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Josh Lyman
May 24, 2009


Turtlicious posted:

You might want to edit your information out Joyce
Done and done.

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BadSamaritan
May 2, 2008

crumb by crumb in this big black forest


Did you actually receive your PhD? It's difficult to tell from your resume if you did or not, and if you didn't then it is very misleading.

Josh Lyman
May 24, 2009


BadSamaritan posted:

Did you actually receive your PhD? It's difficult to tell from your resume if you did or not, and if you didn't then it is very misleading.
I did not, left after 5 years. Wasn't sure how to include that on the resume.

hunkrust
Sep 29, 2014
I got an MA in asking leading questions about how sexism isnt real, and regularly fail to grasp that other people have different experience than me or enjoy different things.
I also own multiple fedoras, to go with my leather dusters, and racist pin badges.

Josh Lyman posted:

I did not, left after 5 years. Wasn't sure how to include that on the resume.

Just put down you have commitment issues

Josh Lyman
May 24, 2009


calvus posted:

Just put down you have commitment issues
"Will quit after 5 years, don't need retirement plan"

velvet milkman
Feb 13, 2012

by R. Guyovich

Josh Lyman posted:

I did not, left after 5 years. Wasn't sure how to include that on the resume.

This sounds like a difficult conversation to have with future employers.

Josh Lyman
May 24, 2009


Trees and Squids posted:

This sounds like a difficult conversation to have with future employers.
I just expected to say I left because of medical issues clinical depression.

Gin_Rummy
Aug 4, 2007
Well, after spending the better part of two years trying to move on from my current job (and only getting a few nibbles) and then getting rejected on Friday by what would have been a pretty sweet job, I submit my resume to you guys. Please tear it to shreds, tell me what is bad about it, give me pointers, and all that jazz. I thought I was on top of things, but there has to be something here that company's are seeing and not liking.


hunkrust
Sep 29, 2014
I got an MA in asking leading questions about how sexism isnt real, and regularly fail to grasp that other people have different experience than me or enjoy different things.
I also own multiple fedoras, to go with my leather dusters, and racist pin badges.

Gin_Rummy posted:

Well, after spending the better part of two years trying to move on from my current job (and only getting a few nibbles) and then getting rejected on Friday by what would have been a pretty sweet job, I submit my resume to you guys. Please tear it to shreds, tell me what is bad about it, give me pointers, and all that jazz. I thought I was on top of things, but there has to be something here that company's are seeing and not liking.




No idea how engineering resumes look generally, are they generally that wordy? E.g. as development engineer I, is there a way you could simplify your explanation to emphasize the benefit more?

sh1fty
Jan 22, 2004

Just want to thank this thread for helping me get my current job. I bombed 2 interviews, and then read this thread and nailed my 3rd one. I was even offered a senior position! So to anyone wondering if the above in here works, it does. Thanks OP!

velvet milkman
Feb 13, 2012

by R. Guyovich

Gin_Rummy posted:

Well, after spending the better part of two years trying to move on from my current job (and only getting a few nibbles) and then getting rejected on Friday by what would have been a pretty sweet job, I submit my resume to you guys. Please tear it to shreds, tell me what is bad about it, give me pointers, and all that jazz. I thought I was on top of things, but there has to be something here that company's are seeing and not liking.




I'm not familiar with the engineering world, but is it really necessary to include your GPA at this point? It looks like you've been out of school for 3 years, and your GPA isn't bad, but it isn't really anything to brag about.

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


After a week or 2-3 hunting for a new job I'm finding myself to be in a somewhat difficult situation and I was hoping to get some goon advice.

I'm talking to 3 different consultancy companies and I'm having my 2nd interview with 2 of them later this week. Both already let me know that if I don't botch my 2nd interview they want to make me an offer straight after the second interview. Of one of these companies I actually know the guy who'll be interviewing as we both worked at the same company before and I got along quite ok with him for the ofher company I worked together with several of their employees who've actually recommended me to their CEO. I'm pretty confident I'll get an offer from both.

I live in Europe and in my country the benefits in IT consultancy are pretty drat similar with almost every single company I know / heard of. The only thing that differs is the salary, and maybe if you work 36 (4x9)or 40 (5x8) hours a week. Pay should be compensated for
working 10% more/less.

