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I think your cynicism is merited. It never ceases to amaze me how many competent people there are in the world who are incapable of articulating their own competence. However, on some level, I'm rather glad for that, because most people don't want to hear how awesome you are. In fact, most hiring personnel don't want to hear how awesome you are, so it's better to let your work speak for itself. I edit CVs on the side (because I'm an editor), and I find people 'fluff' their applications for a wide variety of professions. The advice I generally offer is this, and maybe you can confirm/deny whether it applies to your hiring approach? 1) Wage war on adjectives, they offer the reader nothing and merely take up space.
2) Talk about projects, not positions or skills – in the course of discussing the project, discuss honestly what skills you brought to it and what your role was; articulate what you learned on the way; and tell me the conclusion of the project. It can be bullet points, but let it tell a story that's easy to understand.
3) Discuss outcomes. If your project was scaled, resulted in a sale, became a template for similar initiatives, or made your colleagues' lives easier, discuss that outcome. It would be nice to learn whether I'm steering people in the right direction, if you don't mind sharing... In any event, when I have to advise on a new hire, I usually appeal to those three criteria when reading a resume, and I toss anything that doesn't meet it. |