Write a resume correctly or “know how to smile and bake pancakes”

Update article “Write a resume correctly or“ know how to smile and bake pancakes. ”

To begin with, I'm an IT recruiter. This text expresses only my opinion on the issue of resume writing. This does not mean that my colleagues in the industry think the same. Perhaps with something, they agree, with something not.

Yes, I confess, in the original version of an article published some time ago, I somewhat categorically expressed my opinion about the availability and quality of a photo in a resume. Let's do this: put a photo or not - you decide. From my own experience I can only say that:
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1. Working in an IT recruitment agency, I communicate with candidates only by phone and it is psychologically more comfortable for me to visualize a person visually. Maybe you too. Often the employment process is stretched for weeks or even months. During this period, I am in correspondence with the candidate, talking on the phone and in Skype. I worry about it, especially if the resume review process is somehow delayed, and the person urgently needs work. If the story ends well, and the candidate is invited to the company, I am happy. And so from day to day, and from month to month. A person becomes already something close to me. And without imagining it visually - a bit more complicated and somehow sadder, or something, is worked.

Therefore, the photo in the resume is important for me as a recruiter.

2. For a manager who is looking for a specialist to join a team - a photo in a candidate’s resume may be important for another reason: he and his colleagues will work with this person 8 hours a day 5 days a week. And I want a man fit into the team. Of course, to understand whether a specialist will fit into a team, or not, is possible only at an interview, and that is not always the case. But you will not invite everyone to the interview, the manager has little time for this. In this case, the photo is one of the filters for him to save time.

Based on this, decide whether to place a photo in a resume, and which one - to you. I just tried to explain why this might be indirectly useful when looking for work.

And finally, before you start, finally, to read the article itself, I want to ask you - do not hesitate to comment! Your opinion is very important to me, because you are my friends, or colleagues in the industry or those I call every day, saying: “Hello, I found your resume ...”

On duty, I look through HeadHunter, Linkedin and many other resources every day to search for IT specialists of various kinds.
Being on the other side of HeadHunter, I can't help wondering at the ingenuity of those who are in search of work.
I propose to talk about how to effectively position yourself in the labor market.
Proper selling resume is the first and main step to the dream job.
Recommendations will be practical, proven on their own experience from both the applicant and the recruiter.

By the way, a couple of months ago, the 3dstepych habraiser was interested in this topic and in the comments there was a lively discussion of what the IT resume should be ( the post itself )

There are a lot of articles on the topic “how to write a resume”, but from practice - if I see every day a number of examples worthy of a detailed “debriefing”, then there is also “a field for activity”, so I suggest that you go over the criteria of a correct resume, Moreover, the labor market does not stand still and what was completely irrelevant 2-3 years ago is now in trend.

Today, every corner is talking about "selling texts", "selling events", about how important it is to be able to sell. How do sales relate to the job search process? Totally direct!
Let me tell you a secret: there are no ideal employers, there are no ideal vacancies, and there are no ideal candidates. Therefore, in the labor market there is space for sales: the recruiter “sells” the vacancy to the candidate, and the candidate “sells himself” to the recruiter.

For a person looking for work in standard ways (posting resumes on job sites), the main task is to write the relevant desired position of the resume and attract the attention of the recruiter.
* Recruiter - a person who is looking for a resume of candidates for a vacancy and conducts an initial interview. As a rule, telephone.

Let's write the correct selling resume. Let us consider the example of a well-known Hh.ru template. By the way, my resume helped me get a job without experience and education in exactly the area I wanted to - IT recruiting.

So:

One resume - one position

While reading “web-programmer / IT specialist / system administrator” one can not help thinking about whether this candidate is able to do anything at all in these areas or is catching “good luck”.
If you are considering different work options for yourself, write a separate resume for each position.
And, by the way, everywhere indicate the salaries are the same or with a difference of + - 5 tr.
The summary of the same person “Head of IT department” for 90.000 p. Looks strange. and "Internet marketer" for 55.000 p. - I just want to say "you decide, comrade."

