Should I Include Microsoft Word in My Resume Skills?

[flyingpig]

It's my first time building one.

I am aiming at a lab monitor position. I've included my skills in Mathematica, Maple, TeX (I am going to really TeX this one up to look cool) and some other trivial stuff like Microsoft Word.

Any advice? Is it stupid to add microsoft word as part of my skills?

 

[Astronuc]

It's my first time building one.

I am aiming at a lab monitor position. I've included my skills in Mathematica, Maple, TeX (I am going to really TeX this one up to look cool) and some other trivial stuff like Microsoft Word.

Any advice? Is it stupid to add microsoft word as part of my skills?

If one is coming out of school, then one simply indicates experience with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Companies do look for skills in computational software, e.g., MathCad, Mathematica, MatLab, ANSYS, ABAQUS, STAR-CD/CCM+, or whatever. Companies also consider courses/electives in addition to the major and core coursework.

 

[flyingpig]

No I am just working for my college. Probably minimum wage and hours

 

[Astronuc]

Same goes. High school students should have a resume. One continually updates it, and modifies it according to academic achievement and experience. When leaving university, one doesn't include experience before university.

 

[flyingpig]

Same goes. High school students should have a resume. One continually updates it, and modifies it according to academic achievement and experience. When leaving university, one doesn't include experience before university.

Wouldn't that resume be empty...?

 

[FlexGunship]

Wouldn't that resume be empty...?

Hopefully if you attended university, you have something to fill your resume with FROM that university.

 

[flyingpig]

I should mention my competitions are pretty much going to be all computer science majors... horaay...

 

[FlexGunship]

I should mention my competitions are pretty much going to be all computer science majors... horaay...

Each will have also have a relatively empty resume, albeit wonderfully formatted.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Same goes. High school students should have a resume. One continually updates it, and modifies it according to academic achievement and experience. When leaving university, one doesn't include experience before university.

Hopefully if you attended university, you have something to fill your resume with FROM that university.

I was always taught the opposite. A CV should list your qualifications in descending order of importance but all should be there. Reason being if you are applying for a job and the other candidate is equal in recent qualifications it might swing it for you that you got straight As at school or that you did a mountain climbing course a few years ago.

Bottom line is it's impossible to know what the person reading your resume is looking for beyond the necessary qualifications. I had an interview years ago that I spent three quarters of discussing the philosophy that I'd learned at school (totally unrelated to what I was applying for but the interviewer loved philosophy when he was at school and enjoyed the conversation).

 

[FlexGunship]

I was always taught the opposite. A CV should list your qualifications in descending order of importance but all should be there. Reason being if you are applying for a job and the other candidate is equal in recent qualifications it might swing it for you that you got straight As at school or that you did a mountain climbing course a few years ago.

On that note, my resume has always been formatted to fit on one page with the maximum amount information available without being crowded. The informational content has always been tailored to each job providing the highest emphasis on the most relevant achievements.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

On that note, my resume has always been formatted to fit on one page with the maximum amount information available without being crowded. The informational content has always been tailored to each job providing the highest emphasis on the most relevant achievements.

Mine too though I always make mine two pages precisely.

 

[FlexGunship]

Mine too though I always make mine two pages precisely.

I provide an addendum on a second page of completed work, projects, and personal achievements. I knew a guy who discarded everything but the first page of a resume; so I always put work experience and skills on my "resume and the rest on the "addendum." That way I can control what gets discarded (if it ever does).

I've done a few interviews at my current job and I have no problem with multiple pages of a resume. Although I HATE hunting for a piece of information if its not properly organized.

 

[flyingpig]

Okay guys, be honest, how bad is this...? How could I improve?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Okay guys, be honest, how bad is this...? How could I improve?

It's very sparse.

I've just quickly gone through and edited my CV into a template. It looks a lot fuller and better formatted than this but I hope this gives you a general idea.

 

[Dembadon]

Hi flyingpig,

A general suggestion -- It's usually better to put examples of things you've done that demonstrate the skills you have.

For example, can you give a specific achievement regarding Mathematica 8? Try and list some of your accomplishments and link them to the specific skills you've mentioned in your resume.

As for its appearance, you can try downloading a resume template from the internet and go from there. Change some fonts, formatting and the layout, but don't get too crazy; it needs to be organized and readable.

