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So, the MT recommended CV structure is a role/employer+responsibilites+accomplishments list, and formal degrees at the bottom.

How should I handle specific skills that I have in addition to my degree, and training that I have received during my employment? E.g. "Very experienced in C++", "Speaks Chinese fluently", "Attended five day intensive course on subject X in May 2010".

 

stevesim's picture

Having a skill is a good thing but if its not pertinent to the position you are applying for there isn't a lot of value in having it on the resume.  Ideally you are already using those skills in your current postion and they should relate to your accomplishments;

- Developed all middleware components for proprietary online order tracking system using C++ in xx weeks

- Appointed as primary contact for clients in People's Republic of China due to fluency in spoken Mandarin.

 Attending a five day conference isn't an accomplishment, I know far too many people who have attended conferences and learned nothing, what did you learn and how did you apply it to accomplish something important.

If you speak fluent Mandarin but didn't use it in a previous job but its a requirement or "plus" in position you are applying for then its goes into the cover letter, in terms of relevance to the position or the value it will add.

 

Steve Simmons
CGEIT, CISA, CISM, CISSP
DiSC=7115

leonbuker's picture

Hi - and sorry to reply to such an old post.

I've noticed that some jobs have a list of required certifications, such as PMP.

I see you have quite a few certifications (CISSP, CISA, etc) that wouldn't normally be included on an MT resume, and your answer is to include them in the covering letter... but what if you don't have the opportunity to upload a covering letter or if your resume is being scanned by a computer for keywords?

While it is possible to include certifications with the job you are doing, it doesn't make sense if it isn't an accomplishment for that job (e.g.. passed Prince2 while not a project manager) or maybe you did a course between jobs.

I want to suggest that the "education" section should contain any relevant internationally recognised qualifications. Otherwise a candidate surely risks being excluded for not having the required certifcation, when actually they do...

Thoughts?

 

Leon

afmoffa's picture

I agree with most of what Stevesim wrote, and I particularly like the idea of a cover letter as a venue for a critical skill that might not fit into a resume. Chinese, or extensive travel experience to a region of interest to the new company, that's good stuff to mention in your letter (and interview).

I agree that attending a conference is not an accomplishment (unless your boss only sends the best performers to conferences), but Captainkirk was asking about courses, not conferences.  Those aren't the same, particularly if there was test or accreditation at the end of the course.

My previous employer generously offered a variety of in-house and off-site courses, and I availed myself of a lot of different courses and picked up several certificates in things as diverse as "Dreamweaver CS2 Advanced Topics," "Time Management," "Fillable Forms in Acrobat 7," and "Copyright Issues for Derivative Works." I'm not about to put a laundry list of three-day or three-week certificates on my resume, but for a particular job I might put something on my resume such as

  • completed advanced certificate in Dreamweaver CS2 in preparation for new duties at Acme, Inc.
  • (I might put that on even if the new duties at Acme never materialized. Might not.)

I also taught a few courses in Acrobat at my previous job, which is an accomplishment that almost always gets into my resume. Even if a putative employer isn't interested in my Acrobat skills (most are, given my line of work), teaching ability is a nearly-universal job skill.