Re: Newbies getting jobs...

[Karen Kay <karen -at- WORDWRITE -dot- COM>]

The Tech Writer said:
> > First, resumes are bogus. Or as close as makes no odds. A resume is like
> > your front door; you have to have one, but don't put too much faith in its
> > effectiveness. Getting a job is hard work; broadcasting resumes is laziness.
> > Have one for distribution, but do it on good white stock and then stick it
> > in an envelope for when it's asked for.
>
> Well, I agree with everything else that Tim said, except maybe this
> statement. I think that I agree with the sentiment behind it: "Don't rely
> on your resume to land you a job," however, as stated, it sounds like a
> good resume isn't important. I can't disagree more.
>
> I see a resume as a tool to get an interview. If your resume doesn't look
> good, I mean in layout, no typos, and so on, as well as content, you just
> aren't going to be the first pick in the interview pool.

FWIW, in my current job search, I've sent out close to 80 resumes, but
fewer than 10 of them have been paper ones. I keep nice paper ones in
my portfolio, but most of the resumes I've sent out have been ASCII
ones sent in e-mail. (Two and a half years ago, in my last jobs
search, they were mostly faxed.) Getting the ASCII to line up properly
under all conditions I could test for was a chore--sort of like HTML
and different browsers but not quite as complicated.

I agree that networking is key, and I think the point about NOT going
to STC meetings only when you need a job is a good one.

Karen
  karen -at- wordwrite -dot- com