Graduating Soon, Entry Level Position Advice?

jaydepps

jaydepps

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I am graduating this Spring with a major in Sport Management and minors in Business Management and Communications. I have spoken with several representatives from the school and have a few options I can explore, but I was just thinking as sort of a "backup" to apply with non-sport related businesses such as GE, Motorola, etc. I was just curious if anyone knew of any video game companies with headquarters based in or around the Massachusetts area? I still have to determine which field I would like to begin my career hopefully in. I have narrowed it down to Human Resources and Advertising. I took several classes covering both topics and I feel they are the likely fields I will pursue. Thanks for any and all suggestions.
 
[quote name='jaydepps']I am graduating this Spring with a major in Sport Management and minors in Business Management and Communications. I have spoken with several representatives from the school and have a few options I can explore, but I was just thinking as sort of a "backup" to apply with non-sport related businesses such as GE, Motorola, etc. I was just curious if anyone knew of any video game companies with headquarters based in or around the Massachusetts area? I still have to determine which field I would like to begin my career hopefully in. I have narrowed it down to Human Resources and Advertising. I took several classes covering both topics and I feel they are the likely fields I will pursue. Thanks for any and all suggestions.[/QUOTE]

I'm an engineer, so I don't have much advice on your field. However, I will say as a recent grad (2 years ago) that considering the current job market, you better consider the possibility that you may have to seek employment out of state, and relocate.

Good luck in your search.

~HotShotX
 
Thanks. I am fully open to out of state and even country employment. With 3-4 hours of Massachusetts is ideal, but not required. I am essentially open to most jobs at this stage in my career so long as the salary is enough to pay student loans and provide a bare minimum for living expenses.
 
I don't even want to discuss how horrible my situation was. Despite having an Engineering related degree, I STRUGGLED to find an entry level job out of college. Pretty much every place was on a hiring freeze. Sucked because I lacked experience in the field too. I went 1 year unemployed. Eventually I took some job sort of related to my degree (just only required an AA degree instead of a bachelors and not very challenging) just to do something. Quite honestly, I'm disappointed in myself, but the pay is good and all I can do until something else opens up.

I moved from IN to MD.
 
Best thing I can say is, don't be afraid to settle. Even though you've narrowed it down to two fields, look outside of those fields. I'm not sure what your situation is (ie, living at home, car payment etc) so you may have more flexibility while looking for a job. If you need some money in the short term, look to a temp agency.

I settled with my current employer a little over 3 years ago. I was unemployed for several months and was hired as a temp, I was then hired on full time a few months later. It wasn't my dream job (I work in insurance), but a paycheck is a paycheck. I've gotten a couple promotions since I've started (back in 2007), I make significantly more than I did, have great benefits, they match on a 401k... it could be worse. It's still not my dream job even though it's much better than it was when I first started, but it pays the bills and then some.
 
As an Electrical Engineer, my number 1 advice for new grads is to have a portfolio of completed projects.

My number 2 advice is to post this portfolio on a website (your school should give you free hosting i.e. "www.schoolname.edu/~morriganlover/"). This gives employers access to your work both before and after the interview. I have PCB designs, source code, rapid prototypes, etc. on my portfolio.

Advice #3: Start your own tiny business doing what you like while in school. This shows initiative. In my case, I started my own video game company which sells games on the android marketplace. Even if profits are just beer money, it shows I can complete a commercial project from start to finish.

Not sure how advice 1,2, and 3 apply to sports management, because I don't have a clue what sports managers do. Is it like advertising? In that case, you could show your film design skills on youtube.
 
Well it is a broader topic. Sports management essentially covers various facets of sports including financing, human resources, accounting, advertising, marketing, brand management, etc. It is essentially a business degree, but with a sports theme.

Thanks for all the advice so far. Any and all is valuable. I never thought about a temp agency. There are two in my current hometown. I don't really know all that much about the concept. I will have to contact them. I've always wanted to start a small business. That was a dream of mine, but I could never figure out what I was able to do. I still am pondering the idea of starting an online video game store, but I am not sure about it.
 
