Instructor Blog #3: Resumes
I can see from the responses to the last instructor blog that many of you are now appropriately discouraged. Now I'd like to discuss ways to make you stand out from the crowd. Good application materials can help you score the job you want, or at least give you a fighting chance. The last thing you want to do is send out a mediocre or terrible resume. Without hyperbole, I can say that a resume is one of the most important documents you will ever produce. The irony, of course, is that it will be read in 10-30 seconds, and if you don't make that cut, you get thrown away. 10-30 seconds. That's all the time you have to survive the first cut, so you better do it right.
The frustrating thing about resumes is that if you ask 10 people about them, you will get 10 different pieces of advice. Resumes are a gamble. Some people will like one move, others will hate it. Some people want objective statements, some don't. Some want very slim design, others want full design. Remember that resumes are a gamble, make the best bet you can, and hope for the best. Ultimately, that's all you can do.
To begin, a few pieces of advice from the experts. The first is from the Rockport Institute:
"A great resume doesn't just tell them what you have done but makes the same assertion that all good ads do: If you buy this product, you will get these specific, direct benefits. It presents you in the best light. It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career."
The second is from Doug B Richardson, who wrote this article, one of my favorites about resumes:
"Show me a clear-cut sense of direction. I keep seeing resumes that are little more than buckets into which a lot of data has been dumped in the apparent belief that I will fill in the gaps, synthesize diverse information, connect the dots and tell you what kind of product you are. I have no incentive to do this, given the number of knights eager to enter the lists. It isn't my job to make sense out of your life."
From these quotes, I want you to take several things. First, a company does not care about you. Not really. They want people who are going to be great for the company, who will make the company better. So they don't care if you took really interesting classes, or had a cool internship, or got some wicked sweet scholarship. They only care if you show them how these things prove that you will be a great fit as a great employee for the company. Your resume is not about you. It's ultimately about them. It's an ad for you aimed at them, so you want to appeal to what the company wants.
Secondly, resumes are an ethos builder. If you demonstrate through a resume that you understand the conventions and expectations of a business world, you look qualified and professional. If you can present yourself well, you can present a company well. If you present yourself poorly, you look unqualified and unprofessional. So remember that the resume is the first representative of yourself that the company sees, so make a great first impression.
Thirdly, as Richardson says, a resume is not just a blank sheet that you pour data onto. You need to carefully construct your resume to match the job and the company. This means focusing on the key words in the job ads. Let me say this again. Focus on the key words in the job ads. Many people do not understand this, and it hurts them. Job ads tell you what the company wants, so you have to show the company that you match their requirements. Consider this job ad for am IT Delivery Manager for Sears in Lafayette. The ad lists many requirements. For instance, they want the candidate to be able to "Manage the creation of detail design documentation," "Motivate team to achieve results utilizing their potential," and "Ability to work in a fast paced exciting environment."
You do not have to play guessing games about what the company wants - they just told you. Now it's your job to demonstrate that you are this person. So first, think about all your past experiences. Think about times you designed documents, motivated teams, and worked in fast paced environments. It's best if these experiences were relevant to computers, but the time you motivated trainees at Target or worked in the fast paced environment of Hardee's are also relevant, if you frame them in the right way. If you have the luxury of many past job experiences, choose the ones that are most relevant to the experience. If you only have a few job experiences, highlight the tasks that best fit the job description. As you write, use the language used in the job ad. Let me say that again. Use the language used in the job ad. The HR people are going to be looking for those qualities in those words. If you don't exhibit that you have those qualities in their language, why would they want to hire you?
So how does this manifest in each section? Let's break the resume down section by section with some specific advice. The textbook gives great and more thorough advice on all these sections, so read it carefully. My thoughts merely supplement the text.
Objective Statement: Frankly, I don't like objective statements much, and they're not as en vogue as they used to be. However, the CCO says most companies still want them. The goal of an objective statement is to convey what job you want and how you will serve the company, such as "To acquire a software sales position in an organization seeking an extraordinary record of generating new accounts, exceeding sales targets and enthusiastic customer relations." This is a bit wordier than you might want to be, but you get the point. The objective is using a sentence fragment that starts with "to" or a verb (seeking, etc) that operates as a thesis that focuses the resume. Be careful to specify a specific job, something neither too general nor too specific (resumes are often filed away for 6 months or a year, so you want something that might still meet the needs of the company after that time has passed.) Be careful also to not talk about what you want. I often see resumes that say "To secure an entry level position that will develop my network of contacts in the medical field." This essentially admits that you are using the job as a stepping stone to something better. What company wants that employee?
Education: Because you go to Purdue, your education section is probably your strongest asset right now. Later on, as you get more experience, education will slide further and further down your resume, but for now it will probably feature prominently at the top. At minimum, include your major, your minor, your degree, your anticipated graduation date, and your GPA if it's over 3.5. (If your major GPA is good, you can include that instead.) You can also consider including relevant courses, though do so only if you have taken interesting courses beyond the requirements. You can also include language skills or computer skills in this section. Include language only if you are comfortable speaking it in a technical job environment and include only computer skills that are unusual (don't put Windows, or Firefox, for example).
Experience: Here's the meat and potatoes of your resume. This is the part that will sell yourself to the employer. You want at least three jobs on here, in reverse chronological order (most recent first), with at least two bullet points under each describing your duties, accomplishments, and skills. Choose your most relevant experiences to feature. If you have substantial volunteer experience that is relevant, you can include that if you call your section "Experience" or "Relevant Experience" rather than "Work Experience." Include your job title, the company, and the dates of employment at minimum (you can also include the location of the company.) The position you held is most important, and the dates are the least, so feature the position on the left side of the resume, where the eye scans first, and the dates on the right, where the eye may not reach in a 10 second scan.
As you write your bullets, keep several things in mind. First, use parallel active verbs. That means starting each bullet with a verb of the same tense. If one bullet starts with a verb ending in "ed," they all start that way. If one starts with a present tense verb, they all start that way. And the verbs are exciting and action packed. Not "did," "was," participated." "Organized," "Analyzed," "Implemented," "Trained," "Produced," etc. See the CCO's list of power verbs on page 27 of their employment guide for more specifics.
