I need an Engineering job

[Achan hiArusa]

Not too bad. I would probably make the header centered. But I would especially do something about that right margin, its really ragged. The one page resume isn't exactly a requirement nowadays.

Do you have any of the sample cover letters you've written?

/sigh. I do need to stop working in a library and adjunct professoring and find a real job myself. My upper level science skills are getting rusty.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Is this exactly the form that you send to potential employers?

Yes. I recently added a new email address with my name instead of "streamofthesky" (I still use the one on there as my primary email, I just decided to phase it out as my business email), but I've been using this for months now unchanged. It generates interest and interviews, and career services people have told me it is good, so I didn't see any issues with it.

Not too bad. I would probably make the header centered. But I would especially do something about that right margin, its really ragged. The one page resume isn't exactly a requirement nowadays.

-I tried doing centered, but didn't like it and it often extended the resume to 2 pages barely.
-The right margin could be fixed, strangely no one's ever told me that before. I know it's not perfectly lined up at the edge.
-Really? That was a MAJOR theme hammered into us by our college's career services: do NOT go onto a second page unless you have several jobs and years of relevant experience to put down. A college grad should not need more than one page.

Do you have any of the sample cover letters you've written?

Haven't written any.

/sigh. I do need to stop working in a library and adjunct professoring and find a real job myself. My upper level science skills are getting rusty.

Good luck, it's brutal right now.

 

[Pbartender]

Take a look at this, Mark...

You'll need to fill in a few details that I don't have. I chose to use Century Gothic for the font simply because it reminds me of 1st Ed. D&D, you can CTRL-A, and change it to whatever you like (though, I'd recommend avoiding Arial).

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Thanks, it's certainly different. I'll try using your style resume for a while. I added in details, but I have some issues with the high school portion. First of all, I had a 4.25 GPA on a system that's supposed to give 4.3 for an A+. However, our school gave +1 point for Honors and AP classes, of which I had for half my schedule, and -1 for anything below "college prep" level. So, I'm never sure what to say was the maximum. 5.3 is the absolute highest, but it's somewhat misleading and makes my GPA look only a little above average at a glance, when in fact I was in the top 10% for my class for GPA and I think only the top two students cracked the 5.0 mark at all (and barely). This was a graduating class of ~340, and I was ranked ~#25, going from memory.

The other thing is, I didn't realize if high school or even middle school achievements were worth providing. I was High Honor Roll in high school and middle school, and at least qualified for the Spanish Honors Society* if I never actually sent in the paperwork (I really can't remember any more). In high school, I also received an award for "Rhode Island Scholar" -- basically, an award for people who scored in the top 10% on the SAT. In middle school I had two National Social Studies Olympiad awards (top scorer in my school) and some presidential academic recognition award (certificate signed by the president, several got them so it wasn't that unique) that I'd have to search for to even remember the exact name of. I doubt any of those are worth putting on my resume, but figured I'd list them out anyway just in case.

*Perhaps some clarification on why i think it's fruitless to add this: While I took Honors level Spanish and got an A+ every single year in it, I never was interested in the language, and only took it because more interesting ones (to me) like Japanese, Latin, or Russian weren't available. In the 5 years since high school ended, I've basically forgotten everything I learned about Spanish.
[sblock]Also...the class was easy ( well, to me; some flunked) and provided a nice grade boost. [/sblock]

 

[Pbartender]

Thanks, it's certainly different.

And that's exactly the point.

Also, those borders for the tables won't show up when you print... Go to "print preview" to see what it'll actually look like printed out.

FYI: You missed the starting month for your URI Bookstore job.

The other thing is, I didn't realize if high school or even middle school achievements were worth providing.

Not Middle School/Junior High achievements, but High School Achievements are certainly warranted when you are looking for your first job. Even later, it's good to list your high school and your graduation date (though by then you should have more important achievements to list than Honor Roll in High School ). Remember, even application forms for higher level jobs don't assume that you've graduated high school.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

FYI: You missed the starting month for your URI Bookstore job.

D'oh!

So, I should add high honor roll and spanish honors society, then? In the case of the latter, even though I have no real proficiency with the language anymore?

Also, it looks quite nice in print preview. Thanks for your help.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Good luck with your search.

I'd like to second the advice in "What color is your parachute", I found that very helpful when I was looking for work back in 1999. One of the main principles that he talked about then was that most people get a job via someone they know rather than via job ads, so he gives examples of ways of getting to know people (that might sound hokey, but I've not looked at the book in a decade, and I'm going from memory here!)

There has been lots of good advice so far. I know that when I was first looking for a job each interview was an opportunity to improve my interview technique; I'd think about better answers to questions which had stumped me or which I had messed up my answers on. I also found that it helped me to relax if I didn't worry about whether this interview was "the one", which helped me come over much better and more naturally (again, much like dating!).

