So, I'm racking my brain over trying to get a finished résumé for the REX position— you know, this very one featured on Archinect. Since I am both announcing that I'm applying and I'm pretty much using my real name, I'll try not to incriminate myself over the impossibly hapless night I had last night trying to create the most impressive 300-word curriculum vitae of myself. I should have reminded myself that paperwork is never to start with a glass or two of wine. That's very clearly brown liquor country in hindsight. Needless to say, the night quickly derailed into SketchUp'ing, painstaking rendering and then playing Vegas-rules solitaire for the next 3 hours.
I think I have finally knocked something that I like but I have really no one to review it, comment on it or give any other pointers. Primarily because I do not really know anyone of any authority or experience in architecture et cetera. I'll post it soon or e-mail it to anyone who volunteers to donate 5 minutes of their time and a few snakebites worth of literary venom.
From reading your profile it looks like you have experience that could tie in well with the posted position.
Not to be a dick, but as someone that is responsible for hiring I'd advise to stay away from trying to be cutesy and witty with clever wordplay (e.g. Machiavellian office worker with a malignant power-hungry personality undermined by delusions of grandeur). Succinctly explain in a professional manner how your previous background can be an asset to the operational side of a creative enterprise and why you want to be there.
Don't write what you think they want to read, write why you want the position and why you are the best choice. The ability to be concise yet eloquent is far more valuable than the ability to spew archi-prattle.
@leetecture
Why do you persistently keep asking people (even emailing them) to post their portfolio/ resume/ penis size/ whatever else? Copying them won't magically get you in a school or a job.
How did you find out i was asking people to post their portfolios anyway? I am trying to collect some successfull and unsucessfull stories from various people with similar goal so i don't make same mistake when i face the same situation in future. if it bothered you, i apolosize but please don't presume people with your assumption. if i wanted to copy something, there are plenty of them in web. and how do you even copy some one's portfolio anyway? let me know if you know how to do that.
Okay, take most of this in jest and semi-seriously. But it's kind of how I feel about the situation.
"Not to be a dick, but as someone that is responsible for hiring I'd advise to stay away from trying to be cutesy and witty with clever wordplay (e.g. Machiavellian office worker with a malignant power-hungry personality undermined by delusions of grandeur)."
The reason I did that is because, in addition to the standard rigors of 'professionalism,' many find to be a virtue is honesty. I could "ice that cake" with standard buzzwords and lingo-- 'Machiavellian' for motivated, 'malignant power-hungry personality' for determined and apt independent worker and 'undermined by delusions of grandeur' as confident in skills or experience.
There's literally hundreds of thousands of LinkedIn, Architizer and personal website profiles— many of which are written in the third-person— that all start with "I was born here. I went to school here. I studied this because I knew it was my destiny. I worked here and did this. Then I worked here and did this. I find myself to be adjective no.1, adjective no. 2 and adjective no. 3. I have this many years of experience in field no.1, field no. 2 and field no. 3. It is clear that I know how to do task no. 1, task no. 2 and task no 3. In ten years, I expect to be at this goal."
Don't write what you think they want to read, write why you want the position and why you are the best choice.
Well, the reason why I want the position is clearly simple. Why does the general person want or need to work? I can't simply start a cover letter with "Give me all you money, bitches. You won't be able to find a better person than me in your price range. Excel? Destroyed it. Word? My middle-name is "tabulate." Answering phones? My business courtesy can make the manliest of dudes weak in the knees. I also know how to use a FedEx terminal and can kill a man with an automatic stapler."
I think there's a fair balance between your points. Even if one were to clearly articulate why they want the position and why they are best candidate, someone will always read between the lines— eager becomes needy, excellent learner becomes inexperienced and competent becomes clinically alive.
"'Machiavellian' for motivated, 'malignant power-hungry personality' for determined and apt independent worker and 'undermined by delusions of grandeur' as confident in skills or experience."
Just FYI, that's not how I read that at all. I read, "This guy sounds like a pain in the ass who thinks far too well of himself, knows that, and doesn't seem to have a problem with it."
I'm a writer, and really enjoy good writing--even if it's just a fresh take on a simple sentence or paragraph. (And, of course, this is often the limited canvas available in a business setting.) So, I completely agree with your sensibility here, and its companion: disdain for uninspired prose, and all the missed opportunity it represents.
Also, like you, I love a good ironic moment or sardonic observation.
I think the critiques above are taking your self-description 1) a bit literally, and 2) as indicative of a personality type many of us have encountered but don't want to work with: highly intelligent but also punctilious, rigid, and humorless.
Hence (possibly) some of the negative reactions. Dial it back a bit on the job search, perhaps. I agree that perceptions of "too clever by half" could easily kill an application when the employer will have a tall stack of others to consider.
I apologize if it appeared that I was suggesting you pepper your cover letter with buzzwords that would turn a sophomore business student envious- that was far from my intent.
Quite frankly, I am baffled as to how you took my suggestion that you should write why you want that particular position to mean to write why you want to have a job in general. It is not a simple question- but it is one that you must have a damn good answer to if you want any job in the industry. And that answer should not be tongue-in-cheek.
