Thursday, March 12, 2009

Just In Case You're Wondering

Multiple people have expressed amazement that linkedin actually worked for me. So the answer is yes, I was approached by Fannie Mae HR through my linkedin account.

Random job hunting tips
  • Don't send your resume in MS Word 2007 .docx format. Most companies won't be able to open it
  • My resume is exactly 1 page. If yours is longer than 3 pages, you probably don't need to list the fact that Ms. Jones made you the hall monitor in 5th grade.
  • Don't be a afraid to stop and think through your answer. And more importantly, don't be afraid to say "I don't know the answer". I've said that at interviews that I ultimately got offers for.
  • Don't BS. Just, don't. And don't exaggerate about your past salary, education, etc. Because they do go over your resume with a fine comb.
  • And finally, money will never make you as happy as you think it will. Don't go after a job because of the pay. I've seen too many people going into finance because of the pay and leave broken and bitter because it's not what they want in life.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are right on so many accounts here. But, I have no clue how you get your resume to exactly one page. Mine is 2, and I can't think of how to make it 1. I'd never make it more than 2 though.

22as1 said...

Yang, if my accomplishments only take up 1/2 a page, should I draw a picture on the bottom half of the page?

Yang said...

information about what I did. Additionally, because Fannie Mae is also in the mortgage finance industry, there is no reason for me to tell them what a statistician does: they already know.

When I interviewed with CapitalOne, the head hunter asked me to create a 2-page version, so I did. But I'm actually more partial to my 1 page resume, because it is much more efficient.

Yang said...

Scott, the best ones are always the short ones :-)

For example, S.R.Sidarth's entrance essay for Larry Sabato's poli-sci class at UVA:

"I am Macaca."

Can you think of anything else he needs to add?