Re: a question regarding resumes

["Todd Williams" <todd@macsch.com>]

On Jul 16, 14:29, R.  Wyatt wrote:
>   I am currently in the process of looking for a job and I have one of
> those infernal skills matrices on my resume,  but my question  is how far
> do you go with the flavors of unix?

As a hiring manager with several current open positions, I'll provide my
opinions after recently reviewing many resumes:

Some companies use automatic keyword scanning systems, so listing a stream
of buzzwords might be beneficial.  But be aware that many hiring managers
have low tolerances for resumes which are little more than streams of
buzzwords.  The quality of the information isn't very high-- if you list
TCP/IP, does that mean that you write network code?  or just know what the
letters "T C P" stand for?

Some companies have their semi-literate H.R. departments scanning resumes,
so they may ignore a resume that says "many flavors of UNIX" because they
were specifically looking for the keyword "AIX".

Again, quality of information is important-- If you list "IRIX", does that
mean you had ONE SGI machine?  or a network of several hundred?

My favorite resume style integrates the buzzwords into sentences that
indicate the scope of the responsibilities:
	"With four others, managed a complex network of UNIX
	workstations (200 Sun Solaris 2, 100 SGI IRIX, 50 IBM
	RS/6000 AIX) for a software development group.

Summary sentences at the beginning are also good for those of us with short
attention spans, but don't make them too pompous.
	"5 years of system administration experience on
	BSD-based (SunOS 4.X, Sequent Dynix 3) and AT&T-based
	(HP-UX 9, SCO) versions of UNIX."

And now the shameless plug:  I've got 3 open positions in L.A. right now.
1 for a SAGE level III or IV admin to handle AIX machines (and lots of other
fun stuff); 1 for a SAGE level I (or level I wannabe) to be the first line
of support for incoming helpdesk calls, and 1 for a technical webmaster to
write PERL cgi scripts and integrate exists apps and the web and manage
web sites and stuff.  You can call or email me if you'd like more info.

Todd Williams   Manager, UNIX and Comm. Systems  todd@macsch.com  (213)259-4973
MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. ("MSC"),  815 Colorado Blvd.,  Los Angeles, CA   90041
geek  n. : a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usu.
includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake  -Webster's New Collegiate