The Resume and Interview ULTRATHREAD: they saw Amazonian attributes

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > The Resume and Interview ULTRATHREAD: they saw Amazonian attributes

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Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

COUNTIN THE BILLIES posted:

I got asked this today: Are there any questions you wished I asked?

I wasn't sure how to respond.

I know I"m a bit late, but...

"I wish you had asked me about [insert best/most relevant achievement on your resume]."

# ¿ Jun 21, 2013 00:00

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:14

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

johnny sack posted:

I've a bit of a conundrum.

I have a MS in molecular biology and 5 years of quality lab work, 3 as a grad student, 2 as staff, for experience. However, I last worked in a lab, or any other formal job, almost 3 years ago. I was at a public university, working, and it simply didn't pay enough to justify daycare. See, I had a friend who does some window cleaning and handyman stuff that I was already working with, when I had the time. It simply made more sense to quit at that school, watch our kids, myself and with the help of family, and work as much as I could.

We weren't and still aren't hurting for money, but we want to get our kids into daycare/pre school now just for their own social development. So, I'm looking for jobs. Part or full, in my field or otherwise. The problem is the nearly-3 year gap where my only work is what I've done for myself/friend, both of which are kind of 'cash' jobs.

I've made up my resume as best I can to make it look legit and everything, using the name of the company on my business card, etc.

My question is: what do HR people think when they see someone who runs their own small company and is now applying for a job? How do I, as an applicant/interviewee, handle that on both my resume and when answering questions?

Personally, I'd highlight the Mol. Biol. accomplishments and put what you wrote here in the cover letter. 3 years isn't that long and quality employees are tough to find. Put a short blurb about your handyman stuff in the resume. You will probably have to take a small step backward in your career to get hired, though.

Can you bridge the gap by going back to work at the public university lab? Or can you ask your old contacts for help? Even after three years, you probably still have some relevant contacts.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2013 00:08

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Can I share a pet peeve real quick?

When I set an interview for a perspective team member at 8:30 am on a Monday, it's because I want to have a cup of coffee, triage my inbox, and make sure my team is on track before spending several hours hosting the interview. Don't show up at 8:03. I'm not enough of a dick to make you sit there for half an hour. But I sure want to.

Likewise, if I get HR to pay $2k to fly you out for an interview, don't be 45 minutes late without calling. It makes me look stupid.

Hyperbole aside, being early is annoying. Being late is a deal breaker. If you're in an unfamiliar town for an interview, drive from your hotel to the interview site the night before to make sure you know how to get there. If you find yourself 30 minutes early, go get a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Or drive around for 25 minutes.

The correct time to show up for an interview is 2-5 minutes early.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 23:21

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

posh spaz posted:

In grad school, we read studies in my management courses about HR. Apparently, interviews and pre-screening evaluations have basically no predictive power for the future performance of employees in any way you can measure it, performance metrics, tenure, teamwork, whatever. Roughly 80% of hiring managers perform worse than randomly selecting candidates, and the top 10% hiring managers perform only marginally better than randomly selecting candidates.

There was one study, some huge MNC was staffing an entire dept. They had a dozen hiring managers interview 50 people, and then they hired all the people. One person was ranked #1 by one manager, #50 by another, but ended up being a reasonable performer. There was no correlation at all between who the hiring managers agreed would be good employees and who were actually good employees.

I assume hiring managers come up with all these weird etiquette rules because there is no sane, objective basis to rule people out, but they have to winnow the list somehow.

Have you ever actually conducted an interview? Because if I picked at random, I'd probably wind up with one of the 198 resumes that is totally unqualified. Also, cite your source dude.

quote:

I think that's just like, your personal deal. Most people don't mind when people are early. Asking them to wait until the scheduled time isn't being a jerk. Asking them to wait 30 minutes past when the appointment was scheduled to start is being a jerk.

You missed one important point: They showed up 2 minutes after I walked into the building on a Monday. The reason I scheduled the interview at 8:30 is because I have certain tasks that need to get done in the morning, particularly on Mondays.

Also, interviews are a two-way street. I'm looking for the right candidate, but I'm also trying to convince that candidate that this is the right job for them. Making them wait nervously for 30 minutes while I tune the GC and make sure none of the remote customer reps have urgent demands is going to put them off.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2014 12:35

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

posh spaz posted:

Sorry I don't remember all the studies we read in my classes a year ago. I don't have my course notes anymore. However, a cursory search found a newer meta-analysis by Berry, Sackett, & Landers, 2007 found a correlation coefficient of .27 for employment interviews. Others put the number around .40.

Is it better than nothing? I suppose, but a 51% (at best) predictor of less than 30% of someone's performance is weak enough I still believe it's more of a winnowing tool than a useful predictor of future employment performance.

posh spaz posted:

Apparently, interviews and pre-screening evaluations have basically no predictive power for the future performance of employees in any way you can measure it, performance metrics, tenure, teamwork, whatever.

So, which is it?

Seriously though, is all your experience academic? Have you ever hired anyone? For that matter, have you ever been on a job interview?

# ¿ Sep 27, 2014 14:24

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

posh spaz posted:

I said I can't remember the studies we went over in my class. I found different ones. Do you seriously remember the citations for everything you learned in college?

