What is the best way to send out resumes? By email, or by snail mail?
Each has its advantages. Email allows me to send out many resumes quickly....Plus people can forward the email to someone they think might be interested.
But the disadvantage is that the resume has to be printed, the email could be ignored or deleted or both...
Snail mail puts the physical resume right in someone's hands...But it is incredibly time consuming to send many out, and type in all the addresses - and there is also the cost of mailing, paper, time...
I'm leaning toward emailing - because of the speed and forwarding features...
im having the same internal debate. the other issue with email is the size of the pdf you send, sometimes its a lot harder and a lot more time consuming to weed through and resize all of your work.
if it doesnt, then i would recommend emailing the resume, with maybe a sample or 2 of your work (something that can be glanced at on the computer), then with a note in your email saying that a resume package (with your portfolio works) is coming in the mail.
this way you get on their radar, and you dont need to worry about overnighting a million big portfolios and resumes
as the employer in this kind of equation - i like the physical pages better. much easier to hand around and look through. most people can suffice with a 1 page resume and 2-4 pages of work.
email is ok, but please, please, please keep it small. i travel a lot and get my email by my phone. if you have a 8mb attachment, i'm just going to zap it immediately. keep the whole thing under 1mb.
finally, always address the letter to a person - if it feels like a chain letter, you're stuff is going to have be twice as good for me to take a look.
as a counterpoint to laru's post, I LOVE receiving credentials via e-mail - in fact, I much prefer electronic to paper. I don't travel much and handle almost all of my recruitment activity from my desktop. my senior colleagues are always moving about, so trying to circulate paper credentials here is almost impossible to accomplish in a timely manner -- assuming one of them doesn't actually lose the credentials package.
I do agree with laru that any portfolio submittted electronically should be relatively small -- I'll be viewing it on screen as part of our initial screening, so hi-rez photos are not important -- keep it in a single file (I hate opening a bunch of individual image files) and a PDF always works best for me.
bottom line -- if you aren't sure what to send, call the receptionist and ask a) who to send the stuff to; and b) does the firm have a preference about the format they like to receive. If the receptionist doesn't know, a friendly approach probably would prompt him/her to go ask.
"it is incredibly time consuming to send many out, and type in all the addresses - and there is also the cost of mailing, paper, time."
You'd be surprised at how easy it is to see this lazy attitude on the receiving end of resumes.
employers simply aren't interested in how easy (or hard) it is for you - they're only interested in how easy (or hard) it is for them.
when I get credentials that reek of the candidate not putting any effort or real thought into the exercise, those go straight into the can. likewise those credentials that only address what we might do for the candidate.
it's your job to tee it up for the employer in a fairly straight forward manner - and indicate what you can do for their firm. otherwise, why would the firm possibly care?
by the way - speaking of laziness - this topic has been addressed many times here - try the search feature.
call me first and i'll tell you how i want to receive it. (personally, i really don't mind getting a cold call.)
i'll usually tell you to email it to me. and i really don't want anything fancy.
if there were a standard resume format so that i'd always know where to find what i want to know, it'd be so much more efficient. finding my way around some of the resumes i receive is ridiculous.
and, if we hire you, i'd love to know more about your hobbies. we're a family-ish atmosphere and we get to know each other pretty well and often play together. BUT on your resume, i don't really care about your hobbies, unless they include 'extracurricular revit tutorials'.
this may not be the right thread for this advice but i'll offer it anyway:
1. if you give a number on your resume that leads me to a VERY unprofessional sounding voice mail greeting, i'm probably not leaving a message or calling you back.
2. if your email address is '[email protected]' or '[email protected]', you're not giving me a very good impression of your character and i'm not emailing you.
and this isn't a joke. both of these scenarios are real.
