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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:Milan DavidoviÄ <milan -dot- lists -at- gmail -dot- com>, "Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com> Date:Wed, 5 Sep 2012 17:13:28 +0000
In terms of standards re: page maximums, the importance of brevity, etc., check any on-line resource on how to prepare a professional resume and you'll see 1-2 max. IS the standard. Any good HR person would also agree. If you are a freelancer and need/want to mention a wide range of past employers, you can summarize them in a list, without going into details that go on into multiple pages.
I will allow that in some other cases/professions... like if you're applying for head of the UN or to run a hospital's department of surgery, then a more extensive list of qualifications may be appropriate.
But again... for a TECH WRITING job, its annoying overkill.
I have to presume that you've never been involved in the hiring process/never been faced with a huge stack of applications that you need to get through quickly, because I believe you would think differently about the value of submitting great whacks of material.
I can tell pretty quickly by skimming the cover letter and quickly reviewing points on a 2-page cv, which applicants appear to know what they are doing (and who I would want to short list for an interview, backed with samples of their work), and those who clearly belong on the rejection pile. I have no desire or need to pore through a pile of detailed information that may, in fact, not be entirely credible anyway.
If I want more in-depth information, I'll ask for it in the interview.
-----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 Milan Davidovic
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 12:47 PM
To: Combs, Richard
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea
On Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 12:37 PM, Combs, Richard
<richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com> wrote:
> Are you seriously suggesting that a preference for 8-10 page resumes over 1-2 page resumes is merely a matter of taste, like favoring asparagus over broccoli, and doesn't reflect on the competence of the applicant as a tech writer?
Such resumes exist, and I think it's reasonable to assume that the
people who create them get hired (otherwise, how else would they end
up with such long resumes), which suggests that there are managers out
there who accept them.
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