Re: Resume length

[Elna -dot- Tymes -at- SYNTEX -dot- COM]

In article <9410181518 -dot- AA21339 -at- ctsee16 -dot- cts -dot- mtu -dot- edu>, <smlarock -at- mtu -dot- edu> writes:

> How long should a resume be for a newly-graduated
> college student?  Right now, mine is two pages.
> Some people have told me that college students
> don't know enough to have two pages.  Well I
> think it's necessary to list the jobs I've had
> as a technical writer, but if I'm limited to
> one page, I can't.

My resume is two pages long - absolutely no more.  I cut off things that don't
fit in two pages.  Which necessarily means that I have to cut off ancient
history and jobs that aren't relevant to what I'm after.

> I also provide writing/work samples when I'm
> interviewing or sending my resume.  The three jobs
> I have listed on my resume are all *very*
> relevant to technical writing, and I don't think
> I can afford to NOT list them.

Most headhunter organizations and some personnel departments these days are
using HR software that is keyword oriented - meaning that it searches your
resume for specific words describing skillsets - such as FrameMaker, C+, or
whatever packages are appropriate for the environment you're trying to get
into.  So I make it easy: the top third of my first page has the buzzwords
organized by hardware, software, and application areas.  The headhunters
love it.

> One more question:  If I do have a two page
> resume, is it better to print it on two separate
> pieces of paper, or should I print one, two-sided
> piece of paper?  I've heard comments for and against
> both ways.

Two separate pages.  For some reason, people I've talked to don't like the
backside of the first page to have writing on it.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems