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Build your CV around projects not employers (I was taught this style of CV writing when I worked at Andersen Consulting (aka Accenture) and it's one of a handfu

Build your CV around projects not employers (I was taught this style of CV writing when I worked at Andersen Consulting (aka Accenture) and it's one of a handful of things from that time that stuck with me). Also try to state clearly and concisely what the project was and what your role was. AC also suggested anonymizing employers -- e.g. "medium sized construction company" which is a wise thing to do if the work is not public.

sudorank 12y ago
Thanks, I did read about more "functional cv" types where you talked about your roles and responsibilities. Sounds like a possible plan. To be honest it's quite frightening writing a CV again! Haven't had to do it for a while!
- mgkimsal 12y ago
  I advocate people keep it up to date all the time - well, every 6-12 months. Spend 15-30 minutes adding achievements/projects on the resume when it's still relatively fresh in your mind, vs trying to remember stuff 5 years later. If you have a habit of keeping a resume updated, and it's public, it's less of a signal to current employers as well too. I've heard many people say they don't ever want to public/post a resume because their current employer might find it. If you keep it public and posted all the time, as more of a "here's the great stuff I'm doing at XYZ", there's no 'signal' to be inferred. That said, I know that wouldn't necessarily fly in ever industry, but... that's more social convention than anything else. If 90% of people behaved that way, that would be the 'new norm'.
- thenipper 12y ago
  Be careful with functional resumes. A lot of recruiters/hiring managers don't care for them. Myself included. They can work, but I also sometimes they can be used to 'hide' inexperience. Disclaimer: I don't do tech recruiting so take all of this with a grain of salt. I have reviewed resumes for technical/'social innovation' positions but I tend to focus more on non computery roles. That being said, having a nice list of what your good at is great. Also I really recommend having a summary at the top that is almost like a mini cover letter. Target it towards the job you're applying for for example: Sudorank is a developer with experience developing mid-sized systems in ruby on rails hooking into legacy COBOL backends. Lauded for his/her ability to mentally parse XML, he/she can manually code systems using a magnetic needle. Comfortable leading teams Sudorank has had experience working a variety of fields, from bio-med to lifestyle startups. Keep in mind is that you want to save the recruiter/HM time. They might be looking at 100 of these. Lead with why you're kickass. Another handy trick is keep a plan text version for if you end up applying through any automated systems. Source control is your friend here.
  - Tloewald 12y ago
    There's an enormous tension between CVs that are short and to-the-point and CVs that pass some kind of idiotic "weight" test. The solution is: a) To be brief and to the point (and honest), and b) to put your stuff in reverse chronological order -- so the recent (and hopefully relevant) stuff is up top. The rest of it is there in case there's a weight test, or for when the CV has been shortlisted and is being given a closer look. Finally, you need to exercise judgment in how fine-grained you get with "projects". You don't want to give the impression you're padding or claiming credit for projects you had little hand in. (And consider tailoring your CV for the job. I do not always do this, but I always do it for jobs I really care about.)
jeremysmyth 12y ago
This is great advice. I'd go even further and say it's about achievements. Make your CV about specific highlights in which you can justify your involvement. Once you've passed the stage where you're applying for entry-level positions, nobody really cares about "My duties involved..." style entries, or "I participated in..." or "I was involved with..." Rather, it's all about "I designed and wrote four modules for XYZ product, three involving the internal messaging layer and a fourth interfacing with a legacy system, and performed code reviews for other subsystems," or "I was front-line support for XYZ product during its first high-growth period, during which I identified and categorized the most common issues and wrote several procedures to resolve them". This style might only represent 20% of your actual work around that time, but it gives your potential employers something concrete to latch onto, and to an extent it lets you guide the course of the interview in ways you couldn't otherwise. It also lets you gloss over differences in employed/self-employed status because it shows you had a consistent work ethic (and presumably a consistent set of results) regardless of where you got your income at that time.
kngspook 12y ago
I'd be really interested in seeing some example resumes in this style, if you have any...
geekam 12y ago
> AC also suggested anonymizing employers This may not work in certain jobs where they demand your credentials and want to check them by calling/emailing.
- Tloewald 12y ago
  There's nothing to prevent you from providing references and so forth off-line. Doing this shows professionalism -- you don't blab about client internals on a document you distribute to random people.
garrickvanburen 12y ago
This. I've also found this to be a nice way to tailor past experiences to new opportunities in a way that listing employers (or lack thereof) doesn't support.
rak 12y ago
Does anyone have an example of making a CV like this? It sounds like something I could benefit from.
1337biz 12y ago
Do you have some consulting based examples on that approach? Would love to see that.

