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Xandu posted:edit: Should you use past-tense for your current job? This has been hotly debated in a lot of the writing classes I've done, half the people say yes so it matches the rest of the wording and half the people say no. I put "business writing skills" because I've done actual coursework in it rather than just picking it up, but I guess that doesn't come across very well in the resume.
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Dec 20, 2013 20:29
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Xeom posted:Hello goons, I am a senior chemical engineering student and will soon start applying to jobs. Can I get some feedback on my resume? Here is a very basic critique. Hope this helps! Also, to add to the discussion, everything always needs to be in past tense on a resume or CV. There are many reasons for this. One of them is that if you say you are "doing" something you are implying the possibility of failure. When you say you "did" something you are turning a task into an accomplishment and using strong, confident language. And yes, you also want the whole document to be in one consistent tense. 
Goon Approved Resume and CV Writing Service
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Dec 20, 2013 21:18
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Thanks a ton dustingduvet. For my first school my GPA was a 3.5, but its a 2.6 at my current school.I thought including one and not the other would just look bad. Also I included earned college expenses because Ive been told to not talk about non-related jobs in the resume. Instead I should just briefly mention that I worked for some of my college expenses.
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Dec 21, 2013 09:03
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Xeom posted:Also I included earned college expenses because Ive been told to not talk about non-related jobs in the resume. I'd also note that if you have experience with specific MATLAB toolboxes (Statistics Toolbox, etc.), you ought to put them as well. That's where most of the complexity and power within the product lies.
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Dec 21, 2013 18:34
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Even if your previous job was working at Taco Bell every summer through high school/college you should put it on there because it shows you can get and keep a job, which is important when you have no other job experience on there. My first resume had a lot of volunteer work and class projects on it, but now that I have legit real-world experience they've all been bumped off.
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Dec 21, 2013 19:35
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So yesterday, I had an interview for an editing/layout position at a smallish publishing company. The interview went really well, the woman thought I was well spoken, my skills matched well... I gave several examples of how I learned things fairly quickly and she thought my portfolio looked great. However, they wanted me to take a test in InDesign. They contacted me on Tuesday afternoon for this interview yesterday, and I downloaded it asap and tried to learn what I could. Needless to say, I did not do so hot at all. We spoke about my lack of InDesign knowledge prior to the test, that I had downloaded a demo and tried learning it in two days, and she said it wasn't a big deal, and that she and coworkers knew that if you knew Quark, you should be able to make the transition smoothly with some time. So I'm writing the thank you now and my question is do I mention it in any way? I was going to mention other aspects of the interview and office obviously, but adding something like 'I wish I had more time to learn InDesign before the test, but as we discussed in the interview, I am able to pick up things quickly. I'm sure I would have no problem learning the program with a little more time' I was leaning towards yes, but I wasn't sure if it was smart to bring up a negative in a thank you?
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Dec 21, 2013 19:38
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Speaking of thank yous, do I send a thank you email for a phone interview? I should clarify that it wasn't a phone screening. They did that then asked to schedule a phone interview. Islam is the Lite Rock FM fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Dec 21, 2013 |
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Dec 21, 2013 21:53
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THE MACHO MAN posted:So yesterday, I had an interview for an editing/layout position at a smallish publishing company. The interview went really well, the woman thought I was well spoken, my skills matched well... I gave several examples of how I learned things fairly quickly and she thought my portfolio looked great. However, they wanted me to take a test in InDesign. They contacted me on Tuesday afternoon for this interview yesterday, and I downloaded it asap and tried to learn what I could. Needless to say, I did not do so hot at all. We spoke about my lack of InDesign knowledge prior to the test, that I had downloaded a demo and tried learning it in two days, and she said it wasn't a big deal, and that she and coworkers knew that if you knew Quark, you should be able to make the transition smoothly with some time.
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Dec 21, 2013 22:23
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Does anybody know any good resources for practising non-verbal logical reasoning tests? Or even one that goes through useful steps to approach them? A job I'm applying has given me two sets of practice questions - verbal reasoning, which I aced, and the non-verbal which I only got an average for. The non-verbal is a bastardy version of Raven's Progressive Matrices - you have a 3x3 grid of various symbols, one of the boxes is empty (not always the 9th box, which seems to be the norm for these) and you need to fill it in from a list, with between six and twelve (loving TWELVE) choices. The simple questions were just nonsense symbols, so it's pretty easy to just translate different positions, or combine the different boxes. The ones I struggled with had sets of arrows pointing in different directions - so instead of treating them as disconnected symbols it seems to test is expecting to transform one group into another by rotating the arrows - when it's two arrows per group that's just about doable, but when you get up to 4 it becomes crazy hard. Any tips on this stuff?
