Tips on Getting Hired

[Nancy Allison]

I, too, have been around since the Big Bang, and I am struggling with the
resume issue right now. My current solution is this: I have a two-page
resume that lists every thing I have ever done, chronologically. It lists
each client name, titles of documents I worked on, and maybe a brief
explanation, such as that one doc was online only, another was print, and so
on. No room for anything more.

I have two additional documents that I offer as appropriate:

--- One groups work according to the major areas of technology I've worked
in. At the top it says, "For the date and location of each job, see my
resume." So, instead of being scattered through 23 years of contracts, all
my biotechnology jobs are listed under "Biotechnology." Same for other
areas.

---The second document is a description of my abilities: the kinds of fires
I can put out, my strengths, the types of doc department processes that I'm
good at, and so on.

I offer either of these docs only if I sense that it will be helpful, of
course. It also occurs to me that the groupings of technical jobs are also
useful if I wanted to cut and paste the appropriate info into my cover note,
when I send out my resume. So, the recipient gets a targeted note about my
financial services experience, say, and then gets the Everything To The
Beginning of Time resume to back it up.

The two-pages rule works great if you can stuff it all in there, and if the
recipient happens to react well to a terse, crammed resume. It doesn't work
well if the recipient wants a bit more logical flow and background detail.

On a related note, are we getting decrepit as one cohort? Are any younger
people entering tech writing? I know there's one young guy at OpenWave (he
manages two SIGs, I believe; can't think of his name). Other than that Young
Man, is there anyone else?

Maybe we should start collecting money for the STC-Boston Tech Writers'
Retirement Shindig and Happy Rest Home.

--Nancy