sudorank 12y ago

Thanks, I did read about more "functional cv" types where you talked about your roles and responsibilities. Sounds like a possible plan. To be honest it's quite frightening writing a CV again! Haven't had to do it for a while!

mgkimsal 12y ago
I advocate people keep it up to date all the time - well, every 6-12 months. Spend 15-30 minutes adding achievements/projects on the resume when it's still relatively fresh in your mind, vs trying to remember stuff 5 years later. If you have a habit of keeping a resume updated, and it's public, it's less of a signal to current employers as well too. I've heard many people say they don't ever want to public/post a resume because their current employer might find it. If you keep it public and posted all the time, as more of a "here's the great stuff I'm doing at XYZ", there's no 'signal' to be inferred. That said, I know that wouldn't necessarily fly in ever industry, but... that's more social convention than anything else. If 90% of people behaved that way, that would be the 'new norm'.
thenipper 12y ago
Be careful with functional resumes. A lot of recruiters/hiring managers don't care for them. Myself included. They can work, but I also sometimes they can be used to 'hide' inexperience. Disclaimer: I don't do tech recruiting so take all of this with a grain of salt. I have reviewed resumes for technical/'social innovation' positions but I tend to focus more on non computery roles. That being said, having a nice list of what your good at is great. Also I really recommend having a summary at the top that is almost like a mini cover letter. Target it towards the job you're applying for for example: Sudorank is a developer with experience developing mid-sized systems in ruby on rails hooking into legacy COBOL backends. Lauded for his/her ability to mentally parse XML, he/she can manually code systems using a magnetic needle. Comfortable leading teams Sudorank has had experience working a variety of fields, from bio-med to lifestyle startups. Keep in mind is that you want to save the recruiter/HM time. They might be looking at 100 of these. Lead with why you're kickass. Another handy trick is keep a plan text version for if you end up applying through any automated systems. Source control is your friend here.
- Tloewald 12y ago
  There's an enormous tension between CVs that are short and to-the-point and CVs that pass some kind of idiotic "weight" test. The solution is: a) To be brief and to the point (and honest), and b) to put your stuff in reverse chronological order -- so the recent (and hopefully relevant) stuff is up top. The rest of it is there in case there's a weight test, or for when the CV has been shortlisted and is being given a closer look. Finally, you need to exercise judgment in how fine-grained you get with "projects". You don't want to give the impression you're padding or claiming credit for projects you had little hand in. (And consider tailoring your CV for the job. I do not always do this, but I always do it for jobs I really care about.)

jeremysmyth 12y ago

This is great advice. I'd go even further and say it's about achievements. Make your CV about specific highlights in which you can justify your involvement. Once you've passed the stage where you're applying for entry-level positions, nobody really cares about "My duties involved..." style entries, or "I participated in..." or "I was involved with..." Rather, it's all about "I designed and wrote four modules for XYZ product, three involving the internal messaging layer and a fourth interfacing with a legacy system, and performed code reviews for other subsystems," or "I was front-line support for XYZ product during its first high-growth period, during which I identified and categorized the most common issues and wrote several procedures to resolve them". This style might only represent 20% of your actual work around that time, but it gives your potential employers something concrete to latch onto, and to an extent it lets you guide the course of the interview in ways you couldn't otherwise. It also lets you gloss over differences in employed/self-employed status because it shows you had a consistent work ethic (and presumably a consistent set of results) regardless of where you got your income at that time.

kngspook 12y ago

I'd be really interested in seeing some example resumes in this style, if you have any...

geekam 12y ago

> AC also suggested anonymizing employers This may not work in certain jobs where they demand your credentials and want to check them by calling/emailing.

Tloewald 12y ago
There's nothing to prevent you from providing references and so forth off-line. Doing this shows professionalism -- you don't blab about client internals on a document you distribute to random people.

garrickvanburen 12y ago

This. I've also found this to be a nice way to tailor past experiences to new opportunities in a way that listing employers (or lack thereof) doesn't support.

rak 12y ago

Does anyone have an example of making a CV like this? It sounds like something I could benefit from.

1337biz 12y ago

Do you have some consulting based examples on that approach? Would love to see that.