When I've been on the other side of the interview desk, as I was earlier this year, one of the things I look for in the interviewees is whether they have done any homework about my organisation. Too many don't bother, or just have a superficial idea, and that counts against them!

I hope these snippets may be of some help, and that 2009 will be your year.

Cheers

 

[Meowzebub]

One thing you mentioned the you never bother with is a cover letter. While perhaps not as important as the resume, it still plays an important role in perhaps landing more interviews. The letter allows an introduction that dates, jobs, and grades just don't convey on a resume. In my current position, I see all applications come across my desk. A letter to me, shows that someone took the time to find out about the company, what we do, explain why someone thinks they would be a good fit, perhaps learned my name to address me in the salutation. But as Plane Sailing just mentioned as important, it shows someone is serious and taken an interest in working at my company, beyond perhaps just looking for a job. Just receiving a resume from someone addressed to whom it may concern as if from a mass mailing, does not get as much attention as someone explaining how they are a good fit for our type of work, especially if experience between two candidates is equal.

And I want to add another recommendation for a "Good Answers to Tough Questions" type of book. It sounds like you need to be more comfortable during the interview process, and having prepared for a lot of the BS questions they throw at you will help with that. Have your girlfriend and friends practice interview you.

A couple of potential red flags for an interviewer. I would be leery of making a jokey facebook page. It is too easy for a company to Google you and potentially find something embarrassing about you. And I know this may be hard, but I hope the lack of ambition does not come out in the interview. That "What do you hope to be doing in five years?" question is tricky as you dont want to come off as cocky, or in perhaps your case, too subdued as in doing the same job that I am applying for right now. They typically want to see some potential for growth, even if you dont think you have it in you. The above mentioned Interview book will have good things to shoot for here, but things like contributing, being recognized for hard work, furthering your interest in ???? within the company, moving up to work in XXX Division. They probably really dont care what you might be doing in 5 years other than still working at their company (which is what you want) but you need to convince them that it is your interest in their business that will keep you there, and not a lack of interest in looking for other work.

Hope some of that helps

Good luck

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Not engineering work, but yesterday I took a test for the U.S. Census bureau. Assuming I get a job, it'll only be 4-6 weeks in april/may, but pays $16 an hour. The job description sounds easy, the test is laughably easy, and it looks like a pretty good deal. I recommend looking up about it in your state if you're unemployed, better than nothing.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Figured it was time for an update.

For the Census job, no word yet, but I passed their little test with flying colors, so I expect to have a temporary job come spring.
Psion's office called me last night, thanks to him for his help. Job position was for network engineering, so it's unlikely I will even have an interview for it (very much a field I know little about), though as Psion said, they have a lot of DSP work there, so maybe there's a chance if they thought I had potential to move to a different position later.
Last month's IEEE meeting for my area was listed for the wrong day so I missed it, the next monthly meeting is this Tuesday, so I will be going and hoping to make some new friends.
I just started at the bookstore again a week and a half ago, but only for the start of the semester, as I'm a temp, and only state employees and students can stick around for long. I'll be done either tomorrow or after next week (boss is making schedule tonight). I talked to him after work today, though, at first just curious to see if anyone had called him asking about me. I didn't realize references weren't utilized until after an interview goes well generally, so...that explains why he had gotten nothing. We ended up talking about various things, and apparently the state hires out a temp firm for engineering work, he emailed a coworker who knows more about that to tell me about it tomorrow.

On a final note...the number of scam job offers is starting to worry me. There's been a few, but one particular company just contacted me a second time. It's called "Aveeva, Inc." They emailed me back in November about an offer for training and eventually job placement. But the training required me to pay up front for it, to be reimbursed after I'm placed for a job. That made me hesitant, but the guy who I spoke to on the phone made it sound reasonable enough: the training is really expensive, and the payment required is a tiny fraction of it, meant to discourage people from leaving early (and thus wasting their money). I still felt uneasy, but that actually sounded maybe fair. The part that made me hit the brakes was that he wanted me to fly out to California and start in less than a week! I don't make those kinds of decisions on the spot and rushed like that, and it made me fear it was a scam all the more. I was on the phone though, I had to say something, so I said it was too soon. I told him to let me think about it more and contact me when the next batch of job openings came up. Well...apparently that's now.
So I did a websearch on them this time, and it appears they are indeed, a scam. Even if not, the living and working conditions sound horrible. Going mostly from this website: Aveeva Inc
Note if you wish to go through the pages that the reviews are either total praise or total condemnation, nearly no in-between. That says to me that they're writing the positive reviews themselves, leading to the disparate comments. Or...some guy REALLY hates them and has nothing better to do with his time, but that seems far less likely.