All in all it sounds like a pretty sweet spot. The problem I have however is that my 2nd interview with the 3rd company is in 2,5 weeks. While company 1 and 2 are pretty good I actually prefer working at company 3 since the work I'll be doing for them is more interesting and challenging. The software is new to me, I'll be doing more short projects and I can get experience in fields I currently lack experience in, but in which I'd love to work later in my career (networking/security). The only reason I wouldn't want to work there is ift hey throw me a really lowball offer and don't want to negotiate (I do have a family to feed).

I really would like to wait on the offer comapny 3 will make me, but due to availability issues on both sides, the next interview is in 2,5 weeks. All 3 comapnies know my pay range, I gave them an indication within 15-20% of my current pay. So while I don't expect a lovely offer from any of them I just can't rule it out because I have experience with working for a company that did have sleazeball ethics.

So my question to you guys is, how do I respectfully tell company 1 and 2 to wait for 2 weeks before I talk to them about their offer. I don't want to string them along but I don't want them to retract their offers in case company 3 doesn't want to make me an offer (or negotiate on a potential lowball offer).

poeticoddity
Jan 14, 2007
"How nice - to feel nothing and still get full credit for being alive." - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
I finished my PhD in August and I've been job hunting with very little success since then. There were 3 primary (multi-national, multi-billion dollar) companies I was looking at but they largely axed US R&D hirings starting in August and September because they'd rather just buy smaller companies for their IP and gut the staff.

I have a phone interview tomorrow with a company in an entirely different industry where they're looking for someone with my unusual skill set to do research that I'm interested in. It's basically my dream job and actually looks...fun.

The position would be near Seattle, so cost of living would be a lot higher than I'm used to. However, I've spent the past 6 years living as a grad student on a pittance (divided out into unequal installments of a fraction of a pittance) so actual salaries are a new area to me. The only info I have salary wise is information this company may not know I have. I talked with a recruiter a few months ago for a similar position (different research specialization, but no seniority change or anything) at the same company and was told that, for the W-2 position he was trying to fill, the hourly pay would come out to the equivalent of $112K/year.

If I'm asked plainly in my interview tomorrow about salary expectations, and I can't push that off as I'd like, any suggestions on how I should respond? I actually think the $112K is a little on the low side for the area and the position, but at the same time I don't think I'd be able to find any similar positions in the US in a reasonable time frame (nor do I think they'd find a better fit in anyone who's not already established in the business world).

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


poeticoddity posted:


If I'm asked plainly in my interview tomorrow about salary expectations, and I can't push that off as I'd like, any suggestions on how I should respond? I actually think the $112K is a little on the low side for the area and the position, but at the same time I don't think I'd be able to find any similar positions in the US in a reasonable time frame (nor do I think they'd find a better fit in anyone who's not already established in the business world).

If it's your dream job and you think it'll be fun, while you doubt you could land this kind of job without experience anywhere else you could look at it as an investment even though the salary might be a bit low in your opinion.

On the other hand you seem to have a set of skills which are hard to find for that salary which should give you somewhat of a bargaining position.

You can always try to make the case why YOU are worth the money. It helps if you have actual numbers like the average salary for job x with your experience/skills is yyy.0000 a year according to <reputable source>. Ask them why they think 112k is a decent offer, or try to negotiate different/better benefits.

It kind of boils down to how badly you want the job. If you think you can easily get the same deal you can tell them what you think isreasonable and what they can doto hire you. I think you said it's actually your best shot right now, so if I were you I wouldn't push it too far and accept it even ifit was 112k. Unless uou can't make a living off of it.

totalnewbie
Nov 13, 2005

I was born and raised in China, lived in Japan, and now hold a US passport.

I am wrong in every way, all the damn time.

Ask me about my tattoos.

Gin_Rummy posted:

Well, after spending the better part of two years trying to move on from my current job (and only getting a few nibbles) and then getting rejected on Friday by what would have been a pretty sweet job, I submit my resume to you guys. Please tear it to shreds, tell me what is bad about it, give me pointers, and all that jazz. I thought I was on top of things, but there has to be something here that company's are seeing and not liking.




You need specific measurables. Take your first bullet point:

quote:

Transitioned existing product line into a new manufacturing method, reducing overall costs by eliminating unnecessary routers, lowering machine cycle time, and obsoleting costly assembly components and processes.

What product did you work on?
Were you the lead on this project? Did you design the new manufacturing method? What was your role in this entire project because, presumably, you didn't do it all yourself.
What is the scale/scope of product line? Is it a small niche project with a single small line, or does product line represent an entire plant's worth of production?
How much in cost savings, dollars/%?
How many routers were eliminated (maybe out of how many)?
How much cycle time saved? What is the increase in capacity as a result?
How costly were the assembly components and processes that were obsoleted?

