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"Preparing a resume with it says "I have the technical judgement to use the best tool for this job, even if I had to learn an arcane new programming language[0]

by fsloth 11y ago

"Preparing a resume with it says "I have the technical judgement to use the best tool for this job, even if I had to learn an arcane new programming language[0] to do it."" As a dude who wasted uncounted hours tweaking his LaTeX config at university a decade ago and who considers it the best tool for technical reports of any length... I have to strongly disagree. I would not hold it against the person but wasting time on an arcane layout language is like smashing bricks with ones body. Impressive, but not very practical. Best tool... for a single page CV? I would call that massive overengineering. LaTeX is great for long technical documents but preparing careful layouts - especially single page - is an effort in frustration (unless one is actually proficient in it in which case salutations to you!). I would advice people to try anything else for CV before LaTeX.

mrzool 11y ago
For example? What are the alternatives? The only other option I can think of to get a good result that stands out is inDesign, which also require a fair amount of fiddling, it's expensive (unless you download it illegally, which means more fiddling plus, you know, breaking the law), and removes all possibility for automation and version control. If, on the other side, you're suggesting to use MS Word or LibreOffice or similar, then I'm afraid we have dramatically different standards...
- fsloth 11y ago
  "If, on the other side, you're suggesting to use MS Word or LibreOffice or similar, then I'm afraid we have dramatically different standards..." Well, honestly, it's way worse than that. Personally? I've used them all, Word, LaTeX, InDesign... I believe I did one even in Illustrator once. Now? I have grown tired. I use Google Docs. I use Verdana, with judiciously placed bolded words to highlight pertinent items, red color to highlight positions, and headers for a few places for structure. I export a PDF which I offer publicly. And I love it. It's easy to tweak, easy to update, and most of all, I have a recipe that does exactly what I want my CV to perform most of all - convey the information for which kind of tasks I kick ass and can prove it. Yes, it's more functional than pretty - I have changed the graphical razzle dazzle of my youth (which was a vain attempt to hide inexperience) for bullet points about professional experience. I think we might have different standards, sure. I see nothing wrong if one writes his CV in Word. I know several academically pretty kick-ass professors who do. Like I said, it's not efficient use of time to learn LaTeX just for ones CV unless one really wants to and it would be unfair to judge a person just because he chooses to use a tool that is faster to use for him just as long as he takes care that the document comes out as brief and informative.

by fsloth 11y ago

mrzool 11y ago

For example? What are the alternatives? The only other option I can think of to get a good result that stands out is inDesign, which also require a fair amount of fiddling, it's expensive (unless you download it illegally, which means more fiddling plus, you know, breaking the law), and removes all possibility for automation and version control. If, on the other side, you're suggesting to use MS Word or LibreOffice or similar, then I'm afraid we have dramatically different standards...

fsloth 11y ago
"If, on the other side, you're suggesting to use MS Word or LibreOffice or similar, then I'm afraid we have dramatically different standards..." Well, honestly, it's way worse than that. Personally? I've used them all, Word, LaTeX, InDesign... I believe I did one even in Illustrator once. Now? I have grown tired. I use Google Docs. I use Verdana, with judiciously placed bolded words to highlight pertinent items, red color to highlight positions, and headers for a few places for structure. I export a PDF which I offer publicly. And I love it. It's easy to tweak, easy to update, and most of all, I have a recipe that does exactly what I want my CV to perform most of all - convey the information for which kind of tasks I kick ass and can prove it. Yes, it's more functional than pretty - I have changed the graphical razzle dazzle of my youth (which was a vain attempt to hide inexperience) for bullet points about professional experience. I think we might have different standards, sure. I see nothing wrong if one writes his CV in Word. I know several academically pretty kick-ass professors who do. Like I said, it's not efficient use of time to learn LaTeX just for ones CV unless one really wants to and it would be unfair to judge a person just because he chooses to use a tool that is faster to use for him just as long as he takes care that the document comes out as brief and informative.