Secondly, be specific in your descriptions. A description like "worked in an office performing various tasks" is extremely vague and almost worthless. A description like "Provided customer service by answering 100 calls daily on 12 line telephone" tells us what you did. That's something we can sink our teeth into. Quantify when you can, especially if the numbers are impressive. "Served customers food" is less impressive than "Served 200 customers food daily and operated cash register totaling $1000 in daily sales." If you used any equipment, machinery, or software in your job, tell us what it was. If you taught or trained anyone to do anything, tell us. If you wrote or designed anything, tell us. If you implemented anything new or had a new idea, tell us. If you performed any special feat, tell us. If you got any special awards or accomplishments, tell us. Use these bullets to prove that you match the company's expectation, so if they want someone with "Strong oral and written communication skills," emphasize something you did on the job that proves this qualification.
Activities, Awards, Honors, Volunteer Work, etc: Resumes often include references to other activities, awards, honors, and volunteer work done by the candidate. This is great in moderation. If you are on the Engineers Guild of Purdue University, tell us. If you play guitar or do yoga or built a really cool treehouse or cradle sick puppies, no one gives a damn. Keep this section relevant and short, and at the bottom of the resume.
Design: Your resume better look great. The HR people should want to marry your resume, or at least take it out to dinner. If it doesn't look good, you could have amazing experience and no one will read it. If information is hard to find, no one will find it. A good resume is easy to scan from top to bottom, makes good use of bullets, bold, and italics to create a hierarchy of information, and uses white space effectively. Use bullets where you most want to guide the eye, so avoid bullet overkill. Also, pay very, very close attention to alignment, which is key for scanability. Remember, good design is invisible, so don't go overboard with gold paper and glitter and sparkles. Just an elegant, simple, clean, easy to read design that uses the page well and is easy on a scanning eye. This is difficult to describe, which is why I am having you examine closely the samples in the CCO guide. Please look at them carefully and note their design features.
Many people have trouble making their resume fit a page. Your resume must fit on one page, so here are some tips. First, you can lower your page margins in the Page Setup tab of Word. The standard for resumes is 1", but you can take them down to .8" or even .5" and get away with it. Make your margins consistent. Also pay attention to the spaces between points. All font should be at least size 10 or 11, but spaces between things can be as low as size 8 font, so you can adjust these, as long as you are consistent.
Spelling and Grammar: DO NOT MISSPELL ANYTHING ON A RESUME, EVER!!!! If you misspell something, save yourself postage and deposit your resume directly into the garbage. I was once working at a job when an HR person ran across a resume with a misspelling. She called everyone in, we all had a good laugh, and then she threw the resume away. I don't want this to happen to you. To emphasize this, I am not giving anything over a C to any resume with a misspelling. Considering that having your resume thrown away is the equivalent of an F, this is very generous.
Templates: Please don't use a template. I know that Word and other programs have templates for generating a resume, but the problem is that lots of people use these. You don't want your resume to look exactly like 100 other people's, because then you won't stand out. Follow design principles and resume format closely, but find some small way to make yours original and distinctive.
Ethics: I realize it is tempting to lie on your resume. Many people do, and sometimes it works. But despite the temptation, never, ever lie on your resume, whether you're a rapper or a CEO. After the scandals at companies like Enron, businesses and business schools are being extra vigilant about honesty and ethics. Companies often do extensive background checks just to ensure the honesty of their applicants. If you lie on a resume and the company finds out, you'll almost certainly be fired. Furthermore, if you inflate your skills or experience, you might find yourself in big trouble when you can't perform as well as you sold yourself. The question, of course, is what constitutes a lie on a resume. Often, when I help students rephrase things on resumes to make them sound more impressive, they look at me like I'm helping them lie. Absolutely not. You deserve to represent yourself as well as possible, and sometimes that requires using language you're not used to or comfortable with. But this language should only portray the truth in the most positive light, never inflate the truth. I think there are a few tests to determine if you're lying on your resume. One, if you claim to have a skill, are you comfortable performing it on the job? If not, leave it off your resume. Secondly, if someone performed a thorough background check, would they find anything that seems shady or dishonest on your resume? If so, reconcile those differences. Thirdly, would your friends, family, and former employers agree that the resume portrays you accurately? If not, you may be stretching the truth. Be careful when putting together your resumes to be extremely ethical. The temptations are there, but the consequences are high.
Scanable Resumes: Some companies, such as Purdue, scan resumes with computers that sort out resumes with key words from those that don't. So again, this emphasizes the importance of keywords. It is also important that scanable resumes avoid italics, underlining, or strange fonts that throw off the computer.
Good luck on producing your resume. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Comments
Resumes give me a headache.
Although in the last post I ranted and raved about how I love to Job Search, writing my resume and everything to do with it is another story! Because I am a business major, resumes have been shoved in my face since I was a young, bright-eyed freshman. By now I can definitely agree that no matter how qualified the person critiquing your resume is or is not, you will be told a hundred different things that are wrong or right about. This is the most difficult thing I have encountered.
One professor I had (who remains nameless!) made my senior class write her a resume so she could tear them apart and force us to waste time changing them completely. I thought this was a complete waste of my time, and on my next interview, I brought copies of both that I had. I asked my interviewer what he thought of my prof.'s version and he kind of chuckled and asked why I was told to do it that way.
I have personally found that writing my own format and doing things the way I like them (within reason) has really worked for me. I know that my resume will not be like anyone else's because I did not ask anyone for help on it.
I completely agree with all of the tips in this posting, and particularly like the quote from Doug B. Richardson. I have been told many times to simplify my resume. I used to think that the more I had on my resume the better, but now realize that quality is better than quantity, as cliché as that may sound.
RE: Resumes give me a headache.
Targeted simplicity is important. Sometimes people view their resumes as a clearinghouse for everything they have ever done, every skill they have ever gained, every class they have ever taken, etc. These people often remark that they can't fit everything onto one page, or they end up using microscopic text (which is something you don't want to do). I think why this happens is because we're taught to treat documents by page count. We've struggled in school to hit the magic page number, so we always assume that more content is better. Let this be the class where you finally move beyond the concept that more text is better. Concision, especially in business writing, rules the day. CEOs of world-crushing companies have one-page resumes. There's no reason that you can't too, even though your internships and semesters abroad were interesting.
The issue here is that a resume isn't an FBI profile. You shouldn't try and tell a potential employer everything about yourself; you should research the position so that you know as much as you can about what this audience wants in a job candidate and, as much as ethically possible, cast yourself as that kind of applicant. There isn't one objective golden resume about you that will land any job. You must shape your resume for each particular audience and situation. I have 11 different resumes right now (and both my long and short format CV). I don't mean that I have applied for 11 different jobs with the same resume, I mean that I have active 11 different resumes that target a range of positions in digital technology, editing, teaching, video production, etc. They all share some qualities, but each highlights different aspects of what I can bring to a position, and each is designed in a different way to appeal to the different expectations of various fields.
