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A few things that I've found helpful in resume/interview process ...
1. I have a skills section which lists tools, processes, languages. I
indicate whether I am expert or proficient in each. I personally feel that
the thinking part (analysis, planning, processes, etc.) is of greater value
than the hammer, er tool, I used to put it out on.
2. A good cover letter, sent with your resume, is a good way to hit on very
specific points asked for in a job listing. I like the earlier suggestion of
the side-by-side mapping of what the job asks for with what you can do. You
can use this to indicate how you've successfully used tools they mention to
create a project. It's also a good place to say that you've worked
extensively with a certain tool, such as RoboHelp, and know that it won't
take anytime at all to adapt to their preferred tool, such as ForeHelp.
After all, what counts is your understanding of the underlying technology.
3. My resume is two pages, always printed front-to-back. As a writer, it's a
good challenge to synthesize my years of experience into two really
excellent pages. I normally get interviews from about 80% of resumes that I
submit, which I consider an excellent average. In my portfolio, I have an
introduction to each item that explains the processes and tools and any
other relevant challenges or constraints. In addition to giving some extra
information about the work sample, it's a good launching point for
discussion during the interview. I always like dealing with my concrete
examples better than answering bizarre abstract questions that so often crop
up in interviews.
Suzanne Chiles
NID Information Engineering
Intel Corporation
suzannex -dot- chiles -at- intel -dot- com
503-712-1911
