In this month’s Optics & Photonics News (OSA, The Optical Society’s monthly magazine), scientific communications expert Jean-luc Doumont analyzed my CV to educate job-hunting members of our community. His analysis and re-drafting can be seen here, and a written article can be read here.
Jean-luc makes two primary changes: layout, and the ability for it to be read out loud. His layout changes offer a much better use of space and I happily reformatted my working document to reflect his recommendations. I am torn, however, about whether or not the change in tone is effective for this type of document. A reader should be able to digest a CV or resume very quickly (e.g. pass a five or ten second read test). Syntax aimed at creating complete sentences is impressive to an English scholar but slows the upload of data by a recruiter.
The original CV sacrificed 'read-ability' for access to succinct bullets that begin with the action taken. The subject of each line is assumed to be the name in big letters at the top of the document. Simply reading the first three or four words of each line relays an understanding of what I have done in the mind of a recruiter who is pining over a pile of CVs. Given a relaxed hiring manager with a cup of coffee, a biscuit, and ten minutes, Jean-luc's syntax is indeed much more appealing, I simply do not think this is a realistic audience.
In addition to these major changes, there are numerous gems from Jean-luc that you can read the analysis for (e.g. avoiding US- centricity). I respect Jean-luc to a high degree and am grateful for this experience.
Jean-luc makes two primary changes: layout, and the ability for it to be read out loud. His layout changes offer a much better use of space and I happily reformatted my working document to reflect his recommendations. I am torn, however, about whether or not the change in tone is effective for this type of document. A reader should be able to digest a CV or resume very quickly (e.g. pass a five or ten second read test). Syntax aimed at creating complete sentences is impressive to an English scholar but slows the upload of data by a recruiter.
The original CV sacrificed 'read-ability' for access to succinct bullets that begin with the action taken. The subject of each line is assumed to be the name in big letters at the top of the document. Simply reading the first three or four words of each line relays an understanding of what I have done in the mind of a recruiter who is pining over a pile of CVs. Given a relaxed hiring manager with a cup of coffee, a biscuit, and ten minutes, Jean-luc's syntax is indeed much more appealing, I simply do not think this is a realistic audience.
In addition to these major changes, there are numerous gems from Jean-luc that you can read the analysis for (e.g. avoiding US- centricity). I respect Jean-luc to a high degree and am grateful for this experience.
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