For those who make hiring decisions...

That might be a good idea. It would set you apart from the pack and could demonstrate innovative thinking and competence.

I haven't seen any that are in a non-traditional form but it wouldn't bother me so long as ALL the necessary information was there in an easy to read and brief format..

Clever idea that is good on the surface, but the key to remember is that it first has to pass through HR Assistant, HR Manager, HR Director... before it ever gets to the Survey Manager. Then it goes back through the HR loop. Conventional methods can be your friend, especially if seeking a postion online.

Nowadays, your resume will be one of many many others. However, if you can back all that creativity up with credentials and persona, it could prove a difference maker.

Good luck to ya in your search. It's tough out there right now...

One thing I see too often is a poorly arranged resume. Poor spelling and printer-format compatability jump off the page at me, also. We work in an industry that relies heavily on small details and software-printer savvy.

What you described would be a breath of fresh air, I think. But some folks in this industry are very conventional and might view it in a negative light. I wouldn't.

An innovative resume with poor execution and a poor resume with good composition would probably both wind up in file-13. A good resume needs both.

I've got a past with the Survey Manager, we've tried to make things work out in the past but it hasn't been the right time.

I'm planning on using Mylar, having things such as education, experience in a spec chart.

:good: :good:

Good things come to good people with good ideas even in not good times.

Best of luck. Just stick to your instincts and let things fall in place.

In my experience the challenge of a resume is to present a lot of info in a compact format. I have known of two page resumes to get tossed in the trash on principal alone so I would be careful.

I saw a resume once that included a photo of the applicant with a banjo in the woods, not sure why they thought that needed to be there.

Although I am not a hiring decision maker I think that there would be some merit to linking through to a hosted example of your work. I do not know about the office side but I have seen a few people in the field that just did not know the first thing, showing a sample of your work might prove that you were not of that school.

I have in the past just gave co-ordinates for all the places I've worked and my current address.
It set me apart from the norm 🙂

i like it!

you would definitely catch my eye if i got your resume and the drawing looked sharp. it is a neat way to show off your cad skill and artistic style.

Anytime you do something unconventional with a resume, you have to be careful. Too often "unconventional" translates very quickly to goofy and unprofessional.

As was stated above, clean formatting, spelling, and sometimes even grammar count on a resume. Spelling and grammar definitely count on a cover letter.

If you are going to do something way far out of the ordinary, I would suggest running it by some people who do make hiring decisions but are not who you are necessarily looking to for a job, and ask for constructive, honest feedback. Ask them if the resume was their first impression, would they give the person an interview, and would the format create any preconcieved notions, positive or negative of the applicant. Stress that you want honest feedback and that they should not refrain from negative comments to avoid hurting your feelings. After all, if they hold back on negatives and the resume ends up giving a poor impression to potential employers, which will be worse, the hurt feelings you might have had or the continued unemployment? So be ready to be receptive of and thankful for both positive and negative comments.

I have seen a few resumes where applicants have tried to stand out by doing something out of the ordinary, and of those, each either gave the impression (once or twice shouted as best as print can) that the applicant was a goofball. One stands out from the early 90s, when scanners weren't readily available and image handling in word processors wasn't as easy as it is now. A job applicant had attempted to make their resume stand out by including images on his resume of some of the equipment he had experience using. The images came out smudgy and cartoonish, having a somewhat random appearing placement on the resume, filling up most of the white space. As I recall, there were spelling, grammar, and other format issues that taken all together shouted "goofball" at the reader. It resulted in some laughter, and some pity among the managers of the company, but no job or even an interview for the applicant. No doubt he thought he was being clever, but gave an entirely different impression.

IMO, using a clean but fairly conventional resume format printed on high quality paper is best. I would rather review 3 cleanly presented pages of experience and education than one cluttered and crowded page. Bear in mind that most hiring managers want to find the pertinent info quickly and be able to easily put it in chronological context. A resume that looks like a survey drawing may not accomplish that very well. One that looks like a set of project specs is going to look pretty boring. It might not get lost among other resumes, but it might get lost among real job specs or contracts and end up misplaced in a project folder rather than getting thoroughly reviewed by the hiring manager. Including samples of your work, actual drawings, field notes, or non-confidential reports may be a good idea, providing you have permission of the company and/or licensee who was in responsible charge.

