Marketing Yourself as an IT Jack-of-All-Trades? 169
ultimatemonty asks: "As an IT professional looking for a new job, I'm trying to figure out how to market myself as a 'jack-of-all-trades' IT worker. I'm currently employed at a medium sized university as a video conferencing specialist. I'm good (competent) at many IT related tasks (Linux server management, programming, Windows/Linux desktop support, video conferencing support, etc...), but specialize or excel in none of them, sort of like the lone IT manager in a small shop. What kinds of jobs would the you look for with this kind of work experience, and how would you market yourself (design your resume, cover letter, and so forth) to prospective employers so they get the full-breadth of your capabilities, without over-stating your abilities?"
Well, be careful! (Score:5, Funny)
Oh wait! You said Jack of all trades! My bad! I thought I saw 2 'f's there.
Re: (Score:2)
*me ducks*
Don't do that (Score:5, Informative)
Tailor your resume to fit each specific job you apply for. If the job is Windows heavy, emphasize your Windows work on your resume. If the job is Linux heavy, emphasize your Linux work. Also, don't just list what you know, list what you've done. Tell them about your big project that saved the company $10 million. That sort of thing holds a lot more weight than telling them you once logged in to a VMS machine.
Basically, employers don't need to know and don't care about the full breadth of your capabilities: they care about what you can do for them. Do not just shotgun a laundry list resume to a thousand different companies, make sure each resume you send out specifically addresses how you can fill the need the company has, as evidenced by their job posting.
Re:Don't do that (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
For Instance:
I work for a small(ish) company (~200 employees, about 50 users, and about 100 networked devices). Unfortunately for me, about 20 of these networked devices are wireless, and only support 32 bit WEP. This is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJ
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It sounds like you need a new job anyway. If they're paying you for your expertise and recommendations, and then refusing to adopt them (or even to lis
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It'll get cracked, messed with, and THEN there will be a business need for your much-needed upgrades.
In other words, quit saving them from themselves. The sooner the network gets taken down, the sooner you get the proper budget to do it right.
Re:Don't do that (Score:5, Insightful)
And also; make sure you are able to talk about Your Own Initiative:
Projects you managed. Problems you discovered and fixed, on your own, without oversight. Also, if other techs come to YOU for advice, detail those happenings as well.
If you're the go-to guy, and can be trusted with a small budget, and a certain amount of autonomy to come up with fixes to long standing annoyances that nobody else thought of even trying to solve (overcoming organizational inertia) - then try to convey that. Most managers would give their left nut/tit for this kind of worker. (and often, this kind of worker is misclassified as "junior").
Bottom line is: breadth of skill does nobody any damn good, if that skill does not come with initiative. Breadth of skill is difficult for a busy manager to manage. That level of management is usually tasked with fighting fires with his or her immediate superiors. They're too busy to task you - so you put your skills to good use, be everyone's hero.
Re: (Score:2)
Tailor your resume to fit each specific job you apply for. If the job is Windows heavy, emphasize your Windows work on your resume. If the job is Linux heavy, emphasize your Linux work. Also, don't just list what you know, list what you've done. Tell them about your big project that saved the company $10 million. That sort of thing holds a lot more weight than telling them you once logged in to a VMS machine.
Re: (Score:2)
That's because it's unbeatable
Re:Don't do that (Score:4, Insightful)
sort of like the lone IT manager in a small shop.
That is EXACTLY the position a jack of all trades should be going for.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
That's exactly what and where I am and have been for the past 7 years. It's WONDERFUL working for a small company vs. any larger ones. I actually work part time for a larger one as well, and it's not something I would consider a career-path. Conversely, when you're the lone guy at a small company you lose:
Re: (Score:2)
Basically, employers don't need to know and don't care about the full breadth of your capabilities: they care about what you can do for them. Do not just shotgun a laundry list resume to a thousand different companies, make sure each resume you send out specifically addresses how you can fill the need the company has, as evidenced by their job posting.
