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Cpt.Wacky posted:I'm applying for a position for the first time in about 10 years. The OP has been very helpful in getting my resume in shape. However I'm a bit stumped on who to provide as references and I didn't see anything in the OP or searching the first and last page of the thread, other than debating whether to include them initially or not. I'm not a doctor of references, but I always try to go with somebody in a position of responsibility that knew me (and the work I was doing) well and was willing to vouch for the quality of my work, content of character, etc. In essence, I usually shoot for past supervisors or project leaders, my academic adviser, professors, and co-workers (when it specifically says no supervisors). I never do friends and family. To offer a differing viewpoint, I was a "friend" reference for my college roommate (some years after we had moved apart) and he got the job. Whether I was actually a "reference reference" or a "character reference", I'm not sure.
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Feb 18, 2014 05:12
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Cpt.Wacky posted:I'm applying for a position for the first time in about 10 years. The OP has been very helpful in getting my resume in shape. However I'm a bit stumped on who to provide as references and I didn't see anything in the OP or searching the first and last page of the thread, other than debating whether to include them initially or not. Don't 'provide' references, unless they are explicitly asked for. If they are, provide past supervisors. Anything else is a red flag, anyone who did not work with you is a huge red flag.
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Feb 18, 2014 06:20
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Hiya, I've been looking through parts of this thread and it's really made me rethink my C.V (U.K resident so just means chubbier resume), especially in small ways I didn't consider before. The idea of emphasising what you did over what you learned, and of taking out a lot of fluff has been especially helpful. There is something I've not seen lots of chat on, or maybe I skipped it. I feel as if I'm at a real disadvantage because all my experience at current is retail based, and I'm starting to worry that I may have caught myself in a never ending retail-based loop for the future. Is there any way I can rework the C.V format so that it has focus on the overall skills and experiences I would have, over just looking like a list of retail jobs? What I mean is, if I were to consider the transferable skills the jobs have given me, and to elaborate within a Skills section, and de-emphasise the job list itself (while still talking about job specific points there), would it look suspicious or is it in fact the way to go?
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Feb 18, 2014 12:15
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totalnewbie posted:I think you're alright if you are, say, applying to be an engineer and do something like: Cool, I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks!
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Feb 18, 2014 13:01
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Bisty Q. posted:Don't 'provide' references, unless they are explicitly asked for. If they are, provide past supervisors. Anything else is a red flag, anyone who did not work with you is a huge red flag. They're asked for on the application form, but I don't think I need to include them at this point. My problem is I've worked at this place for 10 years and before that I was in school. In that 10 years I've had 2 supervisors: my current one and the guy that hired me who has since retired. I suppose when it gets to that point I can provide the names I did come up with and explain the situation.
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Feb 18, 2014 15:23
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Cpt.Wacky posted:They're asked for on the application form, but I don't think I need to include them at this point. My problem is I've worked at this place for 10 years and before that I was in school. In that 10 years I've had 2 supervisors: my current one and the guy that hired me who has since retired. I suppose when it gets to that point I can provide the names I did come up with and explain the situation. I'm assuming there are three blanks to fill? In the "only two supervisors" situation, I would try and use somebody that led a project I was on, or a peer of my supervisor that I had done work for. But maybe that is because I am weird about leaving things blank.
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Feb 18, 2014 15:56
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Zarin posted:I'm assuming there are three blanks to fill? (NOT RELATIVES; Please list at least three) It's a generic 6! page application form used for every position from grunt to big boss. I'm ok leaving it blank.
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Feb 18, 2014 16:28
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Not sure if this is really the thread for it, but making a new thread seemed excessive, so here goes: I'm from Belgium and want to do an internship at a company in the ICT sector (having an Engineering degree in Computer Science). The internship would also be in context of my education and would provide me "study points". Ideally, the internship would be close by (Brussels) and 4 weeks in the 3 month summer "vacation". It is possible to do an internship at Ernst&Young, but it would be unpaid and for a minimum amount of 8 weeks. On the one hand, it is Ernst&Young, a prestigious company, and I imagine it would like very good on my resume. On the other hand, I hear they require a lot of work (including weekends and past the regular 9 to 5 hours) and 8 weeks unpaid is a very long time. I could also do internships at smaller companies, but I'd imagine that wouldn't look half as nice. So I'm a bit torn. Any advice on how E&Y is? Your experiences with them? How do they treat people who do internships? Would having them on my resume be such a big boon that I should suck it up and just do it? I'm really torn...