Or your second one: were the products your ideas, or were you a glorified secretary organizing meetings? What were the results? Are any of the new products going into production? What, exactly, were the multiple disciplines involved?

You need details. Lots of details.

poeticoddity
Jan 14, 2007
"How nice - to feel nothing and still get full credit for being alive." - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five

LochNessMonster posted:

If it's your dream job and you think it'll be fun, while you doubt you could land this kind of job without experience anywhere else you could look at it as an investment even though the salary might be a bit low in your opinion.

On the other hand you seem to have a set of skills which are hard to find for that salary which should give you somewhat of a bargaining position.

You can always try to make the case why YOU are worth the money. It helps if you have actual numbers like the average salary for job x with your experience/skills is yyy.0000 a year according to <reputable source>. Ask them why they think 112k is a decent offer, or try to negotiate different/better benefits.

It kind of boils down to how badly you want the job. If you think you can easily get the same deal you can tell them what you think isreasonable and what they can doto hire you. I think you said it's actually your best shot right now, so if I were you I wouldn't push it too far and accept it even ifit was 112k. Unless uou can't make a living off of it.

There's not really a reputable source for salaries in my specialization that I know of. Digging through the average salary calculator on simplyhired.com, the listing for my field is far lower than that $112K, but it's mostly post-doc and lab assistant positions and those tend to be on the low side. While it's not a stellar salary for the Seattle area, I have no dependents and no debt which leads me to assume that after more than half a decade of living as a broke doctoral student, I'd be able to make that range work.

Hopefully everything goes well tomorrow and I'll get an offer (ideally higher than the salary I know of). Thanks for the thoughts,LochNessMonster, and if anyone else has any suggestions before tomorrow afternoon, I'm all ears.

notwithoutmyanus
Mar 17, 2009
I'm flying out for a second interview for my actual dream job, in another state. On the first interview (2hr skype interview, very intense) I noticed people were dressed pretty casual as in shorts and tshirt - job is in CA vs me living in the Midwest.

Is there any reason not to go to the interview in a suit or is it still always safe to assume I should probably follow the OP on this?

notwithoutmyanus fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Feb 10, 2016

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


notwithoutmyanus posted:

I'm flying out for a second interview for my actual dream job, in another state. On the first interview (2hr skype interview, very intense) I noticed people were dressed pretty casual as in shorts and tshirt - job is in CA vs me living in the Midwest.

Is there any reason not to go to the interview in a suit or is it still always safe to assume I should probably follow the OP on this?

I've always been told its better to go overdressed than it is to show up underdressed. Only exception to that rule seems to be the type of company where you're the corporate sell out for actually owning a suit, let alone having the audacity to show up to their company wearing one.

I have no idea how you can spot such a company as I havent come across one myself though. Maybe check if their website says something about corporatw culture in regards to dress code. That said I'd always wear a suit to an interview unless I'm 200% sure it'd work against me.

If for some reason they think you're overdressed and comment on it make sure you have a joke ready to brush it off. That could clean the air quick enough.

Comedy option: wear a stripper suit and wear casual clothes beneath it. If it turns out they don't like it rip them off and tell yell "This is how I do it" Montell Jordan style. don't actually do this

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

notwithoutmyanus posted:

Is there any reason not to go to the interview in a suit or is it still always safe to assume I should probably follow the OP on this?
Oh god, not this question again. There's one guy who is absolutely adamant that only uptight stiffs wear suits, and everyone else in the thread then feels the need to tell him why he's wrong as he belligerently argues. Unless you're applying to a hipster tech startup within 50 miles of San Francisco, wear a suit. Or if you get clear guidance from the people conducting the interview not to wear a suit, then don't. Otherwise wear a suit.

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

Trees and Squids posted:

I'm not familiar with the engineering world, but is it really necessary to include your GPA at this point? It looks like you've been out of school for 3 years, and your GPA isn't bad, but it isn't really anything to brag about.
It depends on the school. A 3.27 is great from a well-known engineering school like Purdue, VaTech, GaTech, etc. If it was from Whatsamatta U, I'd probably leave it off. As someone who hires entry level ChemEs, I'd view a 3.27 from a good state school as a positive.

notwithoutmyanus
Mar 17, 2009

Dik Hz posted:

Oh god, not this question again. There's one guy who is absolutely adamant that only uptight stiffs wear suits, and everyone else in the thread then feels the need to tell him why he's wrong as he belligerently argues. Unless you're applying to a hipster tech startup within 50 miles of San Francisco, wear a suit. Or if you get clear guidance from the people conducting the interview not to wear a suit, then don't. Otherwise wear a suit.

