Land Short-Term Work With A Dumbed Down Résumé

@Division by Zero:

And what do you do when the question of gaps in your job history arises? Is this a case of doing what it takes to get the interview and then selling/explaining?

jupiterthunder

@MIchael Garmahis: When you NEED a job it is. That article is rubbish if time isn't on your side.

This has been a real problem for me, as my degree will automatically disqualify me for almost anything. When I have done work outside my profession and people know about my background, the common assumption is that I must be awful at my profession or that I got kicked out of it. I have to hide my non-professional work because it is a black mark inside my profession, but I have to hide my professional work outside it because the sole response from potential employers is, "why the hell would you want to do this?!"

Even my professional resume has to be dumbed-down sometimes, though, because many employers assume that someone with my level of experience won't work for what they want to pay, even though I probably would. It reminds of the stories about very pretty girls who rarely date because all the guys assume she won't go out with them and therefor never ask her out.

ICherub

I've done this before... When I was living in Ft. Lauderdale for 4 months I couldn't find a gig to save my life. After sending out hundreds of resumes customized for many of the positions and going on 1 interview (where I was told I was overqualified) I chopped up my resume and made it seem like I never moved forward from when I was a PC Tech / Deployment 12+ years ago.

All of the sudden I landed 5 interviews after sending out only 15 resumes one of which I was hired on the spot. I made sure to be as vague as possible during the interview so that it wasn't obvious that I knew more than I did.

The job totally sucked, but that's another story all together.

@nwaasob: doug coupland appropriately named them "McJobs" in Generation X. also gave us a few more but i don't have the book infront of me right now. good read. kinda like On the Road for my generation. i hope i don't get stuck with that attitude tho.

btw, J Pod was great in both book and series.

@Division by Zero: completely agree. i keep any job that i've had for less than 9 months off my resume, unless the experience applies AND the employment terminated for a good reason (business was sold/closed/had a fire)

but even then, employers seem to think tha you're going to jump for the next thing as soon as possible. the current trend for average tenure is 3.5 years.

gone are the days of the gold watches

I think this is a great idea...if anything the rhetoric of resumes has gone to ridiculous levels. Getting a fancy title is often the raise in-lieu of increase method for some places. Dumbing-down can result in better credibility and frankly sounding like a real person. Unless you're applying for DOD, police, or somewhere that requires full disclosure, treat your resume as a brochure - its marketing material not a specifications document. Mind you this logic might not go well with the HR nazi's and buzzword counters but I still prefer to reduce the bullshit factor and exclude things that aren't pertinant to the position and only serve in self-indulgent name dropping.

HarrietKablamy

I think it depends. We have all heard of the guy who got fired because he said he had a certain set of credentials and didn't have them. I would believe that pendulem can swing both ways.

When I was looking (April 2004 - October 2008) I held a variety of positions. I lumped these under consulting - which most of them were - sort of.

From temp gigs lasting a few days to 4-5 months at a time. Some paid directly to me through a employers payroll system, some through temporary agencies (the bulk), some as 1099 income.

I even held a variety of positions that I wouldn't put on a resume for a job in accounting which is what I was looking for. (call center work, helping refurbish rental properties my dad owns (painting, yard work, etc) and other manual type labor.

If working throught a agency seeking professional work, I absolutely would leave on any advanced degree information, especially if that agency specializes in that type of work. If through an industrial or industrial/office type agency I would probably leave the advanced degree off.

Runnin-Ute

Do it, but please revise your Linkedin profile to match the resume. Remember that anyone can Google you. I always do.

ynguldyn

@CnEY: I firmly believe that jobs that lasted for less than 3 or 4 months or that were strictly part-time to begin with have no place on a resume. If you delivered pizza on nights and weekends as a 2nd job, leave it off the resume. If you took a job with a road construction crew for a couple of months so you could pay your bills after getting laid off from your white-collar job, leave it off the resume. On the other hand, if you're looking to land a job on a road construction crew you might not want to list that you were the Executive Director of Overseas Marketing on your resume.