In accounting, interning was an absolute must or you're gonna be working 10x harder to get a crap job.
 
I don't know much about sports management, but I definitely apply to other companies unrelated to your major. If you don't find what you exactly want you want to fall back on something to have some work experience behind you. It's not easy out there so don't get discouraged. I graduated with engineering degree and had problems finding a job. I had 2 yrs of full time Co-Op experience and had to take a job related to my field but not what I specifically wanted after the job I had lined up fell through. After two years of doing that I recently got another engineering job that is pretty much what I was hoping for. Good luck!
 
I'm up for almost anything. Even if it has nothing to do with my job. I'm okay with it being a miserable job so long as the money is enough. I have 1 job lined up, but it is a last resort. I was a manager of some local grocer, working on the loading dock. So at the least I can return there.
 
[quote name='Morrigan Lover']As an Electrical Engineer, my number 1 advice for new grads is to have a portfolio of completed projects.

My number 2 advice is to post this portfolio on a website (your school should give you free hosting i.e. "www.schoolname.edu/~morriganlover/"). This gives employers access to your work both before and after the interview. I have PCB designs, source code, rapid prototypes, etc. on my portfolio.

Advice #3: Start your own tiny business doing what you like while in school. This shows initiative. In my case, I started my own video game company which sells games on the android marketplace. Even if profits are just beer money, it shows I can complete a commercial project from start to finish.

Not sure how advice 1,2, and 3 apply to sports management, because I don't have a clue what sports managers do. Is it like advertising? In that case, you could show your film design skills on youtube.[/QUOTE]


I'm graduating high school this Friday and hopefully starting college on the 24th. I still haven't registered :oops: for college but I want to do things involving green energy (plus A LOT more). But I do not only want to know about current things, I want to make them myself. So, would my portfolio include my blueprints for ideas? What else would I include in it? Volunteer work, etc.? When I get my first degree, I want it to be something that could get me a job such as Geek Squad but help with the energy projects. And one more thing, does anyone have an idea for a small business I could do? Making Android games would be pretty cool, but I like making the website the store is on more, etc.

(sorry for basically hijacking your thread, but I saw the topic and couldn't resist asking)
 
I'd say don't count out Temp/contract jobs. The best agencies try to match you with companies related to your major, or they at least did with me.

They don't always lead to permenent employment, but can if you're lucky.
 
Harmonix is in Cambridge. Irrational Games/2K Boston is in.... Boston. That's all I can think of off the top of my head...
 
I graduated a few months ago and it's pretty awful. Finding a job out of the country will likely be impossible right now. Don't spend all of your time looking at the big name companies either because they are not hiring people without real experience for the most part. Companies can, and are being very picky right now. They are able to get people with 2~4 years of experience to do entry level work without a problem.

Depending on your economic situation, you only have two real options. If you have the money, the best bet would likely be trying internships at places you would like to work. You'll likely only get $10 an hour or less, but you may be offered a job after the internship. If you don't have that option, look for smaller companies. You will not get paid as well as you would have in the past, but it's the only option if you want to work within the next year or two.

I've heard some people say they had success with a temporary agency. While I personally hate this idea as you are forced to take a very low pay until you are hired by a company, you may find luck with it. I think a paid internship is a much better idea, but even decent internships are difficult to find.
 
It's impossible to even find an internship around here. i've got 3 semesters left before I finish my bachelors, hoping things are better by then. I can only imagine how bad it is for those with less marketable degrees.
 
My advice?

careershift.com

Last year I googled promo codes for it and found ND had one. It was suppose to be only for a year....but it rolled over to another year (now it doesn't expire until next dec)

That site will crawl the net for every...single...fuckin'...job. And I'm talking about you can censor the listings to be employee site only. Many jobs you never heard of by some small company who posted it on their website in hopes of someone finding it.


In this economy though, work experience reigns supreme. And also, they're going to want to find anything and everything wrong with you before you get hired. The company I'm working at now didn't hire me initially. Said I lived too far away (I read their interview notes....because they left 'em out for me to read basically!)

