searching for good salary job in abroad after mechanical enggineering

[spec]

lionn_heartt

One detail to consider. Look up the difference between a curriculum vitae (CV) and resume. According to Wikipedia, in the UK the two are identical, but in the United States (and elsewhere, including India), they are quite different.


Why is that distinction important? There have been numerous threads on social media by individuals asking how to get a job. They often include a question like, "What should I include in my resume?" Knowledgeable people have responded that the resume should not be more than 2 pages and preferably just one page. Individuals in the hiring department of larger corporations simply do not look at longer resumes. They get too many and don't have the time.

In contrast, CV's of 25 to 60 pages or more are not uncommon when applying for academic positions in the United States, Canada, and some other countries. Often, there are two versions of a person's CV -- a full version with their complete publications and an abridged version with only their last 25 or so publications. Although, Wikipedia implies that is not the custom in Europe and the UK, I have seen CV's meeting that definition come from individuals in those areas.

Bottom line, if you are applying for a job in industry, submit a very short "resume" to get past the initial screener. If you are applying for a job in academics, it is unlikely you will be dealing with a low-level functionary in the personnel department. In that case, you will want a more complete CV, and if not otherwise told to do so, submit a version with only your more recent publications.

John

Very wise John,

I have been involved in loads of staff hiring and I can say that it is a daunting task. Some Monday mornings as many as 100 CVs would be dumped on my desk to go through, all of different paper sizes, lengths, and with varying degrees of language competence (obvious non natural English speakers were treated individually though). Going through them normally took all morning and was a task I hated, not because the CVs were not interesting in themselves but because of the sheer volume of work. Also, there was a great responsibility to ensure that you gave each applicant a fair chance of obtaining a position with the company- a life changing event for many of them. Plus the fact that we needed the staff.

We were instructed to do a coarse initial sort of CVs and put them into two heaps, yes and no. We didn't even need to give a reason why a particular CV had gone in the no heap which would be simply returned to Human Factors and the applicants would get a standard 'dear John' letter. This sort was based on the impression the first page created. The yes pile would then be further investigated. We would have to give a reason why an applicant was rejected from the initial yes heap. The point here is that the initial impression your CV gives is vital and although you may have sweated days over polishing your CV, it simply may not be read if the initial impression is negative.

So what is the correct first impression? Firstly, your CV must be instantly comprehensible- no fancy fonts, must have adequate size characters, no pink blue purple paper, or colored characters. And above all it must have high quality printing and be on standard size paper: A4 in Europe, including UK and the equivalent in your country. These points may seem obvious, but it is surprising how often that they are wrong.

What to put on your CV? The answer is simple: Why should a company want to employ you. That is the only question you need to address. You may be passionate about bee keeping, you may have national awards in bee keeping. Bee keeping may be your life. Perversely, these may be good reasons why you may not get employed: if you are that passionate about bee keeping how much time are you going to spend thinking about work.

So what is good: high quality paper. succinct description of you: age etc. what sort of person are you. Your skills and experience, especially any that relate specifically to the target company's area of operations. Be positive. List your qualifications.

As John says, some CVs, especially academic, need to be very long. Academia generally has more time than industry and I would guess that these CVs would relate to high positions. Even though a CV may need to be long, it should still be well structured so that it can be either skimmed or read in full according to the assessor's objectives. This may sound impossible to do but it is not.

You simply would not believe some CVs that people send out.

The best I saw opened, 'My mother didn't like me'

'I ran a large project but it overran and I got the blame but it wasn't my fault.'

'I am a scout troop leader.'

And one that was printed on pink paper with tiny purple script font that was illegible.

There are now loads of excellent books that show how to write a good CV and give a range of templates that you can simply copy. Make no mistake, a CV is vital for getting the job you want and also writing a good CV it is no mean task. There is only one better way of getting a job and that is by having a contact that can recommend you. Having a father who is the managing director (MD) of the company would also help.

Just to show how perverse life is though, some of the best engineers had the worst CVs and probably the best CV I ever saw belonged to one of the worst engineers.

spec

PS: part two of this, the interview, also has some vital aspects that need to be addressed to help you clinch the deal and secure a job.

