dana Worley
Cc: tech2wr-l
Subject: Re: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea
Dana wrote:
"As someone who hires tech writers, software testers, and software support
personnel, I have no time for games or "cutesy" resumes. Send me a
well-organized resume that effectively highlights your skills and
experience, and accomplish it without typos. THAT would get my attention."
Before I apply for a job, any job, I always do research into the company
that I am applying to. This includes, for example, using LinkedIn to see if
there is anyone I know who works in the company, reading the company blog,
checking out their website, etc.
My default choice is to send in a traditional resume that is tailored to
the company and to the position I am applying for. However, sometimes I
encounter companies (like the one I reference in my article) where more is
encouraged and even expected. If I were to apply to a position at that
company I would probably supplement my resume with a video, or send in a
Star Wars crawl resume. If I were to apply to a position at Dana's company,
I would never even consider this option, and I'd make sure to edit my
resume thoroughly before sending it in.
Comments until now, on all the forums that I have posted have been pretty
mixed. There is a slight majority leaning towards the traditional resume,
but more than one employer has openly written that supplementing a resume
with something creative makes the candidate stand out positively.
My personal recommendation, before taking any risks, do your research first.
Yehoshua Paul,
Your friendly neighbourhood technical writer
On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Dana Worley <dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com> wrote:
> As someone who hires tech writers, software testers, and software support
> personnel, I have no time for games or "cutesy" resumes. Send me a
> well-organized resume that effectively highlights your skills and
> experience, and accomplish it without typos. THAT would get my attention.
>
> 2 cents,
>
> Dana W.
>
> ****************************
> Dana Worley
> Product Manager, Software Products
> Campbell Scientific, Inc.
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> I have heard from more than one person (including the CEO of a technical
> writing agency, which I link to in the article) that they expect potential
> candidates to stand out. Supplementing a resume with something like video,
> or even Star Wars crawl is one way to do so, and an almost guaranteed way
> to land an interview and then a job.
>
>
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