Re: How to mention distant-past experience on a resume?

[David Farbey <dfarbey -at- yahoo -dot- co -dot- uk>]

I'm sure this has all been said before, but remember these things:
- most resumes/CVs are filtered by a recruiting agency or HR department,
and only those that show skills that exactly match the job description ever
make it to the hiring manager's desk
- always include an introductory section in your resume/CV that highlights
where your experience matches the job description
- wherever you can focus on achievements rather than task descriptions
- however good your experience and qualifications may be, you never know
who you are competing against, so the reason you didn't get hired probably
wasn't "a poor resume/CV"

David
(who has worked both sides of the recruitment desk)

David Farbey - david -at- farbey -dot- co -dot- uk
Mobile  07538 420 800
http://about.me/davidfarbey


On 3 December 2014 at 10:16, Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- westnet -dot- com -dot- au> wrote:

> I just don't agree that  20-year-old experience is automatically
> irrelevant. If someone worked for a few years as a geologist or
> industrial chemist or in the military that could be highly useful and
> applicable to certain TW roles.
>
> If anything some employers are swayed too much by past job titles. Bob
> used to work as an X, and everyone can write, so Bob can write our X
> manual.
>
> --- Stuart
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gene Kim-Eng"
> To:"Stuart Burnfield" , "Techwr-l" ,
> Sent:Sun, 30 Nov 2014 18:20:14 -0800
> Subject:Re: How to mention distant-past experience on a resume?
>
>  Look at that long past "relevant" experience and tear it down to its
>  component functions, then look for the more recent jobs you've had in
>
>  which you used those. The only person who's likely to be pulled in by
>
>  the fact that you "used to be" a programmer, lab tech or telecom
>  developer 20 years ago is the recruiter or HR drone who's skimming
> your
>  resume for key words (not that you don't have to attract that person,
>
>  but don't make the pandering too obvious). The real hiring manager is
>
>  going to be looking for something that shows you have skills that are
>
>  relevant to what's going to be in the contract now.
>
>  Gene Kim-Eng
>
>  On 11/30/2014 5:32 PM, Stuart Burnfield wrote:
>  >
>  > Instead, I'd mention the relevant-but-old experience in the cover
>  > letter or intro paragraph ("... experienced technical writer and
>  > former XXX") and list only the recent and relevant gigs in the body
> of
>  > the rÃsumÃ. If they're curious about when you got the XXX
> experience
>  > they can ask at the interview.
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork,
> communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as dfarbey -at- yahoo -dot- co -dot- uk -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives