RE: Applying On-Line
Laura Lemay observed:
> It never even occurred to me to create styles for a resume, other than
> perhaps simple ones that got the job done. A resume is an individual,
> one or two-page, one-off document. It doesn't need a lot of hardcore
> template work.
<SNIP>
>If you're going to weed me out purely on the basis of the style of my resume without looking at the substance...well, OK, your loss
I agree with Laura here.
It's pretty funny/ironic that a writer who has (I'm guessing here, but I
feel pretty safe) sold more copies of technical books than the rest of
this list put together would not make it past the initial resume screening
process maintained by many members of this list.
Like Laura said, your loss.
For me, substance counts. I just tossed more than 3/4 of the resumes we rec'd, but it was mainly because they didn't follow directions, not because they didn't know the secret handshake.
For security and other reasons, we'd explicitly requested that the resume be included in the _body_ of an e-mail message, plain text only. About 35% the respondents sent a Word .DOC attachment. About 40% sent a .txt attachment. I didn't bother counting how many people sent their resume in the body of the email but didn't know how to send it plain text only.
Now, this was, indeed, a skills test for reading directions, for knowing what plain text is, and for knowing how to use email to present yourself (your thoughts, ideas) without relying on HTML or RTF.
Maybe I'm just too old--really, I don't think so, I still get carded!-- I remember typewriters. I can remember debates over whether to use anything but white paper! In the olden daze, most people i worked with considered it a form of "cheating" if a candidate used techniques designed to make their resume stand out from the crowd--like special grade paper. I know that attitudes have changed, but I still think the reasons were sound: Since we know how subtly we're influenced by looks/appearance over ability, adhering to a minimalist standard kept the people in hiring positions from being influenced by appearances.
It's certainly possible to organize information without bold, italics, colored text, different fonts, tables, etc. We used to do it in the olden daze!
To me, presenting information in plain text is an important skill. It's especially important for our firm, because, like Sandy Harris, much of our projects are done with virtual teams. We communicate via email and encrypted email. I need to know that someone knows how to use plain text to communicate who they are, what they're thinking, etc.
Also, as far as I'm concerned, and this is the position I took years ago on whether to use white or colored paper, these skills on a resume may only reflect someone's ability to get/pay for someone else to write it for them. Should I expect these bells and whistles from a tech writer, desktop publisher, information architect, and others who do similar work? In their samples, yes. In their resume, no--not necessarily. I certainly _don't_ toss resumes because they don't "look nice" if the position is for a programmer. If it's for a writer, yes, I expect a writer to know how to present themselves using plain text.
We make it explicit what we're looking for resumes in the body of an email msg, plain text only. No secret handshake, save for this: If they don't know how to use their e-mail client and send plain text only, then we don't want to hire them. It's a "trick" I suppose, but it saves the company aggravation down the road.
kelley
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Attention ForeHelp and Doc-to-Help Users! Upgrade your existing product to
RoboHelp for only $299, through January 31st. RoboHelp can import your
existing Help projects! Learn how else RoboHelp can benefit you. www.ehelp.com/techwr
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
Follow-Ups:
- Re: Applying On-Line, Jo Francis Byrd
Previous by Author:
Re: Opera Browser
Next by Author:
RE: Alone from the start (was: Documentation planning)
Previous by Thread:
RE: Applying On-Line
Next by Thread:
Re: Applying On-Line
Search our Technical Writing Archives & Magazine
Visit TechWhirl's Other Sites
Sponsored Ads