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I am sorry about the position you're in. For the last several years I have been balancing taking care of my terminally ill wife who recently passed away, all wh

I am sorry about the position you're in. For the last several years I have been balancing taking care of my terminally ill wife who recently passed away, all while working remotely in the web hosting industry. It's hard to balance. Harder than you think. Setting boundaries will be vital to being successful in any WFH role. Now that that's out of the way: You need to focus. You've described your abilities and that's fine, but you lack focus. Your qualifications are great, but your presentation is all over the place. You need a single one page resume that focuses on one aspect of your knowledge and experience, and lightly mentions the others. Make multiple resumes, each with a focus on one thing. Use the resume that's best for the job. I recently saw somebody who must have had 20 different resumes to match the jobs they were applying for. It worked. Also, you might consider looking into the Web Hosting business. If your temperament is as you describe, and you like talking on the phone or live chat, most web hosts will overlook any technical gaps. Those can be taught. In fact that can lend to your focus! Focus on the fact that you know things that can't be taught: Customer Service, talking down angry customers, talented writing, friendly and always willing to find a solution under dire circumstances. Those are GOLD. Once those are on the table, the rest is negotiable. I'll email you a link to at least one that is hiring full remote entry level. Additionally, you need to step up your confidence level. Let an employer know that your family is important to you and that you're dedicated to working hard so that you can support them- and leave it at that. They don't deserve the other details, and they aren't relevant. I hope this helps.

AlexDanger 6y ago
>Make multiple resumes, each with a focus on one thing. Use the resume that's best for the job. I recently saw somebody who must have had 20 different resumes to match the jobs they were applying for. It worked. I'd like to second this methodology. It is a very effective approach. I've worked across multiple specialties within technology and I always tailor my CV to the job I am applying for. I highlight the most relevant experience and skills required and remove (or summarize) experience that is not relevant to the position. Matching your CV to the job can be as simple as updating it to use the same keywords that you see on the job advert. It sounds trivial but many recruiters will filter job applications with a keyword search. If they dont see the exact keywords they are expecting, your CV will be thrown away. Good luck!
- de_nied 6y ago
  This seems extremely helpful. 20 resumes, as GP mentioned, should be an excellent source. I've always seen multiple cover letters, and maybe 2-3 resumes, but never 20. While 20 is fairly high, I think it's also the right amount in being able to have a resume for almost every position that is "just right."
- mettamage 6y ago
  Question: how do you deal with gaps in your resume? Let's suppose you were a machine learning engineer for 2 years, a web developer for another 2 and a product owner for 3 years. I presume that some experiences would almost make it seem that you're not dedicated to the role you're applying for if you leave them in. So you have to leave them out. How do you deal with that?
  - ldjb 6y ago
    That's an interesting question and something that hadn't really occurred to me. Personally, over the past few years I've been a developer, a product owner and now a product manager. But if I were to apply for a new developer role, would I leave out my current product manager role from my CV? Absolutely not! It's generally considered a bad idea to have gaps in your CV. And actually having worked various roles can actually be to your advantage. There are transferable skills you would have gained as a product owner that you can apply to a developer role. In fact, very few developers will have the skills required to be a product owner, so employers should look favourably upon your skillset. Case in point: my experience as a developer has put me at quite an advantage in the product management field. Due to my technical knowledge/experience, I can understand how systems work better than most other product managers, and I'm better placed to know what the development team needs of me. So I would say, don't leave gaps in your CV, include all the really good experience you have, even if it is varied, and use that to your advantage to show how these experiences will help you in the role you're applying for.
    - blackrock 6y ago
      How’s the compensation (pay and/or stock options) for your product manager role now, as compared to your development roles of past?
audiometry 6y ago
It's pretty kind of you to take such effort to write this fellow a detailed reply. Especially considering the crappy situation you've had to deal with. Hope 2021 is a better year for you.
fecak 6y ago
Resume writer here. Don't overdo the resume customization thing - I've had clients who wanted to spend lots of time tailoring each line of a resume to the job, and the time invested really isn't worth it. Especially if it becomes far too clear to the reader that you were essentially pandering. For most people, different resumes for different roles (web dev, mobile dev, etc.) make sense, but if you have 20 resumes for different roles you're probably applying for jobs that you are highly unqualified for - nobody has expertise in so many areas where they need 20 resumes. 2-3 for most is probably plenty. The key difference in most resume customizations is how you define yourself to the reader. I use summaries to tell the reader who I WANT them to think you are. If the job is "web developer", I want to tell the reader right away that you are a web developer right in the summary. You've defined yourself as what they are looking for, checked their first (and most important box), and they will now keep reading. If that summary said "embedded developer", they may stop reading. If there was no summary and your first job title is "data analyst", they may stop reading.
- devoutsalsa 6y ago
  I’lol also add that someone hiring a green person for entry level work may be looking for enthusiasm, aptitude, and general excitement. Stripping all that away may be detrimental. There was definitely a time where I had no real experience to speak, and plenty of times I feel like me experience isn’t worth the time I spent writing a resume, and if I’d stripped out the passion I had, I’d might still be doing crap work. If you have little experience to focus your focus, some enthusiasm sounds great to me!