At its best, a resume is like a good commercial. It tells a short, specific, persuasive story to a particular audience. You know those Geico caveman commercials? Of course you do. That's exactly the point. Think about all the material that isn't being said in them. This is why the commercials work, and their upcoming TV show will not without serious rhetorical changes.
Instructor Blog #3-Resumes
Resumes are complicated
Resumes indeed must be among the most complicated documents on the planet. The truest part of this article was the part in the second paragraph about asking 10 people about resumes and receiving 10 different pieces of advice. It is truly frustrating when you are attempting to write a resume and everyone has their own piece of advice that you “must” include to have a good resume. I know personally I have one roommate who is quite stubborn and will try and force his resume advice on you and then get angry if you do not want to take it. So I know just how frustrating it can be taking writing advice for a resume.
As I read through the blog I noticed comments that I have already included in my current resumes and other points which I had not thought to include or which I realized I could improve on. Especially the part in the job experience section about not being too vague in describing your previous job tasks. When I first began writing resumes, I found my biggest problem was being too vague when listing my previous job experiences. I was the typical “served food to customers” resume writer. It did not take long for me to realize this and improve on this, but I know I still have more room for improvement in this area.
Another area that I found difficult as I began creating resumes was the design. It was very difficult for me to come up with a design that I liked and that I felt worked well. Now that I have it, I try not to vary it too much, but occasionally I need an update for a specific position but I always try to retain a similar design. I find it’s easy to scan and the bullets I include help the eyes move to the important information. Like all things though, I know it can be improved upon and I’m hoping to be able to do that for this project.
Finally, the one part of this blog that I disagreed with was the GPA requirement for the resume. I’ve never before read a definite cut off for including a GPA, but I feel comfortable listing a GPA lower than 3.5 as long as it is above 3.0. Maybe this is more a personal decision that the writer has to make, but I feel it is so easy to finish your freshmen year with a not so impressive GPA that recovering it to a number above 3.5 by your junior or even senior year could be difficult. Personally I know my cumulative GPA is below a 3.5 but I still retain a 4.0 in my major, so maybe it is easier for me to argue this point because I know I can list a 4.0 on my resume instead of the lower cumulative GPA. That’s just my thought on that.
Response to Blog #3: Resumes
I wanted to start by saying that I like both of the quotations at the beginning of the blog. The first one acts as a reminder to me on what the focus of my resume should be, the company. Instead of focusing on myself, I should focus on how to make my resume fit the requirements the employer is looking for. In fact, by doing this, I will actually be helping myself in the end. The second quotation reminds that I need to be specific about my experiences so that whoever reads my resume gets what I want them to out of it. The reader will not “fill in the gaps, synthesize diverse information, connect the dots and tell you what kind of product you are” as stated in the quotation. This goes along with your objective statement. It should be phrased in a way that is attractive to the company, not you.
Another topic I wanted to address was key words. Although it is important to focus on them, I do not think that the exact same words should be repeated right back at the employer. If you can, I would try to give examples of experiences I have that demonstrate these qualities I want to exhibit. Simply repeating the exact words may leave the employer wondering if you just skimmed through some of the information you could find on the company instead of working hard on your application.
The final part of the resume I wanted to discuss was the design. I find this to be one of the most difficult parts, because no matter how hard you try it always seems like something just will not line up properly or exactly how you want it. This may seem like something that should be easy, but because it is so important it is worth spending a fair amount of time on. Also, there should be no reason to make a spelling or grammar error on your resume. With all the computer software designated to spell check, for example, making your resume error-free should be relatively simple.
Resume Blog Response
I am in agreement with this blog because I know firsthand just how much effort it takes to produce a high-quality resume. Last semester I can remember going to the CCO at least five times so they could analyze and correct problems with my resume. As the blog stated, it is probably one of the most vital pieces of paper you will ever touch in your lifetime. Even after these countless trips to the CCO, reading this blog still taught me a few bits of information. I did not know about the GPA recommendation or Purdue scanning and sorting out resumes that contain key word. I learned my lesson when I first tried to come up with a resume to send to an employer my freshman year. At the time I was inexperienced and was never really exposed to any kind of critiquing. I could not help but laugh when comparing the one I did then to the one I have now.
Resumes
Resumes
Response to Blog #3: Resumes
This blog was a great help to me. Although it was somewhat discouraging knowing that your resume only gets 10-30 seconds, it was great to read all the advice about how to make your resume stand out. I’m glad it was broken down into the different sections of the resume with suggestions about each part. I’ve always wanted to add my volunteer experience but I wasn’t sure if that was as important as work experience. I also feel that some of the items on my current resume will need to be removed. When I revise my resume and make it job-specific to the job ad that I chose, I will reference this blog and my book during my revisions. I look forward to editing my resume and receiving feedback from this class.
I consider myself to be a very honest person and expect honesty out of others as well. Earlier this year, one of my friends asked me to print her resume on my computer. As it was printing, I read her resume and was shocked to see that she had lied on her resume. I don’t see the point in lying on a resume or lying in general because the truth always surfaces.
In this past week, I’ve learned the importance of job-specific resumes and cover letters. Since I have three minors and I’m not sure what I want to focus on in my future career, I will edit my current resume and make other ones that are more specific to my minors as well as future internships or jobs.
Resume lies and multiple resumes
It's a shame resumes aren't easy!
Response to Instructor's Blog #3
I have written a resume in the past, however I have only written one so I am in no way a resume expert. As I read the blog there was so much information posted that I didn't even think about when I wrote my resume. "Focus on the keywords in the job ads" and "Use the language used in the job ad” I feel are both very helpful hints. When I wrote my resume I don't even think I had the page opened that had the job I was applying for on. I just sat down and started writing; I didn't even think to write it in the same way as the job ad or using some of the same keywords.
One thing I really thought was a good idea was when you mentioned using parallel active verbs, such as all the verbs ending in "ed". This is a good way to make your resume consistent and look more professional. I never thought of being that consistent on my resume before but I think it is a very good suggestion. I also think being more descriptive in your job duties is a smart thing to do. It is another way to show the companies how much work you did and the exact duties you did, not just a general listing of your duties.