QFE. Took the words right out of my mouth. If you are young and brilliant, I.T. hates you. Remember, most of them are 40+ people who know how to fix mainframes and how to hack Unix. They all have families and see people like you as competition. The fact that you are, in fact, better than them makes them feel stupid. Make sure you find a company with a future, and tailor your resume to suit your needs. Be prepared for a lot of humiliation as those above you try and make your life a living hell. I suck, I c
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
One thing that helps in cases like this is to use different identities for your different personas. Most recruiters index their databases based on email so have your Unix persona CV with a "unix" email address, Network persona with a CV with a "network" email address and software development persona with a CV wi
Re: (Score:2)
I've been involved in interviewing around 50 people in my career. I have found that it is a crap sh
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Pick one and become an expert (Score:4, Interesting)
Also be honest when you get interviews. There is nothing wrong with saying you have recently decided to aim at a particular area in which to become an expert.
You are worrying more about the problem than just getting on with it.
Re:Pick one and become an expert (Score:5, Insightful)
"If you really are competent then the step up
Not everyone wants to be an expert, and I don't think that should detract from their usefulness - like anything, you just need to find the right spot to apply your skills.
Re: (Score:2)
Of course, that probably won't stop your new boss from giving you a dozen Windows servers to build three months down the road even though you described yourself as a U
Re: (Score:2)
I am a generalist myself, and I love it. I found a good nitch as a generalist that doesn't force me to specialize necessarily and let's me stay involved with most of the tech that interests me. Security. It's the hot button "specialty" for a lot of larger companies right now, and you need to have experience across the board to be half way successful as a security specialist.
it generalist (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, you'll want to avoid coming off too arrogant -- no one wants to hire an I.T. jackass-of-all-trades, but we all know a few!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
This is how you grow into m
Re: (Score:2)
Go small (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
So, like anything else, YMMV.
Re: (Score:2)
"so I basically can only buy things when something breaks"
So buy a bigger hammer.
You can use it to "adjust" equipment that you think needs replacing, AND as a LART.
Overstate your talents (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Overstate your talents (Score:5, Insightful)
We'll also ask progressively harder questions in each category that we have expertise in just to see what they do when they start becoming unsure of themselves or just flat don't know the answer. We are much more impressed by someone who simply says "I don't know" than someone who tries to bullshit us. If you don't really know a technology, don't go around pretending that you do.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Overstate your talents (Score:4, Interesting)
I have a tone of stuff on my resume. I have never had a job with just one responsibility, and I always go out of my way to do new work. That means I got a lot of things on my resume.
So when some one starts asking questions expecting me not to actually know things, I blow them away.
A good question to ask is "What they learned from what they have listed."
Re: (Score:2)
If you don't want a laundry list then don't put up a job posting that smacks of laundry list mentality. If you list 10 very specific technologies that your candidate must be proficient in then I will list every one of them on my resume guaranteed. After all, you have already told me you won't consider a candidate unless they list all of those things.
For example, it is very reasonable to list 'Experience with backup technologies and mechanical tape drives.' But y
Re: (Score:2)
Startups and small shops (Score:2)
As far as marketing, just be honest and be yourself. The better, smaller employers look for that, and being yourself helps make sure it's a good personality fit, which matters more in small shops as well.
Specialize (Score:2)
I know many people go to EMC, HDS, IBM classes. Or because they know how to configure VxVM (veritas volume mgr) they consider themselves Storage Admins. I'm looking for what have they specifically done in their job as it pertains to the skillset I'm looking for. Have you im
Re: (Score:2)
If they've used vxvm or set up a veritas environment at a small shop, they've had enough introduction to the tools that they can be trained quickly without too m
Interview well... (Score:3, Insightful)
If I were the interviewer, I'd want to know that you can solve problems without creating more problems. That you know when you don't know an answer. That you know how to find the solution. That you're presentably dressed and groomed. That you are at least competent when it comes to communication and interpersonal relations. To me, these factors are more important than a list of operating systems you've administered. The "IT" part of "IT professional" is relatively easy, a solved problem at the very least. It's the "professional" part that eludes some people.
k.