AlexDanger 6y ago

>Make multiple resumes, each with a focus on one thing. Use the resume that's best for the job. I recently saw somebody who must have had 20 different resumes to match the jobs they were applying for. It worked. I'd like to second this methodology. It is a very effective approach. I've worked across multiple specialties within technology and I always tailor my CV to the job I am applying for. I highlight the most relevant experience and skills required and remove (or summarize) experience that is not relevant to the position. Matching your CV to the job can be as simple as updating it to use the same keywords that you see on the job advert. It sounds trivial but many recruiters will filter job applications with a keyword search. If they dont see the exact keywords they are expecting, your CV will be thrown away. Good luck!

de_nied 6y ago
This seems extremely helpful. 20 resumes, as GP mentioned, should be an excellent source. I've always seen multiple cover letters, and maybe 2-3 resumes, but never 20. While 20 is fairly high, I think it's also the right amount in being able to have a resume for almost every position that is "just right."
mettamage 6y ago
Question: how do you deal with gaps in your resume? Let's suppose you were a machine learning engineer for 2 years, a web developer for another 2 and a product owner for 3 years. I presume that some experiences would almost make it seem that you're not dedicated to the role you're applying for if you leave them in. So you have to leave them out. How do you deal with that?
- ldjb 6y ago
  That's an interesting question and something that hadn't really occurred to me. Personally, over the past few years I've been a developer, a product owner and now a product manager. But if I were to apply for a new developer role, would I leave out my current product manager role from my CV? Absolutely not! It's generally considered a bad idea to have gaps in your CV. And actually having worked various roles can actually be to your advantage. There are transferable skills you would have gained as a product owner that you can apply to a developer role. In fact, very few developers will have the skills required to be a product owner, so employers should look favourably upon your skillset. Case in point: my experience as a developer has put me at quite an advantage in the product management field. Due to my technical knowledge/experience, I can understand how systems work better than most other product managers, and I'm better placed to know what the development team needs of me. So I would say, don't leave gaps in your CV, include all the really good experience you have, even if it is varied, and use that to your advantage to show how these experiences will help you in the role you're applying for.
  - blackrock 6y ago
    How’s the compensation (pay and/or stock options) for your product manager role now, as compared to your development roles of past?

audiometry 6y ago

It's pretty kind of you to take such effort to write this fellow a detailed reply. Especially considering the crappy situation you've had to deal with. Hope 2021 is a better year for you.

fecak 6y ago

Resume writer here. Don't overdo the resume customization thing - I've had clients who wanted to spend lots of time tailoring each line of a resume to the job, and the time invested really isn't worth it. Especially if it becomes far too clear to the reader that you were essentially pandering. For most people, different resumes for different roles (web dev, mobile dev, etc.) make sense, but if you have 20 resumes for different roles you're probably applying for jobs that you are highly unqualified for - nobody has expertise in so many areas where they need 20 resumes. 2-3 for most is probably plenty. The key difference in most resume customizations is how you define yourself to the reader. I use summaries to tell the reader who I WANT them to think you are. If the job is "web developer", I want to tell the reader right away that you are a web developer right in the summary. You've defined yourself as what they are looking for, checked their first (and most important box), and they will now keep reading. If that summary said "embedded developer", they may stop reading. If there was no summary and your first job title is "data analyst", they may stop reading.

devoutsalsa 6y ago
I’lol also add that someone hiring a green person for entry level work may be looking for enthusiasm, aptitude, and general excitement. Stripping all that away may be detrimental. There was definitely a time where I had no real experience to speak, and plenty of times I feel like me experience isn’t worth the time I spent writing a resume, and if I’d stripped out the passion I had, I’d might still be doing crap work. If you have little experience to focus your focus, some enthusiasm sounds great to me!