putting together my resume...question to guys that read them.
 

i seem to remember hearing (or reading) that a great resume is condensed to one page. is this true?

thinking of keeping one at the ready. there are some great opps coming up for me. it has been a long time, since i put one together. i dont want to ask around my office for obvious reasons.

Really depends on the position. If you're applying to become a professor at a University, then I'd say that a CV would be more in order, highlighting achievements.

When pilots apply to our company, flight time is flight time. I usually look for something that makes the person stand out: exceptional experience (military pilots get big time bonus points), volunteer work, something other than aviation (different experiences), et al.

Mainly, I won't spend more than 30 seconds looking at a resume. It better catch my eye quickly.

Cliff - it really depends on your level and experience. A five page resume for someone with four years of work experience is just as inappropriate as a one page for someone with 20 years of managerial responsibility.

I have two versions of mine, a full four page brute and a two page (double sided if printed) standard one.

However, resume's don't get jobs, cover letters do. The cover letter addresses the company and position needs and how the applicant can fulfill those needs. The resume provides the evidence.

Oh - and when I apply for jobs, the resume is typically customized for each job, by deleting non-relevant stuff and emphasizing relevant stuff. So keeping a copy with the corresponding job positing becomes pretty important.

Yeah, try to get the job description and customize your resume to suit.

I hired two folks recently based on resumes that were 2, 2.5 pages. I got a lot of 4+ pagers - too much - shows me you're not reading the specifc requirements and qualifications, I dont need to know every little project you managed back to the day you graduated. Got a lot of 1 pagers; too little - I dont want to go back and have to ask for more, if I have to do that, then odds are you don't have the breadth of project experience I need.

2 pagers seemed to give me the right amount of detail without overwhelming. It's as much a test by me to see if you're blindly sending in your generic resume to me and 100 other companies, or if you're really trying to get my particular job.

I hardly read them. I look over to see if you have the required experience in the field, and then I have my people setup a interview. On the day of the interview I go back in with a highlighter and outline what you listed as being expert in, and I go in and see if you are.

If you get past that, then I start interviewing you for real, to see if your someone who can think, and plan, and be a asset.

2 pages is great, 1 is not enough unless it's entry level. 3 for someone with lots of experience is fine. Too long is bad, too short is bad, to hard to read is bad (lots of long paragraphs).

I generally like bulleted lists for most things with possibly a short synopsis before the bulleted list.

Always put the most relevant stuff first. If you got a Masters degree in math, but now you have 10 years of managerial experience and you're applying for a managerial position, then put the "education" section at the end. It's important/nice to know that you're educated, but since it's not directly relevant...

I suspect that by the time most folks have 5-10 years of exp in a field, that either "skills" or your most recent "employment history" are going to be the most relevant.

Always include a photo.

If you don't, you create the presumption that you are hideously unattractive.

photo's are irrelevant

they do not tell a employer wether you have the ability to do a job.
only serves to ID you, which will be used to judge age, sex and racial profile.

fo sure :) ROFLMAO

The cover letter makes me want to look at the resume -- and I don't care how long the resume is. If the cover letter is poorly written, or boring, or simply a compendium of jargon and buzzwords, I won't waste time on the resume. Let your cover letter reveal some of "who" you are.

Rob

I have no idea what to put in a cover letter. Can someone post up an example of a cover letter?

Trust me, when you're looking at hundreds and hundreds of resumes, photos are relevant. You prejudice your application by not including one. You may not like it, but that's the way it is 99% of the time.

Weird, I've NEVER seen a resume with a photo. But then it may be a bit different depending upon the industry/position that's being applied for.

Resume photos are more common in Europe. I've never seen them here. What happens when you have long experience with one employer and only want to remain an account manager? I have no desire to get into management. I like my commissioned sales job and consider a growing commission check to be advancement. Years ago my boss offered to change my title to bureau manager and give me some mgt. duties, but said I'd probably make less. What the hell kind of promotion or career growth is that? When I read my boss's "areas of expertise" on his LinkedIn profile, my eyes glaze over at all the Dilbert-esque boilerplate buzzwords that mean nothing.

KEEP-IT-SIMPLE...When I have to read 20 of'em, it's very nice.

Would anyone care to look at mine? I'd really appreciate it.

Yep.

I could see wanting a lot of detail for very high-level positions, but wanting good sumarizations of skills, expereince, etc. for entry-level type positions.

Funny story...