And that was the only thing that was wrong. If the other guy didn't spurn them at the last minute, I'd been screwed because I was on my last dollar.

So my 2nd piece of advice: Have the strongest resume possible. Bounce that bitch around as much as you can to everyone who has a job looking at resumes. Mine was bullet proof last year.

3rd...just don't give up. I went from looking in a 25 mile radius....to 100 mile radius. I work 70 miles away from home currently. That's life man.
 
.just don't give up. I went from looking in a 25 mile radius....to 100 mile radius. I work 70 miles away from home currently. That's life man.
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Reading this makes me feel better. I thought I worked a long way from home (42 miles). 70 mi is just insane. Do you listen to podcasts on your commute home?

I'm still waiting for the self-driving car so I can play RPGs on my commute back and forth.
 
[quote name='jaydepps']Thanks for all the ideas. I will look into Careershift. I've been using indeed, monster, and hotjobs.[/QUOTE]

I've had much better luck looking directly at companies websites. I'm not sure about Careershift as he said it pulls job listings from companies websites, but it's always worth checking companies career sections directly.
 
Everything I've read has said that for the most part, the majority of jobs are gotten through networking. Companies get so many applications through job sites that they may never even see yours.
 
PSY major here (6months ago). Haven't found a job in my field that has given me a call back. All due to lack of experience. It's gotten frustrating so I went and got a security training certificate, I've been getting more calls for interviews for that type of work than for social service jobs.

So for all of you about to graduate or still in school what counts is experience, experience, experience & experience.

Probably gonna get into law enforcement now.
 
Do entry level positions still exist I am pretty sure they are going the way of the dodo bird.

In my career field (I know we are talking about yours so feel free to ignore this) its all about networking, networking, networking. You cant get a job unless someone knows you exist.

Meet as many people in your field as humanly possible and I am talking about individual people not just sending your resume to the HR rep. Not only can they teach you things that school couldnt but they can guide you in the right direction in all aspects of your career. I really dont think there is a shortcut for it. The years of getting out of school for a waiting job are over for most people.

Post grad internships (which really suck if you dont get a good one) are the best way to further your knowledge get some experience and networking.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Reading this makes me feel better. I thought I worked a long way from home (42 miles). 70 mi is just insane. Do you listen to podcasts on your commute home?

I'm still waiting for the self-driving car so I can play RPGs on my commute back and forth.[/QUOTE]
thankfully I have a friend that lets me stay at his crib half the time...and I only work 4 days a week/40 hours instead of 5 days/40 hours...

So I get to cut down half the time traveling. And w/these gas prices....its real helpful!
 
I hope you went to a very good school if you want to work for GE or Motorola as your first real job. Either that or you had some sort of bomb ass internship.

In any case, I think the biggest problem you'll face is the fact you have a sports mngt degree and business mngt degree. My friend got respectable grades and went to really nice school with the same degrees you got and all he is a glorified ticket teller at a sports stadium. Not that many people make it in the sports management field.

I know yahoo and the likes say a management degree is desirable but in fact it really isn't unless you have a good deal of Management experience. Unfortunately no one will make a kid right out of college a manager. Most cases an employer is going to want to know what you can do for them. What are your business skills and what sort of knowledge do you bring to the table. At least with an Accounting or Finance degree you can show them your skill sets. A lot of jobs I've interviewed for required you pass an Accounting or Finance test after or during the first interview. Management and Marketing at least at my school always seemed like the degrees business students got if they couldn't handle accounting or finance. Management is mostly a bunch of bullshit and made up concepts and diagrams (much like marketing). The few exceptions to this rule are Scientific MNGT and Production MNGT. You'll really have to show off your skill sets somehow and show your potential employers how you can provide them and there customers value. A lot of businesses might be confused as to why you're not applying for a job in the sports field since thats where you're expertise is. Expect to be asked about that.

I will say though if you can get a job with GE or Motorola go for it. Motorola has amazing employee training. I don't think they're higher mostly from the fact they're splitting the company into 2 new IPO's. If you could work for GE thats the way to go. They're a much larger titan of their industry (they literally do just about everything, Finance, chemicals, electronics, planes engines, ect). Working for them will do wonders for your career.
 
