Hey Everyone,

Typically I wouldn't post something like this but I look up to a lot of you guys and would love your professional advice.

I am currently a computer science major (and math minor) at Western Washington University. For the past several summers (past 4 years) I have been going up to Alaska to work but as I approach the end of my college career (about a year and a half left for my BS) I am wanting to sway away from going up there and working harder at getting experience in my future field. Lately I have been looking around at various internships and I have found a few that I would love to do so that is my new goal, getting an internship this summer.

Working at Microsoft has always peaked my interest so I started looking into that a bit more. I have found where I apply for the internship, but before I send in my application and resume I want to redo my resume. Ever since high school I have been working, whether it be in Alaska or down here as an Assistant to a well known real estate agent or even working on dock.

I've recently redone my resume but I am starting to think I might have too much stuff on it. I am thinking it might be worth while to weed out things that might not be as pertinent. As it is right now, my resume is just over two pages. I've heard that ideally a resume should be one solid page.

As a group of successful business professionals, in your opinions, if you were one of the people reviewing incoming applications and resumes what would be things that you would look at?

I am just wanting to make myself stand out among all the others.

I really appreciate any comment, suggestion, tip, and pretty much anything in general. Thank you very much.

 

I've done some College recruiting so I might be able to help...

It should look something like:
- Educational info: maybe High school, college, GPA
- Relevant school projects: brief description, challenges, your role, what you learned. Keep it to a paragraph.
- Relevant Work experience: by relevant I mean CS related, brief description of you role, challenges, etc.
- Technical experience: Programming languages, Database technologies, etc.
- Honors and Awards.

My suggestions (this only applies to College applications):

- Keep it to one page if you can.
- Don't exagerate on your resume, I once had someone put on their resume they'd developed an E-mail server... (the interview didn't last long)
- For technical experience don't say you've been working with C++ for 5 years because you took a class in HS, just say how profficient you are, also please don't include IW apps like Word, Powerpoint, etc unless you do some fancy stuff like Macros.
- For work experience keep in CS related, also avoid putting down developing a web page unless it was something original and used cutting edge technologies like silverlight, ASP.NET, etc (anyone can write an HTML webpage).

For the interviews, use Programming Interviews Exposed to practice sample problems. You need to know your data structures and algorithms.

 

i think the above comments are very good. I'd add a couple of other things as I come from a different perspective.

1 page is a requirement, especially if you are coming out of college. NO SPELLING ERRORS, or in correct useage of words. For example, served in this ROLL for 2 years.

There was something very interesting in your life that you have done. You should have something on the resume that highlights it, but does not give all of the information. This will give you something to stand out in the interview.

Buy, download and read the article "Three things you need to know about your brand." You can find it at the Harvard Business School publishing website. As you read it, think about how it applies to you.

Read the Vault guide to IT interviews. Your career center probably has access, or a hard copy available to you for free.

At Microsoft, be ready for some of the most stupid questions (though they have a point) you can imagine. You may have heard about the 747 and golf *****, or other such non-sense. These are design to see how you think. So, when answering one of these questions with no right answer, be sure to do some thinking out loud. i.e. " I assume a Golf ball is 2 inches in Diameter, the 747 is 400 inches in diameter along the interior, and 4000 inches long, therefore....

Your resume should be about 98% serious, professional, hard working, accomplished, etc. Then one thing on there should show that you have a life, are caring, and fun. A great way to do that it to show that you volunteer for something you care about. This is likely something you do because you care about it and it is fun. Let them know. i.e. "I am passionate about ... organization. or, "Avid supporter of ... If you are not "passionate" or an "avid supporter, then do not say so. Just list it as an interest.


I hope that adds value to the answer to your question above.

Oh, one more thing, I don't remember what your interest in cars is, but if you are nuts about them and own one (or have something car related to talk about) then mention that. I have a note on mine that says active member of the Evergreen Lotus Car Club.

There are plenty of car people at MS. Your interviewer/resume reviewer may be a car person or my be good Friends/co-workers with one. It gives them something to say, "Hey Jim, check this out?" Want to interview him?

Remember, this is a US style resume, not a European CV. It is a one page advertisement about why they should keep reading, then interview, and then hire you for a role in the company. That is not to say that you cannot put an academic paper on there, but it's rather uncommon and unless it was published.

 

As a business owner, my advice is mostly what others have said:

- The resume is an example of an applicant's best work. If I find spelling/grammatical/usage errors in a resume, it is trashed. If that's an example of their best work, I don't think I can take their daily work.

- Keep it to one page.

- Note (relevant) projects/knowledge/experience that are not obvious from the regular headings.

- The goal is to get an interview. If you put too much detail in the resume, not only will it be too long, but then you have nothing to talk about.

