Unless you always worked for yourself, you've likely written a résumé. The longer you've been around, the more versions you have.
There are countless books out there that tell you how to write one, how to interview, and how to talk and dress. It's about time Scope Junction got in on the act. But I'm no expert. I'm expecting to read lots of comments about what has worked (or not worked) for you. If you've been on the other side of the table, tell us what you look for. What impresses and stands out -- on paper and in person?
What should be in your résumé? The word "résumé"? Not in mine, but if you want it in yours, please spell it correctly. There's a major online job site that doesn't, believe it or not. I title mine with my name.
Don't waste space putting in a full address or myriad contact details. A phone number and email address suffice, along with a city/state/province, if you like.
The first real item in my résumé is what I label "Profile". I added this a couple of years ago, and it serves as a mini-cover letter. It's a few lines long and gives a "big picture" overview of what I'm about. Give it a try. Show it to someone. If that person doesn't laugh, leave it in.
Next up is a point-form list I've labelled "Areas of Expertise." There are 15 points quickly summarizing technologies and industries in which I'm quite an expert, or at least a semi-expert. You can deposit some keywords here. Rumor has it that some companies will scan incoming résumés for "FPGA," "C++," or whatever it is that interests them.
We finally get to the jobs section (presented in reverse order, of course). A few revisions ago, I retitled mine "Industry Experience." I think it sounds more professional, no? How much detail should we have here? In my limited experience on the hiring side of the table, I found résumés with explicit details of every little task and technology offputting. They made me think that the candidate was really proud of, say, "using a scope." Of course, if the opening is for a test tech, that's a bad example. But in my opinion, you should try to showcase your ability to master new challenges, not every little one you already have. Opinions may vary.
Next comes education. This section should shrink over the years. Ten years into your career, no one really cares about schooling. What you put here can depend on the type of work you're looking for, but in most cases, any real world or practical experience should be emphasized.
Next, I have a "Memberships/Qualifications" section, where I list things like my ham license and a few societies to which I belong. The jury is out on whether to include a section for other interests. I list a few of mine. Use your judgment.
Most sources recommend you keep your résumé to two pages, and I tend to agree. Lopping off your earliest jobs is preferable to covering your pages with 8pt type.
Engage your artistic side for a moment. Try to make the overall look of your pages inviting. Trade some consulting for fixing your designer friend's computer. The sheets shouldn't be too dense. Make reasonable use of font sizes, bolding, etc. to set off sections. Or get more creative with design elements like shading and sectioning.
Perhaps eschew the paper paradigm completely. I've seen résumés on those small "business card" CDs and (in one case) on a tiny PIC board that plugs into a USB port and "types" out the text into an open editor window!
OK, you've done everything right and got an interview. What now? The more I think about it, read, and actually go on interviews, the more I'm convinced that the interviewee should take the lead as much as possible while being sensitive to the interviewer's personality and style. At this point, they probably want to hire you. Make it easy for them. Ask lots of questions about the company and the work. Bring examples of things you've designed. Show you're eager and able to learn.
Those are just some of my ideas. What are yours? What do you think has worked well, or badly, in your past experience. And what do you like to see when you're on the other side of the table?
Glen Chenier 3/29/2012 7:07:32 PM User Rank Blogger
The interview
"Bring examples of things you've designed."
So true! Especially for hardware designers. I always bring my "traveling dog and pony show" to interviews. On my last interview the chief engineer mentioned he had worked with some products from a now-defunct company I once worked for, I pulled out a T1 line interface card I had designed there over 20 years ago and he recognized it! I got the job, although it probably helped that he had gray hair too...
It could be effective but if you rely on that, you can miss some good markers. What if the kid has never had an opportunity to make things but can learn fast?
As a company owner, I tend to make people feel that their degrees worth nothing by informing them that degrees are not requirements for the job. Let me know you and what you can do and keep those papers out. It does work for me.
I think most companies today are less focused on academic credentials than they were years ago. Of course, a position that requires some heavy duty math, research, etc, is still likely to be the provenance of masters & PhD holders.
But no, a degree, at any level, does not guarantee anything.
Wale Bakare 3/30/2012 6:41:11 PM User Rank Sheriff
Re: Does resume really work?