The distance thing shouldn't be much of a concern given he's just now leaving college. So he's not tied to a house or anything, which makes it a lot more easier to search for jobs all over the place.

Otherwise, only advice is to apply for a ton of positions and don't get discouraged if it takes a while to find something as the job market is still very tough currently and you'll be at a disadvantage coming fresh out of college as you'll be up against lots of people with years of experience on top of their degrees.
 
OH YEA, ONE MORE THING....

EMBELLISH YOUR ASS OFF!!!

Make 'em learn the truth while during the interview. Or, keep 'em in the dark even still. Don't lie, because liars get caught.

But if you helped coach a little league team....throw that in the activities section of your resume or in the cover letter. Are you active in your church? Ask your pastor/event planner person if you can have a fake title and throw it on your resume.

Might as well...I had coordinator and manager all over my final resume in so many words.

These companies wanna not hire ya....so you gotta take the gloves off
 
By lying? That seems like the plot of a shitty UPN tv show. That is the worst advice ever.


Dont, lie at all, you dont have to tell them you are a kid out of college but dont dibliberity lie to anyone. If you get caught once, your reputation will be completely over in that section. Plus any real vet in your field would be able to tell you are bullshitting.

Trust me, I work in TV/Film and Broadcast production every day there is another overnight actor or director lying their ass of pretending to be something they are not. The sad thing is some of these guys I wouldnt even mind giving a shot but when you start of lying how can I trust you to get any of the job done.

Again, just remember that looking for a full time gig is a full time gig. You should set aside 4 or 5 hours a day looking for one. Contacting people, sending out resumes, calling people.

Just work your ass off and hope that something falls your way.
 
He isn't talking about lying, it's all in the wording. When I write things I usually get right to the point without really caring if I could describe something in another way. When writing a resume you ahve to give thought to how you're describing yourself. It isn't lying so much as it is choosing your words carefully. You may not really feel like you were a manager, but did you manage people at some point? If yes, put that down as management experience, even if it wasn't as big a deal as it may sound.
 
That I will just have to disagree with and what I think is one of the biggest problems with people my age and most people in general.

Stop trying to get ahead by shortcuts and tricking people. It just shows that you have a complete lack of confidence in your own knowledge of a subject. Have your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Period.

I am a fully self employed freelancer, my rep is everything and I have got to where I am by being straight with people. I bid on contracts and send out resumes dozens of times a day. I have contacts in Hollywood, MTV, BET, CMT, ESPN, etc etc and there are times in which I have won a contract and I know that the other guy is a much better Camera Op than I am. When I ask why they choose me over them its usually the same thing. "Because you are the easiest person to work with, we know exactly what you can do, what you cant do and what you will do in any given situation."

Yea, I know that my career is way different than most people but the principal is the same. When someone invest thousands of dollars in you (whether its a shoot or in salary) they dont want any guess work.

There is no reason to embellish at all if you have to that means you probably dont have the experience necessary to complete that job in the first place. And if that is the case then you should go out and find a way to gain that experience so that all you have to do is say yes. Period. Instead of, yes but.... yes kinda...yes it was like etc etc.


But even saying that, "itz tuff n dem streetz" however you can get a job I aint mad at cha. Do whatever you need to do.
 
Look, as much as I hate it, applying for a job means selling yourself. If you were selling a car would have tell someone it had "a stereo with a CD player" or "A bose 6 speaker stereo with six disc CD changer, axillary mp3 player jack and virtual surround sound". That's assuming it really does of course.

That's the difference.
 
But he's just saying not to lie. Which if you really have the Bose system, you're not lying.

The key is to sell yourself as well as possible. Highlight every strong point of your education, experience and abilities, and try to downplay the negatives. But don't go to far in the way of embellishing the strong points to where you'll look like a bullshiter when they call past employers to check your references etc.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']By lying? That seems like the plot of a shitty UPN tv show. That is the worst advice ever.


