
Ask HN: Questions About Resume for Entry Job - greyostrich
First:<p>Objective -- yay or nay?<p>Education -- bottom instead of top? I currently have it on the bottom, because my personal projects are on the top.<p>Second (this is off-topic):<p>Three months ago, I asked for advice about finding an entry job (you can read about it @ https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10350972)<p>I&#x27;m still looking. Should I also be applying for internships?
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mindcrime
Objective - I'm about 51/49 on this. I don't see many, if any, cases where it
really helps, but can imagine corner cases where it might hurt (eg, if you
look too ambitious, or not ambitious enough, etc.). All in all, I'd probably
leave it off.

Otherwise, while most people default to chronological resumes, there's a case
to be made for a functional resume for recent graduates, people changing
careers, or people with non-traditional educational careers, etc. The idea is,
emphasize your skills and what you can do, rather than what you have done.

If you're not familiar with functional resumes, here's a pointer or two:

* [http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7770-functional-resume.html](http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7770-functional-resume.html)

* [http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/resum...](http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/resume-samples/sample-of-a-functional-resume/article.aspx)

Now, the flipside is, there are people who argue that "functional resumes are
bad", like this:

[http://www.quintcareers.com/functional-
resume/](http://www.quintcareers.com/functional-resume/)

My feeling is that if you're using a functional resume to try and _hide_
something, then this kind of thinking holds. But if you're young, recently out
of school, etc., that will be pretty obvious anyway, and a functional resume
may still be better at emphasizing your skills and strengths.

FWIW, if I was reviewing a resume and it was for a entry level job, I would
not in any way "ding" the candidate for using the functional style. In fact,
I'd probably appreciate it, because it makes my job easier than trying to
infer things from your description of your various class projects,
internships, summer jobs, whatever. Just go ahead and tell me what you think
you can do, and an interview will be the opportunity to dig deeper.

If you'd like specific feedback on your resume as it is, feel free to email me
(prhodes@fogbeam.com) or post a link in this thread.

~~~
greyostrich
For anyone else who reads this, I won't post my resume publicly due to privacy
reasons (even if the details are garbled), and I like having tangible
connections to people whom I receive advice from. So I will be e-mailing it.

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legitster
I have never understood objectives or why they end up on resumes. I think that
must be some bad advice from 20 years ago.

Instead of listing personal projects, just have a link to a portfolio. I like
to see and not be told.

Education is nice to have on top. Generally keep it pretty terse: where you
graduated from and what your degree was in.

Internships can be a fantastic leg up, but may be hard to get into if you are
a bit out of college.

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smt88
Objective -- absolutely not

Education -- top if it's more unique/impressive than personal projects,
otherwise below that

If you want to email it to me (see my profile for the address) then I'd be
happy to take a look and give you other tips. My office is in a software
startup incubator, so I can also pass your resume around if you seem like the
kind of person other companies want to hire.

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a3n
> Objective -- yay or nay?

The objective is obvious, the job you're applying for. So, nay.

