Portfolio?
I have been reviewing my resumes and cover letters and find it difficult to encompass the types of surveying projects I have worked on in cover letter or resume where I am more focused on education and skills.
Has anybody prepared a portfolio of surveying projects? Was it effective?
I think a single page bulleted list of projects would be good, graphics as necessary, but brevity is key.
Any thoughts or experiences?
Send me your email and I will send you what I have used.
Kevin you got it one KISS
For an applicant you think it is important to list a shotgun of experience as you submit a generic portfolio.
For the reader it is a different story.
Has it occurred to you and others reading to personalise your portfolio and target the individual recipient?
I mean, for example, listing your surveying exploits at the north pole when applying for a firm who works solely in the Sahara Desert. Do you get the point?
If you want to impress a potential employer do YOUR RESEARCH into their principal fields of endeavor to highlight the matching experience up front. Then you simply add that you have additional experience in surveying in say for example the area of building deformation and planning.
After all when you go fishing you do not load the hook up with anything but the correct bait and then as small a tempting morsel. Use the wrong bait or too much bait on the hook and the fish will swim right on .
BTW none of this 6 month on this and 3 years experience on that. For the good employer it is day one when you start and you learn their ropes!
RADU
RADU,
I always tailor the cover letter and resume to the particular firm and available position.
I feel that a simple portfolio to accompany an interview would be a great way to differentiate from competitors and paint a more detailed picture for potential employers.
Portfolios have been making a comeback in nearly all professions and I was wondering if anybody had experience preparing their own or reviewing portfolios of others.
In the day and age of internet job applications where a cover letter and resume are seldom requested the portfolio might be the only chance to leave a physically prepared document with the interview panel.
Thanks for the input.
Kevin call me old school..
but I have always believed in a good hand shake and face to face conversation to sell.
I honestly believe the resume business is a fraud. It is who you know and the recommendation that flows through a common denominator.
Employment is no different from buying a fridge, it is not something you do every day. So saving up all the fridge pamphlets or bookmarking fridges on the internet is a waste of time until you want one. Then you start looking. Then you ask your mates and colleagues what they have and where they got there fridge. Then it is STILL a matter of being in the right place at the right time!
Sorry If I sound a bit up myself, as that is most certainly not the intent, more stating what I think of the way people are being told how they must pitch for employment opportunities.
As an old phart glitz, bells and whistles do not turn me on. I confess I feel guilty throwing resumes in the bin and rather honestly say to those who take the time to personally arrive at the office doorstep keep it, as I know it has cost money to produce. All I need to retain is a name, a phone number and an email address, so that if an occasion arises I can put a face to a potential employee and check out if they are employed or still looking.
I would be interested in hearing from other employers who actually really read or retain portfolios for future reference.
RADU
Kevin call me old school..
I wholly agree with that, the lack of face to face. As an example, I am looking for work with a regional company that had their hiring manager at my schhol. Followed her instructions and sent in resume, call a week later and zilch. First year calls same company but local office and gets hired.
The depersonalization and lack of understanding of what is needed by HR type folks negates a portfolio. On my resume I list the generic types of work; topo, alta, stakeout, etc.
Kevin call me old school..
I apprecaite your candid opinion RADU.
Resumes, cover letters and portfolios will never replace good old fashioned networking.
Thelonious Monk said it best:
"Don't sweat nobody for a gig, just be on the scene!"
You get jobs from knowing people. Because people like to work with people they know.
So when a job opens up, usually the boss says, "Hey, you guys know anyone?"
So make sure you are the guy they know.
Some of those folks asked to see a portfolio or a CV, but never a resume.
This is true.
I got my current job because the Manager called me and asked me to apply. Obviously we knew each other.
I have had to review stacks of Resumes for a hiring panel. They are really hard to read while staying awake. It's hard to make sense of the pile if you know what I mean.
When applying for a government job, use their words. Plagiarize their job ad and specification. The first review is an ignorant HR type who can only compare. If you say level and the spec says measure orthometric height they don't know they are the same.