The one part I'm not really sure how I'm going to put into my resume is the part of the blog about ethics. I'm glad I’m taking this class because I don't know how to write my resume to make myself seem better at things or a better candidate than someone else. It seems weird to me that you should write your resume in that way, since it is close to lying. However, I suppose as long as you have done what you said than it is not lying and if that is what companies are wanting to see then it's the smart move to make. This along with design I think will be the toughest challenges for me when writing a new resume but I think this class will really help me through the process.
I also think this class will help me take my resume more seriously. Before I didn’t really care how my resume looked because it was just for a summer internship. After this year though I will be writing resumes for real jobs and I will have to take writing my resume more seriously. I won’t just be able to write something up real quick and hope I get the job; I will have to revert back to what I learned in this class and use the techniques on how to write a better resume.
Response
It’s crazy to think that the hours you spend on your resume could be discarded in a matter of seconds. This fact makes it really important to do your research and write a resume specifically for a position. Before I came to college I thought that you could do a resume and be done. My eyes have really been opened to the fact that I will have to continually edit my resume for specific positions. You need to market yourself effectively in order to attract employers. Employers want to see that you have what they desire. Like you said, the job ad gives the details of what they want and it’s up to you to show that you have it.
I agree with a lot of the advice you give; it’s very similar to what I have heard through other classes. Others have also told me to make sure you put your education background down and your GPA if it is above a certain point. I have also heard to put down relevant experience and use action verbs. By using action verbs you can make an impact in fewer words.
The design has also been stressed in my other classes. I have even had an instructor promise to dock points for using a template. By using your own, clean style, you can distinguish yourself from other applicants. Spelling is also important; misspellings can ruin a good applicant.
Your advice is very useful. Overall, you have to make sure you design a resume that will appeal to the reader and has what he or she desires. I see the importance in all the tips you have given.
Reading Reply
It’s obvious that resumes are very complex and different people find certain things more important then others. One thing that stands out to me is that it says no one would give a damn about activities such as yoga or playing guitar. I was told by a recruiter from an accounting firm that I should add in some interests of mine because there is a chance that the recruiter may have the same interest, thus making a connection. Also she said that many of the Purdue students have the same credentials that a person might standout if they had noticeable interests. I’ve also heard that you can add your GPA if it is over 3.0, and to add your major GPA if over 3.50. Again, I think this all relates to different people having different suggestions. In fact, resumes I have seen for government jobs are in a completely different format than those for corporate jobs.
I had not thought about writing a resume as an advertisement to a potential employer before. I think that’s a great suggestion and has shined new light for me. Key words are very important, and I have heard this suggestion before. I agree that I will make you stand out, but I feel as though it is sort of fake. I guess I feel that if I were a recruiter I would think, wow, they just used the same words out of our job description. I have always thought of this as a bad thing. I think I need to reconsider and make more tailored type resumes with buzz words in them for companies I interview with in the future.
I think object statements are silly as well, but it can be important. If you give a company one that doesn’t relate to them, you won’t get looked at. Great suggestion that you should only putting object statements that relate to a company.
Resumes
Resumes are really hard to write, especially because everyone has a different opinion. Once you figure out a format, I think you should stick to it. I like the way Ryan explained the different segments of a resume. Every resume essentially contains the same information – education, work experience, activities/awards/honors but it is the way it is framed that makes or breaks your resume.
I think I went through at least 10 drafts of resumes before I finally got to one I wanted to use. I got different opinions from everyone, so I decided to go with what I thought was right. I focus more on my other activities at college part because I think it portrays leadership, team work and shows time management skills.
One good pointer I got through all the different opinions was to use resume paper. It is not anything flashy its just good paper and it makes a good impression. One of my interviewers once told me he was impressed that I went through the trouble to get resume paper.
After reading this blog, I think I will be able to make some really valuable changes to my resume like making it a little less crammed and having different resumes focusing on different things. This blog was great. Thanks!
Resumes
Just by looking at resumes, they seem very simple, but when one sits to write them down they are one of the most difficult documents. There is not a perfect recipe to make a resume. As Ryan mentioned in the blog, 10 different people will suggest you 10 different ways. I agree with the idea, that we are the ones that are finally supposed to decide what to put on the resume and what not too. Also that, resumes is supposed to be best fit for the job. As Ryan mentioned, every quality that is on the requirement list of the job, should be in your resume, for it to be selected. Also not to forget the key words on the job add. I feel it is likely for the employer to sort the resumes according to the keywords and if the resume doesn’t contain the keywords then we don’t stand a chance for selection. But we cannot fight with luck, since that also plays a major role in selection. But trying is never wrong. We should always try try until we succeed. There is a very less chance of the resume being perfect in the 1st draft. We need to keep on making changes to the drafts. Also the resume needs to be kept up to date. We shouldn’t wait till the time for job application. As Ryan mentioned there is no perfect design. The one that you think is the best should work for you. But the resume shouldn’t be too long or too short. It should be just the perfect length so that when the employer reads it, he knows that we have worked on our resume. I believe the guideline by Ryan is a must to follow because it covers most of the things an employer would like to see on a resume. Ethics also plays an important role, since it would be ethically wrong to mention a skill on the resume that we don’t possess. It might get us the job, but when the time comes to perform it, we would fail. It’s better to be ethical then to land in an embarrassing situation a little later.
Instructor Blog #3 Comment
I think that the Rockport Institute quote gives a perfect metaphor about how to build a resume. Companies receieve so many resumes that employers don't have that much time to read each resume fully. I agree when the blog says that you have to prepare a resume that catches the employers attention, that makes them love it. The negative aspect of this is that some poeple don't know how to write a resume because they don't know what structure to follow. I've seen most of my friend's resumes and they all are written differently (structure wise). Some resumes may not reflect exactly the professionalism or personality of the applicant since the employers could get a different perspective depending on what they scan through the resume. In my opinion, this is where luck plays a part. I agree when you mention that each person should have their resume built in their own way, making theirs shine next to the rest.