Sarcasm and acquired senses of humor are fantastic qualities to have- but their message is carried poorly via text and especially so if you do not know the person. You need to be careful with this- you cannot try to be funny unless you are absolutely certain that everyone will get your humor and will not be turned off. That goes for any job, but double for this one. For positions where you have direct interaction with clients, your word choice and delivery is of paramount importance- you need to be cognizant of this and show it in your application.
I do not know you or the nuances of your humor/ personality- but as someone who has a hand in hiring for a variety of positions in a design firm, it is my personal opinion that what you have written in your profile and your response to me can come across to some as pedantic, nitpicking, arrogant, and that you may like to listen to yourself pontificate. I appreciate and see the humor in it, but am I certain that a developer, owner, or other client will as well? Hell. No.
You clearly have a gifted vocabulary. Just be cognizant of your audience and who you could be interacting with in your potential job in the front office of a design firm, and use it to your advantage. This should be a slam dunk for you given your experience and interests.
I was just wondering what the odds are getting into REX, just thinking aloud... I too am interested getting in, scraping out some of Joshua Ramus' thought-process...
Then I began to get curious of their selection process in choosing their employees.. hmmm...
I have an interview this Friday for a product design and interiors firm doing furniture design. I kind of walked into the job because I applied for another office-related position within the firm. They noticed that my resume had mentioned modeling and rendering work. Well, they said they possibly had other positions open and asked for samples.
I responded with the fact that I don't keep a coherent portfolio for that specific skillset but I would be happy to design and render any kind of project they could think of as a portfolio. Three days later I sent out the images and the model and got a call back about two weeks ago. They're paying for the ticket.
While I don't particularly feel confident that I can design furniture for a living, they think I at least have a marketable talent for it.
Also, sublimespace, Prince Ramus the Spectacular never contacted me back. So, I'm unable to assist you on anything regard His Royal Designness and their office policies.
However, I didn't ever get a confirmation receipt of my resume being received. It simply could have been that my application package ended up in a spam box as that seems to be frequent for my email address.
Actually, the hilarious thing is that this interview is with a super corporate firm.
I'm sure they are overselling it and it's probably just some spec furniture position where I'm designing closets and workstations from a pre-defined list of parts... but it's a job.
It's either that or doing rendering 24 hours a day.
Jan 24, 12 4:50 pm ·
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Resuming the résumé: a help request
So, I'm racking my brain over trying to get a finished résumé for the REX position— you know, this very one featured on Archinect. Since I am both announcing that I'm applying and I'm pretty much using my real name, I'll try not to incriminate myself over the impossibly hapless night I had last night trying to create the most impressive 300-word curriculum vitae of myself. I should have reminded myself that paperwork is never to start with a glass or two of wine. That's very clearly brown liquor country in hindsight. Needless to say, the night quickly derailed into SketchUp'ing, painstaking rendering and then playing Vegas-rules solitaire for the next 3 hours.
I think I have finally knocked something that I like but I have really no one to review it, comment on it or give any other pointers. Primarily because I do not really know anyone of any authority or experience in architecture et cetera. I'll post it soon or e-mail it to anyone who volunteers to donate 5 minutes of their time and a few snakebites worth of literary venom.
But I desperately need to take a nap now.
you're hired!
Yeah
why don;t you post it.
@JJR
From reading your profile it looks like you have experience that could tie in well with the posted position.
Not to be a dick, but as someone that is responsible for hiring I'd advise to stay away from trying to be cutesy and witty with clever wordplay (e.g. Machiavellian office worker with a malignant power-hungry personality undermined by delusions of grandeur). Succinctly explain in a professional manner how your previous background can be an asset to the operational side of a creative enterprise and why you want to be there.
Don't write what you think they want to read, write why you want the position and why you are the best choice. The ability to be concise yet eloquent is far more valuable than the ability to spew archi-prattle.
@leetecture
Why do you persistently keep asking people (even emailing them) to post their portfolio/ resume/ penis size/ whatever else? Copying them won't magically get you in a school or a job.
@ Taken AE
How did you find out i was asking people to post their portfolios anyway? I am trying to collect some successfull and unsucessfull stories from various people with similar goal so i don't make same mistake when i face the same situation in future. if it bothered you, i apolosize but please don't presume people with your assumption. if i wanted to copy something, there are plenty of them in web. and how do you even copy some one's portfolio anyway? let me know if you know how to do that.
Okay, take most of this in jest and semi-seriously. But it's kind of how I feel about the situation.
"Not to be a dick, but as someone that is responsible for hiring I'd advise to stay away from trying to be cutesy and witty with clever wordplay (e.g. Machiavellian office worker with a malignant power-hungry personality undermined by delusions of grandeur)."
The reason I did that is because, in addition to the standard rigors of 'professionalism,' many find to be a virtue is honesty. I could "ice that cake" with standard buzzwords and lingo-- 'Machiavellian' for motivated, 'malignant power-hungry personality' for determined and apt independent worker and 'undermined by delusions of grandeur' as confident in skills or experience.