Re:Interview well... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't disagree with your points; consider the part of my post that refers to "the value of a comprehensive and professionally done resume".
But resumes, like some job applicants, lie. Were we to accept job applicants on the basis of a resume without an interview and a reference check, we'd be fucked.
I can embellish my resume from here to Timbuktu. Bullshitting my way through an interview and getting references to lie for me is an exponentially harder problem.
k.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
k.
Re: (Score:2)
Options (Score:4, Insightful)
I really think the next easiest option is to look at the things you have done and specialize in what you like the most. If you like programming, learn to program well, be able to answer basic questions like what is a linked list (or more complex questions) - learn one language well, as well as the basics of programming that you find in books like "Code Complete". If you like server management do that.
I am a UNIX systems administrator, and for me, even this is a very broad definition. I understand that firmware/time-of-day should be in sync across CPU/memory boards on Sun Enterprise 4000's, or that the file /etc/redhat-release is the file which shows which version of Red Hat you are running, but I can tell you it is very, very rare in interviews to find people who would know both those things. You're lucky if someone "strong in Linux" even knows that about Red Hat. I have to say that Solaris people tend to know their stuff better (and this is coming from a Linux fan). So I consider it difficult to bridge these two things, which are very close, and you are talking about all over the place.
My suggestion would be to specialize in one thing, and learn it well. I had to rank a Google job application on how well I knew something, I forget if the scale was 1-10 or not, but you should specialize in something and get to know it as a 9. Being a jack of all trade is fine, meaning having 3-6 ability in other things, but you should know one thing well - something you enjoy and think has a future. Once you master that one thing, then you can work on getting other things up to 9, but I meet so few people who are at level 10, 9, or even 8 for what I need, I would reiterate to learn one thing well. A real jack of all trades knows multiple things at say an 8 level, but that is rare. We have one where I work, but he knows many things at a high level. Someone who knows lots of things at a 4-6 level I generally find useless, in any environment.
Re: (Score:2)
This touches on an interesting point. Hiring someone is about trust. You need to be able to trust that the person can do their job effectively. 4-6 is not at that level and is, as you say, generally useless.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, it matters. And I would expect someone who listed both Sun Enterprise experience, as well as Red Hat, to know both of those things.
But I guess I'm a jerk. I actually expect people to know the things they put on their resume. Like the kid who was very proud of himself for "building a Beowulf cluster" (yes! How many times do you get to mention that on Slashdot IN CONTEXT??). He was very proud - and somewhat cocky about it - until I asked what message passing API he was usi
Re: (Score:2)
We're talking about Dungeons & Dragons, right?
That's not how you land a job. (Score:3, Informative)
That said, if you want to do a mish mosh of just about anything you want to look at a smaller company that has a small IT team or maybe a start-up but start-ups eventually grow (or die) and you might find your self having to pick a role. Your other option here could also be contract work, it's a great way to do varying things provided you're only landed quick contracts.
In the end I'd advise you pick a specialty and see it through. Generalism is fine but if you want to be the best you specialize. Pick the one thing you're best at or love the most and pursue it with everything you got. You're general knowledge will never be wasted, everything ties together in one way or another. I was a bit of a generalist too and when I really focused on my speciality my general knowledge really paid off since I could always talk about my work in the larger context of what was going on.
Re: (Score:2)
tailor the information on your resume
This is what I generally do. However, there's two type of jobs where that doesn't work:
Re: (Score:2)
those are the two options that have served me best in the past... just make sure that your interpersonal skills are up to task. small compa
Re: (Score:2)
I just wanted to convey that specialization is an option and quite viable if pick an appropriate specialization.