Dont, lie at all, you dont have to tell them you are a kid out of college but dont dibliberity lie to anyone. If you get caught once, your reputation will be completely over in that section. Plus any real vet in your field would be able to tell you are bullshitting.

Trust me, I work in TV/Film and Broadcast production every day there is another overnight actor or director lying their ass of pretending to be something they are not. The sad thing is some of these guys I wouldnt even mind giving a shot but when you start of lying how can I trust you to get any of the job done.

Again, just remember that looking for a full time gig is a full time gig. You should set aside 4 or 5 hours a day looking for one. Contacting people, sending out resumes, calling people.

Just work your ass off and hope that something falls your way.[/QUOTE]
Nobody said to lie.

Embellish doesn't equal lying.....unless there is some new connection that was discovered.

I would have simple stuff on my resume thinking it was enough to get by. I passed it through some alumni and one called me up like "....what is this crap???"

And he started asking me specific questions like have I ever did this or that or even remotely touched this? And of course, I did. The stuff at hand was TCP/IP knowledge. And to him, (and a few others who got my resume) it was better to embellish that and be able to explain what you did in the interview with it than not list it at all or put some vague stuff about it.

Interviewer asked my experience with such things and I told them the truth. I was green, but I knew of it enough to list it.

I guess "lying" does work....



Sorry man, you gotta sell yourself. You're not lying, but you're at least getting that 1st phone interview! Bland resumes get tossed with the quickness.
 
[quote name='strongpimphand']Nobody said to lie.

Embellish doesn't equal lying.....unless there is some new connection that was discovered.

I would have simple stuff on my resume thinking it was enough to get by. I passed it through some alumni and one called me up like "....what is this crap???"

And he started asking me specific questions like have I ever did this or that or even remotely touched this? And of course, I did. The stuff at hand was TCP/IP knowledge. And to him, (and a few others who got my resume) it was better to embellish that and be able to explain what you did in the interview with it than not list it at all or put some vague stuff about it.

Interviewer asked my experience with such things and I told them the truth. I was green, but I knew of it enough to list it.

I guess "lying" does work....



Sorry man, you gotta sell yourself. You're not lying, but you're at least getting that 1st phone interview! Bland resumes get tossed with the quickness.[/QUOTE]

I find it humorous that some of think that a good resume = embellishing or selling yourself = embellishing, which is simply ridiculous. You can really tell the people in here who have been taught how to write a good resume and the people who havent. It seems like a couple of you dont have the understanding of what a good resume is in the first place.

And this isnt to single you out pimphand but based on what you just posted it seems like you had no idea how to construct a good resume.

A good resume perfectly explains everything you can do to a T. There shouldnt be anything vague and it should list all the experience and skill sets you have in a easy to read fashion, tailored to the job you are applying for.

You admitted to not having all of your skill sets even on your resume so how you went from listing the wrong/ incomplete info to YOU MUST EMBELLISH seems crazy. And its not just you, millions of college grad are completely in the dark about how to write a good resume and thus fall into that trap of thinking a good one means making false claims. TRUST ME when I say this, you are not fooling anyone, you act like these people have not seen a thousand resumes stretching the truth to its breaking out a million times a year.


And I am only saying this because I have to bid on contracts every day which means I get interviewed by clients everyday, resume, demo reel the whole nine yards. I also have to look at other peoples resumes when I hired crew. So I have a lot of experience in this little aspects (related to video production, no clue what engineers would go through but I assume its along the same lines) and anytime I see a resume where a guy is stretching the truth I pitch in the trash because I dont want to waste my time trying to figure what the hell this guy actually knows and what he doesnt, I dont have time to play circle jerk with crew.


Selling yourself is not equal to embellishing. I dont have a single embellished thing on my resume and I have won dozens of contracts and gigs from it. Hell I rarely even get asked questions in meetings anymore because my resume spells out everything they need to know about my skill set so we can get with business.
 