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Dec 22, 2013 13:42
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Can someone tell me what a posting like this means?quote:Geospatial Opportunities! Job It's posted as a job with a requisition number and an "Apply Now!" button but there's a dozen different positions listed.
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Dec 22, 2013 22:27
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Do you want to work for a defense contractor/do you have a clearance?
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Dec 23, 2013 02:40
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Xandu posted:Do you want to work for a defense contractor/do you have a clearance? Yes to both.
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Dec 23, 2013 15:59
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I interviewed with a company who seemed really interested in me. I answered everything well and thought out, did their test at the end well (or so I thought, it was pretty vague but I made sure to show my work and explain why I did everything I did), they told me about all the opportunities to grow and learn about projects, seemed real interested in my portfolio of projects I brought. It was all around a great interview. They told me they would let me know by the holidays. I haven't heard anything either way. I think I just need to get this out but someone tell me I'm crazy for stressing out about this right before the holidays.  I keep thinking I haven't heard anything because they want to wait until after the holidays to say no. But this doesn't make sense because why should a company care about that?Stultus Maximus posted:Can someone tell me what a posting like this means? I've seen that on Indeed and didn't know what's up with Leidos for that ad. I'm in school sort of near Reston but Leidos is all over my metro area. I've asked about them and other places requiring a clearance, what I've been told is that you either need serious experience plus an active clearance (TS/SCI poly super secret squirrel preferred). It also helps to have experience in the dozens of other software they want clearly marked. I was also told they're often a black hole to apply to for whatever reason. But again, this is just stuff I've asked around about. I'm looking at (mostly) GIS tech positions in not defense. Source for most of this is a Navy O5 in my program who does something else other than GIS, not really sure where he's going with this because he's riding out the rest of his career doing whatever it is he does. I think he just needs a master's degree for the check in the box.
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Dec 24, 2013 01:47
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Okay, I spammed my resume to a lot of places, and I finally got a callback. I did a phone interview for a local(ish) bank, needing IT, namely admin stuff, resetting passwords. I believe I did well, and the IT Director gave me his email after the phone call, for "any further questions". The only questions I had during the interview iteself were for him were about possible assistance for certs and whatnot, and he was very gung-ho about that. I know pay isn't on the table yet, but is there any follow up questions I should be looking to ask him? Should I leave it be for now? E: thinking on it, would it be too early to ask about 401k matching, health benefits, etc? another edit: Proofreading is for suckers. Gothmog1065 fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Dec 28, 2013 |
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Dec 27, 2013 18:53
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would love it if someone could take a look at my resume. Just finished reading through the whole thread and did some updating to my old resume. dropped a couple jobs off which were no longer relevant, did some editing on the bullets, and changed around the layout and where things fell. Been sending out a bunch of resumes with the old one with no bites at all, so time to try to clean things up (it, me, etc...) Under the summary area I really only listed two points for now, as I plan to add in some more depending on the specifics of the job I'm applying to. I noticed after the upload that it skewed the formatting slightly. In the real one the job dates are all on the original line with no wrapping. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw1Po2lErYA4S0xYQkV1cHJkQzA/edit?usp=sharing
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Dec 27, 2013 23:33
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Check your sharing, I don't see anything.
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Dec 28, 2013 00:03
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skipdogg posted:Check your sharing, I don't see anything. hmm, odd. I had it set to share with anyone who had the link. I've changed it to be fully public now to see if that works. Thanks for the heads up.
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Dec 28, 2013 03:39
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I would love for someone to tear my resume to shreds and help me figure out how to squeeze more poo poo in there. Jack of lots of trades, master of none. Google Drive I recently started classroom training at my job, but I'm still technically shadowing. I also have planned massive parties and created an employee yearbook, but I don't know where to put those. I haven't won anything concrete like Employee of the Year, so it's hard to list accomplishments (and where would I put them, anyway?). Prior to the things listed, I had some jobs in college that were mostly irrelevant save one as a new student orientation coordinator. The tough part is I don't know exactly what I want, but I definitely need something that lets employers know that I'm a good leader and good with people, and also can make them pictures and videos, I guess.
