Hello Dan,

 

                I’m in Canada so it might be a bit different here but personally for me the resume/c.v. needs to look visually appealing. If everything is all over the page, big blocks of text, and difficult to read that reflects on their work ethic in my opinion. Formatting of the actual information can vary but should be easy to see different sections and information. I see no real reason to stick to one page, that’ll get difficult very quickly following a couple internships or contracts. My personal maximum is two sheets double sided plus a one page cover letter. I wouldn’t necessarily eliminate anyone if they go over, but if it comes down to it an eight page c.v. full of unnecessary information may be a strike against them.

 

I like to see volunteer, work, and education experience listed along with a short list of relevant extras such as a certifications (e.g. gun licence, Fall Arrest, and industry specific courses that they may have taken outside of their education or work experience). The ‘extras’ should typically go last with the other three sections listed in order of relevance. Straight out of school it might go education then volunteer and then work but after a contract or two the list could quickly reverse with work at the start and education third. If they are required to have a work experience field and don’t have anything, put the volunteer or related experiences under there and simply note that it was volunteer or whatnot. Typically anything beyond five years starts to drop in relevance expect education unless you’ve been in the current/last position for most or more of the last five year but as these are students that doesn’t really apply here. I have no interest in the list of skills that often top a c.v., such as ‘hard worker’, ‘dedicated’, ‘attention to detail’. These are just fluff and are too generic to be useful when screening candidates. I want to see things that can be shown to me, demonstrable items. These will typically fall under education and work experience sections or I’ll ask about them in the reference check. I also don’t care about marks/GPA. If you passed, you passed and the person that got 98% isn’t necessarily going to be better than the candidate that got 78%. If these people are coming right out of school they still need on the job training anyway and I’d rather have someone that maybe didn’t get perfect in school but is personable, seems like a good fit, willing to learn and be taught than someone who did great in school and thinks they can hit the ground running or may not fit in well with the team.

 

Also, if they have a portfolio that’s a big plus but this works better for some areas than areas. Hope this helps.               

 

William Shepherd

Collections Officer

Swift Current Museum

44 Robert Street West

Swift Current, Saskatchewan

S9H 4M9

Phone: 306-778-4815

Fax: 306-778-4818

 

Archives: http://sain.scaa.sk.ca/collections/swift-current-museum

Library: https://www.librarything.com/profile/SwiftCurrentMuseum

Website: http://www.swiftcurrent.ca

 

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dan Bartlett
Sent: March 7, 2018 8:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Resumes - What do you want them to be?

 

 

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