"Jarvis Mark-MC33419" <Mark.Jarvis@motorola.com> wrote:

> Passing along a suggestion I was given: ABSOLUTELY stay under two pages
for
> the resume proper. [...]
> BTW, I understand that a LOT of companies have the (in)human relations
dept.
> do an initial screening so that the line mgr won't "waste his time looking
> at duds." Ya gotta follow the rules to get it past them.

I have heard similar advice, but I look at it as a two-way process. If
someone looking for technical expertise is restricted by an overbearing HR
department, then those same tired folks will be the one determining my pay
scale and advancement opportunities. If they're that short-sighted, then I'd
just as soon pass.
Again, I put the emphasis on "things I've done" rather than "things I know".
Based on the activity on my poor cell phone this morning, recruiters don't
have much trouble sorting through a longer version. I am fortunate enough to
have a pretty good resume in my area (networks), so I can be a bit
selective. I'm also not hungry at the moment, which sure helps a lot.
Obviously, one sometimes has to be practical and in such cases, makeing a
"terse" version might be worthwhile.

Still, in my experience of digging through piles of resumes, a lack of
detail was often the biggest problem. I looked for the hook that made me
want to talk to the person. This does bring up the importance of targeting a
resume to the position you're applying for. We were recruiting for network
consultants not too long ago. Any boilerplate that included "looking for a
position programming in Visual Basic" tended to be a turn-off, no matter how
well formatted the resume was!

Just my 2 cents from having been on both sides of the fence!

- Bob