Care to take a look?

[cyberskydive 0]

Ok, at the advice of the carerr services lady at school I edited my resume accordingly-lol
I used to just make different ones for each type of job I was applying to, but she recommended I add them all together and see how they turn out.
and since I dont have any classes today i'm not gonna be able to have her go over it and I have plenty of poeple to give it to!
will you guys read it for me and give me your opinion?
you can get it :
http://www.sunraydesigns.com/resume/Daniel_Chisolm.doc
it's in microsoft word format btw....
thanks in advance;)
.....there is no spoon
--------------------
Another place to play

[skyhawk 2]

ok im looken
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[AggieDave 6]

It looks pretty good, still, let me give you a link so you can get some professional advice. http://aggienet.tamu.edu/cctr/resume.html
Good Luck!
"I don't want to destroy your sweater, lets be friends and just walk away..."

[skyhawk 2]

ok
1. its very very bland as an employer this would be in the trash purly because it doesnt capture my attention.
1.1 add a cover page with a casual yet perfesional picture. prob best not of yourself.
1.2 create a new layout something that looks good to the eye
1.2 use different sizes, fonts and positionings (though dont go overboard)
2. bump air ann down to the next page it was hard enough trying to read it when you just have to scroll down it would be even worse if it was printed out
3. salerys personally i would dump the entire section it has no real relivence and also gives them excuse to get rid of you.
things to remember when people are looking at resumes and letters they arnt looking for who they want they are looking for what they can get rid of they throw things for the littlest detail so they dont have to work as much
if i was an employer despite your your obvious high levels of skills and work experience i would throw this in the bin emidiatly :)
anything else lol
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[cyberskydive 0]

nice link dave, thanks!
harsh hawkman! but you bring to mind alot of good points - exactly the kind of feedback I'm lookin for.
since lots of employers say :fax resume with salary requirements do you think I should have an extra shhet to send just in case they want it?
.....there is no spoon
--------------------
Another place to play

[skyhawk 2]

not trying to be harsh man :) as i said your education and work experience is really good based on that i would employ you however when people have a ton a resumes to sort through they pick anything they can to get rid of it.
i have the oppisite problem ive got a great resume and none of my mates believe me when i say i wrote my application letters but i have y12 (at the moment) and 1 job work experience which being at a cinema gives me no real form of experience even for entry level positions.
with the salary make sure they really want it (unless they are contracting you to make a site thats a bit different) it does 2 things 1. if its to high youll get dropped 2. if its lower then they were prepared to pay and you get the job you will be earing alot less then you could of
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[skyhawk 2]

i can send you mine if you want so you can see the formating i made it in publisher then copy and posted to word so it has all the borders and stuff but it is viewable on most peoples computer
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[GrumpySmurf 0]

Guess it depends what you are applying for - having a generic base resume to build custom ones upon is a great idea, but handing out the generic one for individual jobs - hmm. An applicant who goes to the effort of customizing the cv. for a particular job is more likely to get noticed, especially if it is hi-tech related - example: you mention doing webpage design - buzz words dude, buzz words - alot of the bigger IT places either dump your cv to a database or scan it then dump it and do a search on particular keywords (Nortel is notorious for this) to find suitable applicants. I would recommend having two cv's - one for generic Joe job applications, then another for IT related jobs with a section dedicated to listing of skills - such as Photoshop, HTML, XML, Java, etc, etc and as you move through the programming courses, list the languages, compilers, environments, source control tools that you have learned and try to limit the whole cv to one page. You may wish to drop the salary section - if I'm a manager hiring for entry level programming jobs, and I see an applicant who is used to getting '$30 to $50+/hour' for side work, I will be hesitant to interview them - simply because either a) the applicant will be distracted with the higher paying side work from thier job or b) the applicant won't accept my offer of $35,000 a year because that doesn't come close to $50 an hour (which is just over $100,000/year) - even if you only get 2 hours of $50 a month - the preconception might hurt you.
It helps too if you can find some paid word as like a computer lab assistant or something else that involes a paycheque and computers - my experience has been that our industry tends to favor paid experience over raw education when hiring applicants - but you need the education to get them to notice your cv in the first place (so don't drop out of school ).
Went through the same thing (prepping cv. to look for programming work before finishing univ.), quite an educational (as well as sometimes frustrating) experience. Now I get to look at it from the other side of having to interview and recommend the 'youngin's' (fresh grads) for hire (gawd, do I feel old *heh*).
Just $0.02 worth, and I doubt it's even worth that. I'm sure other folk in the industry on here will be able to offer further or different suggestions.

