I just went through the hiring grind (I was the manager hiring a tech), and I can tell you a few things to watch out for.
First of all, there are a *lot* of resumes out there right now, so understand that you have a lot of competition. This means that you have to do something to stand out from the crowd so you'll be noticed. 1) Don't send a "generic" resume. Tailor your resume for the company you're sending it to. This can mean as little as a well-written, targeted cover letter to as much as completely rewriting your summary of qualifications. You are a product. Make the package appealing to *me*. 2) Don't give a laundry list of things you done or know. Frankly, when I see multiple lines (or even paragraphs) of software, etc. (Like Experienced with Quattro Pro, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, vi, emacs, PIX firewalls, ISS RealSecure, TCP/IP, blah, blah, blah), my eyes glaze over and I start moving to the next resume. Unless the hiring company is looking for specific experience (which you *should* mention), you don't need to list every single software package you've ever used. 3) Do organize your resume with headers for each section, so it's easy to spot the things the hiring manager is looking for. Nothing gets a resume in the trash faster than a full page or pages of text with nothing separating it. 4) Do list accomplishments *that relate to* the job you're seeking. What you've *done* is more important than what you *know* and it needs to relate to what I need. You might be the greatest firewall guy in the world, but if I'm looking for a policy guy, you need to address policy development, not firewall administration. 5) Use whitespace to organize your resume (as I've done with this list.) It's much easier to scan a resume that is broken into logical sections than one that "runs on" line after line. 6) Create a "professional" looking resume. Nothing screams "hire me" more than a well done, well organized resume. Nothing screams "don't hire me" more than a resume with grammatical and spelling errors, poor organization or lack of focus. Remember, your resume is your first impression. If it isn't a good one, you may not ever get the chance to make another impression, especially when resumes are a dime a dozen. 7) Give *serious* thought to how your experience and knowledge relates to the position you're applying for and make those connections in your resume. The same individual can make themselves look like an admin for an admin position and a security pro for a security pro position. It all depends on how you package the experience and knowledge you have. (I'm not telling anyone to "fudge" or "lie" though. That won't get you anywhere.) Really *think* about how you can relate yourself to the job description. 8) Most importantly, be honest about your capabilities. I'll hire a guy who's honest and admits that he lacks something *before* I'll hire a guy who claims he rules the world. But word it well. For example, "Although I haven't managed the development of policies, my input has been invaluable in the development of them." This sounds much better than, "have been on policy development committee". Paul Schmehl ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Supervisor of Support Services The University of Texas at Dallas AVIEN Founding Member http://www.utdallas.edu/~pauls/