In college one of my roommates was a graphic design major. "Art major Doug" was how he was known... When he was sending out resumes before graduating he put together what I call his "serial killer" resume. It was all single-spaced, used about a dozen different fonts and font sizes and had text in blocks going every direction (for example, the education section was sideways, the experience section was upside down). I think some of it was even backwards. Anyway, I told him that if I was a manager I'd toss it in the trash because it took too long to read. He explained that it showcased his creativity. I came back that it was poorly organized and told him that most places that hire graphic designers want to see things simple, neat, and novel. He never did get any calls for interviews...

In that case maybe a portfolio of your "mad skillz" would have been more appropriate.

Vash, in your cover letter give me the highlights of your experience that directly relate to the ad I've placed. Then 1 to 2 pages of related experience with enough detail to assure me that you're not a fake front. Then when you get the interview wow me with the details, case studies etc.

IMO, the one page rule applies for people putting their resumes in with hundreds of others in a pool that will be batch processed by an HR person. At this stage of your career, your resume will likely land on the desk of a manager (i.e. the person you would be working for) and will need to accurately reflect your experience. Knowing what you do, I would include a cover letter, resume, and an outline of the major projects that you've been involved with. The project summaries should detail your contributions and the outcome.

I hire creatives.

Every time I see a "designed" resume I toss it.

Pretty sad the comments on this topic..........

you're judging a person and their resume (lifes accomplishements) by his font and paragraphs, and making I'd rather just toss him in the round trash bin than evaluating a potential valued added employee.

A person is giving you a chance to hire them and could make a great drastic improvement in your company (or be a turd in the punch bowl) Give them at least a chance at a phone interview or better yet, if you're going to spend 1/2 hour on the phone, spend that half hour in person meeting with them face to face. Same half hour, which is more value added when in person they can show you their portfolio and make an impression instead of a dial tone of voice over the phone.

think about that next time all you hiring people are on the other end of the stick and YOU are trying to apply for a job.

Let me guess. You have unlimited time and staff to read the hundreds or even thousands of resumes you get for a small number of jobs. Well, most companies don't have this, so they weed out the ones that don't immediately grab them. In the days before cell phones, I remember watching someone throw away all the resumes that had a different phone area code because it meant she'd have to dial more digits to call the ones out of area.

I work for the local G, right now we have had a hiring freeze in effect since Aug. 1 what is amazing is the continued high numbers of people applying and sending in resumes even when they know or are advised of the freeze.

Todd :)

I've been doing this nearly 30 years. I've read thousands of resumes. I only meet people face to face. I look at portfolios out of courtesy, rarely do they reflect the individuals true skills and talents. Most of the hires I've made had a portfolio that understated their abilities.

I "audition" every candidate, they need to be able to spend 2 weeks in my studio so I can tell if they really know what they say they know, judge their work habits, gauge their personality. I'll take a less talented candidate that gets along with the rest of the group over a primadonna every time.

With respect to a designed resume, attempting to create a "portfolio" on one piece of paper is just stupid. Creative is subjective, not everyone has the same aesthetic. You may be the perfect candidate for a particular gig and not get in the door because your creative turned off the person reading it. A resumes purpose is to get you to the face to face, it is NOT a portfolio.

I personally started dismissing them because over time I saw a pattern. Creatives who design their resume tend to be self absorbed, inflexible and difficult to work with. Not good traits for creatives that are paid to deliver what a client wants.

respect for the reader -> One page.

Thrift and brevity are true talents. If someone can't get to the point on one page, then I don't want to think about what it's gonna be like dealing their rambling emails and reports once hired. Less is always more.

One page. With lots of blank area. Keep it simple. Don't try to oversell. Use a "matter of fact" tone as opposed to a "sales" tone. At least, that is my preference. It should tell the reader what you've done, but it should not answer all detailed questions. Those are for the interview.

If you are applying for a job in a public agency or a large company, get a copy of the job specs and plagiarize like heck. Use their buzz-words. Often the first cut is made by an HR clerk who is looking for the presence or absence of those buzzwords.

Otherwise, for a general resume, be brief and to the point.

More important than the number of pages is the relevance of the content. To be specific, when reading each item that you bullet in your resume, put yourself in the position of the reader and ask the question: "So What?"

Make sure that every accomplishment that you site is accompanied by a quantified benefit to the employer. If you managed a new product launch, what were the results in dollars? If you oversaw a cost reduction program for a past employer, what were the savings.

Anything that doesn't result in a concrete, quantifiable benefit is fluff. The reader must be saying to themselves, "I wish this guy had been doing that for us years ago!"

So keep the job descriptions to a minimum and get right to what you accomplished. That will help you keep it shorter and more interesting.

Lot of larger corps look for S.T.A.R.

Situation
Task
Action
Result

This

thanks everyone!! great advice! i will be head fry chef in no time!!!

Be sure to list you experience as a porn star.

if you're gonna do that, you may as well include a picture!