I just graduated myself in December. I am a Communication major with a business minor. The best advice my mother gave me was to apply to temp agencies. They can provide you with a temporary placement in a job usually in the field of your choice. It is not ideal since the jobs often end when the assignment is done, but it is work. I went through one and I am currently working for a medical firm here doing admin work. Some temp jobs (mine included) often hire people on for longer if they do a good job, so you never know if the job might lead to something.

It is a great way to start your career since the jobs are temporary and you can see if you will even like the career choice or not. Consider looking into that and feel free to message me if you want to know more about how temp agencies work.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']
Selling yourself is not equal to embellishing. I dont have a single embellished thing on my resume and I have won dozens of contracts and gigs from it. Hell I rarely even get asked questions in meetings anymore because my resume spells out everything they need to know about my skill set so we can get with business.[/QUOTE]

I agree in general. But keep in mind that most people graduating college these days have nothing to put on the resume but their degree and some crappy part time jobs. If they're lucky, maybe they have a short internship in their field.

So they do have to put some effort in to selling that work experience. i.e. make managing shifts at Burger King sound more involved than it really is--and without lying because it is management/supervision experience etc.

If they just list degree and years worked at Best Buy or Burger King with no clarifications/embellishment of what the work really was they're applications are going straight in the trash as they're going up against people with degrees and years of relevant experience most places. So the only real chance is to show some relevant experience and hope to get an interview there and get an offer since they can pay a newbie less than someone with more experience.

It's a god awful time to be graduating college, particularly if you're going for any type of business oriented job.

So in that sense the suggestion of grad school above isn't a bad one, assuming you have a high GPA, can get a good GRE or other test score and go in a field where you can get a free ride plus stipend and get paid to get a Master's or other graduate degree. That will give the job market more time to improve, and give you another edge on your resume assuming you get a degree that will help you in whatever field you want to enter anyway.
 
I agree Dmaul but remember I was once a guy just getting out of college myself and I followed the same rule. I never put things like Kmart and Sears on my resume because I felt that wasnt related to my career field so it wasnt worth having on there. Honestly, if you are applying to GM do you really think they give a crap about your BK experience? I actual think listing them makes you look worse but thats purely opinion.

I think this goes to show that the internship is a must to exceed in the business world now. I am talking about a real internship where you actual learn things not just answer phones and get coffee and shit. My views on internships are a whole different topic but find one that is worth having and not one that is just taking advantage of you.

I have completed 3 full internships ( 1 in school 2 after I graduated. I actual quit 2 because I felt they were just using me to not hire workers and I wasnt learning anything) who taught me many skills and I listed those on my resume to get started. Plus one of the production houses still calls me for work til this day.

In my opinion a degree is the new high school diploma, you have to have one but no one really cares that much about it. Real world experience is a absolute must and if you dont have any you better start working on some post grad internships. Like I said I completed 3 of them before my I really started getting my name out there. Also, trust me I know what some people are thinking, "I cant afford to do a internship" well, I couldnt either. I came from a extremely poor household....sacrifices man. Part time job, live with the parents, no parties, no movies, no xbox, no cable, barely internet, no fast food, nothing. I went there, stayed for 10-15 hrs came right back home and slept and its paying off now.


I just think the days of graduating from a place and going right on to the work force are completely over. There are so many people out of work who will have degrees from school well above from where you came from the only thing that will separate you is experience in that field from a reputable place. Experience trumps degrees. I have a tech school degree (which is viewed lower than a 4 year) and the reason why I could beat out people from NYU, Combila and Full Sail when I first started was the amount of gigs I listed via my internship.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']Honestly, if you are applying to GM do you really think they give a crap about your BK experience? I actual think listing them makes you look worse but thats purely opinion. [/quote]

Many employers just like to see continuous work experience. Showing you worked during college while also getting good grades if nothing else shows you have a strong work ethic. And management experience is management experience, even if it's small scale like managing shifts in a restaurant or retail store. No huge advantage, but every little bit can help when you have a thin resume.

I think this goes to show that the internship is a must to exceed in the business world now. I am talking about a real internship where you actual learn things not just answer phones and get coffee and shit.
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Definitely. But internship are also much harder to get these days since everyone wants them. Especially if you go to college in some college town not close to a metro area.

