May 2009
Monthly Archive
Common sense is doomed (AKA: why I’ll always have a job)
Posted by Tim on 06 May 2009 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
In the last week or so I was asked to convert a couple document files, a .docx and .pages. After asking what they were for I was informed that they were resumes that recent college grads sent us.
WHAT?
So let me get this straight. You want me to go out of my way to help you read one of the hundreds of resumes that were sent to us? This is clearly natural selection at work here. Do we keep letting these people unknowingly eliminate themselves from jobs before their resume is even open or should we educate them?
In the pages example I told the person to write back saying that they didn’t have the skill set we were looking for (having a clue) but in the future they should consider sending out resumes in a more standard format like PDF or backwards compatible .doc files.
What exactly are people learning in school? Isn’t the whole point of school to prepare you for real life? Is there anything more "real life" than having to find a job when you college meal ticket runs out?
Having trouble finding a job? Try making sure people can even see your resume! Do yourself a favor and send it to a friend, a former coworker, a stranger on the Internet, anyone who uses a different computer than you do.