Building your resume updates#30475
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Content: Getting Hired
mao-sz
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mao-sz
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I wouldn't be the most appropriate to review the contents of this PR/lesson but a couple of comments.
- Our headings need to be in sentence case instead of title case.
- I'd want to look at the "optional reading" section and consider if that's something that's worth integrating into the main lesson content/assignment itself, or if it can be dropped given the scope of the lesson and the existing content. It's basically and "Additional resource" but not by that name (heading structure not carried over).
For whoever reviews this in more depth, I wonder if this is actually appropriate as a project. I'm not seeing anything particularly project-y about this contents, and so it may be best converted to a lesson, which would mean adding "Lesson overview" and "Knowledge check" sections as appropriate, changing the name of this file, then going to the website repo to change the appropriate details in the db fixtures.
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@BryanF1nes Left a bunch of comments with some of the bigger questions that came to mind.
Once you've addressed those, would you be open to working together on tightening up some of the phrasing for clarity? I'm happy to collaborate in a Google Doc.
| ### Introduction | ||
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| The goal of a resume is to get them interested enough to start a conversation. From there, it's on you to speak intelligently about the things you've done. So don't treat the resume as the catch-all repository of your whole life -- it's more of a focused marketing tool designed to make you seem worth taking another look at. | ||
| The goal of a resume is to show the recruiter/hiring manager that you meet the minimum qualifications for the role in which you are applying for. From there, it's on you to speak intelligently and confidently about the things you've done. So don't treat the resume as the catch-all repository of your whole life -- it's more a document that gives the recruiter/hiring manager confidence that you meet the qualifications for the role that they are hiring for. |
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I'm wondering if the phrasing could be different here.
I don't know that I personally thing we need to express the minimum qualifications on a resume. The reality is that us applying don't actually know what those are. I wonder if phrasing it more like "The goal of a resume is to show the recruiter/hiring manager that we have familiarity with some of the technologies for the role you are applying for." Doesn't have to be exactly that.
I'm raising this since I don't think anyone will know exactly what the requirements to be considered are. Someone applying for a role might be applying while not knowing 50% of the technologies and they might be a stronger candidate than someone who does know all the technologies.
| As an example if you are applying for a frontend developer position you will likely see keywords like `HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, APIs etc.`. So when writing out your bullet points you should keep this in mind. Having something that reads like: `Crafted a responsive Weather App using HTML and CSS that connected to external RESTful APIs using JavaScript to give real time weather information to the end user.` When the recruiter/hiring manager is looking over your resume they will be able to pick out those keywords quickly, then if they come back to make sure you didn't just put down some keywords they will see the what, why, and how you were able to build something with that technology. | ||
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| Knowing that perspective, how can you play to it? It's difficult if you're breaking into a new industry so you'll need to emphasize relevant education, work experience and projects in a way that crafts a story of drive and capability. What have you done that shows you're highly capable (e.g. your technical chops, any recognition you've received, leadership of teams)? And can get shit done (e.g. interesting projects, open source contributions)? | ||
| Recently a trend has emerged where skill sections are used everywhere, either on GitHub pages, Resumes, portfolios, etc. While these may seem useful in the moment, they are anything but. From a hiring manager or a recruiters perspective they are all but useless, they want to know whether you actually understand the technologies listed. |
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Can you share more about what you mean by "skill sections"? My assumption is that you mean the things people post were it's like:
JS - 4 stars out of 5
CSS - 5 stars out of 5
Or were you referring to something else?
| - [Novorésumé also has a free tier with templates available, as an alternate resource](https://novoresume.com/) | ||
| - Formatting could use some work, but here’s an [example resume from CareerCup.com](https://www.gayle.com/resume) | ||
| - [Another great (totally free) resume builder](https://flowcv.io/) | ||
| When crafting your resume you will likely be going through different iterations. You may also be crafting multiple resumes to send out to different positions, for example like we discussed earlier, you may have a resume that is tailored and using keywords that focus more on a frontend position. Another that uses keywords, projects, and other information that is more backend focused. There is nothing wrong with having different resumes for different positions, it helps the hiring manager/recruiter to quickly identify the keywords that align with that position which will give you a higher chance of being successful in your job search. Another thing to keep in mind is that your resume is not supposed to win any sort of awards. Its purpose is to tell the recruiter or hiring manager that you are qualified for the position in which you are applying and to hopefully give them the confidence that you can come in and hit the ground running instead of holding yourself and the company back from progressing. |
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I think this statement reminds me of the comment I made about about the issue of meeting qualifications. I think an adjustment to something like "tell the recruiter you are familiar with some of the technologies..."