- As you allude to or mention projects/abilities, try frame them from the stand point of "so what if you can do this?....what's the advantage to the company you want to join?" At some level, remember that your job is to solve their problems. The more you know about them, the issues they face and their culture, the more refined your resume can be.

Good luck.

 

everything on here i would echo, however the one page limit is where i disagree, especially in the it world because there is an expectation to jump around from company to company doing different projects. with as many projects i have worked on there is no way i can limit my experience to one page. my resume is actually 4 pages long and have never ever had trouble finding work. just because it has worked for me doesn't mean it will work for everyone else, but don't cut yourself short because you want it to be the old school one page limit.

 

Shoot me an email/pm with your resume. I am a co-owner of a small software company, and I might be able to get you an internship here. I've had two very positive experiences with giving internships, one of which led to a full-time career post-college.

Tip: Always get someone with English skills you admire to proof-read anything you send to a company for consideration (cover letter, resume etc). They'll pick up mistakes (such as 'peaked' instead of 'piqued') that can mean the difference between being considered or not (some hiring folks can be pedantic).

Tip #2: Avoid Microsoft. There are some 'pros' of working here, but heavily out-weighed by the 'cons'. The appeal and the reality are vastly different.

I can give you more info/advice if you're interested. I started writing software when I was 11, which is a few years ago (more than I care to admit).

Good luck with your future, whatever you decide to do!

 

If you are an experienced professional, more than one page is appropriate (still keeping it as short as possible). But, it was my understanding (misunderstanding?) from the original post that the person is just getting out of college. In that case, going on for pages is rarely appropriate...although there are exceptions.

 

Cole

forward me your resume. My wife is a PM at Boeing and maybe able to help

Jags

 

I am a recruiter and work mostly with executives for technology companies. I see a lot resumes. The advice in this thread is terrific and Bleu Omdurman offers some sage pointers, particularly honing in on your personal brand. If you can understand brand management and establishing a brand unique to your skills and experience, it will help tremendously in opening doors for opportunities.

The first one-third to 50% of real estate on the first page is critical in getting the attention of the recruiter/hiring manager. How you craft your resume is very important in keeping the reader engaged. If you haven't hooked them by halfway down the first page, you are probably done and destined for the recycling bin. My top pointers:

1. Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager and get in their frame of mind. If you can understand what will pique their interest in you, you can better craft your resume to get the first phone call. When you boil it down, most employers are hiring to address 3-5 major pain points to make their jobs easier and address deficiencies that the incumbent lacked. The job description will provide many clues to indicate these pain points (delivering on time, managing staff, working collaboratively, etc). Your resume must highlight how you can address these points and address the major requirements in order to increase your chances of getting a call.

2. Revise your resume specific to the job you are applying for. Put the job title at the top and in your objective statement and make it clear you are presenting yourself as a Sr Software Developer, Project Manager, Database Analyst, etc. Concrete accomplishments and relevant work experience are critical.

3. Use key words found in the job description and echo them in your resume, but don't lie or exaggerate. Only include bullet points that demonstrate your relevant qualifications. I prefer bullet points over prose as they are easier to read and convey an executive communication style.

4. I don't agree with the one-page rule unless you are coming right out of college. It's difficult to capture a career on just one page and you can do yourself a disservice by omitting important information. That said, try to keep it to 2-3 pages, 4 if you have been working for 20+ years. More than 4 pages will try the patience of any hiring manager and recruiter. What is more important is keeping everything relevant to the position. If you go beyond 1 page, make sure you have your name, contact info, and page number (1 of 3, 2 of 3, etc) on each page in case they get separated.

For an internship, emphasize your relevant education, clubs, activities, affiliations, etc. If you have other work experience, highlight the skills that would be transferrable: e.g., organization, proficient with Windows Office productivity applications, presentations, etc.

You're going about it the right way by reaching out to your network, including here. Most internships go to candidates that already have a relationship with someone at the company. The same can pretty much be said for jobs in general. Good luck and PM me if you have any other questions. Jim

 

Wow! You guys are amazing, thank you all so much. I really appreciate the time and effort taken to give some of those responses. I cannot thank you all enough. Due to the length of the responses I am not going to quote them all. .

FerRrari -- Thank you for the response and the breakdown of dos and don'ts.


Bleu Omdurman -- Thank you for the time and effort taken. I will be sure to fine tune my resume and read those articles that you suggested.
I know all about Microsoft (as well as several others) "silly" questions. Personally I love them and think they are a great way for an employer to test the applicants. They are a great way to show how you think.
So you think it would be a good idea to note that I am a member of BMWCCA in the interests section?
I really appreciate your response and I will try my best to take it all to heart and apply it.


RF5BPilot -- Thank you for the concise response and helpful tips.


lawin -- I think in my case however it would be better to have a solid page rather than a couple pages with all my stuff on it, don't you think? I am still in college and don't really have a lot of pertinent work experience. Thank you.