I never thought about writing my resume in the same language as the job ad which in my opinion sounds like a very good idea. The employer would be reading the precise thing they were looking for in an applicant so it would be more likely to make it to the interviews. It could also be a good idea to rewrite some of the phrases in the job ad and put them into the resume. This would be more work since you would have the change some details in your resume depending on what jod you are applying for but in my opinion it is worth it because you would have more probability of being accepted. I would also try and make the resume reflect your personality in some way. When the employers are scanning through the resume, they can only assume on how the applicant is like since they don't actually meet the person, they are just reading through an inked piece of paper. It would be good if, when interviewed, the employer actually sees a connection between the resume and the applicant. In my opinion, this would also raise your chance of being accepted for the job.
reply
I Agree with your idea of how luck also play an important role in Resume selection and also with the fact that there isnt a way to build as perfect resume, but dont you agree with the fact that the resume which you build will be liked by one company and not liked by the other, so i believe that you really cant say which resume turns out to be perfect and thats when i think the role of luck plays. I believe that the fact of using the language used in the job Ad may help to get through only the first round. I believe your resume should show them a clear cut sense of direction as well as make them believe how we are best suited for the job.
Importance of the Resume
That was a very interesting post. I really thought the first quote was quite accurate. It described a resume as an advertisement for ourselves. That is a very unique, yet true way to interpret what a resume does for you. It truely does describe what qualities you can possibly bring to the company. It is unfortunate, however, that there is no right way to assemble a resume. Like stated in the post, 10 different companies were asked what they look for in a resume and they all preferred different things. This is why I believe having more than one resume on tap is a must.
Like one of the beginning paragraphs stated, "A company does not care about you." How true. For those of you that have taken Professor Feinberg's class, this is a review session. Why should this company care about you? What have you done for them? All of this must be taken into consideration when you are developing your resume. Make a company want you. Make a company care about you. Or better yet, make a company take you out to lunch and learn more about you.
I agree with having a very unique and efficient is mandatory, but sometimes I feel Purdue makes that harder. It appears that the people at Purdue who help students create (or critique) their resume all use the same format. This can cause an issue if you decide to attend the career fairs because all 8000 other people have the same resume format. I definitely agree that a strong objective statement can set you apart from pack. But like I said earlier, they usually say the same thing. "Looking for a ------ position in the ------ industry using my blah blah blah skills." I have read some that have really wanted me to read on. Those are what we should be trying to focus on initially, along with the education portion. I like how we should mimic the terms used in a job ad. If they want something specific, give them what they want to see.
Resumes
Reading this blog was very interesting. After reading this blog I have realized how important a resume is. Even though I am still a sophomore in Purdue, learning how to write a proper resume is really going to help me when I have to apply for internships and jobs in the future . I never knew that I wasn’t supposed to put my GPA on my resume. This blog has a lot of interesting facts on how to make a perfect resume and the Thomson Handbook is very helpful as well. I well be referring to this blog and the Thomson handbook when I will be writing my resumes so I can get it perfect.
Resume Response
This blog was very interesting and very much helpful. Many of the resumes I have put together in the past of been mediocre. Before getting my intern this summer I took a lot of time on my resume, and made sure it was perfected to the fullness. I had many of my friends and family read over it, and then finally I went to the Center for Career Oportunities. After meeting with someone from CCO, my resume was complete. The information I received from the CCO, is very similar if not the same as the information listed above. This information made my resume stand out. The words that were inputed were very positive and also words I may have not thought to use. Resumes are very important. Sometimes in companies it is your resume that make you stand out not your qualifications. That right there is why resumes are so important. I also believe through out college you should always update your resume, so you have a fresh one on hand just in case. I find my resume very handy. I also at times find resumes very frustrating, because you may not know what exactly the employer is looking for so that makes it hard to perfect your resume. Overall, I think resumes are a way to show off to companies and let them know you qualify for the job!
Alayna Willis
What I should focus on resumes
I always though writing a resume was something I can never find the right answer for it. But after reading the blog, although I still am not very confident writing the resume, I get the idea of what and how to write the resume. I like the quote in the beginning, giving me an idea of what I need to focus on my resume. It was interesting to read that as I write the resume I should use the language used in the job ads. I never thought of using that kind of language in the resume. But now I know that resumes are only read in 10-30 seconds and I need to sell my self in that short time, I need to use job ads language to express myself as effectively as I can.
I liked how you divided into each section such as education, experience and objective statement showing what are the mistakes I could easily make and what my focusing points should be. I usually placed a great deal of weight more on the actual contents but I noticed that design is also very important.
This reading gave me a better picture of how to work on the resumes and pointed things I need to remember to not to make a mistakes on. I believe writing a resume is not an easy job for anyone. But I mean it is all writing about yourself. Who esle can describe as better as you? Like in the reading, if you know what the company wants and know how to express yourself effectively, may be writing a resume won't be as hard as you think.
Resume Blog Response
Resumes seem to be a topic of much discussion in many of my classes. This is the third class I have taken in which I have needed to write a resume.
Being a senior, I’d like to share my experiences with what I have noticed employers have and haven’t liked about my resume in the past. Through what I have seen, the absolute most important thing is work experience! I have been lucky enough to have three different internships under my belt and I believe that has gotten me 90% of my interviews. Even if people have not had a lot of experience, I think it would be smart to write a lot about the little experience you do have.
Secondly, I believe that the activities/awards/volunteer section is not very important at all. Many may disagree with me, but in every place I have worked, the employers tell me (after I was in the position already) that they don’t really even look at activities on resumes. The only thing I think activities could help with are examples in which you may have led an organization. I completely agree that this section should be short and at the bottom.
One thing I do have to disagree with is the GPA cut off. Most major employers only consider a 3.0 and above. I think only putting on your GPA if it is a 3.5 or higher could be dangerous. If you have a 3.2 and it is not on your resume, an employer may mistakenly think you did not put your GPA on your resume because it was lower than a 3.0.
I would like to point out that ethics are extremely important. I have a friend who recently received a job at Kimberly Clark by claiming he had a 4.0. He started working there and HR decided to do a scan and double check to make sure everyone had been truthful about their GPAs on their resume. I suppose you can guess that he soon had to leave the company.
Lastly, I would like to comment on how resumes are living documents. Even though I have had a resume for 4 years now, I have had to change, add, delete, and reword several times. I can't stress how important it has been to continue to revise. Good luck with your resumes!
Laura Lewandowski
Good GPA advice
Laura:
I appreciate your advice on GPA cut-offs since I’m a transfer student and although in my two year college education I have a 3.5 GPA, I’ve had trouble getting used to Purdue and my general GPA here is 3.1 with a major GPA of 3.3. If I don’t include these GPAs they will think they're very low and that would be worst than writing them down.