Am not necessarily disagree but take a look at Oil and Gas & High -Tech.
Complex Scenarios Need Degrees more, as you rightly pointed out"heavy duty math, research, etc"
1) Few years back, technicians and engineers working in piping sector of oil and gas were nearly all non degree holders. But introduction of matlab and some other 3D software tools to fine tune effective flow of oil in pipe now requires degree MUST have for many Pipeline engineering job today with skills in Matlab especially and others.
2 ) In High -tech sector ---how would you want to carry out test on extreme complex SOC ( system -on-chip) or signal processing designs and complex embedded designs? Would you employ non Embedded Test Engineer with no degree? A leading UK based semiconductor firm, world leading for that matter will never employ non degree software/hardware enginers for any of its roles presently, even the firm employes more PhD in engineering.
Am neither being sentimental nor discriminatory but nature of today's design specifications due to competitivness in technology has driven OEMs to the edge.
Michael, I agree the information you listed is important - at least as a method to help whittle down the list of potential candidates. Although it's not as high on the list as experience, I do look at education when making my selection for the top candidates to bring in for interviews.
Not to sidetrack the conversation, but when I decided to retire myself from HP/Agilent and go independent, I asked my supervisor if I could hire my replacement. We wanted to hire a recent college grad and train them up in the field of EMC. I went through a pile of 30-some résumés and did telephone interviews with about twelve candidates who looked promising - both BS and MS level. I brought in three for face-face technical and character inteviews with six other engineers and managers. None could meet the technical interviews. Some did not even know how to diagram a J-K flip-flop. Some had never soldered. None had much depth in practical electronics. I ended up having to hire a PhD, who was well-versed technically and has ultimately proven to be a hot-shot (valuable) engineer. The schools ain't hacking it!
Now, back to résumés...Since I went independent, I've placed all my work experience and education on LinkedIn.
1. I include a link to my profile within my email signature file. There are many advantages to using LinkedIn as your résumé or CV. It can include testimonials - a really big deal when it comes to selling yourself to a client. You can also include white papers and other short presentations, awards, certifications, etc (your dog & pony show, as someone mentioned earlier). I've only had a couple clients ask for my résumé over the past four years and I simply provide the link to my profile, which seemed to be sufficient.
2. The other big advantage is that by developing your network of contacts, they can help funnel work to you or even hire you. I've received many thousands of dollars of business from my LinkedIn contacts. Getting work is ALL about building relationships. EVERY one of my jobs in the past 35 years has been through someone I knew or someone who referred me (with the exception of the first job out of college). BTW, I'm convinced I was hired for that first job out of college because I had written a couple magazine articles and thus, stuck out from the crowd.
3. LinkedIn can also help you find targeted job opportunities. It's a database - use it!
That's quite the story about trying to find your replacement, and really shows the value of a coop program. Wonder what percentage of schools have that.
You're really making full use of LinkedIn. Good advice. Use it if you can!
And re your "ABC", as I mentioned, going to the job fair was a big help in my case, though it may be coincidental too... But you're right, regardless.
EMC Guru 4/4/2012 11:02:42 AM User Rank Apprentice
Re: Does resume really work?
Job fairs can work, but you need to find a way to stick out from the crowd. Bringing in actual products or designs you've developed or papers/articles written can go a long way towards attaining your goals.
What I absolutely wouldn't do is submit a mass mailing of résumés out to a host of potential employers. That's the advantage of building a network of contacts within your industry. You can ask them to hand deliver to the hiring manager or at least put in a good word!
It was an interesting experience getting into Hewlett-Packard. I had been employed with a number of aerospace firms - TRW, the latest. I had been active in that organization, arranging "brown bag" lunches where I'd invite outside guest speakers to address the engineering team on various subjects. I had invited in a prominent local engineer from HP to discuss oscilloscope probes several months before eventually getting laid off (along with much of the engineering team) from TRW.
I called the guy from HP back and he happened to mention they were needing an EMC engineer. Up to that time, I had been mainly involved in RF design, so I figured my skills ought to be transferrable. Botton line is that he helped me get an interview and EMC turned out to be my major career. Still is, as a consultant now!
