How Do You Write Your Resume?

  • 18 August 2014
  • 4 replies
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One common thing in IT that we all struggle with at one point or another is getting our blasted resumes in order. There are an infinite number of formatting styles to use, and every person does it a little differently. I was curious what everyone's general formatting style was? 
 
I published an article on this very topic. You can find it here!
http://www.thanksaj.com/2014/08/the-art-of-the-resume-summing-up-yourself-on-paper/
 
Thanks, 

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I'm wondering how the social networking is going to change this - pretty much your LinkedIn profile is your resume these days.  A resume is a substitute for reputation, so why use that when there is better data out there?
 
That being said, and having seen my share of resumes from the hiring side of the fence, the shorter and more to the point, the better.  I want to see what you've done that's applicable to the job, and I want a writing sample to see if you can communicate in writing or not.
See, to me, shorter doesn't mean better. Now rambing vs to-the-point, that's a big factor. Resumes shoudn't be fluffed but they shouldn't be stripped. That happy medium is hard to find, and each company views the line differently. 
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
@ wrote:
See, to me, shorter doesn't mean better. Now rambing vs to-the-point, that's a big factor. Resumes shoudn't be fluffed but they shouldn't be stripped. That happy medium is hard to find, and each company views the line differently. 
I'm not saying shorter is better, but I'm only interested in the stuff relevant to the job.
 
Basically when hiring you have two questions to answer:
 
1. Can they do the job?
2. Are they a decent person?
 
#2 you can usually get from the in person interview and your gut feeling.  #1 you can only really get from seeing past work, which the resume is only a proxy for.  I'd rather see the work they've done rather than ask them questions about it.
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
See, to me, shorter doesn't mean better. Now rambing vs to-the-point, that's a big factor. Resumes shoudn't be fluffed but they shouldn't be stripped. That happy medium is hard to find, and each company views the line differently. 
I'm not saying shorter is better, but I'm only interested in the stuff relevant to the job.
 
Basically when hiring you have two questions to answer:
 
1. Can they do the job?
2. Are they a decent person?
 
#2 you can usually get from the in person interview and your gut feeling.  #1 you can only really get from seeing past work, which the resume is only a proxy for.  I'd rather see the work they've done rather than ask them questions about it.
I agree. You're right about the questions. That's all they care about. It's always a toss-up between putting enough to show you know what you know and making your resume into a novel. I have to say that I'd rather have a little too much than not enough. That's just me. YMMV
 
Thanks, 

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