Resume Writing Tips - Page 3

Undertoad · 05-24-2008, 11:42 PM

Wait, you're impacting workflow in a place where there's a complex interplay? You're clearly pro-active, and adhere to best practices with deep knowledge capital in an impactful environment. Our human resources representative will contact you in short order so we can determine synergy going forward.

Flint · 05-24-2008, 11:57 PM

So what you're saying is, I should do the whole thing in Iambic Pentameter?

Cloud · 05-25-2008, 12:53 AM

urk!

Flint · 06-02-2008, 01:50 PM

I've got my resume sanitized and completely professional.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't sneak a little personality back in there.

xoxoxoBruce · 06-03-2008, 10:43 PM

Your personality? Better think on that.

Flint · 06-03-2008, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

I've got my resume sanitized and completely professional.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't sneak a little personality back in there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Your personality? Better think on that.

That's a fair point. I thought about it and decided against it.

monster · 06-03-2008, 11:35 PM

Someone else's would be cool though... then you could add "channeling" to your skill set.....

monster · 06-04-2008, 08:48 PM

Dear Sir/Madam,

Flint was not able to turnin the job application like you wanted because the cat was sick on it and I only had a 2c stamp. Please excuse him from the cover letter part of his application, it was not his fault.

signed My Mom

Clodfobble · 06-05-2008, 03:49 PM

Gawd, I hate cover letters. It totally depends on how you're sending in the resume, IMHO. If it's an email submission, you have to have something because a blank email with an attachment is just weird. In that case I think short and straightforward is best. "I am a [job title] in the [city] area with [number] years experience in [thing 1], [thing 2] and [thing 3], and believe I would make an excellent candidate for your recent job posting."

If you're actually mailing it in, a longer one might be more appropriate. Write it as if you're answering the question, "What makes you an ideal candidate for this position?" and just hit the highlights. If your personality should be allowed anywhere, it's the cover letter, but never too much.

BigV · 06-10-2008, 09:57 AM

Yes, Kingswood, be subtle, understated and modest, if you wish. Keep in mind who your audience is, though. I was being complimentary in my remarks about your post. In fact, *all* I could add was the small change noted above.

Your post was excellent.

smoothmoniker · 06-10-2008, 10:55 AM

There is a resume that has been making the rounds here in LA, being emailed back and forth to audio engineers and producers, studio owners, etc.

It's from a kid who was graduating from an audio recording technical school, and looking to find a position as a runner at a studio. That's the guy who fetches lunch and straightens cables. It's the absolute bottom rung (aside from intern), but it's where everyone starts.

So, for starters, he puts a huge picture of himself in full whitey-gangster getup, with the one pegged leg on the custom jeans, gold dangling everywhere, you know the vibe. He's sitting in front of a huge mixing console, the same console that we all know because it's in every promo picture for the school he went to. (Hint - ego shots of big studio boards are not impressive if you're paying 16k a year to sit at that board).

Then, he proceeds to list this massive, monumental credits list of projects he engineered, or produced. They were mostly the "critical darlings" of the engineering world, projects that we all love, but that have never sold a million copies. He claimed to have won industry awards, been nominated for grammies in production, platinum selling albums, etc.

Ok, so, nobody with that kind of credits list is applying for a gig as a runner.

Then, and this is the kicker, HE EMAILED IT TO ALL OF THE ENGINEERS WHO HAD RECORDED THOSE SAME RECORDS! Talk about balls! The same thing happened like 50x over, where some intern or assistant was trolling through a stack of resumes, saw this one, brought it to the engineer, and said, "Um ... I thought YOU recorded Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen."

Needless to say, with one swift move, this kid ensured that he would never get a gig in any major studio in town.

lookout123 · 06-10-2008, 04:27 PM

That is ballsy. Reminds me of a non-resume related story. A chick and her stud stole my checkbook when they broke into my car. About two weeks later I'm getting daily calls from the bank because they passing checks all over town. They were finally caught when they passed the check to the wrong person. They were trying to buy a bunch of camera equipment. From my girlfriend. At the store I managed. No shit. Talk about blowing an opportunity by not checking out the intended audience.

Flint · 08-29-2009, 03:43 PM

I'm shaking the dust off my year-old resume and putting it back into circulation. I've got to make a move, geographically if necessary.

Cicero · 08-29-2009, 04:12 PM

I am going through the same thing. I hate the cover letter!!!!

It's really just a formality to see how well you can kiss their ass. If they read the resume they can tell if you are qualified by the end of the summary of qualifications.

And another thing:
The other day I signed an application that said they were allowed to contact a reporting agency to get information, outside of 5 other things they listed, about my "good character".

Is there a reporting agency for this? An agency that confirms the state of your character? wtf?

I can see it now: everything came back clean and according to all this research and the recommendations, she is perfect for the job....but the team over at character research inc. says she is a bad person- so it is a no-go.

plthijinx · 08-29-2009, 04:46 PM

without back reading....too far anyway, has anyone heard that the use of "team player" in your description is a no no? i read it somewhere a few weeks back but then i'm looking at an engineering company (oil & gas) and they have "team player" described as to what they're looking for. now granted the website/news story i read was an "up to date/with the times (paraphrasing)" type of buzz word type of how to slut yourself to the job market. anyway, comments on the "team player" deal?

