Re: Resumes/Interviewing

[Jo Francis Byrd <jbyrd -at- byrdwrites -dot- com>]

I've seen some really awful resumes where the author tried to adhere to the two
page rule. Because I work only on contract and may have several clients a year,
I found myself in a review situation a year or so ago. I would either have to
start culling some of my contract jobs or reduce the font size below 10 points.
I opted for the three page route. The first page I use to list qualifications
(tools, education, areas of expertise....). The next two pages list the jobs,
what I did at that job, and what tools I used.

Recruiting firms can really mess up a good resume. Several years ago I nearly
had heart failure when I went for an interview with a potential client, and the
recruiter gave me a copy of the resume they had submitted for me. They had
revised my perfectly good one into their format. I looked at it with absolute
horror: Who WAS this woman?! Certainly no one I recognized!

Fortunately, the client had already decided to hire me, never asked me one word
about that awful resume (which inflated my skills beyond recognition, I might
add). The best contract/recruiting agencies let the applicant's resume speak for
itself, especially writers. It's our best advertisement going in.

Jo Byrd

"Giordano, Connie" wrote in part:

> Trish,
>
> I think you're right on the money in asking these questions.  I've been
> reviewing resumes for the past two weeks, and I discard a lot of them because
> they don't tell me anything about what makes the candidate
> worthwhile.  IMHO, the resume "templates" used by recruiting agencies are a
> huge culprit--trying to make the square peg/round hole thing work. A
> programmer's resume shouldn't be structured the same way as a writer's or a
> trainer's. At least in the case of TWs, I'm interested in tools only to the
> extent that it displays broad-based skills, and a willingness to learn the new
> stuff.