Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#61

Post by fnordprefect » Fri, Oct 06, 2017, 10:14 PM UTC

m52go wrote: post #15

Looks pretty. However for a service that claims to provide me the best words to put on my resume, the tagline "write impactful resumes" is rather harmful. "Impactful" is clunky. "Effective" is what you want. But neither word offers a specific pay-off, which is what you actually want in both a head-line on a site and a bullet-point on a resume.

+1 to this. "Impactful" is not just clunky, it's corporate wankspeak. "Impacted" is bad enough -- only teeth, fractures and faeces can be impacted -- but that appears already to be a lost battle, unfortunately.

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#62

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Oct 06, 2017, 10:20 PM UTC

fnordprefect wrote: post #61

m52go wrote: post #15

Looks pretty. However for a service that claims to provide me the best words to put on my resume, the tagline "write impactful resumes" is rather harmful. "Impactful" is clunky. "Effective" is what you want. But neither word offers a specific pay-off, which is what you actually want in both a head-line on a site and a bullet-point on a resume.

+1 to this. "Impactful" is not just clunky, it's corporate wankspeak. "Impacted" is bad enough -- only teeth, fractures and faeces can be impacted -- but that appears already to be a lost battle, unfortunately.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#63

Post by Mz » Fri, Oct 06, 2017, 10:21 PM UTC

I make a few bucks here and there editing resumes, sometimes for surprisingly statusy people. If you are doing your own resume without help, check for typos and for formatting consistency. All dates should be the same format. Look for stray commas, periods, etc.

This is one of the single biggest things I do. I sometimes spend far more time on reformatting such things than on rewording anything.

(Pro tip: Try reading it backwards. Humans are really bad about mentally filling in what they meant to say instead of seeing what they actually wrote when reading through their own work.)

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#64

Post by Diederich » Fri, Oct 06, 2017, 11:37 PM UTC

gingerlime wrote: post #57

Having reviewed hundreds of job applications recently (for three completely different roles at my company), I would generally say candidates should focus on the cover letter / email. Most applicants won't even get their resumes read at all if their cover letter or emails aren't good. I was quite shocked how many emails and cover letters from candidates were 100% generic, had spelling mistakes, highlighted irrelevant…

Huh...interesting. I don't think I've ever sent anything except a URL to my resume, along with a very generic subject that might mention a specific job posting...or not.

Maybe that 'forces' the receiver to read my resume?

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#65

Post by jansho » Fri, Oct 06, 2017, 11:43 PM UTC

It's a bit disheartening to read those cool resume lines. Back to the garage I go, for that one-in-a-million smash-hit product ;)

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#66

Post by quickben » Fri, Oct 06, 2017, 11:54 PM UTC

Search bar doesn't work in latest Firefox/Edge.

Or am I doing something wrong? I type a keyword in there, but there is no search button, the list doesn't change after pressing enter.

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#67

Post by ryandrake » Sat, Oct 07, 2017, 12:01 AM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #52

>Led the transition to a paperless practice by implementing an electronic booking system and a faster, safer and more accurate business system. Reduced costs of labor by 30% and office overhead by 10%. Just looking at the first example, this nails the head for me as an ex-recruiter about the best way to write a resume tagline. You didn't "use simplybookly.me," you "( action verb )implemented a ( description of thing…

This is a very standard format: Action, quantifiable result. Action, quantifiable result. I think one of the best edits one can make to their resume is to at least convert to that format.

"Responsible for C++ implementation of WhizBang Product's codebase" = ???

"Implemented BarFoo feature resulting in an additional $50M in revenue and 3 industry awards" = ahh, here's something this person can do for me!

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#68

Post by quickben » Sat, Oct 07, 2017, 1:53 AM UTC

stingraycharles wrote: post #59

jcun4128 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a free resume evaluation thing done to my resume and this was what was suggested to me regarding "I did x, resulted in % effect" and I don't know how to calculate that as a task do-er person / working on a site that doesn't make money yet (but being paid by site owner to develop features). You also mentioned the how to calculate part which may imply having access to the site owner's data (however that may be, a…

Regarding your first question, I think you’re looking at it too much from your own perspective. Take a look from the perspective of the site owner; what problems do you solve for him/her? What other value do you add to the site?

Presumably, he did that expenditure and revenue math before he decided to start hiring for the role.

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#69

Post by ci5er » Sat, Oct 07, 2017, 3:06 AM UTC

Diederich wrote: post #64

gingerlime wrote: post #57

Having reviewed hundreds of job applications recently (for three completely different roles at my company), I would generally say candidates should focus on the cover letter / email. Most applicants won't even get their resumes read at all if their cover letter or emails aren't good. I was quite shocked how many emails and cover letters from candidates were 100% generic, had spelling mistakes, highlighted irrelevant…

Huh...interesting. I don't think I've ever sent anything except a URL to my resume, along with a very generic subject that might mention a specific job posting...or not. Maybe that 'forces' the receiver to read my resume?

I don't know your geography, industry or role - but - as a hiring manager for developer roles - generically - if I have to plow through 200 applications to find 25 candidates to screen to find 10 interviewees to fill two positions in any given month, I would not read your resume.

I am not saying that your approach is a bad one, but I wouldn't be "forced" to read your resume.

Re: Show HN: Resume Worded – Write impactful resumes

#70

Post by sdiupIGPWEfh » Sat, Oct 07, 2017, 3:14 AM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #52

>Led the transition to a paperless practice by implementing an electronic booking system and a faster, safer and more accurate business system. Reduced costs of labor by 30% and office overhead by 10%. Just looking at the first example, this nails the head for me as an ex-recruiter about the best way to write a resume tagline. You didn't "use simplybookly.me," you "( action verb )implemented a ( description of thing…

I hate this advice so much, even if it's true that it works.

How many people actually have any sort of knowledge of (or access to) such measurements? If you're in sales or management, great, but the bulk of the workforce, especially those who desperately need their next resume to land them a half-decent job fast, are not in such positions.

Even as a developer, I've had exactly one gig where I had access to quantifiable results. Customer X was losing $Y per week, and when I provided a solution plugging problem Z... well, that's that. Some customers and employers are rather cagey about leaking finance data. Even if they were wide open about my impact, I'd have to stick around a few extra years to see the result.