Re: To "One thing I do have to disagree with is the GPA cut off.
I couldn't agree more with your comment. I think it is important to be upfront and honest with a company. You do not want to pretend you are someone that you are not because then if you get the position you will be completely lost and out of place. I would definetly only leave my GPA off my resume if it was below a 2.5 or somewhere in that range for your exact reasoning. It leave employers guessing and that's not a good thing. It forces them to make assumptions that you don't want them to make.
Also, I wanted to comment about how you said the best thing to do to get hired is get work experience. My advisor has been on my butt since I picked up the major to get experience, get an internship constantly. I think that is great advice because you need experiences to help you grow and mature both professionally and personally. Study abroad and jobs in general are a great way to grow and learn. I was interviewing with a board member of a company and she saw on my resume that I had worked in both retail and the restuarant industries. She said that as an employer she thinks it is so important for everyone to work in one of those industries. It teaches you a lot. I wouldn't want to make a life career out of them, but they are still good experiences to possess.
Real Advice for a Resume
After reading your post, I'm not sure if i should consider you to be an pessimist or a realist. But either way, the honesty about the challenges in finding a job and how a new company looks at you is refreshing. It is, however, a relief to know that even though finding a job may be the hardest thing that we have to do, we're going to get a little advice on how to do it right. For once in my life, I'm actually excited about creating a resume. I'm excited to beat the system, to create a strong resume, and to use your advice to advertise myself in the most positive light possible.
I liked the idea that resumes are not about me, but rather about the company. I think it is a good way to look at the situation that I am marketing myself to the business and therefore I need to convince the company that I am the best person for the job by how I market my skills.
I also thought the idea that we must tell them specifically what we have done and what skills we have. I think often being vague makes us think that we have more to offer then we do, but i understand that that would just confuse resume readers.
Another aspect of this post that I thought was interesting was the idea that we should make a resume specific to each job. I know often when we make resumes for career fairs, it is just one resume handed out to multiple companies. But having a specific resume for each job would give me a better chance at getting an interview.
All in all, this is some of the best advice on resumes I have ever recieved, and I've had a lot of advice on resumes in the past. The specific information will be helpful as I begin to write my resume.
Instructor Blog Response 2
I agree that your last blog was a little discouraging, and the fact that our resumes only get 10-30 seconds to make an impression is even more disheartening. And, it is increasingly frustrating that there is no standardized way of formatting a resume. I have can never seem to find the right way to do it. It seems like resumes are highly subjective and differ in requirements from profession to profession. However, the quotes provided in this blog have been a bit encouraging on how to tailor your resume for the best result. Having read them it seems almost too obvious that I should have taken this approach before, especially with the egocentric mindset in the U.S. it makes since that companies would want you a resume that’s about them. I have to admit, until now I thought that the more you had on your resume the better you looked to a company and often spent time filling in blank spaces on my resume so I would look like I was more qualified. However, now it makes sense to me that it would be much better to fill your resume with the things that the company would want, and that using key words from the job ad could extremely effective. I think that this blog has been extremely more helpful than any previous course I have taken or guidance I have received from teachers or business professionals. If all I get from this course is the points I have learned from this blog, I feel confident that I could write a quality resume. Knowing that I will learn more from this course, I am encouraged that afterward I will be able to write a top notch resume. I am also encouraged that I will learn value tools for all the professional documents that I will have to compose in the future.
resumes, resumes and resumes
Writing a perfect resume is one of the things that I refer as extremely difficult. The first time I wrote a resume was when I took the Mgmt 100 class and honestly I produced a very bad one, maybe because it was my first semester or maybe because I hadnt got the feel of a business school. I have tried so many times to write a nice Resume but end up producing an average one which is very general and vague. The major drawback for me is that I havent had any job experience. I am not in any of the current college clubs, but was the vice captain of my team in the high school, but the thing is that the high school stuff doesnt really matter. I am really looking forward to start writing another resume which might also help me in the next job fair in Fall. The points that are discussed in the blog are interesting, i have learned a lot of new things. In the the Mgmt 100 class they didn't cover the resumes with such detail.
Resumes are Complicated
I agree with the blog on resumes. Resumes are very difficult to write and even tougher to format just how the company would like it. I have written my resume twice and I am in the process of updating it right now. Each time that I have written my resume, I have been instructed to write it a different way. I believe the information presented in the blog will help me with my current updates. I also agree with the two quotations in the blog. A resume must be written and critiqued before submitting it to different companies. Since companies tell you what they want to hear, an applicant should word their resume to fit that ad before submitting it. I believe this is the best chance a person has to sell themself in the 10-30 seconds that they get to sell themself.
A Stand-Out Resume
Starting my junior year, I have spent a lot of time updating my resume. I have visited a handful of clinics and had my resume reviewed by the CCO. I took the advice of the CCO, and I believe the CCO follows the guidelines of this article. A resume is a representation of oneself, and it is so very important to show that through the resume. It is so true that employers only view a resume on average of ten to thirty seconds. The way you display your resume has to be in a manner in which yours will stand out amongst hundreds of other applicants. Throughout my several visits to clinics, every clinic has given different advice on what format a resume should be formatted. Like it mentioned in the article, it depends on the recruiter's preferences. One thing that was very helpful in the resume clinics is how important it is to use active verbs that are parallel throughout the resume. It makes an employer understand clearly what tasks were completed through past work experiences and organizations. I found it very interesting about the GPA information. I never knew whether or not to add mine. For an interview this past fall, I did not add my GPA, and the recruiter asked me my GPA. That made me think that recruiters think that I am hiding my GPA for some reason. But I think it is a good idea to add one's major GPA if it is highter than one's overall GPA. Overall, this article was very helpful, and I will use this as a guide in the future.
Response to Instructor Blog #3
All of these guidelines for writing a resume are somewhat overwhelming. I understand that it is important to have a resume that stands out because recruiters are not going to spend a lot of time reading it. However, I feel like some of the things suggested were a bit much. I agree that design is important, but not to the extent described. I don't see what is so wrong with using a template either. The templates were designed for that purpose, so how bad can they be? While I don't necessarily agree with everything suggested, I do strongly agree with some of the ideas. I agree that there should be NO spelling or grammatical errors. And with the help of spelling and grammer checks in Microsoft Word, I don't really see how a misspelled word could make it through. The rest of the suggestions will hopefully be really helpful.
