What do you look for in a resume? What are your thoughts on this as Surveyors, Survey Mangers or ones in hiring positions?

Reverse chronological, be relevant, show how you can help me, shoot straight.

Sounds like you have a lot of relevant experience, don't gild the lily with $10 resume words, but don't undersell your accomplishments either.?ÿ If you led a team of 45 and hit budgets and deadlines, I want to know that and I want to talk to someone who can verify it.?ÿ?ÿ

Keep it to one page.?ÿ If Elon can do it, so can you.?ÿ https://www.tbsnews.net/feature/pursuit/elon-musks-cv-one-page-how-long-yours-226201

You can always flesh things out in your cover letter, also one page long.

Posted by: @olemanriver

Of using my beginning aka the oldest experience and showing my progression through the Land Surveying and geomatics industry/profession. So starting with my Rodman up through to todayƒ??s accomplishments. Those of you who own or do hiring what has your experience taught you on getting good people.?ÿ

I wouldn't reformat the traditional order of a resume when it comes to the listing of prior positions.

But I always have a cover letter that takes the reader through my career in a paragraph or two. Crunch it down and highlight the fact that you have both advanced and branched out into new areas. Show the reader that you haven't just done the same thing throughout your career. Make it clear that you have the ability to adapt and learn - it sounds like you do, so sell it.

It sounds like you have a wide range of technical skill sets. At the top of my resume is a two-column list. On the left side are my skills (like "records research, right-of-way resolution, geodetic control work, GIS, laser scanning, etc.") and on the right are the technical tools I am familiar with ("Trimble robotics/GNSS, Leica HDS, ESRI Arc software suite, StarNET, etc.")

So even if they blow off my cover letter, front and center at the top is a comprehensive list of the things that I can do and the industry-standard methods I am immediately able to be productive with.

That can put the hook into some hiring managers. If they are intrigued by that, then they can dive into my history and see where I have worked before and what I have done.

My dad always told me that a resume and cover letter are not only a way for me to sell myself, but also a way for me to telegraph what I want to do and like to do, and effectively winnow out the kind of employers I don't want to call me. In this type of job market you shouldn't have to settle, so make it clear what you are looking to do and that you have the ability to get there while still being productive.

Posted by: @olemanriver

I have learned through very close friends and licensed that I sometimes intimidate those that would be above me with my background. ?ÿI just want to learn and I love teaching what I know . But sometimes it must not come across right. So i am here and ready for yƒ??all to beat me up with a wet squirrel so I become better.?ÿ

Attitude means a lot - put that sort of language in the cover letter. It's also easier to get attitude across in a face-to-face interview. Don't hesitate to smack them over the head with your experience and knowledge in the resume. Most hiring managers aren't concerned about being intimidated by background when reading resumes, but they will want to see you're a team player and not a prima donna at some point.

That's all I got. I'm not a hiring manager but I do assist with the process.

Don't ignore spelling and grammar rules.?ÿ Commas are free, but don't overuse them.

Sort of tacking on with Dave Lindell's suggestions -

Don't ignore formatting.?ÿ If the formatting is not neat and orderly, I am likely to pass quickly.

If you are listing out experience and the various headings line up all over the place or have some bold some italic with no rhyme or reason, it looks poor.

I think with resumes when it comes to words, less is more. Keep everything direct, to the point and well organized with a minimum of flowery language. You want to hit all the key points but avoid going into too much detail. If a hiring manager or other reviewer has questions, youƒ??ll have an opportunity to elaborate in an interview. Highlight experience that involves both independent effort as well as collaborative to demonstrate flexibility and the ability to work well with others.?ÿ
One thing I think that gets over emphasized in this profession is the emphasis on the technical skills while communication and people skills get scant attention but are critical to success. Even if you are Godƒ??s gift to a profession but nobody can stand to be around you, that isnƒ??t a recipe for success. Point being that a resume should reflect a well rounded skill set of a highly qualified and motivated candidate worthy of an interview.?ÿ

Dunno man, I quit making resumes when I got licensed. Everything started over. Licensed. Like it, don't like it. I know a half dozen people who were sought after as party chiefs or as office managers, survey managers, project managers, but as soon as they were licensed, they were let go and are still solo. For those of us solo, sure, send a resume, but it is a challenge to figure out how to make money with you.