 

[lionn_heartt]

lionn_heartt

One detail to consider. Look up the difference between a curriculum vitae (CV) and resume. According to Wikipedia, in the UK the two are identical, but in the United States (and elsewhere, including India), they are quite different.


Why is that distinction important? There have been numerous threads on social media by individuals asking how to get a job. They often include a question like, "What should I include in my resume?" Knowledgeable people have responded that the resume should not be more than 2 pages and preferably just one page. Individuals in the hiring department of larger corporations simply do not look at longer resumes. They get too many and don't have the time.

In contrast, CV's of 25 to 60 pages or more are not uncommon when applying for academic positions in the United States, Canada, and some other countries. Often, there are two versions of a person's CV -- a full version with their complete publications and an abridged version with only their last 25 or so publications. Although, Wikipedia implies that is not the custom in Europe and the UK, I have seen CV's meeting that definition come from individuals in those areas.

Bottom line, if you are applying for a job in industry, submit a very short "resume" to get past the initial screener. If you are applying for a job in academics, it is unlikely you will be dealing with a low-level functionary in the personnel department. In that case, you will want a more complete CV, and if not otherwise told to do so, submit a version with only your more recent publications.

John

 

[throbscottle]

Hey Spec - you should take up as one these consultant help-you-get-a-job people!

lionn_heartt
One detail to consider. Look up the difference between a curriculum vitae (CV) and resume. According to Wikipedia, in the UK the two are identical,

Correct me if I'm wrong but I probably speak for most of the UK when I say we think that "resume" is just the American word for CV. We simply just don't use the word here. John, you have enlightened me!

 

[jpanhalt]

This Wikipedia link describes the differences in nomenclature and local preferences.

John

Edit: Many American universities have recommended forms for faculty to use for a curriculum vitae. Here is a link to the one at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA): **broken link removed**

Note that the form itself is quite a bit longer than the recommended length for a resume.

 

[JoeJester]

some of the best engineers had the worst CVs and probably the best CV I ever saw belonged to one of the worst engineers.

The phrase ... Looks good on paper, comes to mind.

 

[Tony Stewart]

a convincing cover letter is important to get your resume even read.
do you realize how many they get for 1 job?

get an iPad app. called Glassdoor to see jobs in any area

 

[spec]

a convincing cover letter is important to get your resume even read.
do you realize how many they get for 1 job?

get an iPad app. called Glassdoor to see jobs in any area

Very true Tony
In our company there was a coarse sort by the Human Factors Department (Personnel Department prior to the B/S days) before the applicants information was passed on to the various coal-face departments for further assessment and, also as you say, they may get hundreds of applicants, especially around university graduation time.

The other letter that is most important to get right is a speculative letter of inquiry. Just to explain, that is a letter to a company that has not advertised for staff but operates in areas that relate to your skills in some way.

spec

 

[spec]

Hey Spec - you should take up as one these consultant help-you-get-a-job people!


Correct me if I'm wrong but I probably speak for most of the UK when I say we think that "resume" is just the American word for CV. We simply just don't use the word here. John, you have enlightened me!

Thanks throb.
Being on both sides of the fence has been very revealing.
We don't tend to use the word resume as such in the UK as you say, but a resume is a very effective document to have. For example you could include a resume with a speculative letter of application. The resume should be one page though. Also it should be clear and succinct or it may not get read.
The thing to bear in mind is that a big companies and maybe a small companies get crack-pot letters of application all the time, so it is vital to ensure that your documents stand out.
spec

 

[spec]

As this thread is about getting a job, one fundamental thing to get right is what area are you going to specialize in. Very often, people train in areas that interests them, rather than surveying the job market to establish where the demand is. Of course, the ideal is to meet both criteria. Job availability varies over time and is different from country to country and, in a big country like the USA, from area to area. The other major thing to consider is which jobs pay the highest salary. For example, software engineers have always been in high demand and paid a premium since the 1960s.

spec