Re: Certification/Resume anecdote

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM>]

At 5:14 AM 1/3/96, Geoff Hart wrote:
[snip]

> IBM was on the phone, and politely said something to the
> effect of "your resume crossed my desk this morning, and
> quite frankly, I can't imagine why you ever thought you
> could work at IBM... you're completely unqualified, and
> this piqued my curiosity".

> Not being one to let such a comment pass unchallenged, I
> spent five minutes explaining why I felt that my training
> qualified me for the job. I had an interview an hour later
> (barely time enough to iron a shirt, hop on the subway and
> get to his door), and I had a job before I went home that
> afternoon. A few morals:

> 1. Yes, the truth is occasionally stranger than fiction.
> 2. Learn to write a good cover letter that explains why
> someone would want to read your resume (something I hadn't
> learned at that time).
> 3. Don't rely on "qualifications", including certification;
> you'll get some bozos that way, and you'll also rule out
> good candidates.
> 4. Even if you look like me (see sig!), you can still get a
> job with IBM.

Another moral:
Use your resume to raise questions about you, not to tell
the recipient everything about you. A question can lead to
a phone call -- and sometimes that's all the opening you
need!

Thanks for the great illustration of that point, Geoff!


-Sue Gallagher
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com