Solution-Independent IT Professional? (Score:3, Informative)
Another thing you can do that no one else can is a nuts-to-bolts solution from the bottom up from a problem -- you can manage a solution from the get-go rather than being "the oracle guy". Large consulting companies like IBM do solutions that are sometimes agnostic w.r.t. implementation.
Lastly, you're an independent worker -- you can find solutions where none exist! This is terrific for many positions.
Some ideas of places where you'd be good: I work for a large software company who does road shows regularly. There's an IT guy who goes to set up our servers/clients/etc who needs to know how all of it works -- he can't call the database guy to help him. Freelance IT Professional -- there's quite a few places (car dealerships, small businesses, etc) which need IT infrastructure but can't pay for a full-time IT guy. Just ask around, you'll be surprised at how many places need help (and how well it pays) and you're one of the few people who could do it (warning: requires people-skills). Last idea: larger consulting company like IBM. IBM builds call centers and stuff all over the place and needs people who can implement solutions as well as think them up to work in existing IT environments.
You sound like a very qualified employee who I'd rather hire than the "oracle guy", since I bet you can learn oracle whereas other IT guys get stuck in specialization ruts.
Re: (Score:2)
http://jobs.axcelis-technologies.com/jobs/index.j
Network Administrator (Score:4, Interesting)
Some places think a Network Admin is someone who administers a network. They're wrong.
Those are called Network specialists or something like that.
Generally a company of 20 to 100 employees hires one IT guy to support all desktops, the servers if any, the website, Internet connection, managers' blackberries, the occasional phone issue and the president's home computer (and his children's Xbox). That my friend, is a network administrator, occasionally called a system administrator.
IT Technician, IT Administrator or IT guy are also used. As soon as you hit 2 IT employees, you are called an IT manager and everyone stops worrying about what to call you while you start looking for IT Director jobs on dice all day.
Re: (Score:2)
So just out of curiousity, how much do you make annually? I think I slipped into this job at way too low of a figure, but my thought process is that if you are comfortable with the pay, then it's not too low
17K on the W2 huh? Not too shabby. (Score:2)
Thanks for the response.
Unfortunately for myself I live in the Houston metro area, so yeah, cost-of-living is sufficiently higher than it was where I lived previously, but only by about ten percent.
Again, thx
Either synthesize, or wear multiple hats (Score:3, Insightful)
My own resume is about 5 years of programming, a year or so of build/release, and 6 years of QA, along with a lot of general IT and strategic skills. For a while, I had problems with dilution--I wasn't really in the programming space anymore, didn't have enough build/release to be more than junior there, and didn't have enough QA to make it a slam dunk to pay me at my overall experience level.
In my case, I went to software test automation, which synthesizes all these skills, and have done quite well in that space. But in addition, I regularly get hit up by startups who want to cover two or three hats with one person. Eventually, with enough experience, you'll be in demand if you can ride out those early years.
The trick, if you go that route, is you really need to be quite competent in everything you sell yourself as (or at least be able to inspire confidence until you can get to the man page or O'Reilly book). Otherwise, you're only really as marketable as your best skill. That's why it can just be a lot easier to concentrate on one thing. Of course, if that skill goes overseas or otherwise becomes obsolete in the local workforce, you're screwed.
Easy - get used to low paying jobs (Score:2)
There are two types of employers (Score:3, Informative)
I'm in the same spot you are. I'm a coder, a sysadmin, I do server support, desktop support, network support, firewalls, routers, topology planning, you name it. Geek through and through.
My experience teaches me I'll NEVER be happy in a place that hires Hammer Engineers. Why? for one thing, because I'd be undervalued from day one ("How many years of experience do you have managing Veritas Netbackup?"