Once a candidate has a couple of decades of work experience, all I really look at is what theyƒ??ve been doing at their last few positions.?ÿ

After work experience I like to see a list of ƒ??representative projectsƒ? to get an idea of the type and diversity of work youƒ??ve done. ?ÿIf you were at XYZ & Associates and worked only on residential subdivisions, I want to know that before I talk to you about a position where the workload is going to be 80% electric transmission ROW.?ÿ

@frozennorth Thank you. One of the toughest challenges Is to translate my military experience to non-military work. I have become a little better about describing it but nos as effective as it should be. ?ÿ Like airfield surveys from the military side are very similar to The old FAA 405. ?ÿExcept that we had to perform all ?ÿaspects of the Survey. On private sector side one company usually has obstruction another aids( landing like lights navigation sensors glide slopes etc ?ÿ ) ?ÿHelicopter Landing Zone studies would be a very tight topo along with any obstruction above or below for a jumper ?ÿso a hole one could brake a leg or stump ?ÿ We would then have to calculate area, a very detailed surface usually we would exceed 1/2 ft contours ?ÿdepending on who requested it ?ÿshow all slopes in different diagrams so percent of grade change per requirements ?ÿ So a little design reverse engineering as well as mapping ?ÿ?ÿ

When i got out of the usmc i was responsible for 3 to 4 million dollars worth of hardware software. ?ÿI had to keep track of and sign over ?ÿThis was everything from surveying field equipment and supplies to deployable computers and plotters rugged specific built office computers basically ?ÿbut very expensive . So when you use to get mad a crew left a dc cable i have done it ?ÿtry every darn cord for power monitor keyboard mouse and other stuff from a bunch of jar heads out of high-school deploying globally lol ?ÿ. ?ÿ

It has been a long time since i have done a resume so I take your advice to heart. Thank you very much. ?ÿ

@rover83 Thank you. All of this advice is extremely helpful as I will be putting this together. ?ÿTo seek a different position possibly in the future. My current position was pure just a word of mouth. ?ÿI mentioned i was thinking about going back to private sector side and friend who knows me said email this guy he will guide you to the right people. ?ÿSo i did but the guy said work for me i am not sending you to someone else lol. But i am not complaining. It has allowed me to knock the dust off some things and see where i need to focus on my weaknesses for sure. Like cad skills again. Research and law. ?ÿAnd to see how far equipment technology has come.?ÿ

i think its like kids. ?ÿYou see them every day and know they are growing. ?ÿBut they go to grandparents house for 2 weeks and when you see them again you truly notice how much change has taken place in such a short time. ?ÿThey are still your child but you realize that they are growing maturing much faster than you realized. That is kinda how i have felt about the technology it is like wow. ?ÿThings are the same but also lots of changes.

I have reviewed many resumes.?ÿ The ones that stood out were the ones I could tell in the cover letter that they had researched my firm and understood the work we did and it was tailored to our firm.?ÿ The resume itself was brief and didn't go into much detail just highlighting their past experience.?ÿ One page cover letter, one page resume.?ÿ The cover letter gave just enough information to make me want to interview, but not too much to pass on an interview.

@williwaw well in the past i had just bullet points key words. ?ÿBut when i was government they wanted paragraphs detailed resume. ?ÿThat is exactly why i am on here asking. ?ÿI know everyone will have some different opinions but for me I should be able to take all of this advice and put something together to be successful with. ?ÿThank you. I will most definitely remember that. ?ÿLess is more. ?ÿ

Posted by: @half-bubble

but it is a challenge to figure out how to make money with you.

Fundamentally, we all put up with braggadocios, who blow and go about how great they are.?ÿ

I need somebody who "neck reigns" not "plow reigns". And does not create liability for me. Someone to carry my load, without wearing me out with personal worth issues.

I have alot to offer. But, much of its subtle. It's stuff that takes a genius to explain.?ÿ