If you think Schmidt and Hunter was a slam dunk, well, I disagree. They also found a .10 validity coefficient between hobbies and job performance. I learned in my statistics course (no citation, sorry) that you can contort statistical data to fit pretty much any result you want. That's why I found it interesting that Berry, Sackett, & Landers, 2007 did a different statistical analysis and came up with a .27.

I guess your reading comprehension isn't that great, because this whole argument started when I said I showed up 30 min early to a job interview, and I got the job.

But point taken, since I've never been a hiring manager, I shouldn't be able to have an opinion about what they do. Just like I've never been an astrologer or a snake-oil salesman, so I should defer to their professional experience in all cases as well.

I'll shut the hell up now, you're welcome.

My reading comprehension is perfectly fine. You're going on about how interviews are pointless as predictors of future success and then your source says the exact opposite.

This is primarily a thread where people come to for advice. Posting objectively wrong whiney bullshit in here defeats that purpose. Likewise, although it's possible to annoy the guy running the interview and still get an offer, it probably isn't recommended.

Similarly, you're posting about poo poo you have learned about but never actually done. While you are entitled to your opinion, maybe you should learn from people with experience when you're challenged on that opinion rather than digging in and arguing on the internet.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2014 14:05

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Dolphin posted:

My partner recently got asked to apply for a position that she's quite qualified for in her field. The interview went well, they expressed interest in her, then told her to contact them with a salary request. After looking at what she needed she requested roughly median for what similar jobs pay in this region ($52K) and she was told that the request was too high and she didn't hear back for a while, and then they told her they were looking at other applicants. Today she received an email saying that they couldn't go higher than about $30K (which is less than she makes now and there's no way she could even survive on that). I suggested she ask for $41K instead, which is just above what she currently makes but with the longer commute to the new job it will probably come up roughly equal. But she thinks this job will be a much better opportunity (since it's in her field) and would place her in a decent place for future positions. She was THINKING about accepting less than she currently makes for experience and opportunity but I think that's horseshit.

Is that a good strategy (going for something in the middle)? Is there something she should be considering regarding salary negotiations that she isn't thinking of?

Companies that pay that much lower than the industry average are poo poo and should be avoided. Her boss/HR will try to gently caress her every way they can, and since they know she's willing to work for 60% of industry standard, they know she'll put up with it. Not only that, but what will her coworkers be like? Every single one of them that could find another job in the industry will have left already.

This won't be the only opportunity that comes along.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2014 05:14

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

lookslikerain posted:

Second interview tomorrow for an engineering job, head of HR then VP of engineering then direct manager (who interviewed me before) + prospective colleague.

Figure it's mostly about culture and fit at this point, since I went through the technical stuff first time round, so I'm reading up on corporate values etc. Probably have it if I want it, but I'm so poo poo about negotiating pay that my last job had to convince me to take more than I asked for. I'm getting conflicting advice on when to bring it up and how to price myself, I'm figuring that if I have to buy a car to get to the new (further away) job then I should be adding that in some way, and figure in value to me of no longer being able to cycle to work.

Any thoughts or useful links?

How to negotiate offers? thread

The basics:

1. Never volunteer your current salary or your target salary. If asked, say that you can figure that out after you determine whether or not you're a good fit.
2. Know your industry average and have a reasonable target salary. Do research.
3. It doesn't matter what you want (car, bike to work, etc), it only matters what value you provide to the company. Negotiate on these points.
4. Hiring candidates for white collar jobs is expensive and time consuming. Truly good hires aren't that common, especially from open postings/blind resumes. You have considerable standing for negotiation if you make it through the interview successfully because the hiring manager doesn't know when the next good candidate is going to come along or how much she'll have to pay them. So giving an extra $5k up front is preferential to possibly waiting 6 weeks to fill the position.

Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Nov 4, 2014

# ¿ Nov 4, 2014 11:48

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

PlacidPanic posted:

I'm a third year engineering student at a big state school, and earlier this year I interviewed for and got into a large internship co-op program. In January I'm going to be interviewing a second time, this time with a large number of company representatives, to get placed into a specific company for my first internship.

I had nearly perfect grades up until now, but this term I don't think my grades are going to be great. I anticipate being asked about this, and I want to have a good answer for why this is so. One reason is just that the workload and difficulty jumped up, which I expected. I'm also leading a team working on a robot for a competition through a club at school, and it's the first year we'll be making this type of robot so it's a big challenge and takes a lot of time.

I also want to mention the work I do at home for extra money, but the thing is... the work I do is helping my girlfriend make porn to sell on reddit. This is actually a significant amount of work, we make decent money at it, and I feel like it's been a good experience of learning a little about marketing, video editing and business. We've been told that having a job outside of school is looked upon very favorably by company reps, and that we should definitely mention it even when the work isn't related to our majors. I'm just really not sure if bringing up porn is going to go over well in a job interview setting with engineering companies.

I've considered just saying that "I run a small business from home with a partner" and leaving it vague, but I anticipate being asked about the details. I also thought about maybe saying something like "I produce and sell videos online with a partner", but again I'm not sure if leaving it as ambiguous as that is going to work. Or would it be okay to be honest if I just say something like "I produce and sell adult videos online with a partner"?

I'm really unsure about this and any input would be appreciated.

Just so I'm getting this right... Your grades tanked because you're working a side job making porn with your girlfriend, when you're not even supposed to have an outside job in the first place?

