3 ms·

I think you ought to be able to write your own resume. People hiring you would expect at least that much. Why in the world would you want to work for another

by scscsc 17y ago

I think you ought to be able to write your own resume. People hiring you would expect at least that much. Why in the world would you want to work for another company if you already have your own (and it's running well)?

potatolicious 17y ago
Not sure where to put my reply, but this place seems okay. Write your own resume - when I started college and was looking for internships, I relied heavily on "professionals" (resume writers and critiquers in the school's career services department) as well as the advice of numerous people who never seemed to have trouble finding jobs. I still got no interviews. It wasn't until I decided to really think through the logic of resume reading and writing that I finally settled on my own style that, in my final internship in college, scored me 15 interviews in 2 weeks. You sound like you have plenty of experience but are failing at getting noticed. This is not a bad position (beats the opposite: lots of attention on paltry skill set). A couple basic pointers I've found useful: - make it look different. I use a sans-serif font unlike most people, who go for the elegant, professional serif fonts. I also throw my name is large bold letters at the top (much bigger than most templates would tell you). - make your way past HR. Many recruiters in HR only scan for keywords, not being devs themselves. Cater to their whims by starting off with a litany of keywords. I start my resume with a large (but well spaced) list of languages, major libraries, databases, etc. I have gone to many interviews where the only thing highlighted on my resume were from the keyword section. - whitespace. So many people adhere strictly to the one-page (or two-page) rule, and somehow think this is license to cram the page. If your resume is a chore to read, it wont' get read. Give lots of spacing - information density has an upper limit before the brain gives up. As for job searching in general, I've found the following useful for both internships and post-college first-job situations: - Find the name of the recruiter. Have no shame in doing this, especially at large companies. A good way in that I'm fond of using is thinking hard about the position, and coming up with (good, non-obvious) questions that you may have about the job. Then, hit up the company and don't stop until you've reached the recruiter-in-charge and had your questions answered. This shows enthusiasm, initiative, and most of all your name is now anchored - which greatly increases your odds of making it into the "interview" pile (or get rescued from the "trash" pile after the fact). - Once you have the recruiter's name, write a personalized cover letter with your resume. Use the recruiter's name. This will stand out greatly amongst the sea of "Dear Recruiter" lines, or even no cover letter at all. - Go to career fairs. Your odds of success increase dramatically if the recruiter can tie your resume to a face. If there is some spark of recognition you will likely end up in the "interview" pile. Don't just make smalltalk at these things, genuinely try to grok what the company does, ask intelligent questions to both engineers and HR, and make an impression.

by scscsc 17y ago

potatolicious 17y ago

Not sure where to put my reply, but this place seems okay. Write your own resume - when I started college and was looking for internships, I relied heavily on "professionals" (resume writers and critiquers in the school's career services department) as well as the advice of numerous people who never seemed to have trouble finding jobs. I still got no interviews. It wasn't until I decided to really think through the logic of resume reading and writing that I finally settled on my own style that, in my final internship in college, scored me 15 interviews in 2 weeks. You sound like you have plenty of experience but are failing at getting noticed. This is not a bad position (beats the opposite: lots of attention on paltry skill set). A couple basic pointers I've found useful: - make it look different. I use a sans-serif font unlike most people, who go for the elegant, professional serif fonts. I also throw my name is large bold letters at the top (much bigger than most templates would tell you). - make your way past HR. Many recruiters in HR only scan for keywords, not being devs themselves. Cater to their whims by starting off with a litany of keywords. I start my resume with a large (but well spaced) list of languages, major libraries, databases, etc. I have gone to many interviews where the only thing highlighted on my resume were from the keyword section. - whitespace. So many people adhere strictly to the one-page (or two-page) rule, and somehow think this is license to cram the page. If your resume is a chore to read, it wont' get read. Give lots of spacing - information density has an upper limit before the brain gives up. As for job searching in general, I've found the following useful for both internships and post-college first-job situations: - Find the name of the recruiter. Have no shame in doing this, especially at large companies. A good way in that I'm fond of using is thinking hard about the position, and coming up with (good, non-obvious) questions that you may have about the job. Then, hit up the company and don't stop until you've reached the recruiter-in-charge and had your questions answered. This shows enthusiasm, initiative, and most of all your name is now anchored - which greatly increases your odds of making it into the "interview" pile (or get rescued from the "trash" pile after the fact). - Once you have the recruiter's name, write a personalized cover letter with your resume. Use the recruiter's name. This will stand out greatly amongst the sea of "Dear Recruiter" lines, or even no cover letter at all. - Go to career fairs. Your odds of success increase dramatically if the recruiter can tie your resume to a face. If there is some spark of recognition you will likely end up in the "interview" pile. Don't just make smalltalk at these things, genuinely try to grok what the company does, ask intelligent questions to both engineers and HR, and make an impression.