One thing I like about the department I teach in is that we require all our majors to do internships to graduate. One of our faculty is the internship coordinator and works with local agencies to find positions for the senior students interns, so they're guaranteed to get one. They aren't paid internships though, just for course credit.

In my opinion a degree is the new high school diploma, you have to have one but no one really cares that much about it....
I just think the days of graduating from a place and going right on to the work force are completely over. There are so many people out of work who will have degrees from school well above from where you came from the only thing that will separate you is experience in that field from a reputable place. Experience trumps degrees.
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Absolutely. A bachelor's is just a requirement to not get your application instantly thrown in the trash. It's not longer any kind of leg up.

You need experience and or graduate degrees in today's job market.

In business experience is the better bet as there aren't many free rides with stipends for getting MBAs (or law school or med school) as they expect you to make big bucks and be able to pay back a bunch of loans. Unlike the sciences (both social and hard sciences) where most grad students are on tuition waivers and stipends as research or teaching assistants.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']I find it humorous that some of think that a good resume = embellishing or selling yourself = embellishing, which is simply ridiculous. You can really tell the people in here who have been taught how to write a good resume and the people who havent. It seems like a couple of you dont have the understanding of what a good resume is in the first place.

And this isnt to single you out pimphand but based on what you just posted it seems like you had no idea how to construct a good resume.

A good resume perfectly explains everything you can do to a T. There shouldnt be anything vague and it should list all the experience and skill sets you have in a easy to read fashion, tailored to the job you are applying for.

You admitted to not having all of your skill sets even on your resume so how you went from listing the wrong/ incomplete info to YOU MUST EMBELLISH seems crazy. And its not just you, millions of college grad are completely in the dark about how to write a good resume and thus fall into that trap of thinking a good one means making false claims. TRUST ME when I say this, you are not fooling anyone, you act like these people have not seen a thousand resumes stretching the truth to its breaking out a million times a year.


And I am only saying this because I have to bid on contracts every day which means I get interviewed by clients everyday, resume, demo reel the whole nine yards. I also have to look at other peoples resumes when I hired crew. So I have a lot of experience in this little aspects (related to video production, no clue what engineers would go through but I assume its along the same lines) and anytime I see a resume where a guy is stretching the truth I pitch in the trash because I dont want to waste my time trying to figure what the hell this guy actually knows and what he doesnt, I dont have time to play circle jerk with crew.


Selling yourself is not equal to embellishing. I dont have a single embellished thing on my resume and I have won dozens of contracts and gigs from it. Hell I rarely even get asked questions in meetings anymore because my resume spells out everything they need to know about my skill set so we can get with business.[/QUOTE]
You really need to adjust your attitude man, every thread I see you post in usually ends up with you being down right insulting to people.

That said, embelishment doesn't mean lying, and yes it can be a part of selling yourself. If you can make something sound more interesting through embellishment, then by all means do so, just so long as it's all true. I'm not quite sure you know what embellishment means in this sort of situation, as you seem to think it means to tell an outright lie about yourself.

And for the record, I was taught to write resumes by someone with decades of business expeirence.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']I find it humorous that some of think that a good resume = embellishing or selling yourself = embellishing, which is simply ridiculous. You can really tell the people in here who have been taught how to write a good resume and the people who havent. It seems like a couple of you dont have the understanding of what a good resume is in the first place.

And this isnt to single you out pimphand but based on what you just posted it seems like you had no idea how to construct a good resume.

A good resume perfectly explains everything you can do to a T. There shouldnt be anything vague and it should list all the experience and skill sets you have in a easy to read fashion, tailored to the job you are applying for.

You admitted to not having all of your skill sets even on your resume so how you went from listing the wrong/ incomplete info to YOU MUST EMBELLISH seems crazy. And its not just you, millions of college grad are completely in the dark about how to write a good resume and thus fall into that trap of thinking a good one means making false claims. TRUST ME when I say this, you are not fooling anyone, you act like these people have not seen a thousand resumes stretching the truth to its breaking out a million times a year.


