Improve Your Resume: Get Tips from Technical Professionals

[david90]

I need tips on improving my resume. I know this forum is not for this type of question but I really want opinions/tips from people who are in the same field. I let a "generic" resume counselor @ my school read my resume but I can tell that she didn't understand a thing on my resume. She's not technical. She corrected some grammar errors but that is it.

Here's my resume

http://www.csupomona.edu/~hqvu/resume.doc

Thanks everybody.

 

[Corneo]

You should consider shrinking this down to 1 page for starters.

 

[berkeman]

-- First sentence, "look" --> "looks"

-- In the Summary section, "Print & Apply Automation" is capitalized, but in the Work Experience section, it is not.

-- In work experience, you say "Tutored math and science to high school ...", but I would say "for high school ..."

-- In the Skills section, "Digital Circuits design" --> "Digital Circuit Design" (and I would add a couple specific areas where you have done some design work)

-- Consider adding more specific details into each of the bullets in your Skills section. I like to see a lot of detail there, and I generally ask a few interview questions based on what details you list. Like, if you go into some specifics of some DSP work that you've done, I'll definitely ask you about it to see if you have a good intuitive understanding of what you've done.

-- Skills section, "Test equipments" --> "Test equipment"

-- Skills section, "Operating system" --> "Operating systems" (and list which ones, but be prepared to answer detailed questions about anything on your resume).

-- Under Current Projects, you say to visit your website, but I didn't see one listed anywhere. When you update the placeholders for your name, e-mail address, etc., be sure to list your website URL.

-- I wouldn't worry about getting your resume down to one page. Different interviewers have different preferences, but pretty much every resume I see is at least two pages (although they are usually for senior R&D engineer types). I like to see lots of specific details on a resume, so it will generally have to be at least two pages to accommodate the details.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[antoker]

Hmmm, you've got some good points there...

 

[Panda]

Where did that other thread go?
The one where the poster kindly posted all his personal; details for hackers?

I did a quite exhaustive reply on the sort of thing I look for in a CV. If you could ressurect that Mr Berkeman it may be of use here.

In general if that arrived on my desk in amongst the other 50 odd, whilst short it doesn't stand out.

Page 1 should contain all the salient points about you including your Name in BIG letters, Sooooo Big I can see your CV from the other side of the office. Small photo is a nice touch too preferably clothed.

Next 2 pages I like to see what the person knows. Yours it quite short so probably would fit onto a page, better to keep it concise rather than waffle. Order it in importance to the role so I don't have to read the 10 yards breast stroke certificate before i get to the Nobel Prize for Quantum Physics.

Last page, tell me something about yourself that makes me want to employ you. Your personal skills, outside interests that you could bring inside the office (sky diving is better here than president of the School Dungeons and dragons society), but I want you to tell me that you are a go getter who takes the bull by the horns and gets that job done.

Then references, not too important. If I like somebodies CV, I'll speak to them, If the CV matches the person I'm talking to, I'll give them a go, I never ask for references, that's a job for HR.

Don't take this the wrong way, I am a very blunt speaker and I believe that as this is your career it s important say what i think. Your CV looks really really plain. Get a better Font, Utilise Font sies and the White space on the page to highlight the things that are important. If there are 50 people going for a job your CV needs to stand out.Your post education CV is probably the most important one, as you are not entering the job arket based on your experience.

EDIT: Sorry about the spelling, I think I need a new Keyboard.

 

[berkeman]

Where did that other thread go?
The one where the poster kindly posted all his personal; details for hackers?

I did a quite exhaustive reply on the sort of thing I look for in a CV. If you could ressurect that Mr Berkeman it may be of use here.

Hi Panda, I did some searching and wasn't able to find it. Do you remember any keywords that I might be able to use? Do you remember which forum it was in?

 

[Panda]

Hi Panda, I did some searching and wasn't able to find it. Do you remember any keywords that I might be able to use? Do you remember which forum it was in?

All I remember was it was somebodies first post, Their English/typing was quite poor, and it was in an engineering forum rather than general/academic guidance.
Somebody had picked it up before and commented on the fact that the attached CV had all the guys personal details in it, but the attachment had gone by then, so i assume another mentor had got in there.
When I saw another CV question I thought, Oh I'll link the two together, but when I searched for all my posts today it was gone.

Never mind it's not that important. thanks for having a squint.