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Julie's points are excellent, and I'd be skittish about someone who wanted
"flashy" docs too. It sounds like he thinks documentation is more about
marketing. If that's the case, focus on the philosophy of useful docs. "I
use visuals to help the user understand how a product helps him/her to
complete a task or otherwise get a job done. It's not about the dazzle (or
the baffle alternative), it's about putting the user first."
You might also explain that the reason you have had so many clients over
the years is because your resume has impressed them all enough to talk with
you.
On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 10:48 AM, Julie Stickler <jstickler -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:
> >I found its style to be very traditional and the
> formatting more difficult to follow than other resumes I have reviewed.
> Considering your expertise is in Technical Writing, I was wondering why you
> wouldnât approach your resume in a much more flashy visual style such as
> your LinkedIn webpage.
>
> Because resumes are written for a different audience than web pages. Often
> resumes are parsed by machine to extract keywords. Resumes have to be easy
> to scan, because people often spend very little time on them before making
> a decision about the candidate. And resumes are often printed out for use
> during the interview process, so the extra graphics and colors that you
> would see on a web page are not appropriate to a print document.
>
> As far as it being "more difficult to follow" without seeing your resume,
> it's hard to know how to respond to that.
>
> On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 10:11 AM, Bridget Gordan <bridget -dot- gordan -at- gmail -dot- com
> >
> wrote:
>
> > I would run a mile. He sounds like he would be a PITA to work for.
> >
> > On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 9:55 AM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hi All,
> > >
> > > This just came in. I've been undergoing a series of interviews for a
> > > position with a NY manufacturer of high-tech instruments. It's a
> > relatively
> > > young company, has a strong market position and is owned by a Fortune
> 500
> > > entity. They've had but a single technical writer in their entire
> > history.
> > > She was with them five years before moving closer to family and
> vacating
> > > the position. I've read her LinkedIn profile and thought her
> > qualifications
> > > were rather average.
> > >
> > > Out of the six gentlemen I've spoken with by phone, one fellow seems to
> > be
> > > the one I'm having the most trouble convincing that I'm the right
> > > candidate. He was quite surprised to learn that a good number of us
> > haven't
> > > worked full-time for the same company all of our adult lives, that we
> > tend
> > > to move around and accept a succession of short-duration contracts.
> I've
> > > explained that I'd still be full-time at HP had that company remained
> > what
> > > it once was (or had any idea where it's presently headed). One has to
> > eat.
> > >
> > > I've also attempted to explain that a varied career such as mine (and
> > > perhaps yours) makes me more well-rounded and capable of seeing things
> > in a
> > > different light. I view this as a huge plus. Also, our Craig Cardimon
> has
> > > been reposting many an article that essentially states this same thing;
> > the
> > > days of the pension and gold watch are long gone, that each of us needs
> > to
> > > think of ourselves as entrepreneurs, etc. And although I'm delighted to
> > be
> > > freelancing at this time and have two good clients, Obamacare is
> > > ridiculously expensiveâeven for the crummiest, least-expensive plan. In
> > > addition to the exciting challenges of a new full-time gig, I'm keen on
> > the
> > > benefits package a FT position such as this offers. The initial req
> read
> > as
> > > if it was written with me in mind.
> > >
> > > So.... I have my own ideas as to how to proceed, but was wondering how
> > you
> > > would answer this question:
> > >
> > > I spent a fair amount of time reviewing your work posted on LinkedIn.
> I
> > > see a lot of resumes and resume styles and one thing was really
> bothering
> > > me regarding your resume. I found its style to be very traditional and
> > the
> > > formatting more difficult to follow than other resumes I have reviewed.
> > > Considering your expertise is in Technical Writing, I was wondering why
> > you
> > > wouldnât approach your resume in a much more flashy visual style such
> as
> > > your LinkedIn webpage. Can you comment?
> > >
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > >
> > > > Chris
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>
> --
> Julie Stickler
>http://heratech.wordpress.com/
> Blogging about Agile and technical writing
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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