Xref: utzoo misc.jobs.misc:11243 comp.misc:12226 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sample.eng.ohio-state.edu!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!caen!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!mips!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!decwrl!btr!valentin From: valentin@btr.BTR.COM (Valentin Pepelea valentin@btr.com) Newsgroups: misc.jobs.misc,comp.misc Subject: Re: experience vs. other things on resume Message-ID: <2540@public.BTR.COM> Date: 24 Apr 91 09:36:05 GMT References: <24378@well.sf.ca.us> Followup-To: misc.jobs.misc Organization: BTR Communications, Mtn. View, CA Lines: 111 In article <24378@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > >I have been working as aa programmer for a small software place for 4 years. >I not only program but help design the software, do phone support, and help >with documentation. I would like to move to a larger and/or more interesting >company, doing perhaps the same things. > >However my resume has almost nothing. I got a BA in Linguistics with rather >poor grades, and there are no other applicable jobs. Would you say that with >4 years of this experience (and several pay increases), that doesn't matter? >In what way should I present my resume so that the experience comes out the >most? Try a format similar to this one: 1. Name and address. Include both home and work numbers. If you do not want to list your work number, make sure you have an answering machine at home. 2. Objective. Narrow down your subject. Since you've had many responsabilities during your 4 year term, you probably would be interested in several domains. In such a case adapt your objective to describe what you would like to do at the particular company you apply. Make sure you keep a copy of each resume variant you send. 3. Experience List in point form what you have accomplished in the past. List major projects, accomplishments and remarkable quialification. Something like: - Implemented an object oriented bug database that allows multiple users to access it simoultaneously from different parts of the country. - Established procedures for handling product returns, and coordinated shipping and handling efforts. - Saved the company $30000 by replacing the power-hungry Cray-1 with a 486 IBM-PC compatible bar code reader. Notice "coordinated shipping and handling efforts." As a grunt employee you had many opportunities to take the initiative in the company. Even if you were not a manager, you can still claim one's experiece for having "coordinated" one effort or another. Wonderful keyword. Potential employers also like to hear to you can save money, not just gobble it up. They'll love you for being an individual that seeks opportunities to save and improve, rather than suck resource like a typical power-user. 4. Education One line listing the years, College and title of your degree. On the second line, list the high-school degree and year of graduation. If you attended any other post high-school institution, list it in between. If your average in your last degree was below 3.25/4.0, do not list it at all. After so much industry experience, nobody cares anyway. 5. Previous employment This is a chronological rehash of the experience you gained, but not in the outstanding accomplishments format you did under #2. List the years, name of company and title you held there. Normally you would put three to five lines describing what your responsabilities were. Since you held only one relevant job, divide your 4 year term into two or three, the categories being the promotions or new titles you held in those periods. Perhaps you can divide it into responsabilities, since they probably shifted with the passing years. You should also list one-liners of your non-relevant jobs. Just to show that you took your life into your hands early on. 6. Sports & passtimes Physical and mental prowess can help you demonstrate you are a well rounded person. Two lines or so should do fine. 7. Other abilities Can you speak other languages? Can you touch-type? Can you memorize the cards that have been dealt at a black-jack table? Here you have the opportunity to list a talent that could catch your potential employer's attention. >When you send resumes to hiring companies, does one always also include >reference letters? (The people here will most likely provide good ref. >letters.) No. If you insists, add the line "References available upon request." at the bottom of your resume. >Should I emphasize the fact that I got several raises? We all get one every 6 or 12 months. And if we don't, we get another job, automatically getting a significant salary increase in the process. There's nothing out of the ordinary in getting several raises over 4 years. >I was also wondering if I should bother with taking a night course in >Systems Analysis. SA is pretty much what I've been doing all these years, >so some have told me it would be a waste. It would look good on my resume, >but do I need it? There's no point taking a course in what you already know. Au contraire, potential employers might interpret this as an indication that you have not yet mastered the subject, and therefore opted to take a course in it. Valentin -- "An operating system without virtual memory Name: Valentin Pepelea is an operating system without virtue." Phone: (408) 985-1700 Usenet: mips!btr!valentin - Ancient Inca Proverb Internet: valentin@btr.com