RE: Response to Instructor Blog #3
Resume templates aren't inherently bad (nothing's really inherently bad). The issue is that there is a good chance that many people will use a stock template for their resumes. If you do the same, then you will be just another one of these people. When you are submitting a resume, you really want to stand apart from the crowd.
Also, HR people will have seen probably every template out there, and rightly or wrongly, they will make judgments about you based on your use of one. They may have bad associations with people who use templates, such as that they aren't capable of doing things on their own, or that they just do the bare minimum. If your format is original, the HR rep can't have these preconceived notions. Regardless of the content of your resume, its form is going to say something about you, so you'll want to make sure that it is saying what you want.
Instructor Blog #3 Response
Many good points where brought up in this blog, many of which I haven't really thought of before. When you said writing a resume is really not for yourself but more for the company, this really proves that you should not flood your resume with a bunch of information you think sounds good to yourself if you know the company would not get anything out of it. When I start to think of how I am going structure my resume, I get a little worried that I won't be able to think of enough useful information to include in it without cluttering it with a bunch of nonsense that nobody will care about. I bet this is how most people feel when writing theirs, especially at our age with such a lack of experience. Also, after reading this I know it is important to mold your resume to fit the postion that you are going for. When I thought of writing resumes before this I figured a person can keep recycling their resume for many different jobs they are applying for, but this is not the case. Say you were applying for a job as a mathematics teacher, including information about your advanced knowledge with technology and computer software would not serve the same importance on the resume as if that same person where applying for a job as a software engineer. I never really thought of this before, but it makes sense.
You have to make sure you sell yourself in the best way possible without overwhelming the potential reader of the resume. With that being said, the most important part of the resume seems to be what information from your extensive list of experience to include and what to leave out. Since the process of writing a resume is a gamble, as indicated above, one must choose wisely when writing it. Since it is a gamble, it almost makes it seem like there is no "absolutely right" way to write a resume because it changes from person to person. Luckily, specific tactics have been discovered that are advised to be used, and since we are fortunate enough to be in a class where these methods will be taught to us, we should have a leg up on the competition. Another difficult step of the process is the fact that you have to use the language of the job ad while still being unique in your own character by using your own words. If you are not careful and choose not to proofread a couple of times, it will be easy to make it sound cluttered when you try and combine the two. With that being said, it is important to sell yourself the best you can using your experience, education, and credibility, but it also seems important not to sound egoistical. I would think that an employer would want to hire a person who is full of themself just as much as they would like to hire a person who is totally unqualified your the position. I would avoid both, but this is just how I would feel if I was hiring people. Writing a resume is a long and difficult process, but the only way to learn the tricks of it is to keep on practicing, so we should all take this opportunity in this class to give full participation and give ourselves the best chances for success.
Response
I agree that one's resume should be outstanding and different to draw the employer's interest. I have already prepared my resume but I revised it by replacing some keywords with the keywords posted on the company's website. I agree that companies look for someone with exact talents they want and they can make a benefit for themselves. Despite of great skills and work expierences, if I am not having the abilities required by the specific job position, my resume is just about introducing and boasting myself. Companies wouldn't want to know about me and my dream but actual outcomes they will get by hiring me.
In this aspect, I agree that resume should function as advertising myself to make the company buy what I have.
Through this blog, I could realize that how I frame what I have is as important as what I have actually. Since I don't have many work experience in the same field, they might regard me as an immature in dealing interpersonal relationship and group works. So I am going to emphazie my academic activities and volunteer works to show that I do have great ability and will to perform great amount of group works quickly, communicate with other people with cause-and-effect way of thinking, and enjoy my job even under high pressure.
Resume blog reply
After reading through this blog, much of the advice can be used by everyone taking this class. I completely agree that education and experience is the most important thing to put on your resume as a college student. Making good use of verbs for what you did with your experience is also a good tip that I should try to use on my own resume. I really have to disagree with the first part about writing to the specific job. It seems as though you would have to create a new resume for each and every job you apply for just so that you use wording like the employer would want to see. This seems a little ridiculous that every employer needs a specific resume geared toward them. I cannot see anyone that is that concerned to where you would have to suck up to that company more with a resume that is specific to their job ads. I think that if your resume is properly written, you will be able to show all employers that you are capable and professional enough to work for them.
Re:
The company I am employed by name is one of the largest chemical companies in the world and they hire people all over the world. It's an amazing company to work for, so obviously I was really excited to have gotten an interview. So, to prepare for my interview the company held a forum for science and agricultural students to discuss their company and research within it to try and give students advice concerning career paths, etc. One of the things the HR director said was that immediately she will notice if someone has taken the time to go to their website and reference words from their website. She said right way that sets that person from others. Now, granted this is only the company I work for, but I think there is something to be said about personalizing your resume for each company. I mean even if you just change the objective that makes a small difference. Anything that can get you an edge I would think you would want.
Resume Response
Every time I read the general statistic that companies only spend 10-30 seconds reading a resume it blows my mind. I imagine this even makes employers uneasy about whether or not they are hiring the right person. But, they have to sort through everyone and at least this usually gives everyone a chance. I remember how easy it was to put all of my experiences and accomplishments on one page when I was young and just starting my college career. Now, trying to figure our which of your previous jobs were not as important compared to your other jobs is a difficult task. Writing, or revising, your resume at the end of your college career becomes increasingly more difficult as you experience more. At this time you have to look for the little tips such as changing the margins and the space between lines.
On a different note, I enjoyed the comment about selling yourself in a resume. It makes sense not to give a company the details of everything you have done, but everything that is relevant to the company. Doug Richardson’s comment about pouring data into a bucket was able to open up the big picture of a resume for me. In the past I would think of anything that I have done to put on a resume. After reading this, I realize companies do not want to see everything you have done. They don’t care. This alone motivates me to modify my resume to fit the company I am applying for. I see that using the language in the job ad (seeing is was bolded and said 4 times in a row in this blog) is a great way to catch an employers attention. There is no doubt I will use this approach on future resumes. As the blog said, regardless of how many tips are in the world for writing a resume, it will still come down to how a specific employer likes to have resumes formatted. Hopefully we will be able to sort through many of these tips and decide which tips are “universally” accepted.
Resumes
Resumes have so many purposes that I think everyone can find them complicated and confusing. Making recruiters believe I would be perfect for their company in one page that will be read in 10 – 30 seconds is tough.