[AggieDave 6]

Also, remember, you have about 20-30 seconds to impress someone. They're NOT going to spend time reading yours because it has boarders and stuff, they're going to scan the info and move on if they don't like what they read real quick...kinda sucks, actually, infact now that I think of it, I think all except one job I got in my short life has been because I knew someone that worked there.
"I don't want to destroy your sweater, lets be friends and just walk away..."

[flyhi 24]

Too long - 2 pages max
Salary info - Dump it
References available upon request - Dump it. No value added.
flyhi

[mwthomsen 0]

I always defray the salary question until I have decided whether or not I truely want the position. I avoid giving an answer by telling them if this is the right position for me there is some flexibility in the compensation package I would require. Just my opinion.
Mike

[skyhawk 2]

grumpysmurf odd that you mention that (experience verse education) because my dad has had quite the opposite problem he became redundant and hasnt been able to get a decent job purly because he isnt "qualified" despite the fact that he has been woring with computer (paid ) since they started and has followed then and learnt all the stuff along the way from programing to hardware to software etc. His old position was also a mid level positon yet he is constantly knocked back because he doesnt have a piece of paper
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[AggieDave 6]

Bitch what you will about education and stuff, at this day and age that little piece of paper isn't an option anymore. Just about no matter how much experience you have. I personally know more then a few really good computer people who have been in the industry for nearly 20 years who can't get the really good jobs because of this. I also know quite a few IT majors/computer science majors that know just about as much about computers as the average individual would know about rocket science. So, *shrug* what can you do?
"I don't want to destroy your sweater, lets be friends and just walk away..."

[cyberskydive 0]

guess first thing I should do is ditch the word resume templates and come up with my own design -lol - for templates they are freakin stupid to work with and they do wierd things, having to edit the templates would be more work than making my own ;)
This is some of the best advice i've ever recieved on creating a good resume so if anyone has anyhting to add freakin lay it out!-lol
does anyone include a "extra curricular" activities section or and "awards recieved" section or anyhting like that.
I've got a couple from my home dz back in Ga (excluding the tree trophy one-lol) and like employee of the year at a car dealership i worked at, does that stuff really make a difference?
now, how do I cram as much releveant info into two pages? -lol
dilema - if I split resumes into IT and non IT, the IT one will have no real work experience, since all I've done is freelance stuff for the past few years. Thats why I agreed with the career services lady about adding then together, but then it gets long -lol
decisions, decisions
.....there is no spoon
--------------------
Another place to play

[skyhawk 2]

it is a bit odd they it makes business sense to hire the experienced person though because sure the student may have "learnt" the latest info but when something else goes wrong you have to call in an "expert" because they dont have the experience to draw on.
also my dad and his friends would more than happily work for a lot less then the numbers the quote in the ads
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[skyhawk 2]

ok i sent my resume to [email protected] have a look at the layout its smart and does the job but its not overdone
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[flyhi 24]

Quote

the IT one will have no real work experience, since all I've done is freelance stuff for the past few years.