@rogsim: I recall reading a cartoon as a kid that called them "YUPPIE"s. Young Unimportant Person Preparing Instant Eats.

Do be careful though. I have a friend who has a masters in music teaching. This actually puts her at a big disadvantage right now compared to applicants without the masters. However if she just "left it off" then she and the person who hired her could get in big trouble with the teachers union if it ever came out. It puts her in a bind because she would rather work for a year at lower pay than not at all. In the private world you are probably safe though.

It obviously was the wisest move in the example that was provided.

hmiles619

Dumbing down a résumé isn't the wisest move [tr.im]

A good rule of thumb is to NOT have one "set" resume, but rather cater each resume to the position you are applying for. You should always maximize your relevant experiences and minimize the irrelevant ones. No one cares if you have a master's degree if you are applying for a job as a receptionist.

@CnEY: Well don't make a "history" of short employments. The point of this article is for if you just got laid off from your long-term job and need a short-term job ASAP so you can support yourself while searching for another long-term job. It's not so you can go from job to job to try out other things.

RoFLKOPTr

Interesting concept. I'd be a little worried about the long-term implications of purposely landing a short-term "gig" though; for instance, my company regularly filters out engineering candidates who have a history of short 3-to-6-month employments, since it too shows a pattern of jumping ship at the drop of a hat.

CnEY

I guess I can leave in my "Food Service Associate" position at Arby's if I really need to.

@ynguldyn:

Good call, I didnt even think about my linkedin account being searched.
Makes sense I guess since thats its purpose.
:)

Now to try and remember my password...

SeventhExile

Damn wish I had seen this earlier today.
Needed to pick up a small summer job as I work on my research project.

I applied to bestbuy, an hour later I got a call from the manager telling me how he would love to hire me.
I'm thinking great, that was as easy as I thought it would be.

.... He then says "but your overly qualified for us to offer you a position" ..

,,,,,,,

So.. they actively seek out stupid people to work at bestbuy ?..

SeventhExile

@Runnin-Ute: One is lying/fraud. The other is not giving more information than required. Any company that would fire you for being too qualified might find them selves on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

silver-bolt

Those that are against this tactic have not been unemployed, or haven't been unemployed in a atmosphere of layoff and recession, where you get to the point that you NEED a job to SURVIVE. I was laid off shortly after 9/11 as a direct result of the tragedy. I finally became employed 2 yrs later, after being rejected time and again for being 'over qualified". I dumbed down my resume and finally landed a job in December of 2003 doing 'security' work.

I continued the dumbed down tactic until I landed a job with my present employer. Today I am a corporate trainer with the firm, and hold a successful track record. Point being. . . Sometimes you just need to get in the door so that you can prove yourself and move up. If you have what it takes, resumes mean nothing in the end.

Fernando Dos Santos

I have always used "Culinary Transport Specialist" instead of "Pizza Delivery Driver" when referring to my current job. Maybe I should dumb it down a bit?

Jim-Bob

@MIchael Garmahis: The main focus of the article was about people lying on their resumes. In the last part of the article, it says that changing "project manager" to "project coordinator" is acceptable, as does this LH article.

Also, notice the date on your linked article. While the points of the article are still valid, they are not completely relevant.

@jupiterthunder: I do believe that this is a case of doing whatever it takes to land the interview and then selling the hell out of yourself. The resume simply gets you past the gatekeeper. I would think most employers these days expect most candidates to have gaps in their employment history. It's simply the nature of the beast in a world of mergers, layoffs, and closures.

I have done this. I did not lie on my resume, but I did leave things off. I have a BS just like I said, but there was no reason to list my advanced degrees. It also worked out to my benefit that I have had ambiguous job titles like Science Specialist or Assistant Scientist. Are those the titles of entry level lab techs or PhD level scientists? And if you distill your job into your most mundane tasks, you can make job descriptions that do not lie either. When it came down to it, I realized that ordered stuff and make sure supplies stayed stocked. I then played up my years in the restaurant industry that I did all throughout school. After this no one asked why a laid off biomedical researcher would want to work in a cubical.