Yeah, don't mention that. Also, maybe study more instead of making porn, unless you want a career in porn.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2014 15:21

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Sorry, misread that as unfavorably.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2014 17:30

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Nessa posted:

Howdy thread. I've been applying to jobs through indeed and some other websites, and have so far only gotten one email asking about my price line. I've mostly been applying to junior graphic designer jobs or similar. I've applied for a few office clerk/administration jobs, but most of them want experience in an office environment as well as experience with software I've never used or a diploma.

It's been really frustrating and I'm hating myself for not having found something yet. I feel like I've been putting a lot of work into my cover letters and into crafting my resume based on the job. I've also been working on some new portfolio pieces, since I was recommended to purge all of my college work from my portfolio, but my husband feels that I'm just doing the bare minimum and not "chasing down jobs" like I should. What more can I do to get out there?

Network. The majority of jobs out there are filled through referrals and connections, not open postings.

That being said, open postings can work. But it's a numbers game. Apply to anything and everything relevant and see what sticks. Post up your resume/portfolio/cover letter here and someone will give you and honest critique.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2014 07:08

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Diabetes By Sundown posted:

So I applied to a job recently and have a phone interview for it tomorrow. Hooray! But, my situation is maybe a little weird, so I wanted to ask advice.

I imagine they will ask why I'm leaving my current position, which is a PhD program. My job title is "research assistant" and I never said within my application that I'm leaving a PhD but simply that I got my masters and am still working in the lab, though I'm curious if I should address it when/if I'm asked. It is reasonable to say that I finished my Masters (in the spring) and continued on to wrap up some projects, or should I nip it in the bud and say that I decided not to do the PhD and wrapped things up? I'm not applying for a research position, so my decision to not pursue an academic research-based degree doesn't seem like it should count against me, but I don't know the best way to broach the subject.

Perfectly acceptable and quite common. Just say you decided to get out with the Masters' degree and agreed to stay on to wrap up your projects. Like I said, it's common and you'll look considerate for not shafting your PI. Also, anyone who hires Masters' degree scientists will have run into this situation before. Don't sweat it.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2015 01:44

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Sir Vanderhosen posted:

Not sure if this is the best place to post about all this but I'm having recruiter woes.

Quick background, I'm an embedded engineer whose been at the same company for about 4 years and just now looking for a new job. Through the wonders of nepotism I got my current job without having to do a formal interview and I haven't had to do an actual job search since working crappy retail jobs in high school. I'm pretty new to the whole process.

I started looking this past Sunday night by uploading my resume to monster, since then I've got about a dozen or so calls from different recruiters. I answered Recruiter A on Wednesday, he told me he was going to submit my resume to Company A and Company B. I don't really want to work at either of these places but I figure this would be great practice for interviewing and what not. Recruiter A called me back later the same day telling me he got me an interview with Company B, which I thought was pretty cool.

I then got in contact with Recruiter B today. This guy tells me he's Company A's number one recruiter with over 700 job placements or something and was offering to submit my resume. He specified that if he does so I can't work with any other Company A recruiter, since Company A would disqualify my entry if they saw I had multiple recruiters(seemed odd?). I was a bit skeptical on bailing on Recruiter A but Recruiter B asked me some pre-screening questions (which were quite helpful since I've never done this) and set me up for a phone conversation with one of their engineers for verbal and coding tests. This all seemed like it would be super useful in overall increasing my interview skills so I figured I'd just continue working with Recruiter B for the Company A stuff and use Recruiter A to pursue Company B.

The issues began when I called back Recruiter A. I told him I was going to work with Recruiter B for Company A but continue on with him for the other job opportunity. I was being overly honest(habit of mine) and told him that I wasn't going to accept a position at Company A but I just wanted to use Recruiter B's interview prep services. Recruiter A did not accept this response and started telling me how the other guys were liars and they had no connection to Company A. He went on about how he never heard of Recruiter A and that they were actually the number one recruiter! He then puts me on with his manager who proceeds to yell at me about how what I was doing was unethical. I wasn't going to deal with that so I politely told him to forget about everything and he hung up. The manager calls me back about 15 minutes later from an unknown number to apologize for raising his voice and to tell me how he's dealing with 10 different things and is frustrated at the moment. He said if I wanted to do the other interview I still could. I told him I'd think about it over the weekend.

Is what I did a terrible unethical act? I figured they are use to people switching between recruiters but I've never talked to one before this week and have no idea. I feel like I should of just lied and said I didn't want to consider Company A at all. I don't even need a job at the moment and was just looking at what was available so this all just seems like unnecessary stress.

No, don't trust anything a recruiter who cold-calls you says. Those recruiters have no connections, they just send your resume around and hope they get paid for what you'd be doing anyway. If you have marketable skills, contact a reputable recruiter in your field and work through them.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2015 16:38

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

C-Euro posted:

About a month ago I came across a job posting for a position in a field very close to what I did for my graduate degree (MS in Chemistry), with a company who made the instrument I used for that part of my degree. The posting was a couple months old and a little too far away for me, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to apply so I did. A couple days after applying I get a call from the hiring manager who wrote the listing, who said he was preparing to make an offer to another candidate but that he liked my qualifications and told me to keep their company in mind for the future. Today he calls me again to say they've hired someone for the role, but again we really liked your resume and we hope to talk to you again about your qualifications.