So you were a Consultant? That sounds pretty good to me.
flyhi

[jfields 0]

First off, here is a great website to look at:
http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/articles.htm
It is a guy who works as a headhunter and gives real-world advice on ways to improve your job hunt.
Okay, on to your resume....
As others have said, ditch the salary requirements. They ask for that and use it as a quick screening tool. Don't give them additional reasons to circular-file your resume. If they are interested in your skills, you will get to salary soon enough.
Forget the generic resume. You can have a core that doesn't change, but tailor the rest to fit each spot. They are looking for a web designer, load your resume with particulars about web design experience. Software packages, technologies and experiences. If they were looking for a network admin, emphasize those elements of your skill set.
Another thing to do if you can is work your way past the personnel office. If you can get in front of the person that will actually be your manager, your chances skyrocket. Try to find out who that person is, and politely go to work on them. Send your resume, tailored for that position, directly to that person in a sealed envelope. If you pique their interest, you might stay in the running even if your resume had things that might have caused the personnel office to reject it.
Justin

[GrumpySmurf 0]

That's just it, you need the basic piece of paper (the degree) - but beyond that, the employer is going to care about paid experience. If 2 cv's were to show up on my desk - one with a bachelors and 2 to 3 years paid experience and the other with a Masters and no paid experience - I will give preference to the paid experience. School is nice (and gets the foot in the door), but no schooling is going to replicate the real world - especially when a term project last only that, a term - a real world project can drag on and on for years and years (then there's having to deal with Sales/Marketing - no school in the world can get you ready for these folk ).
Like I said before, stay in school, definitely get the piece of paper, but if you can get a side job with the department to do simple programming or sys admin in a lab - take it - it will pay off far more in the long run than the minimum wage salary it pays.
I think we are saying the same thing here, just different view points.

[jfields 0]

Oh yeah....To be a bit cynical...

Quote

Ok, at the advice of the carerr services lady at school I

Take everything the career service people say with a grain of salt. Is that honestly their dream job? If not, and they are such experts at job placement, why are they still working there? Just a thought. Justin

[GrumpySmurf 0]

A hobbies listing can help. Gives something for the interviewer to either bond with you or become curious about you - mention the skydiving - you wouldn't believe how many times I have been asked about that in an interview, and by the end of the interview I've gotten the interviewer all but convinced to sign up for thier first jump.

• Quote

[skyhawk 2]

yer thats what im trying to do know im tryen to get a full time job and im also going to do a bacholer of business degree self study so when i graduate in three years ill have the best of both worlds
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit

[cyberskydive 0]

more super- rad advice- lol - jeez what a site I could build with all the info ;)
skyhawk - i couldnt open your res, keeps asking me for the office CD that we let levin borrow ;) must be the way you converted it or something. I dont have publisher, but I got acrobat!-lol
lots of the positions I'm going to be sending resumes to today are from the school job list from the career services dept. So they are looking for students and there are a bunch I would love to have, and could definately do, but I want to get hired!-lol
.....there is no spoon
--------------------
Another place to play

[JDBoston 0]

Suggestions:
1. CONSOLIDATE as much as you can. i.e. have one section for "Consultant" or whatever which includes bullet points about all of the web sites you worked on. Include 1-3 relevant details - project dates and a highlight or two - for each one but no more. If employers are curious about the nitty gritty they can ask you in an interview.
2. REMOVE salary, references, and the objective. You should address your objective in a cover letter to each job you're applying to.
3. Work experience should go by dates, not by field. First you worked at the grocery, then you simultaneously worked as a "Consultant" etc. and at the care dealer. So:
Automotive Technician, 2000-present (?) or 2001
Web Design Consultant, 1999-present
Automotive Technician, 1998-2000
Meat Cutter, 1997-1998
Grocery, 1995-1997
Work should definitely come first, not education. Usually education only comes first if you're currently a college student and have only internships/summer jobs and high school in the work department.
Overall, I would arrange the resume to emphasize that you're a quick learner and self-starter (obviously since you were self-employed) with a broad range of experience but a desire now to dive more deeply into X field that you are applying to a job in.
You can condense the education entries a lot too. For instance, I think the certifications and courses taken w/o degrees can go in a Personal section or something like that. Happy to take a crack at it if you want to email me (for some reason I never get PM's) - email is [email protected].
Good luck -
Joe

[skyhawk 2]

its probably just different versions it hasnt been converted just copy and pasted
Opinions are like a-holes everyone has one, the only one that does you any good is yours and all that comes out is shit