Question:
I'm finally trying to write a new resume (my last one was before I
started grad school).
There have been several posts in the last few weeks that talk about
selling the skills and techniques that you use as part of your research.
My question is how specific are you supposed to get? There's always this
fine line in resume writing between clutter and crucial information
Every Organic Chemist's resume that I've seen has a paragraph that goes
something like this:
Instrumental experience:
HPLC, including normal and reverse phase, capillary GC, 1H & 13C NMR, IR
spectroscopy......
With this new stress on skills, is this enough? Or are companies looking
for this to now read:
HP 5890 Capillary GC
normal and reverse phase HPLC on Waters equiptment
1H, 13C, 2D COSY NMR on General Electric QE-300, GN-300 and Omega-500 MHz
spectrometers
The same question applies to computer skills....Are people interested in
seeing a list of program names? And just how familiar is considered
proficient enough with the program.
Answer:
- You're entirely correct. It's a difficult judgement call to decide
what level of detail to include in your resume.
In general, when you're presenting expertise with a particular
technology, it is best to be general. Oftentimes the additional
detail of the make and model of the particular equipment used will
either be irrelevant, or worse may be used to screen you out.
This also goes for the specific subject matter of the work done.
Having said the above, I hasten to add that if you know that your
targeted employer uses a specific piece of equipment, or is interested
in a certain topic, and you have that specific experience, it becomes
extremely important to include it.
In the best of all worlds one would be able to prepare a different
resume for each position. You must strive to achieve the right
balance between a general resume and this ideal.
- It's really a bigger problem than deciding what to put in your resume.
If you have a solid understanding of yourself and of the jobs you are
after, these questions seem to answer themselves. Unfortunately, getting
that understanding usually takes quite some time and requires making
a lot of mistakes. I've received a lot of helpful feedback from
prospective employers and from recruiters, who have told me about
problems with my resume.
Although I don't know anything about organic chemistry, I'll bet that
the first one is better for a professional and the second one is
better for a technician. From what I've seen, professionals are
assumed to have skills that are more transferrable. For example,
my resume includes a line like "optical fabrication using diamond turning."
In interviews, it often comes out that I used a Rank Pnuemo ultra 2000.
It depends on the program. Definitely don't mention every word processor
and spreadsheet you've used. I'd even stay away from mentioning all
of the math analysis programs you've used. However, in some
fields there are programs that are so well known that many people
confuse knowing the program with knowing the field. For example, in
optics, saying "I know how to use Code V" is often misunderstood
to mean "I know lens design." As someone who understands the
science involved, you really want to cover both bases. I try to do
this by saying "experience with lens design with Code V, Zemax, and
other programs."
- I'm not an organic chemist, but in my field (computer science), one
should use a level of detail that is appropriate for the particular
position. For example, junior positions are usually more hands-on, so
you should generally list more detail about your expertise with specific
tools and techniques. On the other hand, for more positions, the employer
is usually more interested in your design and architecture skills and you
your resume should focus on your experiences in those areas.
- I've always maintained that you should tailor your resume to the
specific job you're applying for. Now that most people have PCs and do
their own resumes, it makes sense to write a specific resume for each
job you apply for.
Put experience that is relevant to the job you're applying to in a
prominent position on the resume.
If you know something about the prospective employer, make your
resume reflect that fact.
- You will get a range of responses to this question. Probably the biggest
factor would be if you could get any information from the prospective
employer to see if there is anything they are looking for (or, not looking
for) that you can use in "tailoring" your resume. In general, I would err
on the side of as much detail as possible. Another idea would be to search
existing resumes to get ideas how to prepare your own. There are a number
of websites which list resumes and CVs. For example,
, and there are jobs websites many
of which make CVs and resumes publically available. Look for those and you
will get an idea of what is "out there." If you are willing to hoof it
over to a good public library, you can find a large number of books which
have examples of real resumes. I was at the Pratt Public Library in
Baltimore a few weeks ago on other business and I noticed a full two
shelves (I kid you not) of resume books (all paperback) showing examples
of "drop dead" resumes. You will probably be the best judge of how to use
this information, but if you have a look and spend 1/2 - 1 hour paging
through almost any of these books (you only need to look at one or two),
you will do yourself a big favor. The next step is to be able to prepare
more than one version that "slants" your "profile" towards different
directions. Then, you have to get those resumes under the noses of the
people who are hiring. Of course, the depressing thing is that everyone
else is doing this, too.