How much should I read into this? When I was applying for jobs right out of grad school hardly anyone ever contacted me when a position I applied to had been filled by someone else. I think I got one e-mail from a certain position and then the rest of it was me following up with them, no hiring manager ever called me and no one contacted me to "keep in touch" twice. No one's ever come on to me like this in terms of hiring, but is that what's even going on here?

Hiring for technical positions is hard and can take a long time. The hiring manager liked you enough that he wants you to apply for his next opening, whenever it comes along. But he didn't like you enough to scuttle the current hire he had incoming. That's normal, because the person he has incoming has already cleared interviews.

Your best bet is to respond with a short e-mail saying that you would definitely be open to considering any positions that might come open in his lab and that he should feel free to contact with you with any openings. You may hear about an opening in a week, or it may be a year+. Who knows. But it is definitely a good sign. Maybe he's got an open position coming up soon, or a new project/capability coming soon that he needs more people on his team.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2015 00:12

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Hawkeye posted:

I misspoke (whoops thanks for that correction) when awful app typing in the question too it looks like.

So, it was actually:

I say: phenotype is X+ Y-
He says: so that was X- Y+?
and I say: it's the opposite of that.

I'll plan on ignoring it though, unless that really changes things (I doubt it does).

I'm going to throw out a differing opinion from the previous poster. Go ahead and admit the mistake. It shows that you can admit you can be wrong. Which is an essential part of science. Don't make a big deal out of it, just throw in a line about how you misspoke and you realize that the interviewer is right, it is X-Y+.

It 95% of the time won't make a difference either way, but it's never going to hurt and might make you look good.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2015 00:20

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

RadioPassive posted:

Yes. It gives you the opportunity to demonstrate that you're self-aware, that you recognize your shortcomings, and that you are proactive in taking steps to overcome them and improve.

No, because its such a cliche at this point that pretty much every candidate has memorized an answer or can bullshit the question.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2015 15:48

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

HiroProtagonist posted:

Recruiters will ask for a Word version so that they can put their company letterhead/logo on it (if they want to, which is usually). It's a standard staffing practice.

To add to this, your recruiter will put their company letterhead on the top, so add page breaks and some blank space on top of your resume to accommodate this. I use recruiters to hire, and the recruiters don't care about readability when they slap the letterhead on the top of your resume. I would recommend asking to see your resume with the letterhead on it to make sure the formatting didn't get screwed up. The recruiter wants to help you. But it's like financial advisers. They're never going to care about your money more than you will.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2015 06:50

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

No Butt Stuff posted:

So I have an interview Tuesday in another city. I'm flying in and will get in around 7pm Monday night.

Originally I interview with a manager about the one position I put in for, who then spoke with his director. I've been speaking with him since, about 4 open positions, 3 of which are the same as the one I applied for and the final is an analytical position that I think they really want me to take. I've made it pretty clear that in order for me to take an analytical position, they would need to overpay me substantially, as it's not very fulfilling work, but the conversation still seems to drift that way.

At any rate, the director has asked me if I'd like to have dinner with him on Monday night. I don't really have any other plans, as I was just going to sit in my hotel room and prep myself a bit more for any questions they may ask.

I mean, I could easily say that I'm meeting my mother-in-law for dinner already if I wanted to avoid the dinner, but should I? It seems like this may be a good chance to let him see me outside of the formal interview. He invited me, so I assume it's proper form to accept?

It's unusual to invite the candidate out for dinner the night before. Usually you want to prescreen to make sure you actually intend to hire the guy.

It could mean 1 of 2 things:

1. They love you so much they've already decided to hire you. In that case, take the dinner, smile and nod politely, and let the director tell you how you're going to ace the interviews tomorrow.

2. They have a great reimbursement account, and the director wants to use you as a meal ticket to score a nice dinner. In that case, you'll look bad if you don't take the dinner.

Either way, it seems a bit unprofessional tbh, but you should accept politely. Make sure you have the director's number in case your flight gets delayed.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2015 03:23

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

No Butt Stuff posted:

Follow-up.

Got in late, met the Director for dinner at 8. Ended up eating and speaking with him until 10:30, then getting to the office the next morning and interviewing with different teams about multiple other positions. I was told that compensation for all jobs have the same ranges, and all jobs are offered at regular or Senior levels. The relocation package is INSANE, and I think there's actually a chance to make an impact in their supply chain as an analyst, as much I loathe to say it. They spend $750M a year, but send all data out of house quarterly and wait for it to be loaded to an external dashboard. Savings are calculated based on estimates. Basically, the entire reporting structure needs to be rebuilt.

It was all but said I'll be getting an offer and the director started talking about start dates, showing me their data, and talking to me about signing bonus vs. Relocation package. (The relocation package is probably worth 40k after taxes, so I don't see them being willing to give me a 75k signing bonus to make it worth the headache of taking it, even though if they did I would just pack everything myself and save 10 grand on the move.)

I expect an offer next week, which will probably be at the normal level. I think that given what they're describing to me and asking of the position, I'll be asking for the Senior level and an increase. The thing I wonder is if most companies use the jr/sr level thing to give someone a decent salary boost after a year in role or whatever. I guess this should be in the negotiating thread when they actually offer, but this is rolling over in my head at the moment. Is it recommended to fire back and ask to be hired at the Sr level and the commensurate salary bump if you can back it up with good reasoning?

So the director loved your resume and wanted to make sure he got first crack at you.