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@james-fleming I agree but since my path has always been geomatics but not always a straight line but an arc lol. I have say crew chief work most recently but in the past more managerial and more decision making positions. More planning and design for execution. I ?ÿhave a o somehow capture that without setting off alarms of this guy is just a field person vs someone i need to get in to aid my knowledge base and grow the company type person. ?ÿIf I had my license this same experience would be totally looked at differently. But not being licensed for you a business owner or manager I need to somehow capture and layout how you can use me to 1. Make money 2. Grow your education and knowledge at all aspects of your business and surveying knowledge ie. Teaching the newest how to set up a tripod to keeping level notes up to gnss knowledge etc. ?ÿto your top knowledgeable person ?ÿone thing i have learned over the years is I have learned more when teaching or training someone else vs being taught. I have been able over the past many years work with or be involved with from not within a firm but as an outsider looking in for training purposes or just helping friends get to the next level. Ex. During the recession companies that had been very profitable in say subdivision work mostly were struggling to go do city wide mapping for say storm water inventory type work ?ÿthose companies would call me for my opinion ?ÿi helped them hone different skill sets to approach and bid to get work they otherwise would have never gone after prior to the recession ?ÿit was not that they were bad surveyors or could not do the work ?ÿIt was just that it was different and it required a different work flow and approach than there existing skill sets and business model was currently. ?ÿI had to get them thinking network adjustments vs traverse compass rule a 100 different times ?ÿGet them to think in terms of GIS terminology like attribute s just a field code ?ÿThink of managing control over multiple counties vs a site . So while say on a site control is point number 1 -100 stake out points 1000 -5000 calc points 6000 -10000 ?ÿnow needed a somewhat different approach because one phase to 2nd 3rd phases all had to be brought together and over a larger area vs a small one . Logistics of driving around multiple counties now had to be considered ?ÿtraffic patterns needed to be thought of when sending a crew and crews out ?ÿ. You could spend a day locating 3 manholes or you could get 10 in a day depending on all the variables and such . ?ÿOne manager really had a hard time understanding if you could drive up pop a shot on a man hole with rtk network easily and was gone to the next one in just a few minutes ?ÿvs another crew who may have had to traverse a 1/2 a mile into bottom lands and cut line just to get to a man hole was another ?ÿ He was a fast smart productive stake out topo boundary surveyor and a great manager ?ÿvery productive guy ?ÿ But this was all new to him ?ÿand his head was exploding ?ÿI helped bridge the gap ?ÿbut I didnƒ??t work directly for him as a hired person except on a part time basis . I had to use lots of reports like hz vt precision reports from tgo and then work with getting it into format so gis esri software and personal could query that for different phases based on requirements of mapping grade vs surveying grade ?ÿsimple stated ?ÿA lot of this was just telephone conversations with all the different departments type stuff. Some was free i did some i was paid a consultant fee. ?ÿNow that all sounds great but how do i get that to a company in writing so i can move to my next level personally ?ÿ Ya see i have done everything in a simple statement a$$ backwards. I have handled jobs projects that is mostly done via a licensed person or business partners owners ?ÿroles.

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@nate-the-surveyor great and your statement hits me in the gut. Because I know i can come across that way. Thank you. ?ÿI never want to be a bragger. I know i have a lot to learn and will continue to learn. ?ÿIf I wanted to think i was above everyone I would have stayed in government because there is a lot of that type of thinking. ?ÿI am not all that concerned with pay as well. I mean I walked away from a 6 figure cushion job to swing a bush axe and wade through the swamps and fight skeeters lol ticks. ?ÿBut i do want to be compensated at my next job more than below the going average for a particular position. ?ÿ Which is where i am now. I also want to be placed into a position where i can work on my weaknesses and not just used totally for my strengths. I need to find that balance. ?ÿNot saying That where I am is company fault. At all. I offered that scenario to get back into this side of surveying. I made that decision. ?ÿI am a extravert it drives my kids and wife crazy at times. I never meet a stranger. I can talk and get to know anyone from any background or belief system. Now it does rub some the wrong way at times for sure. I realize that. I try to hone it or tone it down. Not always successful but I am aware. ?ÿI am laying it all out here so that I can become better so i can get over the next hurdle obstacles to become licensed. I figured if any group of wise folks it was this group. I have watched read the arguments and advice here to know yƒ??all could beat me into or shall we say mold me into the next best me. Lol. And get some advice on how to achieve that. I have taken a huge risk financially but its a manageable risk to walk away from what i had worked may way up to . ?ÿI am an uneducated boy from Mississippi that scratched crawled and fought his way to the level of working side beside some of the most intelligent and educated people I have ever known. If I had a 1/4 of their education background I would be thankful. But i do not so I have just jumped in and done everything I could to keep up and be apart of some of their accomplishments. ?ÿThank you. You have given me some great things to think about. Now if I can turn all this advice from you and others into a plan of action that can haul me to the next level it will be great.?ÿ