TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
The same job description repeated (within reason) can also show that a
person seeks the same type of job for each position, but a description that
changes each time can show instability and that is not a good trait for any
employee. I've written many successful resumes for people and ideally, you
want a resume to show a gradual increase in responsibilities and abilities.
An old rule of thumb that still probably has applications today is to not
have jobs or positions that are longer than two to five years without some
form of promotion or increase in responsibilities. Jobs that change more
frequently than every two years need to be justified, like they were
contracts, but responsibilities that change more frequently than every two
years can be a red flag.
Also, resumes do not require more than a 10-year employment history.
Experience that extends beyond ten years can be handled in the Summary of
Experience, this can also include key projects. Like a person with
experience working on the Loma Prieda earthquake relief would not include a
long chain of jobs back to 1989, but the resume should include a bullet
point in the summary to indicate this important job. Multi-page resumes get
boring even if they do include important jobs. Frequently, people try to
include their entire career on their resume when this is not necessary. My
resume has summaries and my most recent positions on the first page. The
hiring manager can look at the next two pages for my specific job
experience, but one page of a work history would make me look an entry level
technical writer because it would have less than 5 years experience. My
resume shows 10 years of experience in jobs and states that I have a 15+
career, however, I downplay how long I have been a technical writer because
I don't want to appear old, out of date, or expensive. I want to show that
I am experienced and I have skills in the latest technologies.
Lauren
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Gene
Kim-Eng
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 10:58 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Tips on Getting Hired
I can only speak to what my reaction would be to a multipage resume that
repeated the same job description over and over again with different company
names at the top of each one (that this is the writer's style of organizing
data and there's a good chance that the documents I get out of that writer
will reflect the same thinking).
> Grouping jobs looks tacky, and I don't believe that it is a format
> that is generally acceptable. Leaving off dates is a better way to
> "avoid drawing too much attention to the fact that you may have been
> around since the Earth cooled," which I haven't been, remember global
> warming. Either of those formats give the impression that something is
> being hidden, which I think is worse than havuing too long a resume.
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team
authoring, Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu -dot-
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