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Dec 29, 2013 04:25
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I interviewed for a job two weeks ago on December 17, thought it went well, and they told me they anticipated making a decision "by the holidays." I thought I would hear something back by the 23rd at the latest but no luck. I don't expect to hear over the holidays but I'm not exactly sure when that period ends. January 2nd? My question is, when would it be appropriate to contact the recruiter and ask about the job? I was thinking next Monday January 6 but am not sure if that's too early. The catch with this hearing back from this job and what makes me think I didn't get it was that it's a contract position working on with a federal agency. The contract expires in March but has at least one month of work beyond that, up to five months. Whatever the case, I would think that would make the decision making process need to be quicker in order to find someone.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:00
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At this time of year no decisions are getting made. Jan 6 would be a good idea, although if you want to try for an update on the 2nd I don't think there would be anything wrong with that either.
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Dec 31, 2013 11:35
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Bisty Q. posted:Cover letters are simple. "I'm applying for your position of CHOCOLATE TEAPOT MAKER. I would be a good fit for this position because of my experience with SKILL #1 FROM JOB DESCRIPTION and SKILL #2 FROM JOB DESCRIPTION I gained at PRIOR EMPLOYER. In fact, I RELEVANT STATISTIC ABOUT A SKILL IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION THAT SOUNDS IMPRESSIVE. I am excited about this position with COMPANY NAME HERE because of TIDBIT FROM WEBSITE. I look forward to speaking with you." Are cover letters really this simple? I've been going about writing these all wrong. EDIT: Also, I remember this coming up, but can't seem to find the relevant posts, but what do you do when in the online application form they ask for previous salary and salary requirements and it's a required question you have to answer before you can submit the form? My current salary is from my internship position which pays well, but is still going to look small next to what I would be asking in negotiation. Chaotic Flame fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Jan 1, 2014 |
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Jan 1, 2014 18:35
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Just had a phone interview go really well for a job I would love to get. Gonna write a thank you shortly. Should I ask directly about setting up an in person interview, or reiterate my interest in the job and say I look forward to meeting you in person?
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Jan 3, 2014 18:54
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THE MACHO MAN posted:Just had a phone interview go really well for a job I would love to get. Gonna write a thank you shortly. Should I ask directly about setting up an in person interview, or reiterate my interest in the job and say I look forward to meeting you in person? A simple thank you is fine, don't be presumptuous.
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Jan 3, 2014 19:36
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I'm 3 credits away from getting my bachelors degree, but I haven't been enrolled in classes in over a year. I plan on finishing it in the summer, but until then what do I put on my resume?
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Jan 3, 2014 22:41
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Flippinlikebirds posted:I'm 3 credits away from getting my bachelors degree, but I haven't been enrolled in classes in over a year. I plan on finishing it in the summer, but until then what do I put on my resume? 
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Jan 4, 2014 03:04
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So I've redone my resume and I wanted to get some opinions on this new one. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7CJULIN0qqPUmlpUDZyVWFRcDA/edit?usp=sharing I decided to include my projects and research experience. I still feel some parts are really weak, but I'm not sure how to make them stronger. For instance I still feel my project descriptions are really weak.
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Jan 4, 2014 05:52
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What's the consensus on using a resume builder like http://resumegenius.com or others like it? I can make a resume and export it into a text file for free (or pay money to get it formatted in word, which I don't need.) Looks like it spits out pretty good information, but I suppose I need to tinker with the sort of "blandness" it shoots out and quantify/specify any areas that I can. Also how the hell am I supposed to answer for the three years of no working and no school that I had during a major depressive episode?
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Jan 5, 2014 10:26
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"Dealing with health issues". If you really feel confident in your interviewing skills you could spin a story about how it's made you stronger and it's completely resolved, but I'd leave it as health issues.
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Jan 5, 2014 15:15
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Man I don't know what it is about interviews that destroy my nerves specifically but I had an interview at a nonprofit to VOLUNTEER there and you'd think that'd be the lowest stress kind I could do but it absolutely wrecked me. I think it went well but I was shaking most of it and it took me a good half hour afterwards to calm down to baseline.