There's literally hundreds of thousands of LinkedIn, Architizer and personal website profiles— many of which are written in the third-person— that all start with "I was born here. I went to school here. I studied this because I knew it was my destiny. I worked here and did this. Then I worked here and did this. I find myself to be adjective no.1, adjective no. 2 and adjective no. 3. I have this many years of experience in field no.1, field no. 2 and field no. 3. It is clear that I know how to do task no. 1, task no. 2 and task no 3. In ten years, I expect to be at this goal."
Don't write what you think they want to read, write why you want the position and why you are the best choice.
Well, the reason why I want the position is clearly simple. Why does the general person want or need to work? I can't simply start a cover letter with "Give me all you money, bitches. You won't be able to find a better person than me in your price range. Excel? Destroyed it. Word? My middle-name is "tabulate." Answering phones? My business courtesy can make the manliest of dudes weak in the knees. I also know how to use a FedEx terminal and can kill a man with an automatic stapler."
I think there's a fair balance between your points. Even if one were to clearly articulate why they want the position and why they are best candidate, someone will always read between the lines— eager becomes needy, excellent learner becomes inexperienced and competent becomes clinically alive.
"'Machiavellian' for motivated, 'malignant power-hungry personality' for determined and apt independent worker and 'undermined by delusions of grandeur' as confident in skills or experience."
Just FYI, that's not how I read that at all. I read, "This guy sounds like a pain in the ass who thinks far too well of himself, knows that, and doesn't seem to have a problem with it."
JJR,
Finding the "fair balance" you mention is key.
I'm a writer, and really enjoy good writing--even if it's just a fresh take on a simple sentence or paragraph. (And, of course, this is often the limited canvas available in a business setting.) So, I completely agree with your sensibility here, and its companion: disdain for uninspired prose, and all the missed opportunity it represents.
Also, like you, I love a good ironic moment or sardonic observation.
I think the critiques above are taking your self-description 1) a bit literally, and 2) as indicative of a personality type many of us have encountered but don't want to work with: highly intelligent but also punctilious, rigid, and humorless.
Hence (possibly) some of the negative reactions. Dial it back a bit on the job search, perhaps. I agree that perceptions of "too clever by half" could easily kill an application when the employer will have a tall stack of others to consider.
Regardless... good luck.
JJR-
I apologize if it appeared that I was suggesting you pepper your cover letter with buzzwords that would turn a sophomore business student envious- that was far from my intent.
Quite frankly, I am baffled as to how you took my suggestion that you should write why you want that particular position to mean to write why you want to have a job in general. It is not a simple question- but it is one that you must have a damn good answer to if you want any job in the industry. And that answer should not be tongue-in-cheek.
Sarcasm and acquired senses of humor are fantastic qualities to have- but their message is carried poorly via text and especially so if you do not know the person. You need to be careful with this- you cannot try to be funny unless you are absolutely certain that everyone will get your humor and will not be turned off. That goes for any job, but double for this one. For positions where you have direct interaction with clients, your word choice and delivery is of paramount importance- you need to be cognizant of this and show it in your application.
I do not know you or the nuances of your humor/ personality- but as someone who has a hand in hiring for a variety of positions in a design firm, it is my personal opinion that what you have written in your profile and your response to me can come across to some as pedantic, nitpicking, arrogant, and that you may like to listen to yourself pontificate. I appreciate and see the humor in it, but am I certain that a developer, owner, or other client will as well? Hell. No.
You clearly have a gifted vocabulary. Just be cognizant of your audience and who you could be interacting with in your potential job in the front office of a design firm, and use it to your advantage. This should be a slam dunk for you given your experience and interests.
Best of luck, and do let us know how it goes.
Almost 30 days later, no response.
I was just wondering what the odds are getting into REX, just thinking aloud... I too am interested getting in, scraping out some of Joshua Ramus' thought-process...
Then I began to get curious of their selection process in choosing their employees.. hmmm...
I'm so glad this thread got bumped!
I have an interview this Friday for a product design and interiors firm doing furniture design. I kind of walked into the job because I applied for another office-related position within the firm. They noticed that my resume had mentioned modeling and rendering work. Well, they said they possibly had other positions open and asked for samples.
I responded with the fact that I don't keep a coherent portfolio for that specific skillset but I would be happy to design and render any kind of project they could think of as a portfolio. Three days later I sent out the images and the model and got a call back about two weeks ago. They're paying for the ticket.
While I don't particularly feel confident that I can design furniture for a living, they think I at least have a marketable talent for it.
Also, sublimespace, Prince Ramus the Spectacular never contacted me back. So, I'm unable to assist you on anything regard His Royal Designness and their office policies.
However, I didn't ever get a confirmation receipt of my resume being received. It simply could have been that my application package ended up in a spam box as that seems to be frequent for my email address.
glad to hear you got interview jjr. prince was perhaps too corporate and cool for you anyway. good luck!
Actually, the hilarious thing is that this interview is with a super corporate firm.
I'm sure they are overselling it and it's probably just some spec furniture position where I'm designing closets and workstations from a pre-defined list of parts... but it's a job.
It's either that or doing rendering 24 hours a day.
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