I also don't know how I feel about the issue of proving we can hit the ground running, especially for people pursuing entry level roles. I think anyone will need onboarding time and any reasonable employer won't expect people to hit the ground running. I wonder if we could change the phrasing to be more like: "...and to hopefully give them the confidence that you have the experience, habit, and skill of learning new things quickly."
| When crafting your resume you will likely be going through different iterations. You may also be crafting multiple resumes to send out to different positions, for example like we discussed earlier, you may have a resume that is tailored and using keywords that focus more on a frontend position. Another that uses keywords, projects, and other information that is more backend focused. There is nothing wrong with having different resumes for different positions, it helps the hiring manager/recruiter to quickly identify the keywords that align with that position which will give you a higher chance of being successful in your job search. Another thing to keep in mind is that your resume is not supposed to win any sort of awards. Its purpose is to tell the recruiter or hiring manager that you are qualified for the position in which you are applying and to hopefully give them the confidence that you can come in and hit the ground running instead of holding yourself and the company back from progressing. | ||
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| ### Optional reading | ||
| One misconception is that you need to keep your resume one page, while in most scenarios it's easier to read and visually more appealing to have a one page resume it's not the end of the world if you have to go past one page. Just know that most recruiters or hiring managers may not make it to your second page. So keep as many of the relevant keywords, experience, education, and projects near the top of the first page. |
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I know this is very subjective but for entry level roles, I think my assumption would be to expect a lot of fluff if an entry level candidate has a multi-page resume.
I'd love to hear more opinions on this but I don't know that we want to tell learners multi-page resumes are fine. But, again, just my opinion. 😅
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| ### Do Not Get Discouraged | ||
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| The hiring manager will determine if you meet the minimum qualifications of the job listing in less than 20 seconds. At first glance, they will look for your education level if you have one, who's hired you before, and if you've got any really interesting projects that stand out. The hiring manager rapidly builds a checklist to see if you meet the qualifications of the job listing you've applied for. If you managed to meet those minimum requirements along with some other factors you may receive a call to continue forward in the hiring process. Do not be discouraged if you don't however, there are multiple factors to account for when it comes to whether or not you are selected to move on or not. The best thing to keep in mind is that you continue to grow and build projects and try and gain any relevant experience in the position you're applying for. Remember to keep looking at those keywords and see where you are lacking and then go out and learn and build projects using those technologies. |
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Wonder if we want to phrase the opening differently like "The hiring manager will determine of they want to invite you into their interview process within the first 20 seconds of examining your resume."
The phrase "Remember to keep looking at those keywords and see where you are lacking and then go out and learn and build projects using those technologies." feels like it can send learners down rabbit holes. I don't think learners should go learn all the technologies they see on resumes. It's not practical to go learn everything they see on a job posting. It's also common for people to get hired despite not knowing all the technologies listed on job postings.
I do think it's good for people to give themselves space to go learn something new. But I also feel like it's worth calling out that they shouldn't be seeking to learn everything and that people regularly get hired despite not checking off every technology on a job posting.
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| The hiring manager will determine if you meet the minimum qualifications of the job listing in less than 20 seconds. At first glance, they will look for your education level if you have one, who's hired you before, and if you've got any really interesting projects that stand out. The hiring manager rapidly builds a checklist to see if you meet the qualifications of the job listing you've applied for. If you managed to meet those minimum requirements along with some other factors you may receive a call to continue forward in the hiring process. Do not be discouraged if you don't however, there are multiple factors to account for when it comes to whether or not you are selected to move on or not. The best thing to keep in mind is that you continue to grow and build projects and try and gain any relevant experience in the position you're applying for. Remember to keep looking at those keywords and see where you are lacking and then go out and learn and build projects using those technologies. | ||
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| Knowing that perspective, how can you play to it? It's difficult if you're breaking into a new industry so you'll need to emphasize relevant education, work experience and projects in a way that crafts a story of drive and capability. What have you done that shows you're highly capable (e.g., your technical chops, any recognition you've received, leadership of teams)? And can get shit done (e.g. interesting projects, open source contributions)? |
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I'm pretty casual but I don't know if we should have the word shit in the lesson. 😅 Perhaps there is another way to express the sentiment?
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| 1. This Resume Guide [Resume Creation Guide](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/655d4d0eee15a6053d4345f2/t/68598b9ff8194a1adc980c45/1750698912277/_How+to+Get+a+Job+by+Lee+the+Headless+Headhunter.pdf) was created by an active recruiter with the intention of avoiding common resume mistakes made in today's market. |
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Wonder if we could change this to "was created by a recruiter" and leave out "active"? They may not be active forever and feels like this will save us from a future edit.
| 1. This Career Tool Belt article lists [6 free resume builder websites](https://web.archive.org/web/20230930114027/https://www.careertoolbelt.com/5-best-free-resume-builder-websites/) | ||
| 1. [Novorésumé also has a free tier with templates available, as an alternate resource](https://novoresume.com/) | ||
| 1. Formatting could use some work, but here’s an [example resume from CareerCup.com](https://www.gayle.com/resume) | ||
| 1. [Another great (totally free) resume builder](https://flowcv.io/) |
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I wonder if we could just invite people to google for resume builders? Especially since the first link is about finding a few different resume builders.
Perhaps we could invite them to research for a few and try them and decide which fits their preferences?
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This PR addresses an issue request that was created to enhance the resume project within the getting hired section. It's purpose is to give additional information on how the hiring managers and recruiters review resumes and how we can leverage that information to create a better resume.
This PR
Issue
Closes #30259
Additional Information
N/A
Pull Request Requirements
location of change: brief description of changeformat, e.g.Intro to HTML and CSS lesson: Fix link textBecausesection summarizes the reason for this PRThis PRsection has a bullet point list describing the changes in this PRIssuesection