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Jan 5, 2014 15:24
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Chaotic Flame posted:Are cover letters really this simple? I've been going about writing these all wrong. I promise they are this simple. Put in $1 - it will be obvious you just answered something to make the form go. I have yet to encounter any company that actually uses the form values as cutoffs, they just want to have it in there so they can negotiate from an advantageous position later. If it gets to the point where you're talking about money, you can mention why you didn't put the 'real' value in (because it's an internship).
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Jan 5, 2014 18:59
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Chaotic Flame posted:Are cover letters really this simple? I've been going about writing these all wrong. I always wonder the same thing. On one hand people tell me they are literally that simple, but then they link me to websites that tell me managers only want to read coverletters that are like short novels about your life and skills. I feel pretty confident about my resume, but goddamn writing cover letters makes me poo poo my pants. I'm so horrible at it.
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Jan 5, 2014 20:43
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Any cover letter is better then no cover letter. A template like that is going to produce a perfectly average cover letter and that is 1000% then not having one.
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Jan 5, 2014 22:00
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Chaotic Flame posted:EDIT: Also, I remember this coming up, but can't seem to find the relevant posts, but what do you do when in the online application form they ask for previous salary and salary requirements and it's a required question you have to answer before you can submit the form? I have had problems with this also. I was and now am working on 4 pay scales: $45/hour, $35, $25, and $22. But I have to pick one choice for salary on many online applications and I don't want it to sound too high or too low. It's so rigid. Is there a way around this?
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Jan 6, 2014 10:28
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My feeling on cover letters is that they show me how well you can "free-form," but they also give you a chance to say something really great or really stupid. If you have a super average one with no typos, grammar mistakes, etc., it will be fine. Ideally you want to shove something in there that makes you stand out; for jobs I have helped hire for this has usually meant specific information that showed the applicant read through our website and really tried to understand the job. Stupid stuff on cover letters includes stuff like, "I live every day for Jesus, and I want to spread His word to others," for a job in a public university that had nothing to do with religion. Cutesy stuff like, "What is there to say about me? Well, for starters..." Some people don't know how to be professional, don't know how to write, or are just not the kind of people you want to risk giving a job to. Cover letters can screen for this kind of thing a lot better than a CV can.
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Jan 6, 2014 20:42
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lanefrost posted:would love it if someone could take a look at my resume. Just finished reading through the whole thread and did some updating to my old resume. dropped a couple jobs off which were no longer relevant, did some editing on the bullets, and changed around the layout and where things fell. Been sending out a bunch of resumes with the old one with no bites at all, so time to try to clean things up (it, me, etc...) Here is a very basic critique of the first page. Hope this helps! 
Goon Approved Resume and CV Writing Service
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Jan 6, 2014 20:51
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thanks man. I'm already making some changes to it. Some of the things I've got to figure out how to word the explanation on it without getting too in depth. For example, the production unit increase from company A. It's hard to explain that, as our units can be a wide range of items, such as ink bundling, or firmware upgrades, or factory reworks, or customized products as simple as inserting a USB cable into the product for sales. It really varies what my department does. But will definitely take it all to heart, and will look even deeper into it for edits and changes.
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Jan 6, 2014 23:20
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Ugh I hate when an interview starts with a question like "Well tell me about yourself." Other than that, my interview with the government doing environmental inspections went well. Hurray! Now one more tomorrow then my vacation/interview festival back in my home town is over.
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Jan 7, 2014 06:31
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I'm looking to submit an application to a high-tech company that has two open positions that are very similar, and that I think I'm qualified for and equally interested in. One is for an R&D position, the other is for a product management position; both on the same technology platform. What's the best way to address this in the cover letter without it sounding scattershot? From a personal perspective, in a (potential) interview I would want to ask about the current challenges facing each roll and what kind of new opportunies/projects would be in the pipeline. Any suggestions?
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Jan 7, 2014 07:19
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Cyril Sneer posted:I'm looking to submit an application to a high-tech company that has two open positions that are very similar, and that I think I'm qualified for and equally interested in. One is for an R&D position, the other is for a product management position; both on the same technology platform. If you have any other doubts about the process, just give their HR department a call and I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you what works best for their company.
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Jan 7, 2014 07:46
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Misogynist posted:Don't even bother. The two positions are likely going to different hiring managers anyway once they make it through HR, so create a tailored cover letter for each position and submit an independent application for each role you're interested in, unless their HR submission process discourages doing that. Actually I should have mentioned I did this already - its a small company and they all go through one guy + an HR lady.
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Jan 7, 2014 16:17
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