I'll second Steven's last post ... you can't believe how often a strong credentials package is damaged or diluted by inattention to one's phone or e-mail contact "image".
if printing and mailing is an issue, which i can see getting costly, what about a couple sample pages, maybe 3-5.
this should enable you to get a face to face meeting, where you bring your nice brilliantly printed hard copy of your portfolio to blow them away
initial contact is never a bad thing i dont think. it helps get them what they want to see, and might even seem better, since they know you didnt just mass mail a million resumes to every firm in the world. gives that personal first touch
i dont interview prospective employees, so i may be way off base here
there's a lot of variation in what firms want and need from candidates, so don't take what any of us says here as universal truths.
I tend to dislike phone calls from candidates that I don't already know - but then, I do most of my recruitment work via e-mail.
90% of the time, candidates send me an e-mail inquiry with a cover letter and resume attached. if that piques my interest, I'll respond via phone or e-mail to set up an interview or request more materials.
because it saves me time, I always appreciate receiving some sample images with the initial inquiry - but it's still relatively uncommon to receive such right off the bat. on-line portfolios are totally ok with me, provided they actually work, are fast and aren't quirky.
for what it's worth ... candidates referred to me by a member of my staff or a colleague in the profession always receive priority attention over candidates who just send in their stuff. that doesn't mean they necessarily receive preference rel. to an offer - just that they go to the front of the line for a review.
E mail w/ hard copy follow-up is nice. I may keep one I like on my desk for weeks. More importantly is your cover letter.
In your cover letter I like to see why you want to work for us. Target your cover letter to you audience. I love getting cover letters that discuss their Microsoft programmer credentials and how they are a great information architect.
Also, different jobs need different resumes. The first job out of school should be simple heavy on what they want to learn. The job captain on stepping up to more responsibility, the pa to managing the J.C. and client management.
here's something for employers here to consider, or hiring partners; i wish you'd de-emphasize the resume just a bit, and the cover letter too, it's not always an accurate representation of the candidate. we're architects not professional letter writers or professional resume writers, and yet when i consider rewriting mine, i almost always think, you know there are professionals out there that can do this and know this waaaaayyyy better than me. if we are conversing about architecture, about ideas, about management of projects, etc., then i am probably going to fair much better than my resume can ever convey.
here's my dilemma; i have 3 effing pages, due to work history, projects that i have worked on that have won awards and because of my professional activities - pro bono design charrettes - and guest critic extracurriculars. yet all i ever hear is keep it to two pages....
beta, not personal, but if i read a resume that talks up your pro bono work and critic activities, it doesn't tell me that you'll be a productive worker. save that stuff for an academic c.v.
2 pages?...i would keep it to one...if your resume actually needed to be that long (3) people would be seeking you out to work for them, and not the other way around...probably a lot of filler in there.
beta / steven: it's not so much the volume of information as the organization of that info.
naturally, more experienced candidates will have more to report. but, i've never read any resume where the basis credentials - i.e. objective, education, work experience, etc - would not fit on one page. detailed project listings, pro bono experience, extra-curricular activities, etc. easily, and more appropriately, can go on attachment pages.
if the employer is intrigued by what's in the 1-page resume, several pages of supplemental material are a non-issue.
1) hands down the best way to get looked at is to be referred by someone we know and trust.
2) for pity's sake make a cover letter that shows you read our job listing and/or looked into what kind of firm we are and that you have a reason why you would like to work for us and are a good fit. mass blasts ALWAYS suck and are ignored.
3) pick up the phone. ask who your resume and portfolio should be directed to and if they prefer email or hardcopy. just ASK, briefly and professionally. NEVER send your resume/port just to the office contact email on the firm's webpage. I cannot begin to tell you how many firms don't even monitor that account, or can't cope with it because it is a spam magnet.
4) if you're sending electronic portfolio materials, keep it short and sweet. do NOT send enormous attachments or oblige me to do color printouts of a jillion pages of everything you ever did in school. do a nice representative sampling and if you have a lot more where that came from, indicate clearly that more materials are available upon request. if you get a response indicating we'd like to see more, respond promptly, and pay attention to the kind of work we said we'd like to see.
5) if you send hard copy, if at all possible, send something you can kiss goodbye if necessary. it does not make me cheerful when I have to talk to you half a dozen times to coordinate your pickup schedule or store your giant portfolio at my desk for weeks.
