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Subject:Re: TECHWR-L Digest - 25 Feb 1997 to 26 Feb 1997 From:Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 27 Feb 1997 07:17:45 PST
>Here's an analogous situation. When I sold radio advertising, I had a client
>who ran a brake and muffler shop. One day when I went to see him, he was
>struggling to control his laughter. He'd posted an ad for a mechanic; the
>first applicant drove up in a car that was falling apart and barely running.
>That mechanic had a few "typos" in his "resume," didn't he?
>In our field, our written work represents us the way that mechanic's car
>represented him. He was claiming to be a professional, and his car belied
>that claim. If I submit a resume and cover letter, they had better be
><I>perfect</I> or really close to it, if I'm claiming to be a professional
>writer.
One of my neighbors is a general contractor who mostly builds sheds and
barns. His own shed is a disaster area: a sagging, rusty wreck. I've
seen his professional work, though, and it's excellent.
A guy down the road runs a body shop. He always has a car or two for
sale. They rarely run well, and generally need some body work. Like
every car-care professional, he is constantly offered junker cars for
sale by young people desperate for cash, and he picks up bargains and
resells them. His own professional work is excellent, but the car he's
driving at the moment is an example of his car-trading business, not
his body-shop business.
One of the most brilliant marketers I've ever met has an immensely sloppy
office, and can rarely get through a lunch without staining his tie.
His work is immaculate.
So I think one should ignore superficialities and go straight to the
heart of the matter, when hiring.
When flinging resumes to the world, I guess you have a choice between
an immobile set-piece resume that you never tailor for fear of introducing
an error and turning off all the fussy hiring managers, and tailored
resumes that you dash off the instant you see an opportunity, in an
attempt to reach the content-oriented "damn the torpedoes, full speed
ahead" managers.
-- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139 http://www.pioneer.net/~robertp
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