Such is the case for my last blog entry where I literally inserted my resume into the post! I read a few entries and I see now the idea of posting the resume in conversational tones. That makes a whole lot of sense - why would anyone be interested in a checklist!
Here is the revised resume assignment:
Goal - To find work that I can sink my teeth into or to put it politely, something that will make a difference in the world.
Experience - I've worked as editor, photojournalist, researcher, content licensing, database administrator, archivist, reporter, graphic designer, adjunct instructor and have even done real estate sales throughout the last several years. The majority of my career has been in publishing, first print journalism and currently producing for web platforms.
Publications - My work appears in print and online media such as Waterbury Republican-American, Plainville Observer, AOL Patch, New Haven Magazine, Hartford Magazine, American History Magazine, Gannet Publishing Military Times Magazine, Southington Magazine, TheatreCT Magazine, TPO Magazine, CT News Junkie, The Christian Science Monitor and Record-Journal newspaper.
Skills - Adobe CS6 to include Premiere, PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Flash, Edge. HTML, CSS, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Wordpress.
Volunteer - I really enjoy working within a community helping others. I've done photography and web site design and administration to help out causes that spoke to me - for example Relay For Life, (who doesn't know someone who has suffered because of cancer?), portraits for the poor (Help Portrait), mentored photography students, food pantry work, and I help a friend who suffered a stroke leaving him paralyzed. I'd love to just volunteer but having a mortgage prevents me from doing that.
I didn't delete former resume post because it included personal information. Take a look for an in-depth view of my background: Does Resume Define Self?
I didn't delete former resume post because it included personal information. Take a look for an in-depth view of my background: Does Resume Define Self?
I really like this conversational toned resume. It gets across all of your skills and experience without being overbearing. I like how you worded your goal-- clever but not overdone.
ReplyDeleteGood job!
I have to admit I like this conversational approach much better than the bullets for the assignment. It's succinct and does not lessen your skills set. It feels like an opener that would entice the interview to ask more and want to delve deeper for specifics. Nice work. =o)
ReplyDeleteHi Margin
ReplyDeleteNice work on your resume posts. You touched on my first observation – what is someone going to do with all those bullet points? It’s not that the information is not important, but you have to deliver it better. You need to focus. How can you design your resume so that the first words that hit me at a glance give me an outline, or better yet, a narrative.
The Web is changing the resume from a document to an interactive conversation about you. The best way for you to manage your web presence is by contributing your best content. A Google search already gives me a better outline in its layout.
Your classic bullet point resume, your engaging memories of Newsday, and your cleanliness rewrite all lack one of the key elements of good content – a thesis.
To find work that I can sink my teeth into or to put it politely, something that will make a difference in the world.
That is a question, not an answer. It’s not even a hypothesis.
Think about young voices in their early days. Think of Ansel Adams. Was he always the photographer he eventually became? Of course not. An author writes in drafts. Adams took photographs until he took his photographs, just like every other photographer.
You are taking your photographs, in a sense, with every class assignment, but that goal up there is not audience friendly. A resume cannot ask. “Hey, what do you think I can do for you?” The best thing you can tell HR has always been – I am looking solely at your company because what I am ready to do and what you need are the same thing. But how many people were that passionate, focused, and self-aware in the past?
Now it is necessary. Even if it is a guess at this point, you need to give the interactive world a framework for understanding you. You have a great resume. Your rewrite summarizes your skills better. But I wish the Newsday memories focused more on your skills. A great interactive resume is a story that explains what you know and how you learned it. It’s an outline of your story and growth.
A Google search is the same thing. I get a feel for your keywords and then I look closer and hopefully find good stories and content.
The new resume assignment is an opportunity to gather your history, content, and goals. It gives you a chance to think about the keywords that define you.
But a skillset without a heading is still aimless.
As we get into arguments and unique theses, remember you are the most important thesis you need to conjure. You want to make a difference? Find a focus. Find your overall thesis. It is not easy.
But don’t ask HR (or the Web) if they need you. Tell them why they do.
@bumpspark - will try again. After writing thesis ideas in twitter that might help. I'm not really sure how to translate an idea into a skill performed. For the resume rewrite the writing before was intended to show how the industry changed and with it so did I. I can go into those specific functions I performed at Newsday and how they shaped who I am today. Is that what you mean?
DeleteIt's an option Margaret. But the content of a resume or "new resume" should support the overall goal. What do you want to promote towards what end? When you know that, then you can create content that supports it. I just liked the Newsday material because it was storytelling. In an interview, how do you answer most questions well? With a good story. Let's move on to thesis...
ReplyDelete