Resume Advice? 7

[LiquidPlumber]

Hey All,

Well, my fiancee got into med school (yeah!).... on the opposite side of the country (boo!), so looks like it's time to do my rolling stone impression.

I haven't updated my resume since graduating college, so I got with a graphic designer friend of mine and tried to slap something together.

I'm looking for feedback on:
-Layout
-Subjects (is it good to have a summary? Good to have personal interests?)
-General content

Any suggestions would be extremely appreciated!

Also, for privacy, I've changed all my contact info to "fake".

Thanks!

 

[MacGyverS2000]

LPS for IR... every decision of "I'll fix it" or "let someone else fix it" has to come with a quick estimate of "what will it cost me in the end?". I used to do every minor fix to my car, especially oil changes (they're so easy, right?). Then I realized it cost me more to do it myself (probably an hour of my time after getting everything together, cleaning up, etc. AND the cost of materials) than if I let a shop do it (<30 minutes while I'm already out and about, material cost included in price). I now let someone else change the oil on all of my cars.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[JNieman]

I have a few oil filters and many jugs of new oil in my garage because it wasn't long after I 'stocked up' that I came to the same conclusion, MacGyverS2000. Nowadays, with the $20 oil changes (at a respectable dealer's shop that I like) that come with topping off my coolant, washer fluid, a bit of grease in all the zerts, it just doesn't make sense. I can't even buy the oil and filter alone for that price, let alone factor in my time. Now the only time I'll do some of those things is to show my son how to do it.

_________________________________________
NX8.0, Solidworks 2014, AutoCAD, Enovia V5

 

[BUGGAR]

Zercs

 

[JNieman]

See? All the more reason not to do my own simple maintenance! I don't know zert from a zerk (thanks for the correction)

_________________________________________
NX8.0, Solidworks 2014, AutoCAD, Enovia V5

 

[KENAT]

I've rarely, if ever, met someone outside of technical field that knows how to put together a technical resume.

Many jobs these days require the resume to fed into a web based form at some point and usually any formatting in your work resume screws things up.

For technical resume don't' be afraid of 2 pages, but as you're apparently young with limited experience don't pad for the sake of it.

Frankly, I don't believe there is a one size fits all resume, one potential employer may love it, another hate it. The resume that got me my current job got passed to my sister in law who has professionally written resumes before, frankly most of her changes were format stuff which didn't survive upload to most employers. Of the actual editing she did, she managed to introduce a bunch of errors through not understanding what I was saying. She also made it more 'salesy' which may be a good thing but I didn't like and know I hate seeing resumes from others that are like that.

There are a bunch of rules of thumb, many of which don't apply directly to technical resumes for one reason or another.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[1gibson]

Doesn't happen often, but I think I was taken too literally. I'm trying to describe a personality type. No I'm not going to insist on fixing the toilet at work, but yes I will do basic computer troubleshooting before calling IT. If it takes more than 15 minutes sure I'll give them a call.

Yes, economics and the real world get in the way, but fundamentally there are "I'll give it a shot" and "not my job" types of people. The "not my job" people aren't very fun to work with, especially when there is an entire room full of them. Neither is the other type if they don't understand the limitations of their job description, but in that case intentions are good, so it's an easier fix.

P.S. Last time I called a plumber, had 2 different ones come out with no progress, and then I ended up fixing it myself. Not going to pay someone $100/hr + parts to hang out in my crawlspace and replace lead pipe with PVC. I'll do it on the weekend instead of sitting out the couch, not a difficult economic decision.

 

[Panther140]

What is necessary is for the $300/hour engineer to remain productive for however long the $100 plumber/electrician is in transit as well as doing work

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[mbt22]

As a chem eng in industrial R&D who's recruited in the past (wrong country and not hiring right now though), a few small things.

In the education section, listing an apparently as-yet unfinished MS without clearly flagging it as in progress might irritate some people.

You've some excellent experience, but it doesn't appear until towards the end. The skills and knowledge doesn't tell me a huge amount, as everyone with a chem eng degree should be able to size basic unit ops, prepare H+M balances etc. Perhaps consider taking this out and flagging the relevant skills used in the work experience section.

If I were interviewing you based on that CV, I'd probably want to know something more about exactly what your role was and how you worked with other team members (for example the piping corrosion or RO example presumably weren't you on your own). I'd also query what SME means to you, as for many of us it's someone with 20+ years of experience and deep knowledge of a particular sub-field.

Finally, adjust your CV for each potential role - reactive distillation scale-up, invited seminars, publications interest me; my operations colleagues would rather hear about root cause analysis, overseeing production, what your improvements to a 'major gin process' were.

Matt

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Didn't catch the SME part... yeah, a SME to me is someone who has worked a specific field of the industry for a significant portion of a long career. I would think you couldn't possibly be considered a SME until you hit at least the 4-5 year mark in your career (and that would be working that specific "thing" exclusively, but in such a case you wouldn't be useful for much else than that one "thing"), preferably at least 10 years, and I'd be pretty comfortable with a SME designation at the 15+ year mark.

There's a reason the word "expert" is in the description. Doing a process repeatedly doesn't make you an expert. Understanding the process in detail and in ways most others in the field do not is what makes you an expert.


Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[Keith1029]

I might be late to respond but I'm currently in the hiring process and seeing resumes both good and bad so I need to add my vote and say that everything that Jeff said on the 19th is excellent advice. Know what they are looking for, show (by examples) that you are that and then be ready to back it all up in the interview. Having a generalized resume for cold calling and a targeting resume for specific positions/position types will almost certainly generate more interviews.

 

[theonlynamenottaken]

I'll be sitting on this shuttle for over an hour so I'll give you more advice than you probably want...

Notice how some of the responders above loved the two-column format and others hate it? You're going to encounter the same variety in prospective employers and the way to handle that variety is to cover all the bases. As in multiple resume documents with differing formats and content. Even though I'm not currently looking for a job I'm carrying six different resumes that I keep updated. Three different pairs where the three content categories are Structural Engineer with design emphasis, Structural Engineer with repair/rehab/retrofit emphasis, and one with project management emphasis. Then for each content specialty I do two formats, one with boring typewriter-esque formatting and one with pretty modern formatting.

You heavily research the company you want to apply at (which you should be doing anyway!), and if possible find out exactly who is going to look at your resume. You select the resume to fit the company, the position, and if possible, the specific person that will review it (LinkedIn is a great tool). Then, you further revise your selected resume to match the exact position, person, company, etc.

How do you decide which resume to send? Well, as a general rule I send the boring, one-column resumes to people over 50 years old, to companies big enough to have an HR department, and to companies with a "stuffy" feel. I send the pretty, modern format resumes to younger reviewers, smaller companies, and companies with a "hip and modern" feel. Want to work somewhere that provides process designs for pharmaceutical plants?? Boring format. Applying at a craft beer brewery?? Pretty format. You have to remember that while some people see a pretty, modern format and think, "too busy looking, so much time spent on presentation means lackluster applicant", there are also those that see the boring, classic format and think, "unimaginative, old-fashioned and probably not able to fully grasp or utilize modern technology".

Without getting into specifics I will tell you that this strategy has worked very well for me. My pretty format has two columns in some places, a tasteful amount of color, and even some background shading. That format has been praised on several occasions and I've also been told (by a boutique architecture firm principal) that it put my resume at the top of the stack. As some have noted there are companies that have you electronically submit your resume text through a webpage. To me those are the companies that want classic, boring formatting anyway...

Other advice:
- Provide a balance between bulleted lists and paragraphs. Too many or too large of paragraphs and people end up scanning instead of reading. Too many bulleted lists and it looks like a MSDS or a product spec sheet instead of a resume.
- Definitely go multiple pages if you need to. Don't add fluff to get there, but DO NOT leave out good content to stay within one page. However, make an effort to fill each page so you don't end up with large blank spaces
- No photo and no Personal Interests. If you have personal interests that are specifically associated with the position (e.g. you homebrew beer and are applying at a brewery) then you might be able to slide them into the cover letter.

 

[itdepends]

I'm not going to look over your resume in detail because I'm busy and have just gotten my new hire to sign their contract

But I'll let you know what I'm looking for in a resume
Resume/CV
You can communicate clearly and concisely
What your recent work experience has been- the industry/location and the skills/responsibility you had/developed

However the cover letter is what will distinguish you from your peers. As others have noted- the level of research you have put in to the role, the company and the process we are operating should come through. My most recent hire addressed their cover letter to the head of HR (by name) and made a connection between their education (relatively recent graduate) and our industry. The resume was also obviously tailored to the job that was being applied for.

This told me two important things
This wasn't a generic cover letter/resume thrown out to all an sundry- they really wanted a job, perhaps really wanted this job in particular.
They had the initiative and the drive to find things out themselves without having the answer handed to them.

As a chem eng/metallurgist the first part of any answer I give starts with "It Depends"

 

[graybeach]

Some great advice here. I am in the go to two pages, tailor the summary to the opening, lose the personal info camp. itdepends is right on about the cover letter. I recently advertised an opening and received about 35 resumes, and only 5 had cover letters. The ones with cover letters definitely got additional attention and consideration. I received resumes submitted on-line from all over the US and the world. If there was no cover letter explaining the person's plan or willingness to relocate, I generally ignored the resume.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Whatever works for you, gray, but I would think dismissing them out of hand because they didn't include a cover letter would be shortchanging yourself. There may have been some really strong engineers in that group of roundfile recipients. My assumption would be they wouldn't apply to a job some great distance away if they weren't willing to move.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[KENAT]

Many places don't have an easy way to give a cover letter these days, and I've seen advice to ignore cover letter and tailor resume instead.

Again, horses for courses & I'm in no way convinced there is a single 'right' way.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[graybeach]

About a third of the on-line applicants were from other countries with no indication of how they intented to relocate. I had the luxury to ignore them because my office is in an area where there are lots of local engineers. If LiquidPlumber had applied to my open position, a cover letter stating that he already intends to move across country would have greatly increased his chances.

Writing skills are very important in my office so cover letters are always welcome. But because they seem to be going extinct, I always include some essay questions in my postings. The person I ended up hiring did not have a cover letter but answered the questions nicely.