Keeping resume up-to-date

TheFORCE

I'd like to keep my resume up to date and recent as much as I can. Makes it easier for those special situations when you get a call for a position you cannot pass away. With that said, I have a question. From 06 to 09 I worked in Helpdesk/Field tech jobs. Since then I've been working in Infosec. Now I want to elaborate more on the InfoSec responsibilities but my resume is already 3 pages long. Do you guys remove the desktop support/Helpdesk/Tech sections at all or do you keep it as part of your resume? The reason for why I kept it was to show that I have been working in IT for a decade now. Would this be more suitable in a cover letter?

dustervoice

Leave positions that are relevant get rid of anything that wont help your cause and try to shorten your sentences. I had the same problem. My Resume was 4 pages now reduced to 1.5.. save the details for the interview! i know some people like to list tools but my thinking is if youve been in networking for more than 3 weeks you dont have to tell me that you know how to use Putty thats just wasted space on a CV.

Danielm7

I cut the less relevant details about the older jobs where I wasn't in my current specialization. Then I can put more details on the more recent / related work.

636-555-3226

3 pages is too long IMO. why dont you anonymize & post it here for some critique & pointers

E Double U

I have over a decade of experience and keep my CV to 2 pages. I like to show all of the roles that I've had so with my earlier jobs (which are least relevant to the security roles that I now apply for) I give a one sentence description that sums up what I did.

gespenstern

I have 20 years of experience but list only about 10. I have several resumes where I list only what looks good for a certain position, like IR, General consulting, DLP, Identity Management, Architect.

Whole resume is 2 pages. I've paid for resume building services about a year ago and I was told that since resumes these days gets scanned first by specialized software that looks for various things and puts a score on a resume, I have to keep it less than 2 pages. I was told that resumes that are longer than 2 pages receive less score.

joelsfood

16 years in and I still stick to two pages. Remove redundant details, details that are no longer relevant at current level of experience, etc.

IE, i don't need three job postings to mention fact that I worked with EMC storage at all of them, I don't need to mention desktop support experience anymore, etc.

cyberguypr

Agree. You need to cut that down to two pages. I've also been in IT for 16 years and can effectively convey my message in two pages. Any more than that you run the risk of the person reading it losing interest. If you want to be detailed, do so on your LinkedIn profile and make sure you put it at the top along with other contact info. That is the first place I look when doing research on a candidate.

CyberSecurity

For a gov't position I applied to (GS-12), I submitted on USAJobs.gov and was denied 3 of the positions from the scanner. I then emailed them about 5 times in a two day period telling them "I knew of the solicitor and that he worked in the same building as me, he will be very impressed with my resume, I promise." After pushing enough I got the interview. Didn't take the job because though it stated over 50% travel, it was around 90%.

Basically, everyone I've ever interviewed with has said they want the "Technical" resume, not the short and neat one. They want to see what skills I can bring to the table. I have a full 3 pager but won't go over that. I also just figure out who the HR rep is, give them a call, tell them in a very nice way that if my resume didn't make it through they'd lose a very good candidate, and that usually convinces them enough to read it and pass it on to the hiring manager for consideration. I think the confidence factor helps.

beads

I keep both a long form resume of 4 pages and a shorter more targeted version of the same. Use the short resume for job boards and targeted contacts but feel free to send the long form for recruiters and those who ask for the long form AFTER you have made contact and past the introductions.

Its a technique that works very well for me but then again I started programming and hacking back in 1979.

- b/eads

OctalDump

beads wrote: »

I keep both a long form resume of 4 pages and a shorter more targeted version of the same. Use the short resume for job boards and targeted contacts but feel free to send the long form for recruiters and those who ask for the long form AFTER you have made contact and past the introductions.

Its a technique that works very well for me but then again I started programming and hacking back in 1979.

- b/eads

I use a similar technique, keeping a "master copy" which I cull down and reword to target for a particular job. If I am talking to recruiters about generic opportunities, they get the whole thing.

TheFORCE

beads wrote: »

I keep both a long form resume of 4 pages and a shorter more targeted version of the same. Use the short resume for job boards and targeted contacts but feel free to send the long form for recruiters and those who ask for the long form AFTER you have made contact and past the introductions.

Its a technique that works very well for me but then again I started programming and hacking back in 1979.

- b/eads

You make a good point beads. I will try and something similar also. Hopefully it will work for me too. Thanks!

$bvb379

I have a short and long resume as well. I have the short one when submitting it online because of scanners, it is about 1.5 pages. I also have "More work experience available upon request" written in small letters at the bottom. The long resume is for anyone who cares to look further into my employment. There have been jobs where I turn in my short resume and then they just ask for the last 10 years to submit manually anyways. This is why I keep my long resume.