It really is "who you know" and that's why it's vital to be building and communicating regularly with your network through forums like this, profesional societies and via LinkedIn (using status messages and participating in Groups).
You are a guru indeed. I tend to think that Job Fairs have limited value. Unless it is the one in college, I just think differentiating oneself in job fair is simply HARD.
I'm curious if readers in their 40s, 50s, 60s, have experienced what they perceive as age discrimination in the hiring process. It's hard to tell, I suppose. In my own case, I'm not really sure.
Glen Chenier 3/30/2012 12:07:09 AM User Rank Blogger
Re: Age Discrimination
When more than one corporation advertises positions for "recent college graduates", I would consider that a legal euphamism for "old fogies need not apply". Yes, age discrimination in hiring is alive and well.
"Recent grads" -- yes, though I can see it from the employer's perspective too. If I'm hiring on a tight budget, and don't mind supplying a bit of extra training and guidance, new grads seem the way to go.
I do keep thinking more of software types though. If you've been immersed in code hacking for the last four years, that's a pretty good place to be. New engineers on the other hand are often ill-prepared for real life, and can take quite a few years to get to a useful place. If they've been through a co-op program, that's a major leg up.
In my experience, both new grads and older job-seekers have a very tough time getting their resume noticed.
Most of the jobs advertised are for someone with 5-10 years experience. Someone like me with 20+ years experience, I hope the potential employer sees the breadth (depth!?) of my experience and hires me. On the other hand, the hiring manager should not view the senior engineer as an immediate threat to his position. Though, in the long term, the hiring manager should be hiring his future replacement so that he can move up in the organisation.
With layoff's commonplace in this era, a laid-off engineer is not viewed negatively compared to 30 years ago. This layoff culture has made existing managers insecure in their positions, which is one more reason they are not really looking to hire their long-term replacement.
In my experience, the job search tool should not be resume alone, but networking, personal networks, professional networks, attending professional events, etc.
>In my experience, the job search tool should not be resume alone, but networking, personal networks, professional networks, attending professional events, etc.
Good point Raju. In fact, my last job search was not doing too well, until I attended a job fair. Only talked to two companies there, got interviews at both, and got hired at one!
Are you sure? The only thing that is constant is change. And it does happen. The resume thing is a good insight. Yet, there are many limitations to resume. Yet, no alternative.
Glen Chenier 3/30/2012 7:58:30 PM User Rank Blogger
Re: Age Discrimination
When I was a young man (< 40), twice in my career I had to decide between two job offers at the same time. Now that I am older job offers are few and far between. Yes, much of this can be attributed to the economy, outsourcing, and proliferation of new graduates, but when walking into an interview with a bunch of younger people the gray hair makes one look more suitable for employment as a Greeter at Wallymart.
MD, so far in my resume I hadn't included any scope stories. As you mentioned, most of us includes maximum projects worked and about the technical skills or knowledge. But little bit okword in specifying the related devices, unless and until it requires some sort of coding like programming data acquisition cards, driver codes etc.
Mentioning general proficiency with lab gear is probably a good idea (assuming it's true!), as not everyone has it.
Especially so with highly specialized gear... If I was expert in using VNAs say, I might put it in (or at least mention it in a cover letter if it was applicable).
MD, if we are referring some online resume building formats; they are providing spaces to input the associated software, hardware and testing tools with that project. The testing tools include debugging software with versions, devices with specification etc. I think such resume building formats can gives a better visibility to our expertise and device handling knowledge.
Yes, online résumé forms seem a great idea in theory. But I truly hate them!
Not sure if I'm seeing less of them now, or if I just started avoiding places that used them. I'm sorry, but I really don't want to spend an hour or two filling out forms on every company I apply to – especially when they're poorly designed, or crash your browser, or... But no, I'm not bitter.
Not so bad on an employment site like Workopolis, where you only have to do it once.
Want to know the ultimate in horrific design? I was applying directly to a company once, but their web site led to a custom section of one of the job sites to enter your résumé. "Great" I thought – I'll just be able to point to my existing registration, and I'll be done in a minute.
Ha! In spite of using that job site, you still had to re-enter your résumé from scratch! I didn't apply...
I know this sounds strange, but I don't think I've ever written a résumé (as you note, "resume" without the accents simply means to recommence or restart).