My opinion is slightly anti-suit in general preference, but I also have common sense - I will immediately override my opinion with understandable basis because I'm not especially knowledgeable about this. However, the company is a gaming company and it's an interview with their corporate IT side of the house.

That aside - is anything wrong with asking what the dress code preference is for the in person interview?

notwithoutmyanus fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Feb 11, 2016

Gin_Rummy
Aug 4, 2007

totalnewbie posted:

You need specific measurables. Take your first bullet point:

Unfortunately, a lot of the specific, hard numbers are never really shared with me. Production sees those changes and notes them, but never comes back and says "wow, great, thanks for shaving 8 seconds off our cycle time, guys!" Nevertheless, I might be able to work with this advice... How does this here sound?

"Worked as lead engineer to redesign drilling pump valve line for new friction weld manufacturing method. This reduced overall lead time by weeks after obsoleting multiple routers and eliminating unnecessary transit of parts to multiple cross-country locations."

And how is this for point two?

"Coordinated and lead multiple design review meetings to introduce and determine viability of my new product designs. These meetings involved members from production, engineering, sales, marketing, and upper levels of management."

Does it seem like I still need to find more details to add in? I get that I need to be quantitative and prove that I have a real, measurable impact, but I also know that adding too much to each bullet will easily shoot my resume over a page in length.

Dik Hz posted:

It depends on the school. A 3.27 is great from a well-known engineering school like Purdue, VaTech, GaTech, etc. If it was from Whatsamatta U, I'd probably leave it off. As someone who hires entry level ChemEs, I'd view a 3.27 from a good state school as a positive.

It is a major state school. Some random web page listed it in the top 75 nationally for engineering. It's also a school that most people know due to consistent top 25 rankings in sports (I know this doesn't tie in to academics). Do you think that is enough that I should leave the GPA in? I personally feel like it's high enough that it isn't hurting me to leave it on, plus I still see a lot of job postings that will list a GPA requirement.

totalnewbie
Nov 13, 2005

I was born and raised in China, lived in Japan, and now hold a US passport.

I am wrong in every way, all the damn time.

Ask me about my tattoos.
"worked as lead engineer" dilutes the "lead" part. Something like "Lead engineer..." or "Lead redesign of..." or something is better. Don't be modest (but don't overstate your work, obviously).

But you still need to be specific. How many weeks was lead time reduced by? How many routers? How much consolidation of the process was accomplished? As the lead engineer, these are things you should know.

As for the second one, it's still not clear if any of that talk actually resulted in new products. Consider that, if the impression is that you just got a bunch of people to sit around and talk about ideas but it never came to any fruition, what benefit was any of that?

The focus isn't on what you did but on results, and then subsequently on the things you did to achieve those results.

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

Gin_Rummy posted:

Unfortunately, a lot of the specific, hard numbers are never really shared with me. Production sees those changes and notes them, but never comes back and says "wow, great, thanks for shaving 8 seconds off our cycle time, guys!" Nevertheless, I might be able to work with this advice... How does this here sound?

"Worked as lead engineer to redesign drilling pump valve line for new friction weld manufacturing method. This reduced overall lead time by weeks after obsoleting multiple routers and eliminating unnecessary transit of parts to multiple cross-country locations."

And how is this for point two?

"Coordinated and lead multiple design review meetings to introduce and determine viability of my new product designs. These meetings involved members from production, engineering, sales, marketing, and upper levels of management."
Go ask for hard numbers.

"How about this: Lead process improvement efforts on a drilling pump valve line, resulting in a reduction in lead time of 20%, manufacturing time by 15%, and cost savings of 12%."

As for the second, go simple.

"Lead multi-discipline design review meetings for new product designs."

I'd split the third bullet into two points.

"Determined root cause of failures and provided solutions to production teams."
"Prepared technical reports for customers."

Based on feedback on my own resume, I've learned that root cause analysis and process improvement are two key things that production engineers are looking for. Add in that you can communicate technical data to non-technical folk and you look good. Again, just my 2 cents.