Starting from the top, the objective is a very hard idea to come up with. My objective is to gain experience in a company that is know for its organization and good management in order to prepare myself better to work in Ecuador. I really don’t think they will want to hire me after that.
Also, I don’t know if this happens to me only, but I don’t feel completely confident of some of my skills. I studied French in Paris 3 years ago, and although I was able to talk by the time I came back, I’m never sure if I could do that now and therefore if I should include it.
Another thing is that in my country, we are allowed to write as many pages as we want as long as we write every important experience that will make us different from the rest for the particular position. I agree with the one page system, knowing that it makes it easier for the HR department to be open to more candidates, but it does make things harder for me.
Resume
I think that a resume should be a great reflection of who you are. That is why I think that no one should be able to tell you whether or not your resume is correct. Many professors try, but almost all of them tell you something completely different. Just before the spring job fair I went to have my resume critiqued, the same thing that I had done before the fall career fair. I had the same person critique my resume so I figured he would not have much to say. However he completely changed my resume. This just proved for me that no matter what you do not everyone will love your resume. Even if you make all the changes someone wants they may read it again later and want to change it back. All this leads me back to the point that you should be the one who really likes your resume. It should be a good reflection of yourself.
You should make it in a format that is very simple and easy to read but it should also be a format that you like and that makes sense to you. It should represent all of your proudest accomplishments that are relevant to the current job you are pursing. The resume should also be tailored to each individual company that you are applying. Early in your career they may all look similar but farther down the road they should change depending on the company and the position You should include your most relevant and current accomplishments as well as some from your past to highlight your growth. I think that it would be more beneficial to have your resume critiqued when you have been in the working world for a few years. Right now most students have little to put on their resume and don’t have many options to pick and choose from. I think later in your career when you have many experiences to draw from is when you really need to perfect your resume.
Resume etc.
I agree with all the stuff said in this blog about resume's. If you don't make a good impression within those first 10-30 seconds of the interviewer reading your resume, then your screwed. The sucky thing about it is that resumes don't really tell them who you are. So if you have a horrible resume but are great at the job they may never find out. I think they should interview a larger number of people, rather then only taking the "select few" that have the words in their resume that you are looking for. Anyone can feed you some line about how they did this or did that so it will get them through to the next round of interviews, I just wish there was a better way to find out who that person is and not just looking at some little dinky peace of paper that says you were a National Honor Society member. But, who am I to change the world of business. So, when it's all said and done, this article did help me and I hope to have that kick ass resume!
Response to Instructor Blog #3
The blog gave some extremely helpful tips on getting a resume noticed. I have written resumes before, but the proper format and design has never been laid out so clearly. I found the comments by Doug Richardson, "It is not my job to make sense of your life", to be particularly noteworthy. It is not the responsibility of a potential employer to string together missing gaps of information to create a complete person. The fact that a resume gets only 10 to 30 seconds of consideration makes it imperative that a person shows what they have to offer.
One area of the blog I did not agree with was disclosing your GPA. Although getting good grades is important, I don't feel an employer will concentrate on that part of the resume. To me a person will only give their GPA because they have no other evidence to show they are qualified for the job. A 3.5 GPA or higher is impressive, however, it's all theory and little to no practice. A candidate with five years experience will certainly be looked at more closely than someone who simply received high marks in school. The section of the blog on experience seemed most critical to me.
I am perhaps a little biased when it comes to the subject of on the job experience. I took time off of school to work exclusively in my field, to network, and to find out if it was the right career for me. One problem I was having was fitting all the work I had done on to a single piece of paper. The portion of the blog that described focusing on the keywords in a job ad was very beneficial. I always had a tendency to put everything I had done down, and now I realize that can be unnecessary and boring. I think the blog has helped me identify some of the problems I've made in the past and showed ideas for making my resume better.
Resumes
I really enjoyed reading this blog on resume building. There was poignant facts that I will definitely take into consideration when revising my resume. I think one of the most important aspects of this blog is to "synthesize diverse information". It is difficult sell yourself to a human resource manager with only a few words but I realize that I will be only be given 10 to 30 seconds to impress them. Convincing an employer to take a chance on an individual you must demonstrate what you could do and bring to the company. I realize that you only get one chance to make that impression. I also liked in this article the mention of "focusing on the key words in the job ads" restating what the company desires. You can impress the manager with words of your accomplishments the match their requirements. The article also mentions beneficial hints to achieving the job position by referring to the most recent job experiences and highlighting the tasks that are most appropriate to your desired job position. Another point that I found beneficial is the design of the resume where as the most recent job positions are placed first in descending and dates are the least important due to the eye scanning from left to right in 10 seconds. In my father's business they do use this method of reviewing resumes, but take into great consideration how long an individual dedicates their time to a business. The reference to using parallel active verbs as an effective means of gaining attention was quite interesting. The second most important key fact I will take into consideration is keeping everything on one page, even if that means changing the margins and the size of the font.
Response - Instructor Blog 3: Resume
I believe that there is no such thing as a perfect resume. The point of a resume is basically landing interviews and personally, I think one should go with whatever works the best for them i.e. which ever one lands you the most interviews. However, it is very important that you explore several formats which can be found on different websites before you choose what is best for you. You should try your best to organize your resume in way that reflects your personality and the things important to you. Recruiters are always very interested knowing your personality and how it would fit in their respective organizations.
It is also very important that your resume focuses on keywords which fit both your skills set and the job requirements. I personally think that you should have a clear objective in mind. It should be broad enough to cover your complete areas of interest and potential career aspirations and narrow enough to tell the recruiters, along what lines you want to build you career in. In the end, resumes are about selling a product, in this case us. Good salespersons always sells to the needs of their customer hence, our resumes should always cater to the needs and requirements of the company and the job opening; while following proper ethical guildelines.
resume reply
After last week's blog about how much finding a job sucks, I was discouraged. I hate to hear that a resume is a gamble and that so much work is putting into ten seconds of actual reading. I have always written my resume without an objective line and as a full design. I don't like objective statements because I like to send resumes to different companies, so maybe I make my objective statement to specific. I am guilty of using a Template. From Doug B Richardson this article is one of my favorites about resumes that was given:
"Show me a clear-cut sense of direction. I keep seeing resumes that are little more than buckets into which a lot of data has been dumped in the apparent belief that I will fill in the gaps, synthesize diverse information, connect the dots and tell you what kind of product you are. I have no incentive to do this, given the number of knights eager to enter the lists. It isn't my job to make sense out of your life."