My first job out of university was with International Computers (ICL) in Manchester, England. The interviews were all set up by the university -- I didn't need a résumé because they already had my course transcript or whatever.
Since then, I've been offered positions. At first it was along along the lines of "We are forming our own company, would you like to join us?" Over time it changed into "What would it take to get you to come and work with us?"
I'm not trying to boast here. I have put in a lot of hard work, but I also appreciate that I have been incredibly lucky in my career. But the bottom line is that should I need one, I don't even have an old résumé that I could dust off and use as a basis (so my fingers are crossed - for luck - that I never need one)...
BTW, the jobsite that misspells résumé spells it "resumé", a common enough mistake. Still, it's pretty pathetic seeing it plastered all over their site in big logos & things.
Fortunately I wrote the first book (and all that followed) for the fun of it. If I were to count the hours spent (practivally every evening and weekend for two years for the first book) and then look at the royalties earned ... I could have made more money working at Wal Mart.
But, in addition to being what I wanted to do, and also making my mother very happy and giving her something to boast about at the hairdressers, the books have certainly "opened doors" to me...
It's actually amazing how many people have heard of "Bebop to the Boolean Boogie" (even if they haven;t actually read it [grin])
Max, I can see why you never required a résumé. As EMC Guru commented, ABC=Always Be Connecting. In your case, you are always connected through the books and technical articles you have written. But thanks for your post. It confirmed what I believe.
Again, I really have been very lucky ... like the writing thing ... I showed no aptitude for it when I was younger ... my mother tells me that she and my dad went to a parent-teacher evening at my high school and were told that I was a complete idiot who woudl never make anything of myself.
She still cannot believe that I now write for a living ... it really is a funny old world.
Did you see that Dilbert Cartoon "The Knack" -- even if you did, it's worth another look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYDgncMhXw
So even though your high-school teachers opined you were a complete idiot, seems your parents believed in you and supported you in what you wanted to do. More important, you believed in yourself.
About 15 years ago, I visited Munich, Germany where some engineers told me that in Germany if you have low grades out of high-school, you are placed in the trades career stream, which means you have virtually no chance of ever getting a Ph.D. I wish governments all over the world back off in deciding what career path an individual takes, based on your example, or more famously Albert Einstein's.
I saw Dilbert's cartoon, "The Knack". It shows an engineer's aptitude being mis-diagnosed by his mother, which seems fortunately was not the case for you or me. I remember reading one of the biographis on Marconi where it mentioned that his father was not happy with his wireless experiments around the home, but his mother supported him.
I was blessed in that my parents always supported me -- if I created a drawing they said it was the best drawing they had ever seen -- if I said I wanted to build a robot, they said that wouldn't be a problem, I would just have to go to college and learn how to be an engineer...
During the course of my career I've met folks without degrees who could run rings around me intellectually, and I've met people with masters degrees and PhDs who were "as think as two short planks" as the saying goes (of course I've also met people without degrees who were nimbats and peopel with degrees who were incredibly clever).
But I agree -- Einstein is a prime example (did you read his biography "Einstein: His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson? If not I highly recommend it -- there's no math, but you end up with a really good understanding as to just how difficult was the task of describing General Relativity)
rharding64 4/3/2012 7:37:30 PM User Rank Apprentice
requirements for resume
Hi Michael,
Having been in the trenches a lot over the past 2 and a half years, I have found what works and does not work in resumes. Since you no longer can go directly to the hiring manager anymore and must interact with a third party filter, here is how i usually approach;
1. recruiter contacts me about position, i respond back going over each requirement bullet. they do part of the work when interacting with the client, by including and packaging up what you send to them.
2. job targeted resume - in many cases, this is actually needed in order to get their attention. shape the resume to the job. here is my format;
IMPORTANT: in each of your jobs, you need to bullet significant accomplishments by using a verbal description of significant tasks and what did that task result in. here is personal example
**Designed control software to perform validation testing of T-mobile WIFI Hotspot at Home products. This software provided for lab automation and it also provided the test engineers the ability to test more OEM connected handset prototypes in the field.