Contacts

It is useful to specify in the summary except phone and mail, also Skype. This will help the recruiter to quickly contact you, see when you are online and interact quickly in the course of your selection process for a job.
Do not worry, you will write only in the case. And time is saved enough. Sometimes for 5 lines in Skype chat it is possible to understand whether the candidate and the recruiter have mutual interest in each other. In addition, contacts in Skype remain, the recruiter renames them (changes the nickname to the first and last name, also indicates the area, for example JS) and when a new vacancy appears, offers it first of all to “warm contacts” in Skype and in professional networks.

It is no secret that in addition to the job sites there are also professional social networks. Linkedin is the most popular among them. About 40% of Linkedin users work in IT and, as a result, recruiters are frequent guests there. Having a profile in “Link”, and specifying a link to it in the resume, you increase your rating in the eyes of the recruiter and increase your own chances of finding work in a large company and in an interesting project.

On Hh.ru and other specialized sites for job search only 20-30% of vacancies are posted. At the other positions, recruiters are looking for candidates on their own, without having an incoming stream of responses. As a rule, this search is not limited to job sites. Linkedin and Moy Krug are excellent platforms for job search (in the professional networks vacancies are also posted) and for searching for candidates.
I am actively looking for Linkedin. By the way, from observations: PHP programmers respond well to vacancies when I write them to Vkontakte.
Sometimes in large companies there is a requirement not to show candidates from Hh.ru, and without having a LinkedIn profile you become “invisible” to recruiters. What if he is looking for a specialist for the vacancy of your dreams?

Possibility of moving

There was not a day when I would not call nonresident candidates with a job offer in St. Petersburg.
Seriously thinking about moving somewhere? Ready to leave in 2-3 weeks? Do you know where exactly you would like to move? - well! Then feel free to indicate the possibility of moving and do not forget to mention the city (s) where you would like to live.
Nonresident candidates are called frequently. And it is precisely in connection with the fact that they said in the resume that they were ready to move.
So if you are not ready, or strongly doubt - do not write about the move. Do not mislead recruiters and do not waste your time.

Photo - highly desirable

Creative IT community here also does not hold. Images of anime characters, comic book characters, photos of Scott Pilgrim and images of a monkey (!) - there is anything.
Photography is what attracts the recruiter’s attention to your resume, but it should be a positive consideration. A portrait that reflects your character, interests, mood - this is what will be beneficial to distinguish your resume from others.
Regarding “creative” - it is possible that the more experience you have and the steeper it is, the more unusual the image in the resume can be. In this case, forgive. When I see such examples - I smile and call the candidate. But if you are a Junior, your decision is a portrait.

Now that the formal moments have been edited, let's move on to the first block of basic information in the resume — to work experience.

You know the technology - write about them!

If you are ITshnik, specify in each place of work those technologies that you use. Just writing, for example, PHP is not enough. You will appear with the issuance of many requests, but your resume will not in all cases be relevant vacancies. If I'm looking for someone who works with the Zend framework, then I make up a search query for keywords like this: PHP AND (Zend OR Doctrine). And, the drum roll, if you are working with this framework, but it is not specified for you (and why, they say, I will tell it in my voice at the interview) - you will not get to the interview, because you will receive your resume on Hh.ru will not be!
Conclusion: write both general technologies (for example, PL), and particular ones, because they sometimes play a decisive role.

In the work experience, write at least a couple of sentences about the essence of the project.

Often the customer asks that candidates have experience in a similar project. But how will the recruiter understand whether you have worked with a similar project or not, if you have not written a word about the essence of the project?
If you are a system administrator, and you do not have a project as such, specify the number of computer users in the company to which you have been working or are working now. This will help assess the scope of your business and the complexity of the systems you have encountered.

Done (self) / Made - I! * Or the devil is in the details

Wrote about the essence of the project and indicated technology?
Now be sure to add a verbal description of your work.
If we are talking about a “selling resume”, then you should pay attention to this text. A more confident look is a resume, where the essence of the work is written as a completed case, and not in an impersonal form.
For example: instead of “design, development of architecture and modules of a large, high-load Internet portal“ ... ”it is better to write“ I participated in the design, developed the architecture and modules of a large, high-loaded Internet portal ”.

Layout of the interfaces of the modules according to the design of the layouts / verstal interfaces of the modules according to the design of the layouts.

