Page 1 of 1

CVs and Resumes

Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:35 am
by onion2k
I've just been reading this guy's resume that he posted in the Job Hunt folder:

http://www.digitalspot.ae/baber/resume.htm

A couple of things occured to me when I was looking through it. Firstly, it's waaaaaaay long. He's got a really impressive list of projects that he's undertaken. My own CV only has 3 or 4, but I got into some depth about what I did. I'm not sure which would be more useful to an employer really.

Secondly, Baber describes himself as an expert in loads of different things. Without wishing to do him a disservice, I really doubt his skill level in all of them is actually 'expert'. I'm sure he's used all the technologies he mentions, and he might even be competent in all of them, but becoming an expert in something takes at least 6 months, things like Java and C++ take years each. So putting so many things makes me wonder which ones he really knows so well. Is PHP really the one he knows best?

Would it not be better to mention fewer skills, but emphasise them more?

(Apologies to Baber if you mind me using your resume as an example. I'll remove links etc if necessary)

Re: CVs and Resumes

Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:09 am
by Roja
onion2k wrote: A couple of things occured to me when I was looking through it. Firstly, it's waaaaaaay long.
Building the ideal resume has always been an arguing point. Some will tell you it should include as much as possible. Others will tell you to selectively list only the items that are relevant to a specific position. Yet other recommendations would have you make a cover sheet, a specific resume, and a long-form resume (closer to a true CV).

There is *not* a consensus about it in the business world, and anyone that says there is will probably try to sell you resume services. :)
onion2k wrote: He's got a really impressive list of projects that he's undertaken. My own CV only has 3 or 4, but I got into some depth about what I did. I'm not sure which would be more useful to an employer really.
It all depends on the position, the person and the resume. Some people are "a mile wide, but an inch deep", and would have a hard time going into detail on any project. Other candidates may be incredibly specialized in one or two items to the point where few would legitimately be able to discuss the issue with them.
onion2k wrote: Secondly, Baber describes himself as an expert in loads of different things. Without wishing to do him a disservice, I really doubt his skill level in all of them is actually 'expert'.
He actually doesn't. If you look, he gives a very small subset of computing technologies. Specifically, mostly centered around web programming, web design, and C/Java programming. Its entirely possible in 5 years to become extremely familiar with everything he listed. In 3 years, I went from no knowledge of PHP to a fairly advanced knowledge. I could easily have tacked on another 2 years and grabbed Java while I was at it. Finally, not to quibble, but he doesn't say he is an expert, he says he has expertise in the tools. That means he has acheived expert knowledge in the use of the tool, which is far and away different from saying you are "A php expert".
onion2k wrote: I'm sure he's used all the technologies he mentions, and he might even be competent in all of them, but becoming an expert in something takes at least 6 months, things like Java and C++ take years each. So putting so many things makes me wonder which ones he really knows so well. Is PHP really the one he knows best?
Actually, his resume does a great job of answering that, giving dozens of examples of companies he has done work for in the php/sql field. It directly answers that question.
onion2k wrote: Would it not be better to mention fewer skills, but emphasise them more?
Thats really a matter of opinion.

Personally, here's how I do things. I find a specific position I like, and I open my full resume. With that document, I trim down to 3-4 specific positions that have related directly to the job as described. I then also write a very nice cover sheet that is personalized and specific to the job at hand. I send the tailored resume and the cover sheet to the employer, and mention that if they have any questions, my full resume is available online.

The full resume contains virtually every professional job I've held that I am willing to discuss.

That way, the employer who is in a hurry can quickly read the coversheet (1-2 paragraphs), and put me in the "read later" pile.

Later, when he digs in, he can see a targeted resume that focuses on the issues he cares about.

Finally, when he asks his subordinates to consider candidates and they want to know more than just the basics, they'll have a huge resume they can dig through to really get a feel for the variety of my interests.
onion2k wrote: (Apologies to Baber if you mind me using your resume as an example. I'll remove links etc if necessary)
It really is fairly uncouth to single out an individuals' resume for public critique, especially when they are looking for a job.

Notably, I went almost a year unemployed, and the career I was hired into was in many ways thanks to my networking skills, not just my resume. Your public persona definitely can have an effect these days, as almost every potential employer will google your name. :)

But to answer your question directly onion2k, it all depends on your point of view, your experience, and the position you are trying to get.

The fact that he is posting, free form, on a general forum to find a job makes it near impossible to tailor his resume to a specific position.

That said, yeah, its a bit long for a casual read. ;)