05-24-2008, 11:57 PM	#2
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	So what you're saying is, I should do the whole thing in Iambic Pentameter? __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

05-25-2008, 12:53 AM	#3
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	urk! __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

06-02-2008, 01:50 PM	#4
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	I've got my resume sanitized and completely professional. I'm wondering if I shouldn't sneak a little personality back in there. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

06-03-2008, 10:43 PM	#5
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Your personality? Better think on that. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

06-03-2008, 11:35 PM	#7
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Someone else's would be cool though... then you could add "channeling" to your skill set..... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

05-24-2008, 11:42 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Wait, you're impacting workflow in a place where there's a complex interplay? You're clearly pro-active, and adhere to best practices with deep knowledge capital in an impactful environment. Our human resources representative will contact you in short order so we can determine synergy going forward.

06-04-2008, 08:48 PM	#8
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Dear Sir/Madam, Flint was not able to turnin the job application like you wanted because the cat was sick on it and I only had a 2c stamp. Please excuse him from the cover letter part of his application, it was not his fault. signed My Mom __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-05-2008, 03:49 PM	#9
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Gawd, I hate cover letters. It totally depends on how you're sending in the resume, IMHO. If it's an email submission, you have to have something because a blank email with an attachment is just weird. In that case I think short and straightforward is best. "I am a [job title] in the [city] area with [number] years experience in [thing 1], [thing 2] and [thing 3], and believe I would make an excellent candidate for your recent job posting." If you're actually mailing it in, a longer one might be more appropriate. Write it as if you're answering the question, "What makes you an ideal candidate for this position?" and just hit the highlights. If your personality should be allowed anywhere, it's the cover letter, but never too much.

06-10-2008, 09:57 AM	#10
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	Yes, Kingswood, be subtle, understated and modest, if you wish. Keep in mind who your audience is, though. I was being complimentary in my remarks about your post. In fact, all I could add was the small change noted above. Your post was excellent. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

06-10-2008, 10:55 AM	#11
smoothmoniker to live and die in LA Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,090	There is a resume that has been making the rounds here in LA, being emailed back and forth to audio engineers and producers, studio owners, etc. It's from a kid who was graduating from an audio recording technical school, and looking to find a position as a runner at a studio. That's the guy who fetches lunch and straightens cables. It's the absolute bottom rung (aside from intern), but it's where everyone starts. So, for starters, he puts a huge picture of himself in full whitey-gangster getup, with the one pegged leg on the custom jeans, gold dangling everywhere, you know the vibe. He's sitting in front of a huge mixing console, the same console that we all know because it's in every promo picture for the school he went to. (Hint - ego shots of big studio boards are not impressive if you're paying 16k a year to sit at that board). Then, he proceeds to list this massive, monumental credits list of projects he engineered, or produced. They were mostly the "critical darlings" of the engineering world, projects that we all love, but that have never sold a million copies. He claimed to have won industry awards, been nominated for grammies in production, platinum selling albums, etc. Ok, so, nobody with that kind of credits list is applying for a gig as a runner. Then, and this is the kicker, HE EMAILED IT TO ALL OF THE ENGINEERS WHO HAD RECORDED THOSE SAME RECORDS! Talk about balls! The same thing happened like 50x over, where some intern or assistant was trolling through a stack of resumes, saw this one, brought it to the engineer, and said, "Um ... I thought YOU recorded Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen." Needless to say, with one swift move, this kid ensured that he would never get a gig in any major studio in town. __________________ to live and die in LA

06-10-2008, 04:27 PM	#12
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	That is ballsy. Reminds me of a non-resume related story. A chick and her stud stole my checkbook when they broke into my car. About two weeks later I'm getting daily calls from the bank because they passing checks all over town. They were finally caught when they passed the check to the wrong person. They were trying to buy a bunch of camera equipment. From my girlfriend. At the store I managed. No shit. Talk about blowing an opportunity by not checking out the intended audience. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

08-29-2009, 03:43 PM	#13
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	I'm shaking the dust off my year-old resume and putting it back into circulation. I've got to make a move, geographically if necessary. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

08-29-2009, 04:12 PM	#14
Cicero Looking forward to open mic night. Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 5,148	I am going through the same thing. I hate the cover letter!!!! It's really just a formality to see how well you can kiss their ass. If they read the resume they can tell if you are qualified by the end of the summary of qualifications. And another thing: The other day I signed an application that said they were allowed to contact a reporting agency to get information, outside of 5 other things they listed, about my "good character". Is there a reporting agency for this? An agency that confirms the state of your character? wtf? I can see it now: everything came back clean and according to all this research and the recommendations, she is perfect for the job....but the team over at character research inc. says she is a bad person- so it is a no-go. __________________ Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you.- Carl Jung Last edited by Cicero; 08-29-2009 at 05:15 PM.

08-29-2009, 04:46 PM	#15
plthijinx Master Dwellar Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 4,197	without back reading....too far anyway, has anyone heard that the use of "team player" in your description is a no no? i read it somewhere a few weeks back but then i'm looking at an engineering company (oil & gas) and they have "team player" described as to what they're looking for. now granted the website/news story i read was an "up to date/with the times (paraphrasing)" type of buzz word type of how to slut yourself to the job market. anyway, comments on the "team player" deal? __________________ For your dreams to come true, you must first have a dream.

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