6) we really don't give a damn how long your resume is, but on the other hand we are busy and will read quickly. if you've done a lot of pro bono work or something else that's adding a lot of bulk you can organize it more succinctly. one bullet point that says "pro bono work including: this project, that project, etc." ought to cover it. you can always wax more eloquent on the subject in the interview.
goofy-sounding email addresses aren't an absolute disqualifica.tion, but they do tend to make an unprofessional impression.
"we're architects not professional letter writers or professional resume writers, and yet when i consider rewriting mine, i almost always think, you know there are professionals out there that can do this and know this waaaaayyyy better than me."
well then, get one of those to help you. a friend in the profession if you've got one who is good at this, if not, hire somebody. as much as I wish RFPs (for example) didn't matter, they DO matter and we just have to do whatever it takes to do it right. if you need help, get it.
so, are we saying that AIA activities have no place in a work resume? fostering the profession doesn't matter to those hiring?
i've worked for 10 years, 4 different firms, how do you become concise with 10 years? given the range of experience; designer, intern, job captain, PA...? what about the multiple projects...??
i can write, but i don't write resumes. i don't like resumes, i don't like cover letters - they are passionless pieces that i don't feel can ever represent me, my skills or desires - dialog serves me better.
beta - a resume (and supplemental materials) only 'introduce' you to a firm - any experienced hiring manager understands that these materials only represent the tip of the iceberg for most candidates. one or more interviews flesh out the broader person.
but, for most people in most situations, these are the materials that must be used to narrow down the pile to those we actually can take the time to interview. if you don't feel your true personna can be conveyed sufficiently that way, then networking probably is your best alternative.
Project Architect for Institutional and Commercial projects from Schematic Design through Construction Administration.
Hospital Parking Ramp, generated project documentation utilizing Building Information Modeling software. Produced red-lines, and supervised project team to facilitate project documents. Responsible for project coordination and review of consultant documents. Assisted in the preparation of specifications. Prepared bid alternates, addenda, RFI responses, and supplemental information documentation. Performed shop drawing and submittal reviews.
Athletic Expansion, prepared construction documentation, and assisted in the preparation of specifications. Responsible for project coordination with design consultants. Prepared RFI responses, Supplemental Instructions, shop drawing and submittal reviews. Attend semimonthly job site meetings to review project schedule.
Cleanroom Addition; PCL Design Build, generated construction documentation utilizing BIM software, reviewed cleanroom construction standards and performed preliminary code review. Performed document coordination with design consultants using integrated BIM structural components.
do you like to see jobs/description of tasks performed on said job - or - do you like to see skills, then important projects [with primary role on prj and then sf and dollar amount]??
curious, becaue i think with the latter, resumes can be much shorter, the former gets drawn out.....
how should i handle the dearth of proj that one works on in an office - so as not to convey that in 5 or 6 years with one firm i only did 4 or 5 projects???
beta, i don't think it's wise to tick off every project
i've sometimes handled it as (sans abbreviations):
2007-current XYZ stupitects, project manager
PM on several tenant improvements including a 40,000 sf clinic as well as a 30,000 class A office space.
Lead designer for several schools, including an innovative pre-school funded by hamas and the pope.
beta ... as I said above "there's a lot of variation in what firms want and need from candidates, so don't take what any of us says here as universal truths" - but, for me, I approach each resume in the following general manner:
first - I scan the resume to determine two basic chunks of information: a) school, degree and degree date; b) current place of employment and tenure there. if the resume indicates the candidate is entry level and I'm looking to hire a licensed project architect, I stop there and place the resume in my "reply with regrets" folder.
second - if the candidate passes the initial screening, I then start looking more carefully at work history -- I'm vitally interested in how long the individual has been in place at his/her most recent 2-3 positions. I also start looking more carefully at how the candidate describes his/her role in those firms -- in some cases, I will see a fairly detailed description of duties; in other cases, I will see a title (i.e. Job Captain, Intern Architect, Field Administrator) ... if I know the firm, that title may be meaningful to me, but not always ... but, at least it gives me a general idea of the level of work the individual has been performing.