Now, if by any odd fate you'd end up working there, you'd be sitting among people who made a career of running Netbackup, or Solstice Disksuite, or BMC, or notepad, or whatever. People the majority of whom cannot manage their own windows box. People who don't meddle and tweak and experiment what they're given to, seeing themselves as specialists in their field and knowing nothing but ("You're a SOLARIS administrator! WHY are you wasting your time on practicing your coding skills?!")
This is, of course, an extreme case, but it's a real-life one I've worked on and hated every second.
Contributing factors are size of company, non-technical management (the level of management directly responsible for hiring the tech people, not senior management) that have limited capability of gouging how well a candidate fits a role other than by narrowing down the scope of the role to something their non-technical minds can grasp and putting a numeric estimate (# of years experience) on that. Companies with high employee turnover rates that use these narrow-scope-job-roles to easily replace people, etc.
I'm not an Open Source fanboy. I'm pragmatic both ends of the divide, and am just as good using paid solutions as unpaid ones. I'm for *thinking*, then doing what's best. These hammer-engineer-hiring companies typically stay away from the thinking bit, some having policies dictated by FUD-overfed clueless management. When I mentioned simple solutions like using some Open Source tools, I ran into a fucking concrete wall, just making me more frustrated.
I've since moved to a company that hires carpenters. ONLY carpenters. When I hit here, there were 3 of us taking care of a 300-odd-employee organization, ~100-200 servers, 3 int'l subsidiaries, and everything from PABX to desktops to servers. Needless to say, all three of us were complete JOAT's that had the required skills to put into production anything the organization required, given access to google, the net, and a reasonable amount of time to learn and implement the topic.
We've since become 8 people, and being a Jack-of-All-Trades is the only way one would ever get to work here. The sysadmins code, the coders can do their [linux!] desktop box without desktop support changing their diapers.
This kind of employer is YOUR home court. Whereas you would almost always be undervalued, underpromoted and underpaid at the former kind, here you are valued significantly higher than a specialized candidate. Needless to say, the proximity of likeminded individuals will very simply and in the most literal sense, make your work really really fun.
If I had a gazillion dollars, I'd quit my former job, yet I would keep working at this one because I enjoy it.
To narrow down the places you want to be looking for, look for the following:
1. Places that are not afraid to use open-source. More often then not (obviously not always) this requires people who "know their shit" to properly piece together and manage.
When I was looking for a job, I found the following search criteria to plug into job-ad searches to
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Snarfed, with thanks.
I saw this analogy this morning and was able to use it in a meeting a few hours later. Not that it made any difference to the client, who has taken clue resistance to an art form. They didn't just want a hammer-engineer, they were upset they couldn't find a dozen yellow-handled-2.3Kg-hammer-engineering-specialist s with 20 years of experience building houses in exactly one day. Asshol
You forgot to mention (Score:2)
Aw screw that, just tell me what part of the world your located nearest (preferably large-city-wise) and I'll see if I can't move that way and impress ya.
At least give us a chance to obtain the sort of happiness you enjoy...
Ive tried, doesn't work. (Score:2)
An awful lot of "doesnt work" replies (Score:3, Insightful)
The jobs are MUCH harder to find than specialized jobs, because you'll be working for a small firm- a startup, or some other limited size organization. They wont' be the ones posting on monster.com - craigslist, maybe, but not the big job sites.
If you don't find anything by casually looking around, you might want to get creative and inventive. I landed a job once by directly approaching the owner of a company who was growing 300% per year and selling the idea of "do it right from the start" sort of IT approach. Actually, it was a 6 month contract with the option to hire me at the end (which I refused, even though he wanted me). I set up Active Directory, established policies and procedures, built up their infrastructure, data storage, accounting and upgraded their workstations. I built their website into something useful instead of boring and empty and I built a helpdesk that could help manage the company as it grew bigger.
