resume formats

[jeffcivil2]

Do you as employers look positively on internet syle resumes/links instead of attached word documents? I had a clever idea for a resume:

Since I'm a civil engineer and our works are more recognizable from the sky, I was thinking of creating first a personal website with basic employment history but also showing showing aerial photography of projects I've worked on.

This can be answered by anyone the question of isn't it best to just show off your work than to have to rely on vague wording?

 

[COEngineeer]

Yeah, of course. I put my phone#, email, and website. As long as it is not a myspace website, I think it will look very professional.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[COEngineeer]

I mean, give them the document format with the website link. Dont just send them a link. You want to personalized it anyway (i.e. Objective).

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[HgTX]

I like the idea of a website in addition to a resume. It's still largely a paper-based world. (The music world is going toward electronic press kits, but not so far the office world.)

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[TheTick]

Most hiring managers only have time to scan and highlight half a printed page. If your paper resume doesn't get their attention, a website won't help.

 

[MadMango]

I've seen resumes with thumbnails in the Work Experience sections. I found that interesting, and gave a lot of ammunition for asking more in-depth questions.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the be

 

[MRDPE]

I really believe that it is best if a resume is simple, direct, and only one page (a long resume will likely not be read) - and if the process is complicated by having to go to a web site and/or download something it will not be done. It may give the impression that you are the type of person that complicates matters or one that does extra unnecessary work.

http://theprofessionalengineer.com/employment/engineering-resumes/

MRDPE

http://TheProfessionalEngineer.com

 

[KER72REC]

As a HR Professional in the Engineering Community, its is always best to distiguish yourself from the competition! Adding a website with pictures of your work is tangible to the hiring manager. Just like an Architect has a portfolio of his/her work. Also building a website of your work with your professional resume gives a great deal of access to Technical Recruiters! I would also highly recommend joining a networking site such as linkedin.com.

Thank you,

Jake

 

[vc66]

I doubt very much that HR will take the time to go onto a website to read about how you "love puppies."

KISS- Keep it simple, stupid. Keep your resume as short and sweet as you can. If they call you in for an interview, then that's where you break out the portfolio of previous projects, and let them sift through it, asking questions as they go.

V

 

[TheTick]

First, you need to get their attention. Hiring managers are not going to look at everyone's websites. They may start looking once they've narrowed it down to a couple key candidates.

Hiring managers are busy and don't want to waste time hunting for what they need to know. Keep it simple. I reformatted my resume so that it begins with a "Key Skills" section, followed by work history. I've gotten much positive feedback on this, much of it from potential employers during interviews.

 

[vc66]

Haha, I just read my response, and realized that not everyone may know that Acronym, so KISS is Keep it simple and stupid. I'm not suggesting that the OP is stupid.

V

 

[ykee]

I agree that there is little point in including web links on a resume, as in-depth information will be obtained in an interview.

On the other hand, I have heard that some HR depts will check you out on the web, and if you've got drunk party pictures of yourself up on myspace or some other semi-public web site (I think we'd all be suprised at how public Facebook pictures are too), it would not be a good thing.

 

[ctopher]

My opinion, In addition to filling out your resume online with the employer; type, print and send your resume (optional on CD) to the employer. You may also follow up with a thank you letter with a link to your online resume typed at the bottom of the letter.
This all depends on the position applying for. If it's web design, I would send them the direct link to the web site.
Keep the information as little as possible, but pertaining only to the position applying for.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

 

[jpankask]

Agree with other posters, you should always have a paper (or word document/pdf) resume that can be mailed or emailed. It should be no longer than one page, unless you are very, very experienced and going for a high-level job. Do not make it too detailed, if the first person that sees it has to look all over the page for the information they want, chances are your resume will get put into the file marked "recycle". One thing the one-page resume does for the hiring manager is show them that you can include all of the relevant information and also be concise. I had a chance to look over some resumes recently for an entry-level engineering position. I was amazed the number of fresh college graduates who could not keep their resume to one page yet had 1.5" margins all around the page and included information that was completely irrelevant. I don't think any of them got an interview.

Regarding the website, I definitely think it's a good idea for someone to get a little more information about you if they decide they are interested in you. Nobody is going to seek out your online resume if that is the only format you provide, there just isn't time when a hiring manager is looking at a stack of 50-100 (or more) resumes. In cases like that you have only a few seconds to make a good impression or you lose out on an interview. When I had a website, my resume included my name and contact information at the top, with an email address and website address as well. My website registered a few hits when I was interviewing a few years ago.

 

[StressGuy]

I have to agree with several of the others - an engineer's resume should fit on one page. Even if you've got 20 years of experience, you should be able to distill your critical skills and experience into a tight format.

I don't hire directly, but I review candidate resumes and conduct interviews to assist my boss who does do the hiring. I get a stack of paper printouts to take a look at. Even being a younger guy who makes regular use of the internet, I don't think I would have much interest in someone's website linked in their resume.

I say if you want to combine the internet with your job search, Google for resume formats, especially for technical jobs, and see how you write a tight, one page resume. Clear, concise writing, absolutely perfect punctuation and highlights of the engineering tools (i.e. software relevant to your ares) and types of projects you have in your background will go a long way to getting you in the door.

Also, maybe I've just never seen a good one, but I've always found the notion of and "Objective" on a resume to be dumb. Your objective should be the job I'm interviewing you for and your resume should be tailored to reflect that. I find most "Objective" statements to come across as pretentious.

As always, YMMV.

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

"All the world is a Spring"

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

 

[KENAT]

The resume thing drives me mad.

The same resume reviewed by different, nominally equally qualified, people can get very different comments.

When I last spent a lot of time re-formatting mine the big thing seemed to be "give tangible results not just say you have experience doing XXX". This caused the length of my resume to almost double.

I also re-jigged it to have my opening sales pitch followed by a skills summary or something like that before listing my employers (in which I had all the examples).

I still got a job but, maybe if it had been better I would have got one sooner.

I give up, my sister in law prepared resumes as part of her job and has offered to look at mine but I'm almost scared to let her have it, I'm not sure I could take the pain of being told how bad it is.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...