Gin_Rummy posted:

It is a major state school. Some random web page listed it in the top 75 nationally for engineering. It's also a school that most people know due to consistent top 25 rankings in sports (I know this doesn't tie in to academics). Do you think that is enough that I should leave the GPA in? I personally feel like it's high enough that it isn't hurting me to leave it on, plus I still see a lot of job postings that will list a GPA requirement.
Yes, I personally view 3.1+ as a positive from a good engineering school. A 3.27 means your average grade was a B+, which is a good grade in a tough major. That's my personal opinion, and I don't speak for everyone, though. But I would be surprised if that GPA was ever held against you, especially since you have relevant industry experience now.

Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Feb 11, 2016

Gin_Rummy
Aug 4, 2007
Thanks for your feedback, guys! I've tried my best to implement as much as I can and I've put together a second draft if you wouldn't mind taking another quick look. I put hard figures where I could, but a lot of these numbers are also pretty rough estimates... is that the kind of thing that'll gently caress me over later on down the line, or is it another one of those "companies expect you to embellish/not be 100% accurate" kind of things I see people post on here about so often?

I'll also be up front in saying that i'm having trouble strengthening a couple of these bullets... for example:

"Communicated with vendors and customers to determine product requirements and supplier capabilities to produce to these specifications." - I'm trying to use this one to convey that I have quite a bit of supplier and customer interaction, so i'm not some anti-social engineer who doesn't know how to talk. However, this also isn't really something that can have any kind of quantifiable value associated with it. Should I axe this, or is there a better way to get this point across?

"Calculated necessary wing strength for projected g-forces and wing loading expected during flight." - Someone recommended I highlight my individual contributions to the design project... this was the most I could remember and there clearly isn't a whole lot of detail tied into it. This was a true team project and not many people had any real individual contributions. Basically, at any given time, five people were around working on the same thing together as opposed to huddled up in corners working on their own deals. Is this something I shouldn't worry about, or should I really try to stress that "YES, I DID DO SOMETHING ON MY OWN HERE THAT CONTRIBUTED?"

Finally, how does the overall format and general appearance look? I had to scale the font down to like size 9 to fit all this on the page, so I'm feeling like I might be hitting the point of things being too hard to read. Does anyone see an issue with the highlighted section? I've seen some people put individual bullets for all of their proficiencies and the software and other junk that they have worked with, but I feel like that is a huge waste of space. Does listing it all out in one bullet hurt me at all?


C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat
How bad do resume entries < 1 year look to hiring managers? I started a job last June in a field I was kind of iffy on (Regulatory), partially because I desperately needed the money and partially because I thought I would get valuable experience in branching out. By the end of last year I realized the field bored me to tears, but I had a killer boss who took more than his fair share of the work, knew a ton about the field, and wanted to help me develop my own skills there; he made the job bearable. Then he bailed for a new job and now I'm stuck doing the work for both of us, which has changed my boredom into an active dislike. They are working on hiring a new manager and while another set of hands will take a lot of pressure off me, if I don't get along with them as well I could see my mood remaining the same, and would rather be somewhere that I enjoy if I can get away with walking after a year or less.

E: Now 90% less whiny, to maybe be used in the Career Path thread?

C-Euro fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Feb 11, 2016

Star War Sex Parrot
Oct 2, 2003

Gin_Rummy posted:

Finally, how does the overall format and general appearance look? I had to scale the font down to like size 9 to fit all this on the page, so I'm feeling like I might be hitting the point of things being too hard to read. Does anyone see an issue with the highlighted section? I've seen some people put individual bullets for all of their proficiencies and the software and other junk that they have worked with, but I feel like that is a huge waste of space. Does listing it all out in one bullet hurt me at all?



One man's "huge waste of space" is another man's eye-catching way to spotlight marketable skills. As it currently stands, this looks too dense and difficult to skim (which is really what they want to do first). That said, Word, Excel, PowerPoint are absolutely not worth breaking out into separate items, and probably shouldn't even be on there in the first place.

Gin_Rummy
Aug 4, 2007

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

That said, Word, Excel, PowerPoint are absolutely not worth breaking out into separate items, and probably shouldn't even be on there in the first place.

I have to disagree with this point. While most hiring managers should be able to read this resume and imply I have used Microsoft's office products before, the automated filter system that scans my resume for key words certainly can't and/or won't. If the job ad has office or any of its individual software items listed (which 95% of them do), I'm going to make drat sure I have it listed somewhere on my resume.

