Re: Writing your resumes

[Rose Wilcox <RWILC -at- FAST -dot- DOT -dot- STATE -dot- AZ -dot- US>]

Very interesting illuminating post by Richard M....

Thanks, Richard, that gave me some new ideas.

I created my resume in an ascii format, but didn't change it.  Lately I
heard more about ascii resumes and decided to cut it down a little and put
my keywords at the beginning of the resume.

I've had a knee jerk reaction to my latest contract searches that "if I
don't put *everything* I've ever touched on my resume, I messed up".  It
coincidentally happened that several potential employers asks me for things
that I had actually done, but which I had left off my resume, not thinking
it was important.  However, my resume grew to such a length as a result that
no one will probably even read it!

That shows how important it is to get objective feedback on one's resume.  I
forgot the main purpose of the resume -- not to show everything I've done
(that makes it read like "War and Peace" :-), poetic connotations intended)
 -- but to open a door.

Luckily my current contract has been extended, which gives me the luxury of
re-writing, re-formatting, creating new versions.

I would tend to question a writer who hadn't done his or her own resume.
 However, if you go through contract firms, as I often do, the contract firm
will re-do your resume regardless.   The best you can hope is to get a look
at it before they let it go out.  There may be good reasons for some writers
to go to professional resume writers.  Some resume writers act as
consultants, and don't really write the resume, but guide you in its
formation.

I would certainly suggest having friends, especially writing friends, and
even more beneficial friends who hire or who have hired, take a look at your
resume.

So I wouldn't rule out a writer who hadn't written his or her own resume.  I
would consider the reasons.  It may be that this type of writer would work
great on a team.  However, if the samples left something to be desired or
the writer didn't seem to have a lot of knowledge of how they were composed,
researched, edited, or formatted, I probably would question whether they
could write at all.

Rose A. Wilcox
rwilc -at- fast -dot- dot -dot- state -dot- az -dot- us
ncrowe -at- primenet -dot- com
"Soon to become a PowerBuilder developer"