third - I'll look around to see the kind of projects the candidate lists ... given the nature of our firm, project type experience of the type we produce is a vital piece of information ... that doesn't mean we won't entertain individuals without that sort of experience, but we do pay very close attention to those candidates who indicate such experience on their resume.
fourth - if the information in steps 2 and 3 retain my interest, I'll look at other aspects of the credentials. if there are sample images, I'll look at those -- at this stage, images start becoming very important for me.
fifth - if there is a description of other attributes (i.e. awards won; professional association participation; community involvement, etc.) I'll look at those -- but, IMHO, these aspects probably are not integral to what I'm trying to find -- at best, they're a bonus and help me establish a rounder profile of the candidate.
based on these five steps, I'll make a preliminary decision about whether to conduct a phone interview or invite the candidate in for an office visit.
this may seem to you a superficial process. but, please understand -- I read probably 30-40 resumes each week and conduct 5-10 interviews each month. after a while, that experience allows me to read a lot 'between the lines' -- on a fairly limited amount of informaiton, I can spot puffery / I can spot competence. these are instincts that come from experience and they rarely fail me.
personally, I don't need a ton of information to get me and the candidate to the interview stage -- that's where I really start to assess what the candidate can bring to the table and what sort of LT potential the candidate offers. the interviews tell me what I need in order to move forward toward an offer. all the resume and mini-portfolio provide is a pass key to the interview stage.
you ask about "skills" -- I see lists of those a lot on resumes -- I pay very little attention to them -- such lists are just too self-serving. I will explore that during the interview and detailed portfolio review. I find I can assess skills much better through a dialogue with the candidate. I also check references on candidates we like -- those conversations give me a lot of insight into what the person might, or might not, be able to do.
quizz, what about letters of recommendation? i've heard of a lot of firms and i worked for one that would rather take the time to write a letter of reference/recommendation, rather than me putting their phone number on my resume and having to answer calls at perhaps inopportune times. do you appreciate things like this with the initial submission, are they helpful or is this information you only seek after an interview?
MArch06 - good question. while there's nothing inherently wrong with letters of recommendation, I'm not much of a fan of such letters as part of the hiring process - as a general rule, I don't believe such letters are either candid or objective. they always feel like window dressing to me.
nobody - and I mean nobody - is going to put anything but praise in a reference letter, for obvious reasons. however, a phone call - especially if the two parties know each other and are careful to respect the confidentiality of the call - is both interactive and, in most case, remarkably candid. I usually find that I can gather all manner of useful information from reference checks.
people who really care about you are not going to be reluctant to take reference calls.
it is an integral concept of (dare I say it) sales and marketing. don't talk about YOUR needs, talk about what the customer needs.
quizzical makes a very important point. if you think of this as the only opportunity ever to tell yourself about the employer, you're going to get impossibly long-winded. (the same applies if you think you HAVE to show your entire repertoire of imagery.) the purpose of this package is to tell them enough to get you in the door to talk about the rest.
a format I used for years (before entering a design profession) had four bullet points at the top for what I considered my key overall skills, then under each job title, 3-4 bullets for key responsibilities. (key projects weren't so much a factor in my line of work then, but they'd be important here)
think in terms of an old fashioned outline format, where you go from the general to the specific. and then stop yourself from being TOO specific.
Sending out resumes - email or snail mail?
What is the best way to send out resumes? By email, or by snail mail?
Each has its advantages. Email allows me to send out many resumes quickly....Plus people can forward the email to someone they think might be interested.
But the disadvantage is that the resume has to be printed, the email could be ignored or deleted or both...
Snail mail puts the physical resume right in someone's hands...But it is incredibly time consuming to send many out, and type in all the addresses - and there is also the cost of mailing, paper, time...
I'm leaning toward emailing - because of the speed and forwarding features...
I want to get OUT of where I am working ASAP!!!
im having the same internal debate. the other issue with email is the size of the pdf you send, sometimes its a lot harder and a lot more time consuming to weed through and resize all of your work.
Quick pdf resize in acrobat:
Documents>reduce file size.