 

[Astronuc]

I was always taught the opposite. A CV should list your qualifications in descending order of importance but all should be there. Reason being if you are applying for a job and the other candidate is equal in recent qualifications it might swing it for you that you got straight As at school or that you did a mountain climbing course a few years ago.

Bottom line is it's impossible to know what the person reading your resume is looking for beyond the necessary qualifications. I had an interview years ago that I spent three quarters of discussing the philosophy that I'd learned at school (totally unrelated to what I was applying for but the interviewer loved philosophy when he was at school and enjoyed the conversation).

Ordinarily one would not put in one's high school GPA when applying for a job after university. Having gone through a 4 year (BA/BS) program, it is expected that one qualified for that program, and the focus would be on one's academic qualifications in university (including GPA). However, one could include extra curricular activities and any projects, community activities, or leadership roles, and scholarships/awards.

 

[Astronuc]

Wouldn't that resume be empty...?

For most, perhaps yes, but I hired a high school student who was valedictorian. His resume, even in 12th grade, was impressive. He'd won various awards in math competitions. He went on to Harvard where he was a straight-A student. He was also an excellent programmer, hard-working/diligent, and self-directed.

 

[flyingpig]

It's very sparse.

I've just quickly gone through and edited my CV into a template. It looks a lot fuller and better formatted than this but I hope this gives you a general idea.

Lol can you post the TeX? Wouldn't adding PFer just make me look like a person who spends too much time on the net?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Lol can you post the TeX? Wouldn't adding PFer just make me look like a person who spends too much time on the net?

TeX? I put the PFer as a joke

 

[flyingpig]

Oh MS word? Mine expired so I resorted to TeX...

 

[Evo]

Oh MS word? Mine expired so I resorted to TeX...

Also, be aware a lot of employers now want you to upload your resume and they strip all of your formatting, every resume looks the same, unless you've used some extra fancy formatting, in which case your uploaded resume will look like a mess and probably won't get read.

You must have a cover letter. It should be specific to the job you wish to interview for, you should explain why your skills are what ABC company are looking for and why you would benefit them.

I'll try to find some examples.

mistakes to avoid http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/what-not-to-do-7-ways-to-ruin-your-resume-2009803/

samples of cover letters http://www.google.com/search?source...lz=1T4GGLL_enUS339US339&q=resume+cover+letter

Resume writing tips http://resume.monster.com/

 

[DrummingAtom]

Okay guys, be honest, how bad is this...? How could I improve?

Hey flyingpig,

Did the job posting explicitly state your skill level in each skill? If it didn't I would stay away from putting your "level" of those skills on the resume. If it's a concern, it will get brought up in the interview.

Here's something I do to check how certain things are written on resumes, or like resumes..
Search a site like LinkedIn from Google and type in keywords that are on your resume.

Ex. site: Linkedin.com MatLab

Then I find people's profiles and see how they write their experiences with MatLab and so on. Reading a bunch of these usually conjurers up some more creativity in my resume writing. There's a couple of other sites that I do this for but I can't think off them right now.

Good luck.

 

[twofish-quant]

Any advice? Is it stupid to add microsoft word as part of my skills?

I'd avoid it. In this day and age and in your generation, saying that you can use Microsoft Word is like saying that you can add two numbers and read a book. People are going to wonder why you even mention it.

 

[Dembadon]

I'd avoid it. In this day and age and in your generation, saying that you can use Microsoft Word is like saying that you can add two numbers and read a book. People are going to wonder why you even mention it.

 

[flyingpig]

Hey flyingpig,

Did the job posting explicitly state your skill level in each skill? If it didn't I would stay away from putting your "level" of those skills on the resume. If it's a concern, it will get brought up in the interview.

There is no interview, either they will send you a "you are hired" message or you will never be contacted.

 

[Mark44]

As was already mentioned, your resume is pretty sparse. To flesh it out some, maybe a brief description (more than one word, as you have) of your technical abilities in Mathematica, MatLab, etc. would be helpful.

They are probably looking for someone with skills other than technical skills, such as personality traits that they're looking for. It would be beneficial for a lab monitor to be able to listen and understand the problem that someone is having with some computer software. The job will almost certainly require a certain amount of patience with students who are not used to being able to accurately describe the problems they're having, so if you can address that, it might help your cause.