3. add a section to the resume called 'Technical Skills'. define all your algorithms that you developed
4. add a section called 'software packages' or similar so that you have all the 'keywords' in there that you know will show up on job descriptions,
5. add a section on microcontroller development kits
Good points, especially the concept of a targeted résumé, which slipped my mind.
Absolutely, if customising your résumé for each application works for your situation, go for it. Perhaps it's more advantageous for some software positions than it might typically be in the HW field.
You also mention recruiters. Certainly, it's perfect if you can check off all their little keywords in your cover letter and/or résumé – also useful when dealing directly with the company of course. I'd say most companies in my area hire directly - HW and SW. I've only dealt with a headhunter once or twice.
I guess having lots of examples, of, as you say, devkits and toolsets, or anything, is a good way to demonstrate your versatility!
The biggest hurdle for recruiting is not recruiting someone what he did and know how to do but hiring for capacity to learn and do things the person never imagined. I hire people that can think and evolve and that is why I do not pay attention to years of experience. You can have it, what if that will become irrelevant. I want someone that can evolve with timet. IQ is key.
Clairvoyant 4/14/2012 8:17:08 PM User Rank Sheriff
Re: requirements for resume
I agree, Goafrit. To add to that, some companies do not want someone with many years of experience because they may be set in their ways on how they do certain things. A company will want a new employee to follow the companies own procedures. This is why some companies will perfer a young, fast learning individual who may be fresh out of getting their education.
Clairvoyant, I have many years experience. Yes, I do certain things that I know in a certain way, but am more than willing to do them differently if that's the better way. I have come across younger engineers painstakingly taking reading after reading, but when I ask them to give me a day, to write a for..Loop in C/C++ to automate taking these readings, they say they take these readings infrequently, so never bothered to automate the process. They are the ones set in their ways, not willing to listen to the wisdom of experience.
If the experienced engineer knows that the company's own procedures are inferior, should he not be suggesting a better procedure (at the appropriate time) to his new employer?
There are very few managers who lead by consensus and willing to adopt the best procedure, even though it was not the one suggested by the manager.
On the other hand, we are working in an industrial age, started by Henry Ford, where each person makes a small sub-assembly, and not the entire product. For most engineering jobs, 5 to 15 years experience is sufficient. Why should they hire someone with more than 15 years experience? The older worker has to sell his breadth and depth of experience, asking the potential employer to consider the extra years of experience as a bonus. After all, a 20 year experienced engineer has 5 years of extra experience to draw upon, than a 15 year experienced engineer.
We know that sport stars reach the pinnacle of their performance at a younger age, and for most sports, retire by age 45. But engineering is a mental occupation.
"On the other hand, we are working in an industrial age, started by Henry Ford, where each person makes a small sub-assembly, and not the entire product."
No - I think we are now in the knowledge age where knowledge has become a factor of production. In the industrial age, you had land, capital as key elements, now, it is knowledge. The fact is that the most disruptive innovations are not coming from the experienced guys. Take a look at Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, most of these guys never spent years climbing corporate ladder. It is a new game. That does not mean the old experienced folks have no role, it just that to change the world, you need not have 30 years experience. In short, the more experienced, the less innovative. Of course, you can do the old job better.
Yes, I think you are right. It is wrong for me to think that experience dimishes the capacity of people to innovate. Nevertheless, in some industries, experience (or by extension age) seems to have a real influence that does not allow them to connect. Think of social media, it is rare to see people about 50 years getting a really good social media business. I understand that Walmart was created by an experienced man, but Facebook and similar firms seem to favour younger ones.
Yes, when these social media firms mature, they need the pros and experienced people to run them. In summary, we need a mix of both in any company.
You have to look at your sector and know what works. Thanks for the insight.
I've seen a pretty wide age range in entrepreneurship in my own limited experience.
I live in a very entrepreneurial area (RIM, U of Waterloo, many tech companies, big & small), and companies are frequently being formed by new grads, professors, and industry veterans alike. I worked at a company that had be co-founded by someone on his third or fourth venture. I guess starting companies can be a hobby...
Wale Bakare 4/16/2012 6:37:05 AM User Rank Sheriff
Re: requirements for resume
That's exactly the trend in field of technology today. But sometimes massive years of experience is good to have, but only a small pocket of experienced people could boost the ability to cope with trendy situation.
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