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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 qui

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.)

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.)