The bigger companies contract for all potential hires to be vetted, so these people are often ratted out in the process. When CH2M hired me every one of my references and employers on my resume were contacted and verified. Even my degree at Colo School of Mines was questioned because I put graduation as May '04 and the school had me as '05 - I sent them a photo copy of my diploma and told them it took me a year to finish paying off my debt. My story was accepted. I applied for a GIS Manager position in Korea and they hired someone else - ended up the person failed the background check the company performs. CH2M then canceled the position - I was tweaked!
Since I am trying to find a job right now I can tell you how tough it is. I am a lousy interviewee and I'm just not a micro/detail person; I'm more macro in my thinking (processes, efficiency, mentoring, client value). An interviewer asked me the file extension of the Lidar files I worked with - heck, I don't remember the Excel extensions that I've worked with for almost 30 years! Then they asked how to get the area of a polygon and instead I told him a more relevant question was 'fitness for use': what datum, scale, margin of error, uncertainty in the data, blah-blah-blah. I was no longer considered because I was not technically competent. I figure if they wanted to pay over $80k/year to someone who was concerned about how to get the area of a polygon, that I would have been bored in the job (answer - click on the spatial tool for area, all of my maps show area). They wanted someone to follow their processes (not me!!) versus someone to create value, innovate, and stay current.
So it's not just resumes that are crap, the job descriptions are vague or the people interviewing are not seeking a person that fits the description. Vague job descriptions waste my time.
I always viewed a resume as a means to getting an interview. Don't mis-lead or the firm may suspect so and not ask for an interview.
Although I have not had nor sought that many positions in the industry, I always received an offer afterward because my interview revealed that I could do far more than the resume stated.
But you have to get to the interview.
Some of the resumes I have seen make the individual sound like a surveying God, and I usually don't even call these people in for an interview. The best resume I have ever had cross my desk was only a half a page long. For places of employment, he had "Ten years - Mississippi Department of Corrections", with a job description of "Doing what I was told, when I was told, and how I was told to do it" and listed his Goals as "To work hard and be a contributing member of society". Hired the man and he worked for me for about 5 years, one of the best employees I ever had. Hated to see him leave, but the woman he married got transferred with her job to another state.
Joe W. Byrd, post: 325322, member: 10015 wrote: Some of the resumes I have seen make the individual sound like a surveying God, and I usually don't even call these people in for an interview. The best resume I have ever had cross my desk was only a half a page long. For places of employment, he had "Ten years - Mississippi Department of Corrections", with a job description of "Doing what I was told, when I was told, and how I was told to do it" and listed his Goals as "To work hard and be a contributing member of society". Hired the man and he worked for me for about 5 years, one of the best employees I ever had. Hated to see him leave, but the woman he married got transferred with her job to another state.
That reminds me of my most infamous hire.
Guy had been teaching at the prison in Potosi for 10 years. I called and they told me he was awesone, hated to see him leave. They failed to mention he was an inmate. About a year later he called looking for a place to stay. I said sure but he never showed. Two days later he is on the news. Serial killer Ron Pardon. Who knew...
My favorite, from decades ago before CAD, was the man who provided several examples of his drafting, and the maps were very nice indeed. The only problem was I recognized the work as being from another man, and his initials were there to prove it. When confronted, the excuse was this was an example of the work he was capable of doing. He didn't mean to imply it was actually his work. He wasn't hired.
As part draftsman with a long resume of project listings, I always make the point in an interview to point out that I am not perfect and that plats and maps I create will have errors, misspelled words, missed labels, etc as after staring at one for 8 hours. Errors become less visible especlially with the addition of more and more notes. This is why a second set or third set of eyes is important when reviewing such.
Andy Bruner, post: 325002, member: 1123 wrote: A "little" embellishment is one thing. What really bothers me is the outright lying that I've seen. Claiming degrees not earned, claiming work (false) experience from companies that have gone under so you can't verify, claiming knowledge of equipment or programs that are totally beyond their comprehension. If I catch an applicant in a lie - end of interview. I will not knowingly hire a liar.
Andy
Neither will I, Andy. I will fire one when I find out.
My philosophy is: If you lie to me I can't trust you. If I can't trust you, I can't use you. Goodbye.