My pdf resume and teaser were about 350kb, and got me interviews at some decent firms.
However I prefer to send by snail unless I know the company specifically asks for email.
I spent a lot of time working on my resume package, and the look and feel are a reflection of my aesthetic.
does your resume include a portfolio?
if it doesnt, then i would recommend emailing the resume, with maybe a sample or 2 of your work (something that can be glanced at on the computer), then with a note in your email saying that a resume package (with your portfolio works) is coming in the mail.
this way you get on their radar, and you dont need to worry about overnighting a million big portfolios and resumes
the resize in acrobat works great though too
Ah man instead of all that resize acrobat snail crap just tape your resume to a brick and throw it through the window where you want to work.
I like ZipGun's idea the best!
it definitely wont get lost in an inbox that way!
as the employer in this kind of equation - i like the physical pages better. much easier to hand around and look through. most people can suffice with a 1 page resume and 2-4 pages of work.
email is ok, but please, please, please keep it small. i travel a lot and get my email by my phone. if you have a 8mb attachment, i'm just going to zap it immediately. keep the whole thing under 1mb.
finally, always address the letter to a person - if it feels like a chain letter, you're stuff is going to have be twice as good for me to take a look.
as a counterpoint to laru's post, I LOVE receiving credentials via e-mail - in fact, I much prefer electronic to paper. I don't travel much and handle almost all of my recruitment activity from my desktop. my senior colleagues are always moving about, so trying to circulate paper credentials here is almost impossible to accomplish in a timely manner -- assuming one of them doesn't actually lose the credentials package.
I do agree with laru that any portfolio submittted electronically should be relatively small -- I'll be viewing it on screen as part of our initial screening, so hi-rez photos are not important -- keep it in a single file (I hate opening a bunch of individual image files) and a PDF always works best for me.
bottom line -- if you aren't sure what to send, call the receptionist and ask a) who to send the stuff to; and b) does the firm have a preference about the format they like to receive. If the receptionist doesn't know, a friendly approach probably would prompt him/her to go ask.
You'd be surprised at how easy it is to see this lazy attitude on the receiving end of resumes.
employers simply aren't interested in how easy (or hard) it is for you - they're only interested in how easy (or hard) it is for them.
when I get credentials that reek of the candidate not putting any effort or real thought into the exercise, those go straight into the can. likewise those credentials that only address what we might do for the candidate.
it's your job to tee it up for the employer in a fairly straight forward manner - and indicate what you can do for their firm. otherwise, why would the firm possibly care?
by the way - speaking of laziness - this topic has been addressed many times here - try the search feature.
call me first and i'll tell you how i want to receive it. (personally, i really don't mind getting a cold call.)
i'll usually tell you to email it to me. and i really don't want anything fancy.
if there were a standard resume format so that i'd always know where to find what i want to know, it'd be so much more efficient. finding my way around some of the resumes i receive is ridiculous.
and, if we hire you, i'd love to know more about your hobbies. we're a family-ish atmosphere and we get to know each other pretty well and often play together. BUT on your resume, i don't really care about your hobbies, unless they include 'extracurricular revit tutorials'.
'extracurricular revit tutorials'
now theres a hobby
this may not be the right thread for this advice but i'll offer it anyway:
1. if you give a number on your resume that leads me to a VERY unprofessional sounding voice mail greeting, i'm probably not leaving a message or calling you back.
2. if your email address is '[email protected]' or '[email protected]', you're not giving me a very good impression of your character and i'm not emailing you.
and this isn't a joke. both of these scenarios are real.
