resumes

This poll was inspired by my own first resume. I remember trying to write my first resume as a university student. I was clueless. But I knew it. This was in 1994, and although the Internet existed and I had already created my first website, there was no easy way to look for resume inspiration on the Web back then. So I asked around, and did find some books in the McGill University library. One section that seemed important to have, besides Experience and Education, was an Objective. What was my Objective? It seemed so obvious but I didn't really have an impressive answer at the time, especially if I was giving my resume to company rep.s at a job fair or career fair without a specific position in mind.

Too many, too few, or just the right amount? I remember when I was a student at McGill University in Montreal, I thought that job hunting was a pure numbers game and that I needed to get out as many resumes as possible if I wanted a good chance at finding a job. Luckily, at that time I didn't know about resume distribution services, also known as "resume blasters", where you can pay to have your resume sent to thousands of recruiters or employers, turning yourself into a creator of job search spam. Can you imagine what it's like to be on the receiving end of those resume blasts? And we wonder why recruiters don't always respond...