In response the bolded part: You will never have a better opportunity to do so. So go for it. The director has already tipped his hand that he wants to hire you. If you want the job, you got it. You're in a position of strength here.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2015 01:38

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Misogynist posted:

Seeing two or three of these in the span of a few years would be very worrisome to me as a hiring manager, but every job is completely different, and most people understand that the management situation is completely insane because almost nobody in management roles ever has any kind of real management education or training.

I don't know. He's left two jobs in the past 15 months because he couldn't get along with management. That's definitely a red flag. Personally, I would be hesitant to hire someone with that on their resume. I've been burned by a serial job-hopper in the past and it cost me some credibility as a manager.

CelestialScribe, take a look at yourself and make sure that if you're part of the problem, you fix it going forward. Definitely do not lie on your resume. Also, keep in mind that the majority of jobs are filled through connections and not through blindly firing off resumes. You might be better served working that angle, because you apparently have several professionals in your field willing to vouch for you. That's a much better asset than a perfect resume.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2015 13:40

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

radlum posted:

I mean, I worked in a law firm called Estudio Mu�iz, etc.; should I change it to "Mu�iz, etc. Attorneys/Law Firm"?

I'd put it down as "Estudio Mu�iz (Mu�iz Law Firm and Associates)"

# ¿ Feb 25, 2015 01:15

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Clevername Lookhere posted:

I'm working my way backwards through the thread so apologies if I've missed this. I am just starting to look for a new job in earnest and could use some resume advice.

I've been working for 10 years as an IT consultant (systems implementation, data management, testing, design, etc.) and this is the only job I've had since graduating college. In those 10 years I have been on a lot (12-15) of projects. Most of them have been in the 6 month-1 year range. They've all covered a wide variety of responsibilities, accomplishments, skills, subject areas, and business types. What is the best way to format this on my resume?

I'm not sure if strictly chronological is the way to go because I'd have too many projects to fit in a page or two. But I'm also not sure if simply listing responsibilities and accomplishments would work since they can vary so much from project to project.

When I started putting my resume together for a random opportunity that came up a few months ago, I listed the info for my employer and then put a section of "Relevant Project Experience" where I cherry-picked the recent projects I've had that were most relevant to the opportunity.

Any thoughts or resources on how I should handle this? Is this something that Resume to Interviews has expertise in?

I'd put the resume together chronologically so potential employers can easily see that you've been continuously employe, but you can highlight specific projects by having a 'relevant projects' blurb with a couple simple bullet points that you edit for each resume you send out. For example:

quote:

Key Accomplishments
*Relevant Project 1
*Relevant Project 2
*Relevant Project 3

with full details in the body of the resume. Also make sure to highlight those accomplishment in your cover letter and expand on why they're relevant to the job you're applying for.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2015 00:01

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

FogHelmut posted:

I should tell my boss if I'm going to be applying to other positions internally, right? She isn't mental or anything and we have a good relationship.

Absolutely yes. You'll destroy your relationship with your boss and your credibility (unless she's a known rear end in a top hat) with the company if you apply internally without talking to her first. In fact, most internal postings I've seen say that you must have clearance from your current supervisor to apply.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2015 02:01

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Annath posted:

Crossposting from the healthcare thread:

So you got in-person feedback from a relevant hiring manager that you did great, but you are still soliciting anonymous feedback from random people on the internet?

# ¿ Mar 14, 2015 19:49

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Twitter Warpath posted:

I applied to a position within a company about a month and a half ago and never heard back, but it was a bit of stretch experience-wise anyways. Today they posted another position that is a much better fit, however, and I'd like to submit my resume for that position as well. It's not a large company and the application goes directly to an HR recruiter's inbox so it's not like a new recruiter/HR-person will be reading it, hence my apprehension to immediately submit my resume/cover-letter again. Is it worth mentioning my previous application and saying that this new position is a better fit in the cover letter, or should I just disregard the previous application and apply to this position with a new cover letter that addresses the relevant skills/background?

If you never heard back, then don't bother. But be aware you might get asked about it if you get an interview.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 13:19

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Xandu posted:

I think companies sometimes forget that interviews are a two-way street. People who are desperate for a job will jump through all those hoops, but the best applicants are rarely desperate, and all else being equal, they'll go for the company that treats them like a human being during the interview process.

This is why I don't hire via job postings and open resume submissions any more. The people that are proven good in the industry don't blindly fire off resumes all that often. Recruiters are expensive, but not nearly as expensive as a bad hire.

For entry level positions, I use a temp agency. If I clearly communicate what I need to the staffer, he's better at filling the position than I would be. And there's limited risk to me. I've posted this a couple times around here, but if you're entry level temp agencies are the way to go. Maybe there should be a temp thread.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 13:28

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

timp posted:

So I guess my question would be: Is it ever acceptable on a resume to include a statement asking certain people not to contact you? Something like "Please do not contact me for sales positions"? My gut says no, since I never want to exclude myself from what could potentially be a great opportunity, but on the other hand it got kind of ridiculous having to excuse myself from the building to take calls from unknown phone numbers everyday.

Sales people won't not call you because of a statement on your resume. And a negative statement about 'please don't call me if...' might make you look bad to some folk. So there's no point in putting it there. Just let everything go to voicemail. I know voicemail is dead, except for people trying to hire you. If you let your calls go to voicemail and return them at the end of business, it'll make you look busy and professional. And, looking busy and professional to someone trying to hire you is a good thing. Honestly, only millennials expect you to be connected 24/7, and it's most likely not a millennial trying to hire you. If it is, disregard my advice, because idk

# ¿ Mar 27, 2015 05:44

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Annath posted:

So I applied for 2 different positions at the same hospital, and I have run into a bit of a snag.

