[ale] Resume formatting (was: Anyone looking for a new gig?)

[Jerald Sheets]

On Oct 13, 2008, at 3:06 PM, Jeff Lightner wrote:

>
> Is it really that hard to say “sorry not interested” when asked  
> about a job for which you have no interest or qualification?

I don't as much have an issue with that.  For me, it irritates me when:

1.  The recruiter cannot speak the English language passably enough to  
be understood over the crackle of the call from India.  (I roomed with  
two Indian guys and a Pakistani in college...  I'm able to understand  
quite a bit)

2.  Said Indian caller cannot read well enough to ascertain that 18  
years of Systems Administration does not translate to Sr. Oracle  
engineer *EVEN IF* the keyword does exist on my resume as an  
environment supported.

3.  When the following lines:

      *** I DO NOT WORK CONTRACT NOR RESPOND TO RELOCATION  
OPPORTUNITIES ***

appear at the top of my profiles in every online job search engine,  
and Mr. recruiter calls for a contract position in New York.  THEN  
when asked, affirms that he did see that and chose to ignore it.

4.  Recruiter argues with me about what is on my resume.

5.  Recruiter asks me to change the formatting of my resume because he/ 
she cannot edit it.  (true story!  You can cause a great deal of havoc  
with tables in MSWord!  )

6.  Recruiter doesn't have the common sense to tell their client "No,  
you can't have someone with 15 years of .NET, 20 years of Java,  
{insert more years than has been in existence of favorite technology  
here}".

>
> Expecting them to know as much about every job they represent as the  
> potential candidates seems to require a divine status that few could  
> achieve.

I had a guy talk at the NW meeting when I was at TWC.  His name is  
Brian Mack, and works at Tek.  He makes the effort.  He stays on top  
of the tech he recruits for, and even casts the odd call my way to ask  
me "What is $tech?"

He *cares* enough about his career that he makes it his business to  
know what he's recruiting for, what it entails, and if he thinks  
someone is trying to snow him, he checks facts.  If he can do it,  
shouldn't other recruiters at least make some measurable effort in  
that direction?

I'm not asking for some super-recruiter, I'm just asking for a person  
that is conscientious, courteous, professional, and observant.   
Luckily, i n my most recent move, the recruiter was just that.  I took  
the job.

Great discussion!

--j
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