EDIT: Never mind, I think I misread your point. Are you saying that when I say "MS Office" that's more than enough to get the point across, or were you saying not to list office at all?

Gin_Rummy fucked around with this message at 14:49 on Feb 11, 2016

Star War Sex Parrot
Oct 2, 2003

Gin_Rummy posted:

I have to disagree with this point. While most hiring managers should be able to read this resume and imply I have used Microsoft's office products before, the automated filter system that scans my resume for key words certainly can't and/or won't. If the job ad has office or any of its individual software items listed (which 95% of them do), I'm going to make drat sure I have it listed somewhere on my resume.

EDIT: Never mind, I think I misread your point. Are you saying that when I say "MS Office" that's more than enough to get the point across, or were you saying not to list office at all?
I'm sure there are examples, but I've not found engineering job postings with "MS Office" listed as a required skill; at least not EE, CpE, or software engineering. Maybe MechE is different but I highly doubt it. If you're an engineer, then they know you have basic word processor and spreadsheet competency. But I guess go ahead and leave if it makes you feel better.

I certainly wouldn't break it out into Excel, Outlook, etc. unless you really know them like the back of your hand. It reads as fluff to me. It also seems like an excuse for a dick hiring manager to grill you about merging .PST files, pivot tables and statistical analysis, etc.

Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Feb 11, 2016

Dr. Fraiser Chain
May 18, 2004

Redlining my shit posting machine


Well I took a lot of advice from comments here and tried to par down and vomit out something remotely looking like an okay resume. If someone could be so kind and take a peak I would greatly appreciate it.

Basically I hate it

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1XRtsJBP9vmSzdNLXB0NlBUd2s/view?usp=sharing


A taste in picture form

totalnewbie
Nov 13, 2005

I was born and raised in China, lived in Japan, and now hold a US passport.

I am wrong in every way, all the damn time.

Ask me about my tattoos.

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

I'm sure there are examples, but I've not found engineering job postings with "MS Office" listed as a required skill; at least not EE, CpE, or software engineering. Maybe MechE is different but I highly doubt it. If you're an engineer, then they know you have basic word processor and spreadsheet competency. But I guess go ahead and leave if it makes you feel better.

I certainly wouldn't break it out into Excel, Outlook, etc. unless you really know them like the back of your hand. It reads as fluff to me. It also seems like an excuse for a dick hiring manager to grill you about merging .PST files, pivot tables and statistical analysis, etc.

On the other hand, I've told my colleagues (who are around my age but long story short have been engineers 5+ years more than me) about the drag+fill options in excel (i.e. they were going to each cell and changing a B to a C manually for an entire column of the same formula).

If you really want to game the taleo or whatever filters, you can always throw your "skills" word salad at the bottom in small but still legible text. (Or put it in white font in really tiny text!)

Gin_Rummy
Aug 4, 2007

totalnewbie posted:

If you really want to game the taleo or whatever filters, you can always throw your "skills" word salad at the bottom in small but still legible text. (Or put it in white font in really tiny text!)

I'm hesitant to do this, as I've heard that lots of HR departments have wisened up to tactics like these, and I've even seen some people claim that the filtering systems are now able to pick up on tricks like that as well.

hunkrust
Sep 29, 2014
I got an MA in asking leading questions about how sexism isnt real, and regularly fail to grasp that other people have different experience than me or enjoy different things.
I also own multiple fedoras, to go with my leather dusters, and racist pin badges.

Gin_Rummy posted:

I'm hesitant to do this, as I've heard that lots of HR departments have wisened up to tactics like these, and I've even seen some people claim that the filtering systems are now able to pick up on tricks like that as well.

Don't just put a bucket, find a way to insert it into your resume. Everyone's resume uses "tactics". Even some of the most qualified people won't get picked up if your resume isn't written for the machine. HR doesn't want to bother actually looking at applicants, so its just a matter of understanding how their system works

Gin_Rummy
Aug 4, 2007

calvus posted:

Don't just put a bucket, find a way to insert it into your resume. Everyone's resume uses "tactics". Even some of the most qualified people won't get picked up if your resume isn't written for the machine. HR doesn't want to bother actually looking at applicants, so its just a matter of understanding how their system works

Exactly, that's why I try and work the key terms in where I can, but for the skills I have that aren't really applicable to any of my "quantitative bullet points," I make sure to list them in the skills section, or at least mention it in my cover letter.