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Feb 18, 2014 21:48
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I was wondering if anyone could offer some critique about my girlfriend's cover letter and resume. She has a degree in Commerce (Marketing) and had been working as a restuarant manager for the past 4 years. She mainly looked after one of three restuarants in the business but she was loosely in charge of the other two locations. Unfortunately she had an accident that broke her left femur in Fall 2012 and quit her job in Spring 2013 because it was too hard to recover from. She's been unemployed for almost a year now and so far, and hasn't gotten much feedback from interviewers. We've been staring at it for so long and some outside perspective would be great. On the plus side, she's recovered almost completely from her injury. She wants to get into project management, starting with business analysis. Here's a cover letter : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6y4PQLKzbGJMGVNbzBuNzFzakU/edit?usp=sharing It feels a bit dense but it's hard to cover everything in such a short amount of space. Would breaking list items out in bullets help ? And resume : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6y4PQLKzbGJY2prYkJrX1B6UHM/edit?usp=sharing rt_hat fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Feb 19, 2014 |
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Feb 19, 2014 16:17
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Unless she's applying for something in the food service industry, there's way too much details about her restaurant jobs. Slash the cover letter by at least 25%, and the resume by about half. It's way too dense. Also "Language skills: English and Mandarin" is pretty uninformative. Can she say hello, my name is Name Name, or can she hold a native level conversation about secondary market derivative fluctuations in a leveraged environment? Can she write? I'd figure fluent Mandarin is a rare enough skill to harp on; but then I'm the guy that sticks language skills in the summary of qualifications. I understand opinions on the subject vary. (For the record, I have a single line with "Native-level fluency in French and English", I don't mention the tourist-level Spanish because Spanish isn't that valuable in this market)
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Feb 19, 2014 16:25
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FrozenVent posted:
Thanks, fixed it to "Fluent English and Mandarin". Have to spend some time tonight to improve the content.
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Feb 19, 2014 16:41
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One of my questions reading that resume and cover letter is, why did she leave an office job to go work in a restaurant when now she's applying to office jobs again. I think that needs to be addressed at least in the interview stage, though maybe not in the cover letter. As FrozenVent said, resume is too long. Fix the tabbing on the Content Verification Clerk job, it's on the wrong side. Don't organize technical skills by functional area if you're only listing 1 skill for each area. For language, unless it's likely to be in doubt, just say fluent Mandarin, no reason to mention English. For the restaurant part of the resume, focus more on metrics. She talks about increasing sales and stuff in the cover letter, but I don't see any hard numbers on the resume. These three bullet points are generic: • Developed strong relationships with customers by addressing customer issues and queries in an accurate and timely manner • Ensured customer satisfaction and repeat business by delivering timely and quality service • Developed a safe and positive work environment for staff edit: You posted a generic cover letter, which is fine, but when she's actually applying to these jobs, she needs to include something about why she wants to work for the company I'm with FrozenVent on the language thing, too. She should look into finding a job where her Mandarin skills would be an asset, and then use that job to gain experience in the field. Her background is fine, but nothing on the resume immediately jumps out to me, except for that. Xandu fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Feb 19, 2014 |
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Feb 19, 2014 17:05
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Let's chat about GPA for a moment. A lot of these applications want a GPA to go with the degree. Since I'm looking for entry-level, that's kind of a thing. Short story: I tried Electrical Engineering right out of High School, and played too much C&C Generals. My grades sucked; after 3 years I transferred from a 4-year institution to a 2-year and scooped a degree in Mechanical Maintenance. Got a job in that field, was like "OH SO THIS IS WHAT YOU DO WITHOUT A DEGREE" and went back to the original 4-year institution for a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. (I should have probably transferred schools instead.) Accounting GPA: 3.72 (Hello ladies) Overall Cumulative GPA: 3.06 (  )Cumulative GPA Last 60 Hours: 3.90 - My career advisor suggested I add this to the resume; he says it is a reasonably common metric, and shows I was a pretty dedicated student. (Coincidentally, I took 61 hours of classes at the 4-year after I went back). On the job application, would it be considered disingenuous to put my Major GPA rather than my Overall Cumulative? My cumulative isn't terrible, but I know some of these places want their accounting applicants to be as high as possible, and sometimes over 3.25+. (For the record, I have all three on my resume; the 3.90 is a reference only thing and I would never consider putting it on a job application)
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Feb 20, 2014 00:38
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Zarin posted:Let's chat about GPA for a moment. No employer really cares about your undergrad GPA or your grades your backstory as long as you get the degree. Grad schools care. Employers hiring bachelors graduates, even entry-level, don't. It is on most applications but most applications also ask you to list every single employer you have ever worked for and your salary at each and all sorts of stupid poo poo. Also, always assume your college career advisor knows dick about anything until proven otherwise. They are notorious for giving idiotic suggestions. In this particular case he's basically advising you to invite questions about stuff before got your insanely awesome accounting grades when presumably you don't want to talk about that. Also I've never seen or heard of anyone putting "past 60 hours GPA" on a resume. So on your resume you would put: EDUCATION The University of Whatever May 2014 Bachelor of Science in Accounting GPA: 3.72 (Major), 3.06 (Overall) On applications just put 3.06. It's not like it's bad or something.