Being able to explain something in more than one way would also be a desirable quality. Sometimes students just aren't able to follow an explanation. Being able to explain something in a different way might be enough to get the idea across to them, while merely repeating the same explanation again probably won't help.

How was the job described? Are they looking for specific skills, experience, and personality attributes? If the job description describes the ideal candidate for the position, make sure you write your resume so that you address as many of these as possible.

 

[flyingpig]

As was already mentioned, your resume is pretty sparse. To flesh it out some, maybe a brief description (more than one word, as you have) of your technical abilities in Mathematica, MatLab, etc. would be helpful.

They are probably looking for someone with skills other than technical skills, such as personality traits that they're looking for. It would be beneficial for a lab monitor to be able to listen and understand the problem that someone is having with some computer software. The job will almost certainly require a certain amount of patience with students who are not used to being able to accurately describe the problems they're having, so if you can address that, it might help your cause.

Being able to explain something in more than one way would also be a desirable quality. Sometimes students just aren't able to follow an explanation. Being able to explain something in a different way might be enough to get the idea across to them, while merely repeating the same explanation again probably won't help.

How was the job described? Are they looking for specific skills, experience, and personality attributes? If the job description describes the ideal candidate for the position, make sure you write your resume so that you address as many of these as possible.

You are a mentor now!

It was described as

We're always looking for responsible, conscientious individuals to monitor our computer labs. Technical ability is an asset but not a requirement.

Duties include opening and closing the labs, reporting problems with the equipment, tidying up, cleaning mice/keyboards/monitors, replacing printer paper/toner, and other related duties as required. You're also encouraged to help out your fellow students to the best of your ability.

In order to be eligible for employment as a computer lab monitor you must be enrolled in at least three courses for the session in which you wish to work. (Except during the Summer session, in which case you need only be enrolled in one class).

Computer lab monitors may work up to a maximum of 12 hours per week. Perks include additional storage space on your personal network drive (F:) when requested, permission to use certain computer labs outside of class and open lab times, ability to work on class work during your shift (provided all other duties are attended to) and virtually limitless riches (...okay, not exactly limitless, but fair pay is provided).

If you're interested in becoming a computer lab monitor, please bring a current resume the campus and fill out an employment application.

Please note that we do receive a lot of applications for the positions but only contact (via email) those candidates who are successful.

Also this is probably a bad idea, but would it be look down upon if you add

"will work for additional hours for free..."

 

[Mark44]

We're always looking for responsible, conscientious individuals to monitor our computer labs. Technical ability is an asset but not a requirement.

Anything you can add to your resume that shows how responsible and conscientious you are would be helpful. Your resume focussed on your technical abilities, but that's not all they're looking for (and it's not a requirement for the position).

Duties include opening and closing the labs, reporting problems with the equipment, tidying up, cleaning mice/keyboards/monitors, replacing printer paper/toner, and other related duties as required. You're also encouraged to help out your fellow students to the best of your ability.

Do you have any experience maintaining your own computer that you can add? Or any experience that highlights skills you have at maintaining computer or other equipment?

The part about "help out your fellow students" was what I was talking about in my previous post. Anything you can add that addresses this point would be very helpful if I were the one making hiring decisions, so you really want to hit that one hard.

I would NOT add "will work additional hours for free..." But you obviously spend a fair amount of time with computers (I've seen a lot of your posts here), so I gather that you enjoy working with computers. That would be useful, IMO.

Keep in mind that I'm trying to help you flesh out your resume, but don't go overboard and make it too long. Resumes are usually one page, and less commonly (in my experience) two pages. The resume should be well organized, with no typos. Have someone take a look at your final version before you submit it - you can post it here (with personal info omitted) and we can critique it.

PS - yeah, they made me a mentor. Who'd a thunk it?

 

[flyingpig]

Well I go to the labs daily and there are rarely (if at all) anyone that seeks help from the monitors. So that's probably why they say technical skills aren' 100% needed.

Seriously though, most of the time they just sit there doing their own stuff. That's why I am hunting this job.

So yeah I will get rid of the free part, sounds risky.

Do you guys suggest a section "experience" and write down how I will help students?

 

[mrwall-e]

I don't know if a template is something you're looking for, but I took this guy's template: http://www.mcnabbs.org/andrew/linux/latexres . You can view a PDF output of the template on the site. It looks simple and clean, which of course leaves lots of room for playing around.

Sorry I don't have any other tips, though.