Resume length and history

[Jerry Feldman]

On 04/09/2013 11:49 AM, Kenny Lussier wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Not specifically Linux-related, but I was wondering what other people 
> are seeing/doing with resumes these days. I have seen everything from 
> a 2-page resume for someone with 20 years of experience to a 15-page 
> resume for someone with 2 jobs over 3 years (it looked like the output 
> of cat ~/.bash_history). How far back should a resume go? How long 
> should it be before you stop reading it? I'm seeing absolutely no 
> consistency in resumes, and the ones that come from recruiters seem to 
> be the worst formats.
Basically, I have 3 resumes.
1. Short form 1 page summary.
2. Standard. 2 pages. Recent history detailed, old history referenced only.
3. Full Resume. I still have older or not relevant jobs referenced.

HR and high level hiring managers are only interested in the top third 
of the first page. However, I have had a hiring manager go back to high 
school. He even wanted the dates of my military service. Mostly as a 
contractor, I may give the long form to the headhunters. Another thing 
they do is if you list a skill, they want to see where you used it. The 
way I section my resume is the top half of page 1 lists my skills and 
highlights my experience. The rest is history. I always tailor the 
resume to the job. Buzz words are very important to HR people, and some 
hiring managers. For instance, Linux is important, but some HR people 
specify things like RHEL. A friend of mine who is very competent missed 
out on a job because he did not have "workstation" Unix experience. And 
lastly to keep it brief, do not lie. I know a case where a guy claimed 
to have designed a circuit board. Unfortunately for him, the guy who 
actually designed that board was the interviewer. The first thing the 
hiring manager asked him was "whose name was on the blue print".


-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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