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Feb 20, 2014 03:33
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I work in hollywood/visual fx/animation and I used to work in games and I'm probably going to stay in those industries but I'm trying to go for more senior/exec roles. I typically just send people to this url: footagemissing.com NWS boobies if you keep scrolling down Of course I'll write an apropos cover letter here and there but I'm curious what you all think. I've never really gotten an external opinion about it but then I've never really looked for a job since putting it together.
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Feb 20, 2014 08:04
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I don't know anything about the creative industry, but are you sure you want to be sending prospective employers a painstakingly rendered image of a naked woman pulling on socks?
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Feb 20, 2014 13:44
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FrozenVent posted:I don't know anything about the creative industry, but are you sure you want to be sending prospective employers a painstakingly rendered image of a naked woman pulling on socks? Ever watch madmen? Seriously though, it hasn't stopped me from getting interviews with Disney and Dreamworks. It's not vulgar and I'm pretty confident no one in my prospective industry would take offense. A lot of artists have nude sketches, photos, paintings in their portfolios. vvv Izz jok vvv Shaocaholica fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Feb 20, 2014 |
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Feb 20, 2014 15:40
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If you're using Madmen as the standard of appropriate workplace behavior, I honestly don't know what to tell you.
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Feb 20, 2014 15:42
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I don't see how Disney would ever hire someone who liked to draw hidden naked images everywhere, you must be a resume unemployment republicantroll. Please ignore his advice.
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Feb 21, 2014 14:16
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My brother graduated in June of last year with a Communications/Journalism degree. He's been having trouble finding work (lives in Michigan so things are especially not great) and found a position with a new library his university is opening up that he wants to apply to. He's been working at Meijer basically just in the bottle return section since August of last year and at the county library since January of this year. Should he put the Meijer stuff on the resume to show that he's been working, or would it not be necessary as it doesn't have much (other than occasional customer service) to do with the library position?
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Feb 21, 2014 18:43
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Xandu posted:edit: You posted a generic cover letter, which is fine, but when she's actually applying to these jobs, she needs to include something about why she wants to work for the company
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Feb 21, 2014 21:54
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Halloween Jack posted:Oh, and I've reached the point where I'm stagnating and not learning anything, plus maybe I'll get a workstation that isn't a through-street." Say that, but use nice words.
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Feb 21, 2014 21:57
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Big thanks to this thread for giving me a bit of guidance earlier this month, I think my rewritten, more customized cover letter killed it. My search has continued in a low-key way and I got an immediate (like, 2 hours after sending) call back for an interview from a big nonprofit in the area just this week. Good sign. This is my first grown-up interview; I'm not stressed at all about interviewing, I do very well and there's no real pressure to get a job YESTERDAY. But I've never gotten a great answer about the politics of references, giving notice, and that sort of thing. This position requested references on the resume so I included them, but with a note that they were only to be contacted upon a contingent offer of employment (all my best references are from my current job). That's fine. I have a few questions, I'm sure others have had these too: If they start the hiring process, how long can I hold out until I have to inform my references, effectively announcing to my current job "I'm looking"? Common sense says I wait until the last possible moment, when I have a job offer and a final salary in-hand. I'm "essential" for a major campaign at my current employer, one which won't be done for at least a couple more years. Employers must understand that employees move on (especially in my age group), but would leaving jeopardize the strength of my references? I was planning to provide flexible notice, maybe a month or even two. Finally, a lot of the writing on the internet advises against taking a counter-offer from your current employer. However, I plan to leave this region and possibly this line of work in less than two years. In that context, I feel less worried about the consequences of using a job offer to negotiate for salary/title/benefits with my current employer. Am I misguided?
