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Re: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea
Subject:Re: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea From:yehoshua paul <ysp10182 -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Lynne Wright <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- tiburoninc -dot- com> Date:Tue, 4 Sep 2012 19:23:22 +0300
On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 7:12 PM, Lynne Wright <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- tiburoninc -dot- com>wrote:
> I still agree 100% with Dana. A candidate who sends me a clean, nicely
> designed, error-free resume immediately WOULD stand out from the bulk of
> applicants who submit resumes with glaring typos and grammatical/formatting
> errors and sloppily written samples.
>
> A cover letter that is professional yet reads like it was written by an
> individual, rather than by a machine, is the appropriate device for
> revealing your personality a bit. A video in which you introduce yourself,
> with a bit of flair in the production maybe. But attempts at humor...never.
> Its just not relevant to any tech writing job, and you run the risk of
> looking juvenile and/or just plain lame.
>
> I would be totally turned off by any of the examples you provided, since,
> if you'll forgive my bluntness, they are pretty cliché. I certainly
> wouldn't consider anyone using a Star Wars crawl device to be particularly
> original or creative, since its been done to death. It would annoy rather
> than amuse me.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=tiburoninc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com[mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=tiburoninc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf Of yehoshua paul
> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 11:55 AM
> To: Dana Worley
> Cc: tech2wr-l
> Subject: Re: Having fun with your resume - good idea/bad idea
>
> Dana wrote:
> "As someone who hires tech writers, software testers, and software support
> personnel, I have no time for games or "cutesy" resumes. Send me a
> well-organized resume that effectively highlights your skills and
> experience, and accomplish it without typos. THAT would get my attention."
> Before I apply for a job, any job, I always do research into the company
> that I am applying to. This includes, for example, using LinkedIn to see if
> there is anyone I know who works in the company, reading the company blog,
> checking out their website, etc.
>
> My default choice is to send in a traditional resume that is tailored to
> the company and to the position I am applying for. However, sometimes I
> encounter companies (like the one I reference in my article) where more is
> encouraged and even expected. If I were to apply to a position at that
> company I would probably supplement my resume with a video, or send in a
> Star Wars crawl resume. If I were to apply to a position at Dana's company,
> I would never even consider this option, and I'd make sure to edit my
> resume thoroughly before sending it in.
>
> Comments until now, on all the forums that I have posted have been pretty
> mixed. There is a slight majority leaning towards the traditional resume,
> but more than one employer has openly written that supplementing a resume
> with something creative makes the candidate stand out positively.
>
> My personal recommendation, before taking any risks, do your research
> first.
> Yehoshua Paul,
> Your friendly neighbourhood technical writer
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Dana Worley <dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com> wrote:
>
> > As someone who hires tech writers, software testers, and software support
> > personnel, I have no time for games or "cutesy" resumes. Send me a
> > well-organized resume that effectively highlights your skills and
> > experience, and accomplish it without typos. THAT would get my attention.
> >
> > 2 cents,
> >
> > Dana W.
> >
> > ****************************
> > Dana Worley
> > Product Manager, Software Products
> > Campbell Scientific, Inc.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> >
> > I have heard from more than one person (including the CEO of a technical
> > writing agency, which I link to in the article) that they expect
> potential
> > candidates to stand out. Supplementing a resume with something like
> video,
> > or even Star Wars crawl is one way to do so, and an almost guaranteed way
> > to land an interview and then a job.
> >
> >
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