resume

[elsa]

I am putting together a resume and would like your input.

Let's say you are hiring.......you get a batch of resume's....what do you look for? what grabs your attention? what information is most important to you?

Am thinking about including some pictures of work I have done, would this be smart or not--and why?

Thanks
Elsa

[OzDave]

Show you active not just at work but also outside of work. e.g. clubs you belong to

Remeber they are looking for what is in it for them, not what is in for you. Showing what you can do is probably less important then showing what you will do or bring to the company.

Best in the job hunt

[EllenAtHowards]

We are in this very process. The ad says "art experience essential" You would think that people would therefore write on their applications what art experience they have. Not necessarily.

The ones that made the cut have that art experience, their resume is short and tailored to our business, and, for one, I'd be impressed to see a really cool frame design picture included!

[Sister]

I agree with putting in some community activities and what you can do for them. Trade references (3 to 5) or letters of recommendation from former employers would be nice.

[Peter Bowe]

Pay attention to the little details. I have been on a couple of search committees where we had to wade through stacks of resumes. On the first cut you tend to look for ways to narrow the field and resumes with typos, poorly formatted appearance or grammatical errors get culled right away. Be concise and professional or your resume might never be read.

Peter Bowe

[Ron Eggers]

Most people, in a show of modesty, sell themselves short on their resumes. A resume is no place for modesty. Brag about yourself. Show some confidence.

A long time ago, I hired Sandy (not her real name, or maybe it was) - mostly based on the best resume I've ever seen. She also interviewed well, but I wish I still had her resume so I could send it to you.

The fact that she turned out to be a complete airhead is beside the point.

At another time, an applicant got the inside track - and the job - because I had specified, in an ad that ran first in the Sunday paper, that I wanted written applications only - no phone calls. His resume was under my front door when I came in early on Monday.

And you know this already, but never tell them why you need the job. They shouldn't care. Tell them why THEY need YOU.

[gemsmom]

One of the best/easiest hires I had came in when I wasn't hiring.

He showed up at my shop just to ask if we were hiring. I wasn't at the time, but put his information on file. Usually, I would politely take the info, and discard it after they left if I wasn't interested. There was something about him I liked, so I kept him in mind.

A while later I needed to hire a full-timer, and he got the call for an interview and was hired.

If you are looking for a job in your area, you might want to try the personal approach. Write up a nice resume, enclose photos of work you have done (put a couple pieces in your car to have on hand, just in case), and visit shops within your area. I never turned anyone away who was looking for work, even if was not hiring. If they aren't nice to you, you wouldn't want to work there, anyway.

I think enclosing photos of your work is a good idea. I hired a couple of "framers" early in my career. One was bad, the other was worse, so I shied away from people who said they could frame. It got to where I preferred hiring people whose hobbies were craft related and had a desire to learn framing. I would train them myself. If someone told me they were a framer, it would have been to their advantage to prove it to me in some way. Photos would help.

[Bob Carter]

I'll speak from an Employeer's point of view

I don't put much stock in a fluffed up resume when hiring for a framing position, the first hurdle is prior employment. Who did you work for, how long did you work. If those are negative the other 6 pages may never get read

The next biggest hurdle is the face to face interview-I want a pleasant person with a great workman like attitude-save the artistic stuff-tell me you are a hard worker

Then, we do a little practical exercise-show us how well you can do the things we are going to hire you. I don't want to see a picture, I want to see you do it

All this works well, of course, unless I need a framer right now and you have a pulse

[Kevin Colbert]

Elsa,

Make a follow-up phone call. Make it short and to the point. You just wanted to follow up and say hello. Be ready to have a short phone interview if they initiate, but don't push if they don't.

This is predicated on the fact that you do have a nicely prepared resume that shows a history of dedicated work. Be honest about your background and goals. You don’t want to trick someone into thinking you are something other than what you are. You would only be miserable in the job and make them miserable as well.

Finally, when you are job hunting, you should not be looking for a “job”, you should be looking for an “offer” that you will either accept or reject. Most interviewers can tell when someone just wants a “job”, and it is a turn off. Be confident and objective about yourself and the opportunities you interview for. It will make the exercise much more enjoyable for you and you will learn a lot about yourself and what you want in a career.

[deaconsbench]

Elsa, I just searched 'resume' on the internet, and there are a number of freebie sites available. Remember, the BEST resume is one (1) page, but NO MORE than two (2) pages long. The use of 'action' words (performed, completed, managed, etc.) should begin each descriptive experience sentence. The best of luck to you, once you have done your resume-writing homework.

[DTWDSM]

As an employer I will have to say that I am the same as Bob. Anyone can look good on paper, it's the real thing that counts.

I always have someone fill out an application in the store, I don't care if you have a resume. Let's see how long it takes to fill it out when you have someone watching you and you don't have the website there to give you good key words. If it takes longer than 10-15 minutes to fill it out, you better have a great personality if you want to talk to me again.

Your references better say something nice about you, as in previous employers not your uncle or next door neighbor. If they pause or don't really want to talk that means stay away.

You also better not have a record for anything in the state court system besides traffic tickets. It is amazing how many applicants have applied for a position in the past year who have burglary, drug, multiple OWI, assult, and disorderly conduct charges yet, answer the question do you have any criminal chargews besides minor misdemeanors with a "No"

Ron, I just parted ways "Sandy" who worked for a local framer for 2 years and had other experience, resume good, interview good. She could not clean a 24 x 36 piece of glass in less than 5 minutes without having a nervous breakdown. I told her to go back to Wisconsin and look you up. smile.gif

[Grumbler F.K.A. Harry]

Elsa,

Keep a resume, clean, simple and accurate. You are who you are and your experience is what it is. Choose your words carefully and use a few as possible. Short, non-wordy/flowery resumes get read all the way through and will give a hiring manager a clearer picture of your credentials. If it gets to be too wordy, they may loose interest in reading it.

If you want to get people's attention with a resume, make sure you mail it to a specific person not just "Human Resources" or "Hiring Manager". Get a name. I would NOT send specific references, letters of reccomendation, samples, photos or anything like that. Impress them with your with your ability to be efficient and complete in a written resume. That will get you a phone call from them wanting to learn more about you. Then bring all that other stuff.

Remember, A resume won't get you the job, but it can loose it for you. A good resume gets you an interview. That is all you need it to do. Get in the door and in front of the hiring manager and then the rest is up to you. That's when you blow them away with your letters, awards, and samples of your work.

Remember, just get in the door.

[Maria Nucci Designs]

Elsa,

You didn't say whether this was a sales position or framing position. Although the two positons are often combined in many shops, I think an employer might be looking for different qualifications.

As Harry said, keep it simple, clean and accurate, no matter which position you're going for.

I wouldn't include samples with the resume; just state at the end "samples and references available upon request". When you get the interview, have a file of photos ready to show. Make sure your references are good.

For either a sales or framing position, I like to see good evidence of organizational ability. Give some examples of problems you encountered in previous positions and how you solved them. These could be anything from reorganizing the mat storage unit to setting up weekly meetings between sales and framing staff to prioritize the week.

Sales and design positons require expert customer service skills. Show you can design, quote and follow up with your customers whether they're corporate or retail. Communication skills are key as well as people skills.

Creativity is important, especially at the design end, but I like to see a good organizational mind at first. Show your colorful side later at the interview.

In the back room, a valuable framer is one that is a really hard worker, reliable, creative in an "engineering" sense, resourceful and careful.
Communication skills are key here too.

If you can communicate any of this on your resume, I'd hire you.