The job/application management software on their website has you construct a "profile" that is used on all job applications, so you don't have to fill out the same 30 items over and over again. However, it also saves your resume and cover letter. I applied to 2 different departments, and when filling out the first application, I uploaded my resume and letter, which reflected the posiiton I was applying for. The website did not say that the resume and cover letter would be a part of the "profile".

So, when I went to fill out the 2nd application, it was already 90% completed and it automatically attached my resume and cover letter, which were written referencing the first job. For the resume, this isn't a huge deal, the only part of the resume that mentions a position is the "goal" at the top saying I am seeking a job in the IMCU. The cover letter however has several references to that specific department. Now, you could easily swap IMCU for Cardiac Mixed Unit (the other position I applied for) and all the statements would be equally true, but it is a blunder to have the wrong doc attached.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to change what files are attached to a specific application. I can upload a new resume and cover letter to the job portal, but I can't seem to edit the specific applications I already submitted.

For the IMCU job this is not a problem because the docs are all correct, but what are the chances they will just toss my application to the Cardiac unit because of this?

It depends. Are you blindly firing off resumes, or were you invited to apply? If you're blindly firing off resumes, make a generic cover letter that could apply to either job. In all likelihood, nobody's going to read it. If you were invited to apply, go ahead and call their HR and ask to send your specific cover letter/resume directly to the hiring managers.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2015 13:57

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

wellwhoopdedooo posted:

Help!

I took a job in a start-up. Based on the field, I thought, if there's anywhere that'll actually engineer software as opposed to bashing out code that "works", it's this place. Well, that didn't turn out to be true. Things are bad, there's no leadership, strong personalities dictate design with single sentences, and any disciplined approach is shot down by assuming an incremental transition is impossible (even when a transition plan is present in the proposal) and that the cost of making a change all at once is too high--that cost being whatever somebody who already doesn't want to do it comes up with in the moment. FUD is God, data collection is resisted and analysis on captured stats is dismissed as "lies and statistics and we just don't have time", and I'm out of ideas for how to fight it.

In short, I'm unhappy and I'm looking to move. Problem is, I haven't been able to accomplish poo poo here. My resume looks great, increasingly impactful accomplishments over a 12-year career, and then there's the last 6 months. I've got procedures I've started that are being halfheartedly followed by pockets of the staff, but it's way too soon to see meaningful results. I've been put on significant projects, only to find out in design review that another team is halfway through implementation. TWICE. I don't know how to work in this environment, and although I know that's my failing, I'd prefer for it to not be relevant, and it never has been to this level before.

This is a gap in my resume, and I don't know how to fix it. I can add bullet-points for new things I've worked with, but that kind of progression just isn't relevant for the level of job I'm going for. Any ideas?

I think that if you have 12 years of proven growth and strong contributions, you'll be fine. Everyone knows how volatile start-ups are. Just mention that it's a start-up and that the job wasn't a good fit for your skills. Don't poo poo-talk them, obviously. If you had 3 or 4 6-month stints, that'd be a red flag. One, especially in your industry, isn't going to reflect poorly on you.

Besides that, why are you blindly firing off resumes if you're 12 years in? Get a recruiter to work for you or get a job through your network/connections.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2015 23:05

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Liam Emsa posted:

I work for Company X as a temporary/contractor employee. I'm employed by Recruiting Company Y and paid by them as well. Who do I contact when I want to leave?

edit:

I started working for the company this week. I've been contacted by a recruiter about a resume I had out for a different job. The job pays almost double and is nearby my house, whereas this current job is a 40 minute drive in traffic.

I feel like the only thing keeping me here is avoiding the terrifying prospect of telling them I'm quitting a month in. I'm an idiot to not take the other job, right?

Wait until you have an offer in hand first. But yeah, "I got offered a position that pays double and is walking distance from my house", is about the best possible reason to quit, and no sane person would fault you for it.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2015 00:28

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Xandu posted:

If I've published articles as part of my job (but my job isn't being a writer), where should I link to those articles? Is it okay to put it in the body of the job description or should I include it in a separate section?

If you're in science, it's common to include a list of publications on a resume as a separate section. If you're not in science, I have no idea.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2015 23:37

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

C-Euro posted:

Without even touching the sexism part, don't ever be late even if they know you're going to be. If you think you might not make your scheduled time, call to have it bumped back 30 minutes or some discrete amount of time. In my mind being late is a great way to make a bad first impression before you even make a first impression.

I had a guy show up 45 minutes late for an interview without calling ahead. We had paid over $1500 for a last minute plane ticket, hotel, and rental car to interview him. Nobody would meet with him when they found out he was 45 minutes late so it was the most awkward interview ever. I tore into the recruiter a bit about that one, so now everyone she sends me shows up 30 minutes early. Although not a deal breaker, it is annoying because when I schedule an 8:30 am Monday interview, it should send a pretty clear message that I want to respond to immediate needs before babysitting a candidate for 3 hours.

