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| Mark Connor |
Resumes have evolved significantly over the past 20 years,
due in large part to the arrival of the Computer Age and, more recently, the
social media revolution. Gone are the days when a resume would be printed on parchment
quality paper and “snail mailed” to a prospective employer. In today’s job
market, a resume is a digital document, formatted as a Word or .pdf file and attached
to a “cover letter” email. In all probability, the resume itself will soon be a
thing of the past as companies begin to explore the potential of “Profile Pages”
offered by websites such as Linkedin, and even video resumes, giving applicants
a chance to sell themselves and their backgrounds in a short video clip.
But, for the time being, the resume still has its place in
the hiring process and the information it contains needs to be more concise and accessible
than ever before. As discussed in our previous article, it is important to keep
in mind that your resume is likely to be screened by several people before any
interview is arranged, so information should a resume include?
Traditionally, a resume can contain information that is unnecessary
and even detrimental to your chances of being selected for interview.
Information such as marital status, names and ages of your children, religious
or political groups, your hobbies or even the current status of your health are
facts that you may feel proud to disclose, but are of little interest to a
Recruiter trying to determine your technical abilities. Personal statements can
also be a minefield – your own opinion regarding your work ethic, mentioning
the fact you always give 110% and that you are “equally capable of working alone
or as part of a team” does little to separate you from other applicants making
the same claims. For consulting positions in the Geology, Geophysics and
Reservoir Engineering community, there are only three key pieces of information
that Recruiters are looking for:
- What are your areas of specialization with your technical discipline?
- What areas of the world have you worked?
- What software are you capable of operating
When companies request a consultant, they typically have a
specific problem that needs to be resolved. It is likely to be project specific
and have defined technical deliverables with the tasks performed on whichever
software the company uses. No learning curves, no training - Hiring Managers
need a fully qualified and uniquely experienced expert to “hit the ground
running." Managers approach specialist consulting companies to identify the
right person because they know that the Consultant will be screened, vetted,
interviewed, and referenced before a resume even reaches the hiring managers
desk.
A good resume containing the right information will allow a
Recruiter (and, later, a Hiring Manager) to identify your suitability for a
specific assignment almost immediately, so focus as much of your resume as you can on the three key areas above. Keep it factual,
objective and detailed enough to supply sufficient evidence that you can
provide the solution to the company's problem. Recruiters want to place consultants just as
much as consultants want to be placed, so make sure the information is easy to access
and Recruiters and Hiring Managers will be able to match you to your next
consulting assignment time and time again.
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