Teamwork using GIT and SVN version control systems / Worked in a team, using GIT and SVN version control systems.

Show your professional growth. Manage overall experience experience

If there were a lot of work places in your work history, but in many of them you worked for 2-6 months, do not include everything in the resume. The employer is incredulous about such a candidate. It is clear that you had good reasons to quit after several months of work, but for the employer this is not an argument.
Take a general look at your job experience. Do not split it into a large number of companies. If you are 23-28 years old, then 3-5 companies in this section are enough. More - bust.
Specify only those companies in which work has brought you real benefits: you have grown professionally, gained valuable experience, worked in a high load project, managed the group.
Make sure that from your first job in the current growth was traced. If there was a moment when you briefly lost ground - it is better not to mention this, so as not to spoil the overall picture.
How to hide temporary gaps in work experience? Add a month to the previous and next job. Say that you rested for some time on available savings, left for a long journey. At first nobody will check this information in detail at first, and then you will surely show yourself to be a real guru at a new place of work and it won't come to your head to delve into your past.

Key skills or “know how to smile and bake pancakes!”

This section is read and carefully enough! That is why, first, write in those “key skills” once again those mysterious names and abbreviations of the technologies you work with.
It will be great if you make a rating: at the top, what you know best and what you work with all the time, then what you have encountered, or are studying now.
After the technical part feel free to write about personal qualities. It is better to avoid the “responsible, executive and sociable” templates. Shivers takes when I see in the job descriptions “young, dynamic company”. This is a button accordion. So “responsible, executive and sociable” is also a button accordion, but among the candidates.
What to write in the section “key skills” about yourself? Write about those traits that you think are required in the desired position.
If this is a development - attention, the ability to write clean code, whether you like or dislike working in a team. Argue for one or another point of view.
If the project management - customer focus, time management skills, charisma.
Write about your hobbies, what you learn in your free time.

New field / little experience: why me?



Separately, I want to note the situation when you write a resume for a position in a new field for you, or when you have really little experience, but you are 100% sure that you will cope with the duties you are applying for.
Look at your work experience differently: what of your skills has value (direct or indirect) in the desired field and position?
Advanced companies have long been no longer hiring just for technical skills. This is not enough. Almost all the technical subtleties can be trained. The nature of the person will change very difficult.
Why is this post just for you? Why do you dream of making a career in this field? Why do you need to give a chance and the employer will not lose? Do you know how to work on the result? Do you learn quickly? Do you understand the future of this sphere and see the potential in it?
For example, milling for a large number of projects, you learned how to work in multitasking mode. Write how it can be useful in the work of the project manager? You are able to efficiently perform your duties in multitasking mode, have time to keep track of everything and immediately and attentive to details, read the deadlines and do everything so that the project is delivered on time.

Cover letter or “I responded, but I am not interested in the vacancy”



Of course, on work sites and in professional soc. Networks are far from being the entire list of vacancies, but still if you are in search of work, you should monitor open offers on the labor market and respond to vacancies.
By sending a response, write the cover letters. There are a lot of responses and for the recruiter to pay attention to your resume, he must first “buy” the cover letter that you compiled at the time of the response.
“Hello, I am interested in your vacancy” - which of you did not write such cover letters in vacancy responses?
This section makes me particularly quivering feelings, because to receive feedback with such “original and useful” text of my strength is gone!

Absolute evil: “Hello, I am interested in your job.” Of course, you are interested in it, since you respond to it. Why repeat the obvious?
If you respond to a vacancy, write a competent cover letter, otherwise your response risks being not viewed.
What to write? The main thing! Namely: about their skills in the context of a vacancy, i.e. pay special attention to those points. which are indicated in the job description as key. Note that you have them, but do not get carried away.
Writing in the cover letter to the vacancy of the coder that the candidate has 13 years of leadership experience and a couple of his own businesses behind him is unnecessary. Since you are so cool, why do you need layout? Go immediately to manage the IT department and do not fool your head. Not? Then do not write about this experience. In this position, it is useless. More important is knowledge of HTML5 and CSS3.



I hope my recommendations will help habrayusers, because at least once each of us had to (or just have to) write a resume and really wanted your work not to be wasted and the dream job found you.

A great example of a cover letter: