Post #104,792
6/4/03 10:36:28 AM
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How to prepare for technical interviews?
Every job board or networking group that I visit only deal in generalities for resumes and interviews. Is there anywhere or anybody I can contact that specializes in technical/IT resumes and interviews? I certainly need help, but don't know where to turn to find it.
lincoln
"Four score and seven years ago, I had a better sig"
[link|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/resume.htm|VB/SQL resume]
[link|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/tandem_resume.htm|Tandem resume]
[link|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net|contact me]
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Post #104,804
6/4/03 11:07:44 AM
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You are not the only one needing help...
I have had seven revisions to my resume, everything from "Traditional" to "Filled with Buzzwords"... I get: It's too long when I show the FULL thing.
It's not complete enough when it's One Page.
It's too buzzwordy, when I give the short descriptions
It's too long in the tooth when I use Third person Sentence Fragments as Bullet points
It's got too much information when I include everything I have ever worked with/admin'd
It doesn't show that you *HAVE* our "specific" Brand of UNIX (my comment: fucking WHAT THE HELL is that! UNIX is FUCKING UNIX, you either HAVE it or you don;t have the skill)
It shows I am a transient when I display ALL of my work, including contracts.
It shows I am too, company/poistion centric when I include only relevant Employment and skills
It's too baffling when I give my abilities
It's not got enough Education info when I only show where and scores/grade
It's got too much info when I detail my courses of study and "Vendor Specific" courses
It's has too much admin/hardware analyst stuff showing I don't understand software, programming, scripting and compiling
It's got too much info when I list the Perl, shell, etc... to be a "GOOD" admin/analyst
I don't have enough networking skills when I include high level stuff they ask about
I have too much networking skills when I include the infrastructure projects and implementations I have been on. It isn't about what works and what doesn't right now, it's about getting into that top 200 applicants for the job they sift through to get the initial group. Most place right now are getting between 600-1000 resumes/applicants per job posting. They go thru the top of the stack, until they have enough to interview, figuring they can ALWAYS comeback for more if they don't find one *THIS* time through.
| [link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg] - IT Grand-Master for Anti-President | | [link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] |
THEY ARE WATCHING YOU. The time has come for you to take the last step. You must love THEM. It is not enough to obey THEM. You must love THEM. PEACE BEGETS WAR, SLAVERY IS FREEDOM, STRENGTH IN IGNORANCE.
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Post #104,808
6/4/03 11:12:05 AM
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Remember to weed out the overqualified
What every HR drone wants is the least qualified person who can do the job. What they should want[1] is the least expensive person who can do the job well.
[1] Even that is questionable.
===
Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
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Post #104,823
6/4/03 11:54:50 AM
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Re: Remember to weed out the overqualified
Quote:
What every HR drone wants is the least qualified person who can do the job. What they should want[1] is the least expensive person who can do the job well.
WRONG!!!What they want is THE LEAST EXPENSIVE PERSON - PERIOD! To hell with their qualifications and experience. lincoln
"Four score and seven years ago, I had a better sig"
[link|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/resume.htm|VB/SQL resume]
[link|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/tandem_resume.htm|Tandem resume]
[link|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net|contact me]
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Post #104,826
6/4/03 11:58:38 AM
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Not what I said
I really believe they want the least qualified person that may be able to do the job. That means lower starting pay, and less chance they will find a better offer somewhere else. (Especially if you never offer/allow any training to your people.)
IOW they should be looking for the least expensive person, but in practice they'll take the less experienced/qualified one at the same price.
===
Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
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Post #104,828
6/4/03 12:00:37 PM
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Drew, that would be the CHEAPEST!
| [link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg] - IT Grand-Master for Anti-President | | [link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] |
THEY ARE WATCHING YOU. The time has come for you to take the last step. You must love THEM. It is not enough to obey THEM. You must love THEM. PEACE BEGETS WAR, SLAVERY IS FREEDOM, STRENGTH IN IGNORANCE.
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Post #104,831
6/4/03 12:05:13 PM
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Should vs. Do
I'm saying they should want the least expensive. Lincoln had said thay actually do want the least expensive. I'm saying what they really want is the least qualified. (That can do the job. Maybe. Eventually.)
===
Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
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Post #104,827
6/4/03 11:59:04 AM
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Ahhh... HAH!