I'm currently "IT Director" for a small company. I only have one person working for me, but I'm paid alright. I think folks are right when they say that generalists have a salary cieling. It's a unfortunate truth that unless I'm willing to go into corporate middle-management where I could potentially make a ton of money, but be busy in board meetings and very rarely get my hands dirty, I'm stuck with a 5-figure salary. High 5-figures, but still stuck. However, within a startup, you can position yourself as a driver of ideas and perhaps end up in upper management as the company grows. There are additional benefits such as stock options, profit sharing and such, that are not available to your average specialized techie within the corporate world.
The stock options from my previous employer are starting to look very tantalizing as there are rumors of a buyout or IPO circulating. Suddenly, 10,000 shares begins to look like $500,000 and my time stuck behind a $70k salary quickly begins to morph into an actual paycheck of more than $200k per year, but on the other hand, a poor startup can end up costing you money as you find yourself working without pay now and then when money is tight, only to see the company fold just as you are expecting a Christmas bonus.
Fortunately, my recent experience has set me up as a bit of a security specialist and I've begun to do some contract work for a large security company, deploying firewalls, security appliances and such. This job, if i were to take it full time, would definitely be a 6-figure opportunity and would lead to potential future contracts with customers that often pay 6-figures for 6 months of work doing highly specialized security deployment and management.
Re: (Score:2)
Whoa! Slow down there, pal. I work for a small company and have the job the poster is looking for. 2 of the 3 of us here (we're all developers that do what's needed in all areas, but myself more so than the other 2) were found on Monster, and the third was found by 1 of us on a meeting site.
I had actually stopped looking on Monster because I wasn't getting any replies. To appease the career counsellor at the college I graduated from (I was getting desperate!)
A few tips (Score:2)
You sound like any-old sysadmin I've known (Score:2)
If you really want to fatten your resume, you should beef up your networking expertise because that seems to be your weak point. No one cares about video conferencin
Meh (Score:4, Funny)
Systems Integration (Score:2)
Another option is a field engineer. Many times, different remote jobs don't have the budget to hire a slew of specialists, and need a person who can deal with sysa
Big or Small (Score:2, Insightful)
If you want a job in any Mid-Enterprise ($200M to $1B annual revenue) size company or above, you will generally *NOT* be a jack of all trades. These companies generally have HR personnel, and are big enough that managers are generally not plopping down on Monster.com and finding resumes. As such, any HR person or recruiter is going to cull resumes (no matter where they g
Re: (Score:2)
I leave lending of money to banks. Similarly, I leave job recommendations to recruiters.
I fit the bill.. (Score:2)
Go to a professional resume writer (Score:2)
Network Specialist (Score:2)
Networking... (Score:2)
And, no, not the kind that computers use. I'm wondering why no one has mentioned networking yet.
Some know just how to work HR, but I find I can't cold call on the typical HR weenie. They aren't geeks-- they don't care about technical stuff. They have extremely narrow views, and will dismiss as bragging and puffing up anything that doesn't fit their assumptions about what is possible. Might even count against you because they'll think you're lying. And they won't test you because they can't, they lack
Specialize or begone (Score:2)
I chose to focus on UNIX/Linux and Enterprise Storage. I gave up on Networking/VPNs and Windows side administration. I think the focus helped my career pat
Just say "Jack of all trades" (Score:2)
great plan... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
ummmm No.
Average time a person spends on a resume, 12 seconds.
It better be short, it better list what they are looking for at the top, and your first sentence needs to make them want to read more.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Average time a person spends on a resume, 12 seconds.
It better be short, it better list what they are looking for at the top, and your first sentence needs to make them want to read more.
A JoaT needs a long resume if they want to demonstrate the range and flexibility and variety of solutions they can bring to the company. The solution is the split resume: a summary with the major hit points, ideal for the 12-second scan, followed by the 2-3 page compendium that prepares the interested employer for the interview.
Maybe you haven't done any hiring, or work at unimaginative corporate hives, but that 12 seconds is generally used for sorting, and the short list candidates get the long treatmen
Re:That's what I've been billed as... (Score:5, Interesting)
It better be short, it better list what they are looking for at the top, and your first sentence needs to make them want to read more.