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Feb 21, 2014 22:15
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Halloween Jack posted:I have a related question. I work at a university and I'm applying to jobs in other departments. I don't know what to put in my cover letter when my reason for applying is "This looks exactly like my current job, only for $8,000 more than I'm making now. Oh, and I've reached the point where I'm stagnating and not learning anything, plus maybe I'll get a workstation that isn't a through-street."
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Feb 21, 2014 23:39
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Does anyone have advice about applying to NGOs? I've seen a job that's an almost exact match to my current one, but in a public instead of private sector organisation. But I've never worked at an NGO before and I feel like that might be a big barrier to them considering me. I have an academic focus in related areas to theirs, but they promote say development and agriculture, whereas mine would be politics and youth issues. I'd like to pursue a phd in my area eventually, but I know I don't want to be an academic, I just want to study because it really interests me and I feel like my general interest in global issues would be a good match for their specific ones in 'completely unrelated to policy' role. So is that likely to get me kicked out of the pile or am I going to have put serious reading into crop rotation?
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Feb 22, 2014 16:25
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Should people use their work email to contact prospective companies? Most companies don't spy on their employees and even if they did what harm could come out of it? I figure you'd have bigger problems if they were. Reasoning is that something like this: don.draper@scdp.com looks more professional than this: bigdong69@hotmail.com Granted not many level headed people would actually use an email like that for getting a job but generally a lot of people have wacky personal emails. Some really offensive, but overall mostly unprofessional.
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Feb 22, 2014 16:46
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Just get your.name@gmail.com Unless your name is Bob Smith. To clarify, don't use your work email to apply for other jobs. That's weird. Plus it tells your prospective employers "I gently caress around at work." corkskroo fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Feb 22, 2014 |
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Feb 22, 2014 16:49
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corkskroo posted:To clarify, don't use your work email to apply for other jobs. That's weird. Plus it tells your prospective employers "I gently caress around at work." I was wondering about this point myself. I have been contacted by prospective employers via email, and I reply that I am free from 11:00-11:30, or after 3:00. This is pretty much a dead giveaway that I am responding to their email at work. Should I stop doing this, and instead wait until I get home to respond back (at the cost of a prompt reply)? Edit: to clarify, this is my "professional" gmail account, not my work email.
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Feb 22, 2014 17:06
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Zarin posted:Should I stop doing this, and instead wait until I get home to respond back (at the cost of a prompt reply)? I don't think this is a big deal. I would expect most people to do some sort of job search related activities during work hours because recruiters and such also work during regular work hours. Having the benefit of quick/immediate email interaction outweigh any notion that you're doing stuff on work time. Considering the statistics of how many people use social media, read the news, watch youtube, post on lovely forums, watch porn(joking)...there's no reason to put any negative weight on job search stuff. As long as it doesn't effect your ability to get your real work done but you can't gauge that without really hiring that person. Some of the smartest, most productive and valuable people I work with are dicking around on the internet all the time. Its not a good metric in this day and age IMO.
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Feb 22, 2014 17:38
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Agreed. I think responding during business hours with the times that you're available to talk is totally fine. Step outside to take a call or do what you have to do. But doing it from your work email address is weird or at least tacky. This may seem like splitting hairs but somehow it doesn't feel right, and I've been a hiring manager many times. Of course I also overthink things sometimes.
corkskroo fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Feb 22, 2014 |
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Feb 22, 2014 23:25
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I got a call about a week or so about an application I sent. It wasn't a request for an interview or anything, she just called and asked if I would also consider another position. I sort of got the idea that they would be calling me again sometime soon, but it wasn't explicitly stated. The position(s) I applied is no longer posted on the website. Would it be okay to give them a call back and inquire about the status of my application or should I take the silence as a hint for not being considered for the position?
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Feb 22, 2014 23:36
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Mak0rz posted:I got a call about a week or so about an application I sent. It wasn't a request for an interview or anything, she just called and asked if I would also consider another position. I sort of got the idea that they would be calling me again sometime soon, but it wasn't explicitly stated. The position(s) I applied is no longer posted on the website. The latter; they may still want for you the alternate position, though, and you could inquire about that.
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Feb 22, 2014 23:55
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seacat posted:No employer really cares about your undergrad GPA or your grades your backstory as long as you get the degree. Grad schools care. Employers hiring bachelors graduates, even entry-level, don't. My personal experience caveat is that sometimes when an application asks for transcripts, they are going to check the grades and be important. I mean, I used to apply for USAjobs positions where education was a qualification for GS grade and I'd upload my transcripts. Idk whether they just use it as proof that you actually have a degree, but that's what I assumed (since I was shooting for the moon on jobs that were probably only being posted as a formality). The job I have now (not USAjobs) also asked for my transcript as part of the application, so I figured it was the same thing. Then, after I was hired, my boss mentioned in conversation that my high undergrad grades had played a part in me getting the position. I guess he had used it as proof that I would be "good at learning", because this job tends to have a steep learning curve even if you have related experience . I don't think that is standard though, and it's worth mentioning that the people I work for are a little old school. There was no online application option - I had to either fax or mail in a hard copy.
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Feb 23, 2014 01:01
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Hi guys, I've got a second (final) interview on Monday for my first full time job. Backstory: I've been interning for a year and some change at a company. My current team can't seem to get me a full-time position from HR+our CTO who controls the technology department's budget for whatever reason. My manager has many many times told me how good he considers me at my job and that I have been fulfilling a junior level role's responsibilities for some time. That said, I applied to a jr DBA position on another team with the blessing and recommendation of my current manager. I had the first interview with the team (all guys I know) but this new position while similar, is much more involved than my current job knowledge-wise. I feel like I didn't do a great job during the interview (had to answer "I don't know" to a lot of foundation type questions) but our HR recruiter said the feedback was good from them and on Monday I have round 2. What kind of questions should I be looking out for? The interview is with the overseeing VP of the group so I don't think it will be technical again-- but how does an interview with someone that removed from the in the weeds work usually go? I'm not sure if I should be preparing for questions or just go in and keep it casual like a conversation. I know the guy, but I'm not overtly familiar with him.
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Feb 23, 2014 05:43
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Razzled posted:Hi guys, I've got a second (final) interview on Monday for my first full time job. Progression in the industry will take self-awareness, and you should recognize where you think your weaknesses and strengths are, and try to reinforce them in ways that will make people want to hire you. The interview process is essentially a sales gig. If you focus on why you think they can't afford not to hire you, you'll do fine. (And remember that you can take the time in between interviews to study up and learn some new skills based on what you think they want!)
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Feb 23, 2014 07:30
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Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice in this thread, and the feedback on my resume. I start my new job on Monday! Thanks thread!
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Feb 23, 2014 08:53
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angst emotion posted:Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice in this thread, and the feedback on my resume. I start my new job on Monday! Thanks thread! 
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Feb 23, 2014 15:18
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corkskroo posted:Agreed. I think responding during business hours with the times that you're available to talk is totally fine. Step outside to take a call or do what you have to do. But doing it from your work email address is weird or at least tacky. This may seem like splitting hairs but somehow it doesn't feel right, and I've been a hiring manager many times. Of course I also overthink things sometimes. Thanks! No, this makes perfect sense. I only use my company email when applying for internal positions, and would never use it for external ones. I'd get the same vibe you do. Mak0rz posted:I got a call about a week or so about an application I sent. It wasn't a request for an interview or anything, she just called and asked if I would also consider another position. I sort of got the idea that they would be calling me again sometime soon, but it wasn't explicitly stated. The position(s) I applied is no longer posted on the website. I'm in a similar situation here. I applied for an Accounting Rotational Development type program, and got an email from somebody at the same company saying they got my resume from a co-worker and if I would be interested in a Cost Accounting position; we emailed back and forth and set up a time to discuss it on the phone. Now, I have no way of knowing if this person got my info from the application I submitted, or the person I chatted with at the career fair. (Although, I had the posting and cover letter stapled to my resume at the career fair, because I'm an overachiever and applied to positions ahead of the fair . . .) I figure, like Mak0rz suggested, that this probably means they are not interested in me for the position I applied for? I was thinking about either asking about it, or trying to be coy and ask how they came upon my resume. Maybe there isn't any point in thinking about it and I should just forget about it entirely, but it would be nice to know.
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Feb 23, 2014 16:09
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Are programmers and related trades the only people who ask interviewees puzzle questions? Seems like its a fun thing that can take the edge off but also useful. Curious if other disciplines do it as well.
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Feb 23, 2014 17:29
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Shaocaholica posted:Are programmers and related trades the only people who ask interviewees puzzle questions? Seems like its a fun thing that can take the edge off but also useful. Curious if other disciplines do it as well. That and management consulting. Statistically, btw, puzzle questions (like "how many ping-pong balls fit in a bus") are worse than worthless when predicting employment success.
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Feb 23, 2014 20:31
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