I'll second Steven's last post ... you can't believe how often a strong credentials package is damaged or diluted by inattention to one's phone or e-mail contact "image".
how many architects out there are like steven and are ok with a cold call?
what do you guys think about making initial contact with an email asking which format the person prefers? is that unprofessional?
also, what do you think about directing prospective employers to an online portfolio instead of printing and mailing?
i don't mean to hijack the thread, but this seems like an opportune moment to ask these questions...
i dont know about an online portfolio
if printing and mailing is an issue, which i can see getting costly, what about a couple sample pages, maybe 3-5.
this should enable you to get a face to face meeting, where you bring your nice brilliantly printed hard copy of your portfolio to blow them away
initial contact is never a bad thing i dont think. it helps get them what they want to see, and might even seem better, since they know you didnt just mass mail a million resumes to every firm in the world. gives that personal first touch
i dont interview prospective employees, so i may be way off base here
there's a lot of variation in what firms want and need from candidates, so don't take what any of us says here as universal truths.
I tend to dislike phone calls from candidates that I don't already know - but then, I do most of my recruitment work via e-mail.
90% of the time, candidates send me an e-mail inquiry with a cover letter and resume attached. if that piques my interest, I'll respond via phone or e-mail to set up an interview or request more materials.
because it saves me time, I always appreciate receiving some sample images with the initial inquiry - but it's still relatively uncommon to receive such right off the bat. on-line portfolios are totally ok with me, provided they actually work, are fast and aren't quirky.
for what it's worth ... candidates referred to me by a member of my staff or a colleague in the profession always receive priority attention over candidates who just send in their stuff. that doesn't mean they necessarily receive preference rel. to an offer - just that they go to the front of the line for a review.
E mail w/ hard copy follow-up is nice. I may keep one I like on my desk for weeks. More importantly is your cover letter.
In your cover letter I like to see why you want to work for us. Target your cover letter to you audience. I love getting cover letters that discuss their Microsoft programmer credentials and how they are a great information architect.
Also, different jobs need different resumes. The first job out of school should be simple heavy on what they want to learn. The job captain on stepping up to more responsibility, the pa to managing the J.C. and client management.
archinect060108, what's happening on June 1st?
here's something for employers here to consider, or hiring partners; i wish you'd de-emphasize the resume just a bit, and the cover letter too, it's not always an accurate representation of the candidate. we're architects not professional letter writers or professional resume writers, and yet when i consider rewriting mine, i almost always think, you know there are professionals out there that can do this and know this waaaaayyyy better than me. if we are conversing about architecture, about ideas, about management of projects, etc., then i am probably going to fair much better than my resume can ever convey.
here's my dilemma; i have 3 effing pages, due to work history, projects that i have worked on that have won awards and because of my professional activities - pro bono design charrettes - and guest critic extracurriculars. yet all i ever hear is keep it to two pages....
beta, not personal, but if i read a resume that talks up your pro bono work and critic activities, it doesn't tell me that you'll be a productive worker. save that stuff for an academic c.v.
2 pages?...i would keep it to one...if your resume actually needed to be that long (3) people would be seeking you out to work for them, and not the other way around...probably a lot of filler in there.
beta / steven: it's not so much the volume of information as the organization of that info.
naturally, more experienced candidates will have more to report. but, i've never read any resume where the basis credentials - i.e. objective, education, work experience, etc - would not fit on one page. detailed project listings, pro bono experience, extra-curricular activities, etc. easily, and more appropriately, can go on attachment pages.
if the employer is intrigued by what's in the 1-page resume, several pages of supplemental material are a non-issue.
here's my advice based on my office.
1) hands down the best way to get looked at is to be referred by someone we know and trust.
2) for pity's sake make a cover letter that shows you read our job listing and/or looked into what kind of firm we are and that you have a reason why you would like to work for us and are a good fit. mass blasts ALWAYS suck and are ignored.
3) pick up the phone. ask who your resume and portfolio should be directed to and if they prefer email or hardcopy. just ASK, briefly and professionally. NEVER send your resume/port just to the office contact email on the firm's webpage. I cannot begin to tell you how many firms don't even monitor that account, or can't cope with it because it is a spam magnet.
4) if you're sending electronic portfolio materials, keep it short and sweet. do NOT send enormous attachments or oblige me to do color printouts of a jillion pages of everything you ever did in school. do a nice representative sampling and if you have a lot more where that came from, indicate clearly that more materials are available upon request. if you get a response indicating we'd like to see more, respond promptly, and pay attention to the kind of work we said we'd like to see.