I believe this might be a US thing. Here in Australia, multi-page Resumes are the norm, and if you don't have enough information on your Resume to give the person reading it a fairly good idea of your skills and experience, they'll just bin it.
As an Australian, working for a US company, that has to interview US applicants, I find the "one-page Resume" to be incredibly frustrating. There's never enough information included to tell anything useful about the applicant unless it's either a) an applicant who's very new to the industry or b) an entry-level job like L1 helpdesk where applicants don't really need many skills past a pulse. This means I have to do, at the very least, a preliminary phone interview to find out whether or not the applicant is even worth bringing in for a "real" interview - an annoying and time-consuming proposition (doubly so for me since I have to line-up timezones appropriately to call people in the US).
Contrast this to the Resumes I receive from Australian applicants, who typically include academic qualifications, industry qualifications and job histories *with details* of responsibilities, achievements, skills gained, procedures, etc. Sure, there's a one-page summary that has a brief outline (what an American applicant would call the whole Resume) but it *also* includes more in-depth information allowing me to get a good feel for how the applicant has spent the last few years of their working life, in terms of gaining/exercising skills and experience.
The end result is that I can spend 30 - 60 seconds looking at each Resume's summary page, to quickly weed out people who are clearly unsuitable (eg: Electrical Engineering degree, about 30 years old, last 3 jobs in another country, applying for a L1 helpdesk job), then go back and spend 2 - 10 minutes for each Resume in the remaining pool finding the people who actually look suitable for the job, and make the shortlist for interviewing. Thus, by the time I actually get around to calling them in for an interview, I am already reasonably confident they have the requisite skills and experience, and the interview becomes about a) *verifying* (as opposed to discovering) their technical abilities (easier, relatively speaking) and determining whether or not they have the right attitude and personality.
I have yet to see a "single page Resume" that has told me anything truly useful about an applicant. A page's worth of bulleted previous employers, boilerplate "skills" and "responsibilities" one-liners, and "achievements" of maybe a sentence or two each, just doesn't have enough meat in it to determine whether or not an applicant is capable (purely from a skills and experience perspective) of doing the job. Subsequently, I've ended up getting in further contact with some applicants who were clueless and, I'm sure, missing a few that would have made excellent employees.
Slashdotters, what's it like in the UK, Canada, etc ? What style of Resume is typical in those places - just the one-page summary, or a one-page summary backed up by a relatively detailed explanation ?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
ummmm No.
I've been writing software professionally for seventeen years. I've been a consultant for the last ten. I've had to condense my resume to get it down to ten pages. Anything more than ten years old gets a quick sentence or two on the resume. The more recent work has far more detail. The first page of my resume only lists buzzwords so that I get pulled out of search engines. I can't even count the number of times a stupid recruiter called me sayi
Re: (Score:2)
I know the whole Microsoft Suite, Photoshop, XHTML, CSS.
Why isn't the parent modded funny ... he knows the whole microsoft suite and XHTML and photoshop and CSS. In case that doesn't sound impressive enough, the microsoft suite has many more resume-worthy items that the parent was too modest to tell you about: Word, Excel, Notepad, Solitaire, Windows media player... Wow ! that sounds like the computer skill set of my mostly computer-illiterate grandfather .. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but
If anyone knows how I could market myself, as a jack-of-all-trades, that'd be great.
I would suggest learning more trades.
Re: (Score:2)
Step Away From The MBA!!! (Score:2)
Step 1: Get to a Senior management position first. You will need to burn a few personal relationships in the transitions. Surely a manager will disagree with me, but they will _never_ see it that way.
Step 2: Get a lot of management experience preferrably at multiple companies.
Step 3: Get MBA.
Step 4: Profit!
Going at it from the bottom has
Re: (Score:2)