C-Euro posted:

As for me, I allegedly have an interview next week with my boss and probably his boss (and maybe even the next boss up) for a promotion they're trying to organize for me within our department. Any advice for that particular scenario? They want me to submit a resume and everything like it's my first time there. My boss also loves me (in work terms) and knows how valuable I am to the company, so I don't have to go out of my way to impress him but I may need to do so with the others.

Ask your boss to look over your resume before submitting it. He might have some advice for what his boss is looking for. Also, he's probably pitching you to his boss and a sit-down about your resume would be an excellent time for the two of you to talk strategy and get on the same page.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2015 23:41

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

MickeyFinn posted:

The bolded is silly. No job candidate can read your mind as to why you want to do something at some given time, they haven't worked with you or at your workplace before. That is not to say that being late is acceptable without good reason (and no regular traffic doesn't count), since you agreed to the time at the very least it is rude to not be on time. But you should never expect an outsider to divine why a certain time was chosen for their interview.

How about they just show up at the time of the interview? Showing up half an hour early is rude. Doubly so when they ambush me in the parking lot as I'm walking up to the front door of the building 45 minutes before the interview is scheduled to start.

To make this crystal clear, if I schedule an interview for 8:30, I want you there at 8:30. Not 7:45, not 9:15, not 8:01. 8:30. This is not unreasonable.

Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Apr 18, 2015

# ¿ Apr 18, 2015 01:34

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

MickeyFinn posted:

Wow, I bolded, underlined and italicized the key word in that post and you both still missed it. Too bad, I guess.

That is not to say that being late is acceptable without good reason (and no regular traffic doesn't count),

Nobody is arguing that it is acceptable to be late. If you can't understand why being really early to a job interview is annoying, just keep being you, I guess. And if you lack the social awareness to understand why someone would schedule an interview for 8:30 am Monday when the work day begins at 8:00 am, you should probably get out more.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2015 09:53

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

MickeyFinn posted:

Now you are just crying for special snowflake status. "Boo hoo, all strangers should know that 8:30 am on a Monday is when I'm done having a wank and need some attention from someone I don't know." Perhaps if your feelings are so easily hurt when some stranger doesn't know you well, you shouldn't be working with other people? I know plenty of people for whom an 8:30 am interview is (almost) mid-workday and some for whom an 8:30 am interview is still hours before they get up (especially on Monday) and they all work the same job at the same work place (and no they aren't on different shifts). Claiming some special status for any given time of day without telling someone who is prima facie unaware of either your work place schedule or your personal working schedule is stupid. Clearly, both the recruiter and the candidates she sends (and probably advises!) don't know that 8:30 am on Monday is a special time for you, because it gives you time "to respond to immediate needs before babysitting a candidate for 3 hours." Or you can continue complaining on the internet that they don't know your personal work schedule. I don't know, I'm clearly bad at people because I don't know what you do all day long.

Because someone will read this post without reading my first post in response to Dik Hz, I will reiterate that failure to be on time for anything you agree to is at the very least rude and can have consequences because people don't like it, especially so for an interview.

Calm down dude. Did I accidentally run over your cat or something? The candidates are made aware of the work schedule by the recruiter.

Now, I'm honestly curious why your ranting so much now. What part of interview's at 8:30 am, work starts at 8:00 am, don't show up at 7:55 am is so hard to grasp?

# ¿ Apr 18, 2015 21:34

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Vulture Culture posted:

I don't want to dogpile, but honestly, you come across like a pretty miserable person to work with. You clearly do not handle interpersonal situations well. You become personally offended at deviations from the script you have written. You are incapable of getting the candidate a cup of coffee and letting them sit in a waiting room for 30 minutes because you are incapable of telling a person "no" and instead you passive-aggressively accommodate them and hope they've learned the error of their ways. You have communicated that the only thing that makes you more uncomfortable than "babysitting" a candidate for thirty minutes is not babysitting a candidate for thirty minutes. They aren't going to rifle through your belongings and make off with your Important Company Secrets when you get up to take your 8:15 dump.

If someone shows up early to the interview, they're usually trying to do you a favor. Maybe they want to have ample time to fill out paperwork in case you ask them to fill out an application or a reference sheet before the interview begins. Maybe you scheduled the 8:30 interview because even though work starts at 8:00, sometimes people show up a few minutes late. Maybe if those people are all there on time it might be better for everyone to get the interview out of the way first thing so other people can move on with their day. Maybe the 8:00 candidate cancelled, or is running late, and what would really be great for you is if you could get Mr. Early in and out and then there's actually room in your schedule when the 8:00 candidate walks in the door at 8:35.

In short: try not to be such a colossal taint.

Dude, you don't even know me, there's no need to be a douche.

Also, don't overthink it. If I schedule an interview at 8:30, it's because I want the person there at 8:30. I'm not playing elaborate mindgames and discounting interviewees that show up on time. I work in a stand alone R&D building. Guests must be escorted at all times.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2015 14:26

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

MickeyFinn posted:

I confess that I find your reaction to this problem (of people showing up early for interviews) fascinating. I don't feel like I am upset, nor do I think that my previous posts were rants, but I grant that it is hard to read tone in written text. At any rate, you still don't seem to understand my point, so let me start from the very beginning.