5) if you send hard copy, if at all possible, send something you can kiss goodbye if necessary. it does not make me cheerful when I have to talk to you half a dozen times to coordinate your pickup schedule or store your giant portfolio at my desk for weeks.
6) we really don't give a damn how long your resume is, but on the other hand we are busy and will read quickly. if you've done a lot of pro bono work or something else that's adding a lot of bulk you can organize it more succinctly. one bullet point that says "pro bono work including: this project, that project, etc." ought to cover it. you can always wax more eloquent on the subject in the interview.
goofy-sounding email addresses aren't an absolute disqualifica.tion, but they do tend to make an unprofessional impression.
"we're architects not professional letter writers or professional resume writers, and yet when i consider rewriting mine, i almost always think, you know there are professionals out there that can do this and know this waaaaayyyy better than me."
well then, get one of those to help you. a friend in the profession if you've got one who is good at this, if not, hire somebody. as much as I wish RFPs (for example) didn't matter, they DO matter and we just have to do whatever it takes to do it right. if you need help, get it.
so, are we saying that AIA activities have no place in a work resume? fostering the profession doesn't matter to those hiring?
i've worked for 10 years, 4 different firms, how do you become concise with 10 years? given the range of experience; designer, intern, job captain, PA...? what about the multiple projects...??
i can write, but i don't write resumes. i don't like resumes, i don't like cover letters - they are passionless pieces that i don't feel can ever represent me, my skills or desires - dialog serves me better.
beta - a resume (and supplemental materials) only 'introduce' you to a firm - any experienced hiring manager understands that these materials only represent the tip of the iceberg for most candidates. one or more interviews flesh out the broader person.
but, for most people in most situations, these are the materials that must be used to narrow down the pile to those we actually can take the time to interview. if you don't feel your true personna can be conveyed sufficiently that way, then networking probably is your best alternative.
quiz, for you, what are successful resumes?
here's a typical for me -
XYZ Architects City, State 2006 - Current
Project Architect for Institutional and Commercial projects from Schematic Design through Construction Administration.
Hospital Parking Ramp, generated project documentation utilizing Building Information Modeling software. Produced red-lines, and supervised project team to facilitate project documents. Responsible for project coordination and review of consultant documents. Assisted in the preparation of specifications. Prepared bid alternates, addenda, RFI responses, and supplemental information documentation. Performed shop drawing and submittal reviews.
Athletic Expansion, prepared construction documentation, and assisted in the preparation of specifications. Responsible for project coordination with design consultants. Prepared RFI responses, Supplemental Instructions, shop drawing and submittal reviews. Attend semimonthly job site meetings to review project schedule.
Cleanroom Addition; PCL Design Build, generated construction documentation utilizing BIM software, reviewed cleanroom construction standards and performed preliminary code review. Performed document coordination with design consultants using integrated BIM structural components.
do you like to see jobs/description of tasks performed on said job - or - do you like to see skills, then important projects [with primary role on prj and then sf and dollar amount]??
curious, becaue i think with the latter, resumes can be much shorter, the former gets drawn out.....
how should i handle the dearth of proj that one works on in an office - so as not to convey that in 5 or 6 years with one firm i only did 4 or 5 projects???
beta, i don't think it's wise to tick off every project
i've sometimes handled it as (sans abbreviations):
2007-current XYZ stupitects, project manager
PM on several tenant improvements including a 40,000 sf clinic as well as a 30,000 class A office space.
Lead designer for several schools, including an innovative pre-school funded by hamas and the pope.
wait, did hamas and the pope really fund a school together?
beta ... as I said above "there's a lot of variation in what firms want and need from candidates, so don't take what any of us says here as universal truths" - but, for me, I approach each resume in the following general manner:
first - I scan the resume to determine two basic chunks of information: a) school, degree and degree date; b) current place of employment and tenure there. if the resume indicates the candidate is entry level and I'm looking to hire a licensed project architect, I stop there and place the resume in my "reply with regrets" folder.
