9 replies to this topic

[Melchoire]

I'm gonna be going for another work term and I've been told by my advisor that my old resume is too "bland". And she's right, it's just a header with my information then sections where I list different relevant items like education, projects and employment. The kind of resume you see templates for a lot.

I wanted to make it more unique, and give the employer something that stands out in the pile.

I looked around and I found this: http://files.mattale..._2011-10-03.pdf

I followed that outline and was very pleased with the result. But the way the application system works, is I submit my ms-word files to the website and their software converts it to .pdf format. That software doesn't have the fonts that I used and it ends up converting it all to Arial and it just looks awful. Furthermore, electronic copies of the pdfs are sent to the employers and I can't be guaranteed that they're gonna print them off in landscape at their offices and they might look at my resume and just sack it.

To make a long story short, I was wondering if anyone has nice resume templates they're willing to share with me.

[Boggart]

I think I have a few for cover letters, or are you strictly looking for resumes?

[Melchoire]

Boggart, on 17 January 2012 - 09:12 PM, said:

I think I have a few for cover letters, or are you strictly looking for resumes?

You're kind to offer, but yeh just resumes. It's the first thing the employer looks at and I want it to stand out.

[redlion]

Melchoire, on 17 January 2012 - 09:52 PM, said:

You're kind to offer, but yeh just resumes. It's the first thing the employer looks at and I want it to stand out.

Strictly speaking, if you've included a cover letter, that's the first thing an employer looks at. But not all employers require a cover letter, or even want one anymore. I don't send out a cover letter with my resume/cv unless an employer specifically asks for one.

I based my current resume on a template from Pages, the Mac equivalent of MS Works. Of course I heavily modified it as it used all sorts of funny, cursive fonts and weird indentations, but still, that's one place to look if you have only been using MS Word.

[Melchoire]

redlion, on 18 January 2012 - 10:45 PM, said:

Strictly speaking, if you've included a cover letter, that's the first thing an employer looks at. But not all employers require a cover letter, or even want one anymore. I don't send out a cover letter with my resume/cv unless an employer specifically asks for one.

I based my current resume on a template from Pages, the Mac equivalent of MS Works. Of course I heavily modified it as it used all sorts of funny, cursive fonts and weird indentations, but still, that's one place to look if you have only been using MS Word.

I've seen those and honestly they all looked pretty generic to me.

[soul__stealer]

redlion, on 18 January 2012 - 10:45 PM, said:

Strictly speaking, if you've included a cover letter, that's the first thing an employer looks at. But not all employers require a cover letter, or even want one anymore. I don't send out a cover letter with my resume/cv unless an employer specifically asks for one.

I based my current resume on a template from Pages, the Mac equivalent of MS Works. Of course I heavily modified it as it used all sorts of funny, cursive fonts and weird indentations, but still, that's one place to look if you have only been using MS Word.

Well;
I did 3 years as a production manager (which included employing and firing staff) and in 2010 was sent to my current employers HR department (due to my previous management experience) when I broke my leg and couldn't work out on the field.

When in the most recent 'HR' role, I performed a number of tasks for the qualified HR admins including;
Reviewing and scoring Resumes for the next role (they gave me a number of test ones first before concluding I was more then capable)
Screening Applicants via telephone interviews and (once again) rating them based on their answers.

I can tell you that a majority of companies still look for a cover letter. The trick to a suitable cover letter is for it to do the following in the least amount of space as possible;
State the position you are applying for.
State where and when you saw the advertsment for the position.
State why you think you would be a prime candidae for the job.
Quickly gloss over your previous experience.

Your cover letter should be kept short and simple. 1-2 paragraphs, 3 at the most, and no more than 1/2 and A4 page of content not including your name, address etc.

As for your Resume,
Do not disclose your age. Companies cannot legally ask this, so there is no need to disclose it. If you do disclose your age, they may chose another candiate
Keep it as short as possible. 3 pages (not including your cover letter) at the most if you can (this does not include supporting documentation such as proof of qualification etc).

If you wanted to PM me your Resume (you can remove your name if you'd like) and your cover letter, I could take a look at it for you and possibly provide further assistance.

[ilovepolkadots]

soul__stealer, on 18 January 2012 - 11:56 PM, said:

Well;
I did 3 years as a production manager (which included employing and firing staff) and in 2010 was sent to my current employers HR department (due to my previous management experience) when I broke my leg and couldn't work out on the field.

When in the most recent 'HR' role, I performed a number of tasks for the qualified HR admins including;
Reviewing and scoring Resumes for the next role (they gave me a number of test ones first before concluding I was more then capable)
Screening Applicants via telephone interviews and (once again) rating them based on their answers.

I can tell you that a majority of companies still look for a cover letter. The trick to a suitable cover letter is for it to do the following in the least amount of space as possible;
State the position you are applying for.
State where and when you saw the advertsment for the position.
State why you think you would be a prime candidae for the job.
Quickly gloss over your previous experience.

Your cover letter should be kept short and simple. 1-2 paragraphs, 3 at the most, and no more than 1/2 and A4 page of content not including your name, address etc.

As for your Resume,
Do not disclose your age. Companies cannot legally ask this, so there is no need to disclose it. If you do disclose your age, they may chose another candiate
Keep it as short as possible. 3 pages (not including your cover letter) at the most if you can (this does not include supporting documentation such as proof of qualification etc).

If you wanted to PM me your Resume (you can remove your name if you'd like) and your cover letter, I could take a look at it for you and possibly provide further assistance.

agreed
as far as college advising for graduate schools and internships it is still highly recommended that a cover letter is used
also if you are submitting your resume via email it is best for the cover letter to take the place of the email message - since it is a formal explanation of your interests in the job/program/etc



and for anyone who may be interested in a different site :: https://unc.optimalr...e.com/login.php
(^) is the webbie i use and that is generally recommended at my university
easy to use and edit

oh and using this site your resume can be properly formatted into all of the following::

• Microsoft® Word Compatible
• PDF
• HTML
• Plain Text

[havocide3]

An employer gets a stack of 100 resumes. 99 of them are portrait, one landscape. If they have to turn their head to read it, they're going to push it into the garbage along with 89 other undesirables.

[Melchoire]

havocide3, on 20 January 2012 - 09:24 PM, said:

An employer gets a stack of 100 resumes. 99 of them are portrait, one landscape. If they have to turn their head to read it, they're going to push it into the garbage along with 89 other undesirables.

That was my thought, they probably wouldn't even print it in landscape, it would just get crammed in a portrait and look like a mess...

[soul__stealer]

Melchoire, on 20 January 2012 - 10:45 PM, said:

That was my thought, they probably wouldn't even print it in landscape, it would just get crammed in a portrait and look like a mess...

Unless using extremely out dated software / printers, it should automatically be recognized as landscape and printed properly... I have t seen a printer that failed to do this in the past 5 years or so...