Oh, and in response to cupbeempty above worrying about not disclosing something and getting in trouble with something like the unions for not getting a proper pay grade, I would never do this in my own field. I would never try to get an entry level lab tech job without telling them my qualifications. But if I want to get a job as an office drone or telemarketing (yes, I went there), there is no reason they need to know how many initials I can put after my name.

This is not that different from my real professional resume. I do not list my years as a waiter or pizza delivery guy on it. They are not relevant for being a biomedical researcher.

joe reader

@SeventhExile:
"So.. they actively seek out stupid people to work at bestbuy ?.."

I thought that was a given... ;)

ericesque

@SeventhExile: have you been in a best buy recently? most of the employees are trained to follow scripts pushing consumers towards specific brands, higher prices, etc. Not one of them uses logic to find and sell the product that matches the consumers needs.

fiman16

A few years back I was getting no responses. I then removed my PhD and my two masters degrees and changed the name on my resume to Vijay Patel. Bingo. I got several interviews. When challenged about the name I gave my legal name followed by DBA Vijay Patel.
That tells you something about the assault on qualified American software developers.

I'll don my asbestos suit now.

rockhopper

@ICherub:
I've wondered a few times if it would be worth it to conceal my doctorate in order to get a job as a technician. Fortunately, my lab has money but things are tight. Hmmm.. a pretty simple search makes it almost impossible to conceal this fact.

Our very attractive and intelligent homecoming queen didn't date and missed prom because all the guys were too intimidated.

cmotdibbler

@HarrietKablamy: Full disclosure is for the interview phase, where you fill out the same sort of application you would if you were looking for a job flipping burgers at McDonald's. As long as you haven't blatantly lied on your resume, you have no reason to feel the least bit guilty "customizing" the data therein to fit your intended audience.

@rockhopper: You can take it off. If we were sitting in a bar, I'd buy you a beer.

I would say if you're taking a demotion and a pay cut, the best city to work in is the one where you currently reside. "You mean you want me to take a cut in pay, a cubicle instead of the window seat I used to have, and you want me to move?" Throw in a beater Pontiac, and I might consider commuting if I can get there in under an hour.

It's not being dishonest to list relevant experience.

My time as a Subway Sandwich Artist isn't relevant to my current position in the least and didn't make it onto my resume. If I were to apply for another fast food job, however, I'd certainly reference that experience. And I'd probably leave off the current experience.

Putting irrelevant information on your resume is pointless. And when you're applying for a position that you're overqualified for, you can give the impression that you're desperate and will take anything you can get, but just until something better comes along. A bunch of extra degrees and job titles essentially says "I know I'm too good for this job. And I'm gone as soon as something better comes along."

bigvince1981

@cmart2112: I have done this all the time since about '99. I research every prospective employer, and cater it to the position and business. I have landed 4 of the 5 jobs I have looked into.

@ericesque:

:)

I did hear a guy telling a girl how she should get a mac because and I quote,
"their really good at art and since your going to an art school you should get one because if you dont then how can you do your art.. and they dont get viruses"

I... sat their jaw dropped thinking, how wrong he was on so many lvl's .. and he's was on geek squad.
Don't they have some standards ?
basic high school education perhaps being one of them ?

SeventhExile

@fiman16:

Back in the day I worked at Ccity. Before it got craptastic.

Anyways, they actually trained people to know the product and sell what the customer needed, (with exception of the ccity service plan).

Figured BestBuy was like that..

I buy my comp stuff online.

Cheaper, and better service if I need help.

SeventhExile

Back in the day I worked at Ccity. Before it got craptastic.
Anyways, they actually trained people to know the product and sell what the customer needed, (with exception of the ccity service plan).

Figured BestBuy was like that..

I buy my comp stuff online.
Cheaper, and better service if I need help.

SeventhExile