BritBlaster -- Thank you very much for the offer, once I am done I will be sure to send you a message with my resume and information.
- Haha. Yes, I will be sure to have the resume 100% free of erroneous english errors. I am typically fairly picky when it comes to that sort of thing so I can see how others would be as well.
- I am unsure if I would ever really want to work at Microsoft as career. But the idea of having an internship there caught my attention because how well known Microsoft is. I would think that it would be an excellent thing to have on the resume coming out of college because how well known they are. For example, if after college I moved somewhere else, Microsoft as a company is very well known and that possible future employer could immediately recognize them.
I thank you for the help, tips, and offer. I will be sure to keep in touch with you in the future. Any help and/or advice is more than appreciated, I really cannot thank you enough.


RF5BPilot -- Agreed.


jags911tt -- Thank you very much, Jag. Once I am done fine tuning the resume I will be sure to send it your way. You're the man

Side Note/ OT: Have you got your wheels yet?


Busta Rib -- Wow. Thank you very much, Jim. I really do appreciate the time you took for your response and the point by point breakdown. I will be sure to rethink things and try to put myself in the mindset of the other person. I'll have to try and think of ways to make myself come off as memorable . Thanks again.





To all of you:
I really cannot thank you all enough for your amazing help, it has really helped me and I am sure it will help others out as well.
A lot of you mentioned pointing out relevant information in my resume as far as job experience is concerned. This is one thing that is kind of concerning me. In my short life I have only really had three jobs, all of which I was asked to join. I have never had to send in a resume or go in for an interview. Since none of my past jobs have had much to do with my future goals should I just point out things that might be pertinent to jobs in general?
In Alaska I ran a general store the supplied thousands of fisherman, tenders, as well as the local village with food and general supplies. I originally went up as an assistant but after a short time (a few weeks) was promoted to manager due to some staffing issues. At the time I was 17 and new to the whole work thing. I was forced to work hard and keep things running in tip top condition. The store on average would have around $8,000 in sales per day, with some days in the $4x,xxx. Needless to say, it was a good amount of responsibility for a 17 year old. In my opinion it was a great first work experience, it taught me a lot about my work ethic. I had to do whatever it took to get the job done and in a fashionable manor. Typically working 90-125 hours a week I became accustomed to a long days work. As I continued to go up summer after summer my duties increased and the job became more diversified. Although my official job title was "store manager" my job duties greatly ranged from working and running the store to help out on the dock and even the boats. I have had to deal with bears, wolves, and even fisherman . Over the four years up there I have experienced a warehouse fire, pulling a body out of the river (RIP), and extreme working conditions. I could go on and on.
While down here I worked as a real estate assistant for one of the top agents in the area. I became a proficient photographer and photo editor, familar with contracts and official documents, built up my people skills (meetings, open houses, etcetera), dealt with marketing venues such as website management, fliers, banners, etcetera.
Sorry that kind of got off topic.

I would just like to thank you all again, I really can't thank you all enough.

 

Your welcome Cole - wheels for the CLS? They are on the way along with the lowering module.

 

This actually isn't the case anymore, at least not the common case. There were some changes to focus more on job skills for the problem solving. The more likely case is that you'll be asked about a situation, and you think you already have the solution, but then they'll throw in some twist or curve ball to completely throw out the standard idea you had. What is being looked for is your ability to solve the problem regardless of the constraints put on it.

I've probbably done over 40 interviews in the past 6 months. Some of us, including my whole org, have been explicitly told to not do any of those old type questions.

Thats said, we may have some intership positions on our team. If you want me to take a look at the resume just let me know. I work with our recruiter pretty often.

 

Sendero, Thanks for the update.

Cole, I think that things like this (helping each other) are a key part of forums like this. I'm glad what we have said was helpful.

Best of luck to you in your job search. I'm on a similar quest, though not IT related at all.

Cheers,

 

Of course the CLS... unless you're getting new ones for the Pcar too. haha. Cant wait to see everyone on.

Ah darn, I liked those kinds of questions. Thank you for that little tid bit of information.

I'll definitely be sure to send you a message once I get everything together. Goal is to have it done by next week. Would be sooner but I have some projects at school going on that are taking priority. Thank you very much.



I typically hate doing things like this just because I know this forum is an escape from work for a lot of you and I just hate bothering you all. I truly treasure all of the information in which I have got throughout this though, it really has been a big help. I definitely have a lot of work and lot of improvement left.

Best of luck in your endeavors as well.

 

Hey

I don't mean to hijack this thread from Cole, but this thread has been quite informative for me as well. I just left(laid off) my search marketing specialist roll at Marchex Inc and now currently searching for new employment. If any of you know of any positions that are open please allow me to forward on my resume to any of you. I feel in this current job market searching out all venues is pivotal to success.

Cheers
Tom