Pertplus
Nov 7, 2009

So I'm trying to get a summer internship. I interviewed at company A on Monday (2/8), and they told me exactly what I'd be doing there and it seems awesome. I think the interview went pretty well and they told me they'd come back with a decision within the next few weeks (So by 2/26?). In the meantime I was offered(?) an internship at company B Yesterday (2/11). I'd definitely take it if I didn't get an offer from company A but on the other hand would much prefer to work at A than B.

What actually happened with B is they asked if I'm interested in position 1 or 2, and I said 1. Then they said they hired someone else for 1 and "However, if you change your mind about the other position, please let me know." (I assume this is an offer but I really don't know, maybe they just want to know if I'd like to be in the running?). What should I say to company B? is this a reasonable email to send?

Possible Email posted:


Hiring Manager,


Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and considering me for the [internship position 2]. I am definitely interested in this position and in working at [Company B]. However, I am currently waiting to hear back about an offer at another company. I will be able to make a decision within the next two weeks. Do you need a response before then?


Pertplus

I'm in a masters program and will graduate next year. I haven't had an internship yet. I would much rather work for company A; the position would look a lot better on my resume and is more relevant to my studies. But I really need to get an internship this summer because it's my last one.

Pertplus fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Feb 12, 2016

Bitchkrieg
Mar 10, 2014

Accept the one you basically were offered or get in touch and say you're still interested.

You can always bail on it if you are offered the one you really want, but at least you'll definitely have something if it doesn't work out. A bird in the hand and all that.

Pertplus
Nov 7, 2009

Bitchkrieg posted:

[quote="Pertplus" post="456195679"]
:words:
[Quote]
Accept the one you basically were offered.

You can always bail on it if you are offered the one you really want, but at least you'll definitely have something if it doesn't work out.

Yeah, I was considering that. Thing is, this is a large company and one of the main employers of people in my field in my state. So I'm worried that if I accept the offer and then end up bailing on them I'd be harming my future career prospects. Is there any harm in sending an emil like the one above?

Edit: I guess I left out my main worry. The position at B starts ~immediately part time and then is full time in the summer, while the position at A starts in the summer. If I accept the offer from B now they might already have me working for them on some project before I hear back from A, at which point it'll be too late.

Edit2: Whatever, the hiring manager seemed like a nice person so I just sent the email. Hopefully being honest and upfront won't come back and hurt me.

Pertplus fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Feb 12, 2016

hunkrust
Sep 29, 2014
I got an MA in asking leading questions about how sexism isnt real, and regularly fail to grasp that other people have different experience than me or enjoy different things.
I also own multiple fedoras, to go with my leather dusters, and racist pin badges.

Gin_Rummy posted:

Exactly, that's why I try and work the key terms in where I can, but for the skills I have that aren't really applicable to any of my "quantitative bullet points," I make sure to list them in the skills section, or at least mention it in my cover letter.

Personally I always thought a skill section was silly, you can include more of the terms by being redundant in your resume when you are submitting it to a computer based sorting system.

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat

Bitchkrieg posted:

Accept the one you basically were offered or get in touch and say you're still interested.

You can always bail on it if you are offered the one you really want, but at least you'll definitely have something if it doesn't work out. A bird in the hand and all that.

I agree with this, but more importantly I finally got what "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" means :downs:

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asur
Dec 28, 2012

Pertplus posted:

So I'm trying to get a summer internship. I interviewed at company A on Monday (2/8), and they told me exactly what I'd be doing there and it seems awesome. I think the interview went pretty well and they told me they'd come back with a decision within the next few weeks (So by 2/26?). In the meantime I was offered(?) an internship at company B Yesterday (2/11). I'd definitely take it if I didn't get an offer from company A but on the other hand would much prefer to work at A than B.

What actually happened with B is they asked if I'm interested in position 1 or 2, and I said 1. Then they said they hired someone else for 1 and "However, if you change your mind about the other position, please let me know." (I assume this is an offer but I really don't know, maybe they just want to know if I'd like to be in the running?). What should I say to company B? is this a reasonable email to send?


I'm in a masters program and will graduate next year. I haven't had an internship yet. I would much rather work for company A; the position would look a lot better on my resume and is more relevant to my studies. But I really need to get an internship this summer because it's my last one.

Email B saying that you interested in position 2. If B gives you an offer, then ask for time to consider it and email A saying that you have a competing offer but would like to work there and can they make a decision.

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