second - if the candidate passes the initial screening, I then start looking more carefully at work history -- I'm vitally interested in how long the individual has been in place at his/her most recent 2-3 positions. I also start looking more carefully at how the candidate describes his/her role in those firms -- in some cases, I will see a fairly detailed description of duties; in other cases, I will see a title (i.e. Job Captain, Intern Architect, Field Administrator) ... if I know the firm, that title may be meaningful to me, but not always ... but, at least it gives me a general idea of the level of work the individual has been performing.
third - I'll look around to see the kind of projects the candidate lists ... given the nature of our firm, project type experience of the type we produce is a vital piece of information ... that doesn't mean we won't entertain individuals without that sort of experience, but we do pay very close attention to those candidates who indicate such experience on their resume.
fourth - if the information in steps 2 and 3 retain my interest, I'll look at other aspects of the credentials. if there are sample images, I'll look at those -- at this stage, images start becoming very important for me.
fifth - if there is a description of other attributes (i.e. awards won; professional association participation; community involvement, etc.) I'll look at those -- but, IMHO, these aspects probably are not integral to what I'm trying to find -- at best, they're a bonus and help me establish a rounder profile of the candidate.
based on these five steps, I'll make a preliminary decision about whether to conduct a phone interview or invite the candidate in for an office visit.
this may seem to you a superficial process. but, please understand -- I read probably 30-40 resumes each week and conduct 5-10 interviews each month. after a while, that experience allows me to read a lot 'between the lines' -- on a fairly limited amount of informaiton, I can spot puffery / I can spot competence. these are instincts that come from experience and they rarely fail me.
personally, I don't need a ton of information to get me and the candidate to the interview stage -- that's where I really start to assess what the candidate can bring to the table and what sort of LT potential the candidate offers. the interviews tell me what I need in order to move forward toward an offer. all the resume and mini-portfolio provide is a pass key to the interview stage.
you ask about "skills" -- I see lists of those a lot on resumes -- I pay very little attention to them -- such lists are just too self-serving. I will explore that during the interview and detailed portfolio review. I find I can assess skills much better through a dialogue with the candidate. I also check references on candidates we like -- those conversations give me a lot of insight into what the person might, or might not, be able to do.
long winded I know -- hope this helps.
quizz, what about letters of recommendation? i've heard of a lot of firms and i worked for one that would rather take the time to write a letter of reference/recommendation, rather than me putting their phone number on my resume and having to answer calls at perhaps inopportune times. do you appreciate things like this with the initial submission, are they helpful or is this information you only seek after an interview?
MArch06 - good question. while there's nothing inherently wrong with letters of recommendation, I'm not much of a fan of such letters as part of the hiring process - as a general rule, I don't believe such letters are either candid or objective. they always feel like window dressing to me.
nobody - and I mean nobody - is going to put anything but praise in a reference letter, for obvious reasons. however, a phone call - especially if the two parties know each other and are careful to respect the confidentiality of the call - is both interactive and, in most case, remarkably candid. I usually find that I can gather all manner of useful information from reference checks.
people who really care about you are not going to be reluctant to take reference calls.
both.
for smaller firms, don't ask what I can do for you. Tell what you can do for ME.
for bigger firms, too !
it is an integral concept of (dare I say it) sales and marketing. don't talk about YOUR needs, talk about what the customer needs.
quizzical makes a very important point. if you think of this as the only opportunity ever to tell yourself about the employer, you're going to get impossibly long-winded. (the same applies if you think you HAVE to show your entire repertoire of imagery.) the purpose of this package is to tell them enough to get you in the door to talk about the rest.
bullet points are good.
Responsibilities included: (bullet, bullet, bullet)
Notable projects: (bullet, bullet, bullet)
a format I used for years (before entering a design profession) had four bullet points at the top for what I considered my key overall skills, then under each job title, 3-4 bullets for key responsibilities. (key projects weren't so much a factor in my line of work then, but they'd be important here)
think in terms of an old fashioned outline format, where you go from the general to the specific. and then stop yourself from being TOO specific.
read "sell your way to the top" by zig ziglar and you will never need to hunt for a job again.
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