username wrote:

GP had a link to his 'resume tips' page. i forget where its at.

It was job interviews. http://digg.com/educational/Interviews_and_You/

I'll get around to a resume one some day. It is digital media, so it takes a lot more effort to make it.


As for the resume in question.

* Start it off with your contact informatino at the top.
* Next list your Jobs as "Experience" in reverse chronological order
* Follow that with your education experience. Simply post the years that you were educated. Don't worry about posting anything about your high school experience unless you got a 4.0.
* Put down any certifications and trainings
* Do not write jack shit about liking ice skating, D&D and XBOX. Well... unless you will be working for a company that is located in Canada making a D&D game for the 360.
* The resume should be very clean and clear. Use a hard line between the major sections. Bold your job titles and dates. List the city and states where you had the jobs
* Use Serif Font for your titles and Sans Sarif for your bullet points
* Use a small font for your bullet items but use large line spacing. This will make it really crisp and clear.

CONTENT:
Make sure you include the types of things you have done. Use examples, do not just write them down.

BAD: Skills: Imaging Software
GOOD: Imaged 50 machines using Microsoft WAIK toolkit.

BAD: Software: Microsoft Excel
GOOD: Used pivot charts in Excel to generate sales reports cross referencing computer type and customer location

BAD: Helpdesk Shifts
GOOD: Resolved customer's technical requests on demand by relaying easy to follow, clear and concise solutions.

SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK

A resume should be clean, clear, concise, efficient, effective, and every other positive thing in the world.

That specifically means do not write down your interests unless they are directly related to the job you are applying for. A chair lift attendant would be wise to mention that they like skiing and have been doing so for 20 years. An actuary would benefit from avoiding it. A guy who fixes all of his friend’s computers but has been working at Friendly's for the last decade would benefit from writing down his hobby information.

As for the education vs experience. Education only goes first if you have not had a full time job or if the full time job does not show any form of skill building towards the job you are applying for.

For those who never graduated college, don't you fucking dare write education first unless you have never worked a day in your life or you got a 1600 on your SATs and have been frozen in carbonite for the last 15 years.

Example 1: If you are applying to be a computer technician and you have been in the army working with guns and shit for 5 years but you went to school for business, I would write down the army training first. It shows that you are capable of working hard and that you are a disciplined individual.

Example 2: If you are applying to be a computer technician and graduated from MIT with an advanced degree in programming but have been calling yourself a sandwich artist for the last three years, you put the education first.


Why it is that no one has mentioned the cover letter?

A resume out of context does nothing to help you land a job. How does one explain a career move, a demotion, a gap in time, or that they would be great at air traffic control because they are calm all the time?

COVER LETTER

You better remember how to write a simple paper. I’ll sum this up for you.

Cover letter format:

GPFontaine's Actual Cover Letter wrote:

Dear Employer, Paragraph 1. Hi I am fucking awesome and you should hire me. Here are three reasons why I rock. One. Two. Three. Thesis in your face bitch. Paragraph 2. Describe reason 1. Paragraph 3. Describe Reason 2. Paragraph 4. Describe Reason 3. Paragraph 5. Say the thesis again. It is easy, it is something like this, “After reading your company’s motto I know that my attention to detail, focus on efficiency, and desire to be an active participant in a dynamic environment makes the _____JOB_______ appear to be a perfect fit for me.” Don’t bother reading anyone else’s resume because I guarantee that mine is better and that the choice to use small font with large line spacing was the right move. You’ll see when you flip the page you silly bastard. P.S. I never mentioned that I am a good team player because I know you assume it from when I described it in all of those examples of team projects… of course I was the leader, but that is just because I am fucking awesome, word.

Seriously if you say that you are a team player in your cover letter and I find out, I will personally call the company you applied to and tell them to stop laughing long enough to set your cover letter on fire and put the video of it on Youtube.

I suppose that I could also share a great resume reference with you. One that is not quite as sarcastic as I am about it... though they are close.

Damn good read:
http://www.squawkfox.com/2008/11/17/10-things-that-define-a-killer-resume/