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Subject:Re: Forget about resumes? From:"Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 21 Feb 1997 15:35:23 -0600
>
><snip> It's also a truism that some of the best jobs simply aren't
>advertised.
>
>However, Tim overstated his point a bit. What about when you're moving to a
>new city or country? Techwhirlers know something about me from my frequent
>posts (plus a few articles I've written), <snip>
>
> The moral? If you're staying local, you probably can survive purely on the
>basis of networking, but even then
> you're still going to meet folk who don't know you and who want the resume
or who do know you and want to refine their impressions of who you are.
><snip>
There's a few methods in finding a job that I've not seen mentioned here
(although, I'll admit there are some posts I haven't got to).
A) I got my last job through a professional job fair. I had gone to a
couple without any luck; however, I observed the interviewers actions,
questions, and especially what they did when I stepped away from the
booth. The interviewer or his/her assistant took a highlighter to the
resumes. They seemed to be looking for buzzwords and experience. They
highlighted UNIX, Word, mil-spec, and so forth. The interviewer would
then put a sticker on some resumes and not on others. For the next job
fair, I displayed the buzzwords prominently. I got a sticker on the
resume, a phone call, interview, and subsequent job.
The job fair is a combination of review the resume and meet the
candidate face-to-face. However, I wouldn't recommend going to one
without a resume. And smoozing probably won't help much here.
B) Job-shopping. Contract houses do much of the leg work in setting up
interviews, assisting in broadening your skills, and
enhancing/customizing your resume. I find that you do need to take an
active role with the contact house. Waiting by the phone results in
just that -- waiting by the phone. If you are listed with them, call
them up and ask them if anything has come up the last few days. You
also need to be flexible. Stating that you only do "hard-copy user's
manuals" or "Marketing literature" will not be beneficial.
C) Internet job listings. This method of job-hunting has grown
tremendously over the past couple of years. Resumes can be sent
instantly. The job listings here are much more thorough than any
newspaper. You don't even have to go to a job search site. Most
companies have an employment opportunities section on their web site.
There is also an e-mail address where you can inquire about future
openings.
Mike Wing
_____________________________________________
| Michael Wing
| Principal Technical Writer
| Infrastructure Technical Information Development
| http://www.ingr.com/iss/products/mapping/
| Intergraph Corporation
| Huntsville, Alabama
| (205) 730-7250
| mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com
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