- 11. "About your software ... is there a
"fit-on-one-page" type feature so I can compose, edit, and design while viewing
the entire thing on a single page?"--David O.
-
- Dear David, Ready-To-Go-Resumes
uses YOUR word processor -- Word or WordPerfect -- so whatever you can do in your word
processor, you can do in Ready-To -Go. Also, each template occupies exactly one page, and
you can always see the whole page at once. There's a 125-page book that comes with it,
which has lots of EXAMPLES and ALSO has all kinds of TIPS for making things fit
(squeezing in one more line, squeezing in one more word on a line, etc.) so -- indirectly
-- the answer is YES.
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-
- 12. "Should people list on their resumes
the dates they graduated from high school and/or college, or is it OK not to? And
similarly, is it OK not to reveal one's age on a resume?"--Jim
-
- Jim, keep in mind that your resume is YOUR DOCUMENT. There is no law about what you can
or can't do on it. (Except you can't LIE--if you do, it's grounds for getting fired,
later.)
-
- So ... DO list your graduation date IF it works for you to do so, and DON'T when it's
not to your advantage to list it. For example, if you have a recent degree in a high-tech
field, list the date of graduation because it's an asset. If you have a degree in Ancient
Greek from 1968 and you're applying in a high-tech field, don't list the date and don't
list the Ancient Greek either!
-
- If your graduation date tips people off that you're old enough to be the target of age
discrimination (EITHER too young or too old) THEN you leave it off.
- If your graduation date suggests an age that's desirable in your new field, then you DO
list it. Suppose your age is 58 AND you've JUST graduated from college 3 years ago. It
probably would be to your advantage to list the graduation date.
-
- Bottom line: You do what works to your advantage, WITHOUT creating any overt deception.
Revealing your age on your resume is never something you do on purpose. People will try to
figure it out from the dates you list, which is why you have to either HELP them figure it
out or AVOID helping them figure it out, depending on what works for YOU. You deserve to
get in there for an INTERVIEW before somebody makes a judgment about you based on their
prejudice about age.
-
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-
- 13."Our department here at Mohawk College uses
your publications extensively and finds the information direct, straightforward and easy
to follow. However, I generally advise my students to consider omitting their job
objective on their resume, unless they're very specific. This information is already in
the cover letter and does not require repetition. Otherwise, I find your resume samples to
be of an excellent format."--MP
-
- Dear MP:
- It's risky to assume that the cover letter is always going to stay attached to the
resume. And even if it does, why omit stating a clear objective on the resume? The resume
and the cover letter should agree, and support each other. It's a repetition worth doing,
in my opinion.--Yana
-
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- 14. "What do you think an employer's response
would be to the following objectives? These are, after all, my true objectives: To learn a
great deal, to have fun, to work with cool and interesting people, and to earn a good
salary."
-
- I think the employer's response would be: "What's in it for ME?"
-
-
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-
- 15. "I have read every page of your book,
"Resume Pro: The Professional's
Guide" and have started my own business "A Foot in the Door Resume
Service." Do you have any suggestions for getting more clients?"--Darlene
-
- Darlene: Go back and check out the MARKETING section of the Professional's Guide. If you do
everything suggested there you should generate some business. ALSO, do try to get yourself
at least a small Yellow Pages ad. It is expensive BUT the reality is that THIS is where a
lot of people DO look when they need a resume. If you have a small local newspaper you
could also put a SMALL ad, repeated every week, that people eventually get used to seeing
-- and then they REMEMBER right where to look when it's their turn to need a resume.
-
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-
- 16.(Email from Australia)
- "I have been a resume writer for just over a year. I am visiting a friend in
Australia (his name is Neil) and I am trying to update his resume. Neil has had quite a
lot of jobs in his 33 years as a journalist. He has traveled extensively, all over the
world. On his current resume he shows, from 1963 to present, 22 positions, all over the
world and not all freelance. I think it shows too much job-hopping. Do you have any
suggestions for how I can word or format Neil's resume to make it look better?"--
Sheila
-
- Dear Sheila, well, it's true: listing 22 positions may NOT look great on Neil's resume.
There are several ways to present his experience without making him look like a
job-hopper.
-
- A. OMIT some of the small entries that are not really needed and wouldn't be
missed if they were left out.
-
- B. COMBINE under ONE job-heading, several things that happened near each other in
time AND were similar in nature. For example:
- 1982-85 Features Editor; ABC Newspaper; XYZ Newspaper; JKL Newspaper
- 1977-79 Freelance Reporter, working in Belgium, France, Germany, Austria.
-
- C. ABBREVIATE. You DON'T need to go back to the Beginning of Time! It probably
doesn't MATTER what he did in the first 10 or 15 years of his 33-year career. Certainly 15
or 20 years of his RECENT experience is more than adequate, and limiting the resume to 20
years (calling it "Recent Professional Experience" OR "Journalistic
Experience" if you want) would a) minimize the job-hopping problem, b) avoid
age-discrimination.
-
- D. APPEND. If one or two job-entries account for a large measure of the clutter,
you could briefly list that job-entry in the Employment History area with a note
"details attached" and have a separate one-page attachment detailing the clutter
(say, a whole list of publications, a whole list of feature stories, a whole list of
freelance assignments, whatever).
-
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-
- 17. "I am a resume retard. I am great at my
job, but for me to express on paper what I have done and what I can do is next to
impossible. I am an automated lighting programmer for entertainment lighting and once I
get my foot in the door I can get the job. I am trying to land a big show on Broadway and
need to send a resume. Please help.--Warren
-
- Dear Warren, you're not a resume retard, you're just a normal job hunter. Actually,
almost EVERYBODY finds resume writing really hard. That's why we have Resume Writers --
for THEM, it's easier, partly because it's not THEIR butt that's on the line, so they can
be more objective. Getting caught up in the EMOTIONAL stuff around job-hunting is a large
part of why people get so immobilized about their resume. (The truth is, if the
professional resume writer had to write a resume for themselves, they'd probably need to
go and get help from a colleague!)