Good luck with the job hunt.

Great advice above.....
One thing I used to do back in the old days was print my resume out in pencil and bring with me to interviews with examples of field notes.93.5% of the time I got the job because of my excellent penmanship.(I don't like to brag,but...I just have it being an artist too)
This will not work for everyone,especially with all the email resume's/laser jet resume's and so on..
It was a also a different time and work was everywhere 🙂

Personally, I keep it pretty simple. But I do keep my contact information at the top, along with an avatar, so they can easily relate the resume to me after an interview.

I also include the URL to my online resume: http://wendellharness.com

> I'm considering a Resume format that would be similar to a; Survey, Plan Specs, Drawing, etc.

Are you saying Plam?

[flash width=560 height=315] http://www.youtube.com/v/xlg3QoqLfOc?version=3&hl=en_US [/flash]

Combine both theories. A company might have to wade through 10, 20, 30, or more resumes to find someone. If they are truely trying to be equal they will look at all of them which can be a daunting task. If you have a complicated resume, someone having the task of reading so many might file that right away in the round cabinet. You need that KISS principle. Do the simple, concise, to-the-point resume and make sure you cover the areas you need to. (and no typos or grammatical errors).

Attached the additional idea in an incredibly neat, attractive package that has your cool ideas as an addendum. Like submitting an example of a set of plats or descriptions only as you described. The employer, can "glance" at the neat job you did, or if it really catches his eye, he might actually read it with detail. It should not have typos or errors in case he does study it.

I like it. I would be impressed. But someone who only wants the facts, would have the simple resume up front.

So those are my thoughts, anyway.

I may be the exception rather than the rule, but when I reviewed a resume (or interviewed a candidate) I probably spent less than 1/3 of the time evaluating them in light of the position they applied for.

What I was looking for was their potential to advance to higher positions, specifically what I thought of their ability to be a future project manager. Because of this I was always looking for professional correspondence skills and the ability to succinctly describe their background and experience without a lot of fluff.

And FWIW - My experience over the last few years is that a neat, professionally laid out resume, in a standard format, well written and proofread, on decent weight paper, with a cover letter IS the outlier that will stand out from the others.

If you want to stand out from the crowd and be different, try something like this.

Be very sure to add the PST at the bottom. Wait a minute. What the heck is PST?!?

I don't know either.

Make your PST is the same as this guy. His favorite color is TAUPE because it rhymes with DOPE. (Insert forehead slap here.)

Larry P

Lately I receive "are you hiring...plz email back" emails "sent from an iPhone."

Someone using text slang when asking for a job, will not get one from me.

If a prospective employee took the time to make his resume stand out (and there are no misspelled words), he (or she) is worth a call back.

Funny Personnel Memory:

Got a blind phone call a number of years ago.

"Uh, I understand you're looking for survey help."

"Maybe. You must know somebody that works here, I haven't advertised yet."

"Yes Sir. Phillip's a good friend of mine."

(One ding..he said Sir. Not that I'm a stickler for that..but I like implied respect, it hints of character.)

"Got any experience?"

"Yessir, I worked for Dewey, Cheatham & Howe for four years."

I loath this outfit. IMHO they're the dumpster sludge of engineering firms.

"What did you think of Tom Howe?"

"Well...he's..uh..pretty successful."

(Two dings..that's the only thing anybody could say positive about this guy.)

"Did you get along with him?"

"Oh, man...I really...uh, no. No, not really. Nobody does."

(Three dings..he indicates inherent honesty.)

"Can you be here at six in the morning?"

"Well, yeah. But Phillip said you didn't get there until six-thirty."

"Phillip's right. Beat me here and you got an interview."

He got there before me the next day and had a starched shirt on.
It was daytona blue with a red racing stripe and two or three number "3"s all over it...

"Nascar fan?"

"Yessir. But it was the only clean shirt I had. I wanted to make an impression."

"Oh, you did..."

(Four dings..honest with a dash of humility)

"Your hired. As long as you never wear that shirt to work."

True story. He's a top-notch employee. Loves OT and hates blue-tops. He's one of my longest term hands. I'd say he was worth more than I'm paying him, but he probably reads the board.;-)

Once, as a goof I wrote my resume as a legal description. My boss thought it was entertaining but said it didn't close. 😀