Now you are coming around...
| [link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg] - IT Grand-Master for Anti-President | | [link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] |
THEY ARE WATCHING YOU. The time has come for you to take the last step. You must love THEM. It is not enough to obey THEM. You must love THEM. PEACE BEGETS WAR, SLAVERY IS FREEDOM, STRENGTH IN IGNORANCE.
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Post #104,907
6/4/03 9:50:24 PM
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Not just the HR drone
I'm convinced (after hearing "you'd be bored" lots and lots of times) that the hiring managers are often the ones who make the overqualified objection. I think it is because they don't want someone more qualified than they are, for fear I'll take their job.
----
Whatever
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Post #104,914
6/4/03 10:17:12 PM
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Bingo.
I here that about as many times as I here: "well, you've got all this experience in FOO, except for Bar flavor of FOO. Sorry you are just not what we are looking for. Plus, you'd be bored anyway."
Hell, give me bored, it'll at least pay the Fricking Bills!
| [link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg] - IT Grand-Master for Anti-President | | [link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] |
THEY ARE WATCHING YOU. The time has come for you to take the last step. You must love THEM. It is not enough to obey THEM. You must love THEM. PEACE BEGETS WAR, SLAVERY IS FREEDOM, STRENGTH IN IGNORANCE.
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Post #104,922
6/4/03 11:55:22 PM
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Bored, heh
Yeah, I'm sure the real, live tech writing jobs where I "would have been bored" are nowhere near as intellectualy stimulating as deciding how much to charge for a cutout CD.
Not exactly complaining. It's honest work and kind of enjoyable, in a mindless sort of way. Get to look at lots of cover art, which I enjoy. Hell, just getting out there and earning a buck in the company of similarly occupied people is satisfying. But it isn't exactly a brain-stretching challenge.
----
Whatever
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Post #105,063
6/5/03 7:56:38 PM
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Savoring it, I trust..
I remember some *times*, trying to find WTF did we lose the #*%$ beam !? (accelerator complex) ... people waiting, at first patiently. What are we forgetting? yada yada Then-
I'd recall the mindless exercise of packaging dynamite at Giant Powder one summer; even the kinda visceral thrill of seeing the Angel Buggy being carefully rolled on its wooden wheels - with 800# of glyceryl trinitrate aboard. Dipping the tubes quickly into liquid paraffine meant that - you didn't want to lose even *one* out of the basket, where it would be warmed to the full temp of the paraffine! and-
Mindless, often slow but - conducive to a certain meditation.
Hey.. don't forget the jillions of mega-annoyances associated with the word 'company' - which you are currently free of! amidst millions Who Aren't.
{cackle}
Ashton
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Post #105,079
6/6/03 12:19:08 AM
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I certainly am
----
Sometime you the windshield, sometime you the bug...
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Post #104,927
6/5/03 1:12:15 AM
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Re: Not just the HR drone
they don't want someone more qualified than they are, for fear I'll take their job You are of course here recapitulating an element of the basic scenario that gave rise to C. Northcote Parkinson's classic essay Parkinson's Law. If you know only the Law itself, you are well advised to hunt down the slender book of the same title. Although Parkinson was observing the British civil service of half a century ago, his observations are timeless. [link|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568490151/103-8450702-0869420|http://www.amazon.co...3-8450702-0869420] cordially, Die Welt ist alles, was der fall ist.
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Post #104,816
6/4/03 11:30:34 AM
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Google->Forbes->CG&C->Amazon.
The web is truly a web...
I was reading [link|http://news.google.com|http://news.google.com] and saw a story that there was speculation that Steve Case was going to leave AOL soon. The [link|http://www.forbes.com|http://www.forbes.com] story had an interview with John Challenger of Challenger, Gray and Christmas - [link|http://www.challengergray.com|http://www.challengergray.com] . They get hired by companies to place people.
Challenger wrote a book that might be useful. [link|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809226693/002-7237150-4119217|The Challenger Guide: Job Hunting Success for Mid-Career Professionals]. I have no idea whether it's any good (and the fact that it was written in the IT boom years probably makes it a little outdated), but it might be worth a shot. CG&C apparently is highly regarded. Tha Amazon link has excerpts. It's available used for $2.75.
Another site that's been discussed here is [link|http://www.asktheheadhunter.com|http://www.asktheheadhunter.com]
There are no magic bullets in resumes or interviews. It's all very subjective and there's little you can do except your best. I know it's frustrating, but you'll find a good fit. Hang in there.
Cheers,
Scott.
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