-
- But back to YOU: if writing is just not your thing, and you don't want to hire a resume
writer, then just find a friend who is 1) a good listener, 2) a good writer, 3) a good
sport who will help you for, say, a fine dinner "on you." Sit down and have
a deep chat with her about the world of lighting programming. Explain to her the
difference between a mediocre programmer and an inspired programmer (like you). Get her to
understand what it takes to be GREAT in this business. This could actually be FUN for both
of you because you probably enjoy TALKING about your work, even though you have a hard
time putting it in WRITING.
-
- Get your friend to put that down on paper -- the ESSENCE of what you do -- in something
like a resume format. The PASSION you have for your work is what you want on the paper --
that's MUCH more important and interesting to an employer than the format or any
"rules" about resume writing.
-
- You could always get a copy of my Damn
Good Resume Guide or Resume
Catalog to see roughly how a resume can be put together.
-
- GOOD LUCK. Remember: there is an employer out there who is desperately in NEED of
somebody like you who is GREAT at what they do -- but he needs YOU to make the connection
between the two of you. You can make it happen! (With a little help from a friend.)
-
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-
- 18. "I just recently decided to go back to
work after a two year absence. I left my last place of employment because of excessive job
hours (75 to 80 a week). I was in retail management and was also responsible for the
recruiting, hiring, and training of the store managers for the company. This position
lasted almost 11 years. I might not have left this company had it not been for what I
considered "abuse of my abilities." Because I was a salaried manager I was
required to be pretty much on call 24 hours a day.
-
- Since quitting two years ago I have stayed home and spent the greater part of my time
with my children. Now I am finding it necessary to get back in the work force to
supplement our family income. I need help on the best way to approach this. Having
worked in the area of recruiting and interviewing, I know what is considered a "red
flag" and I'm concerned that my sudden decision to quit and now go back to work might
interfere with getting that first interview. My reason to leave was that the job was not
allowing me to spend time with my family. Please give what help you can."--Lisa
-
- Dear Lisa, You could go directly INTO it instead of dancing around it.
- (Anybody who couldn't 'get it', you wouldn't WANT to work with anyway.)
- Even on your resume you could say something--quite honest and reasonable--to the effect:
- "After 11 straight years of grueling 80-hour workweeks, I needed, deserved, (and
took) an extended "time-out" to get my priorities straight, appease my neglected
family, and regain my enthusiasm for my professional life.
- Now I'm back, raring to go! All the wiser for getting my head on straight again.
- My goal is: A position as ________________________."
-
- And then, your standard resume, cover letter, whatever.
- GO FOR IT.--Yana
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-
- 19. "I'm stumped by how to answer the
question "Reason for leaving" my last job. I quit because a lot of lying was
going on. I couldn't take it anymore and I just left."--Dolores
-
- Dolores, you have to deal with this situation VERY carefully because it can become a can
of worms. Your potential new employer has NO way of guessing who's telling the truth--you
or your old boss--so you must not put the new employer in the awkward position of having
to believe you, when they don't know you from Adam.
-
- On the application blank, in the space for "Reason left," write "Prefer
to discuss in the interview," and then PRACTICE beforehand how you will talk about
this unhappy experience when you do get to the interview. Perhaps a career counselor or a
savvy friend can help you practice it until you are comfortable talking about it and can
do so without "bad-mouthing" anybody. Remember that verbal accusations of past
colleagues are disastrous to bring into an interview, regardless of who was the bad guy
and who was the innocent victim. Remember, they can't "believe" you because they
have no context to do that, so don't put them on the spot!
-
- In the interview you can say, "It looked to me like there was a lot
of lying going on, and this affected my work so I just couldn't stay in that environment
anymore." The new employer can easily accept the FACT that "it looked to you
like there was a lot of lying going on." In other words your feelings and your
interpretation ARE facts, and your behavior (quitting) was reasonable, given what
you believed was true. But you mustn't put the new boss in the position of having
to agree with your interpretation, or side with you about who was right in the situation.
So you need to present it as, "The way it looked to me ...."
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-
-
- 20. "I have sent out
hundreds of resumes for security type jobs that I was very well qualified for, but I have
had very few interviews. Can you help me fix my resume so it works?" -- Ruben
-
- Ruben, I suspect the problem is your strategy, not your resume. I looked at your
resume and it's actually pretty good. But you are depending WAY too much on your resume to
get your foot in the door. What you REALLY need to be concentrating on is making some
direct CONTACTS in your field. Sure you'll need a very good resume to present to somebody
who could hire you, but FIRST you've got to FIND the right people to apply to, and just
mailing out resumes is not going to cut it.
-
- Start building your NETWORK of contacts immediately. Begin anyplace, with your past
co-workers, your family, your friends. What you should be aiming for are introductions
(casual, no big deal) to ANYBODY who works at any level in the kinds of companies where
you want to apply. Once you have an inside contact, you DON'T ask them directly for help
getting a job, but you ask them for INFORMATION, LEADS -- like the names of people in
other departments who are responsible for the actual hiring. Gradually you can work your
way in/up until you find the person with the authority to hire you. And by then
you'll be able to honestly say something like, "Jim Greene in your engineering
department suggested I talk directly with you about a possible position in your security
unit. Could I send you my resume and come in to discuss your security needs?"
- Most employers will be a lot more receptive to a specific person-to-person referral
(even if it's pretty casual) than to an unsolicited resume from a complete stranger. --
Yana
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