There is incredible asymmetry in risk when showing up to an interview. Being late has far greater consequences than being early. You have admitted this yourself. Further, "late" is in the eye of the interviewer and there is a large variance in what late means for different interviewers. For example, I have known people for whom "15 minutes early is 5 minutes late." On top of that, even if the interviewee follows your advice and cases the joint the night before they still usually have no idea what awaits them when they walk through the front door. Maybe they have to fill out forms, maybe they have to wait for the front desk to painfully slowly take down their driver's license or maybe they can walk in the front door and walk straight in to your office without anyone stopping them. Further, they don't know if 8:30 is when they should check in or when they should be sitting in front of you and that difference can make or break an interviewee who shows up 2-5 minutes early as you want them to (same previous post). Given the asymmetry in risk and the uncertainty in information, interviewees have every incentive to show up early and significantly so.

Now, you seem to be aware of the asymmetry in risk, but clearly don't understand it because you have bemoaned the consequences in this thread twice. Nonetheless, in dealing with interviewees showing up early (evidently this has been going on since before September of last year) you have a number of options that come immediately to my mind:

(1) Do the work you claim you really have to do and see them at the appointed time of 8:30 am. People show up early to appointments of all kinds and patiently wait in doctor's offices, dentist's offices, restaurants, barber shops, mechanics and all sorts of other places. If you really do have work to do before conducting an interview, do it! This method has the added benefit of being really easy.
(2) Reduce the asymmetry in the risk to interviewees by spending an hour throwing together an introduction sheet telling them where they can park, what the interview schedule will be like: when you check in at 8:30 am, you'll have to fill out this thing and do that and then we'll sit down 15 minutes later. This option may not work because the asymmetry in risk is REALLY high, but it might save your Monday morning every once and a while.
(3) Assume that everyone should know what your schedule is like, what the process at your company is like and how they can be accommodate those. When they fail to do so, complain about it on the internet.
(4) Stop scheduling interviews at 8:30 am. This one is also really simple.

You have clearly chosen option 3. Finally, my point is that this is the worst possible way to address the problem of interviewees showing up too early, not only is it clearly not effective at getting the outcome you want, it is also the stupidest because it assumes that the interviewee has knowledge that they extremely unlikely to have and that even if they do, they'll act on it contra to a very large asymmetry in risk coupled with uncertainty in information. Does that clear things up?

That's a lot of words. Actually, the option I've chosen is to ask the recruiter to tell the clients that by 8:30, I mean 8:30 and to please have her communicate that to the interviewees. Honestly, this only became a problem after I was a little harsh about the candidate that was very late without calling, so I think she was emphasizing to them to be early.

As for your other options:
1. As I said above, guests have to be escorted (which the recruiter knows) in our facility.
2. I already give them all this information when scheduling the interview. It would look sloppy and unprofessional to hand them a make-work worksheet the first thing in through the door. I'm interviewing PhD's, not fry cooks.
4. Monday morning is a very convenient time for the interviewees, who are usually flying in from other parts of the country. By having the interview on a Monday morning, they only have to miss one day of work at their current jobs.

As for 3., the reason I'm posting on the internet about is because this is an advice subforum. There's a pretty large percentage of hiring managers that are annoyed by candidates that show up really early for interviews. You go on-and-on about game theory and asymmetry, but you'll never get penalized for showing up at the scheduled time.

Honestly, I'm a little weirded out that you went through my post history and are making citations and poo poo. Do you really not understand why showing up really early is a bad thing? It's basic social etiquette. Also, why is waiting in the nearest coffee shop until 5-10 minutes before the interview not your best possible solution?

Finally, why are you so mad?

MickeyFinn posted:

Now you are just crying for special snowflake status. "Boo hoo, all strangers should know that 8:30 am on a Monday is when I'm done having a wank and need some attention from someone I don't know." Perhaps if your feelings are so easily hurt when some stranger doesn't know you well, you shouldn't be working with other people?

That makes you sound upset and unhinged, and honestly reads like a rant.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2015 14:46

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Anachronist posted:

It's hard not to remember someone being so arbitrarily angry about interviewees not being able to mind read. I'm just glad it's you posting bad opinions again and again rather than that being an actual prevalent mindset in the world.

Dude, I'm not angry. It's just annoying. But anyway, I haven't seen anyone post in this thread that they're a manager and like it when candidates show up 30-45 minutes early. So you might want to take that into consideration.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2015 12:29

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

jon joe posted:

Anyone ever have an interview where they didn't ask you about yourself at all and only talked about the position, then asked if you had any questions? I still snuck in relevant stories of my triumph in related situations, but it was such an odd interview process. It gave me the impression they already had a candidate selected and that the interviews were a formality.

In general, I think phone screens are for grilling the candidate about their experience and resume. If someone's sitting in my office for an interview, it's because I've already determined that they're qualified. I want to see if they're a good fit for my team and the company. And, despite how unnerving it can be to be the interviewee, interviews are a two-way street.

I completely agree with Chaucer.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2015 23:56

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:14

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Doresain posted:

So, I have a phone interview Monday for a position with a software company, and turns out it is a 'long term contract' position - they are saying 6+ months - through Randstad.

I don't have any experience working contract, and the job would require relocation, so I am immediately skeptical. '6+ months' sounds sort of like 'until we figure out if you do/don't suck and we hire you/end your assignment', but still. Anyone with contract experience in the tech sector have good/bad experiences or advice?

My department does all entry-level jobs as 6-month contracts, because it's a pain in the rear end to fire employees. Everyone who's capable gets a full-time job when one becomes available.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2015 01:28

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > The Resume and Interview ULTRATHREAD: they saw Amazonian attributes

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