And I am only saying this because I have to bid on contracts every day which means I get interviewed by clients everyday, resume, demo reel the whole nine yards. I also have to look at other peoples resumes when I hired crew. So I have a lot of experience in this little aspects (related to video production, no clue what engineers would go through but I assume its along the same lines) and anytime I see a resume where a guy is stretching the truth I pitch in the trash because I dont want to waste my time trying to figure what the hell this guy actually knows and what he doesnt, I dont have time to play circle jerk with crew.


Selling yourself is not equal to embellishing. I dont have a single embellished thing on my resume and I have won dozens of contracts and gigs from it. Hell I rarely even get asked questions in meetings anymore because my resume spells out everything they need to know about my skill set so we can get with business.[/QUOTE]
Yawn

I got hired. So umm.....what's your point exactly....?
 
Well, you just joined the site so I am sure you are not accustomed to me. This isnt really a "everyone must be super nice to each other," type of site. Most of us have been here for years and talked to each on many occasions over many different venues, whether its video games, forums or in real life.

I mean no disrespect by it and dont try not to forget that I am just a random ass guy on the internet. What I say is nothing but opinions, take it or leave it, none of it matters anyway. But that will not stop me from voicing my opinion on a subject.

Trust me its very very rare that I intentional insult anyone more than likely people misunderstand by viewing a difference of opinion as an insult. I think a lot of people feel they have to prove their opinions where as I always feel we are just randomly tossing out ideas. I actually really really casual about my internet posting but that sometimes doesnt come through for some reason. Which is why I usually have to have disclaimers all over my post to not take it serious.

As for your post I think the context is what turns embellishing into lying. Embellishing on a fishing story is harmless. Embellishing on a federal document has serious consequences. I think what you are saying is simply making it professional. No one should put "Burger King Shift Manger," on a resume because that lingo is not professional. They should put "Burger King Day Shift Supervisor" (Or whatever not a good example but should work)

I truly think what you guys call embellishing is simply making it professional where as I think embellishing is misrepresenting the truth in any facet. There is descriptive and then there is adding details that are untrue.

You guys keep saying its alright to "dress it up" but dressing it up isnt embellishing thats just being descriptive embellishing would be to add details that are not actual true.

Misrepresenting yourself in anyway on a resume is extremely bad.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-yourmoney-1217gettingstarted,0,4202586.story Here is a nice article, (although I am sure you could find stories on both sides)
 
[quote name='strongpimphand']Yawn

I got hired. So umm.....what's your point exactly....?[/QUOTE]

The same point you had? Why are we even on a forum? None of us actually have any points to make we are just shooting the shit. Or at least I thought we were.

We are all just talking about random gibberish my friend. I am glad you found a job thats the whole point. Work strong brother the world is not black and white its all shades of gray. I knew a guy who lied his way into working for ESPN. Whatcha gonna do? I would advise it but it worked for him.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']The same point you had? Why are we even on a forum? None of us actually have any points to make we are just shooting the shit. Or at least I thought we were.

We are all just talking about random gibberish my friend. I am glad you found a job thats the whole point. Work strong brother the world is not black and white its all shades of gray. I knew a guy who lied his way into working for ESPN. Whatcha gonna do? I would advise it but it worked for him.[/QUOTE]
I think we can both agree on that.

Gotta get that job how you can. But, if you lie, you will have your name tarnished.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I agree in general. But keep in mind that most people graduating college these days have nothing to put on the resume but their degree and some crappy part time jobs. If they're lucky, maybe they have a short internship in their field.

So they do have to put some effort in to selling that work experience. i.e. make managing shifts at Burger King sound more involved than it really is--and without lying because it is management/supervision experience etc.

If they just list degree and years worked at Best Buy or Burger King with no clarifications/embellishment of what the work really was they're applications are going straight in the trash as they're going up against people with degrees and years of relevant experience most places. So the only real chance is to show some relevant experience and hope to get an interview there and get an offer since they can pay a newbie less than someone with more experience.

It's a god awful time to be graduating college, particularly if you're going for any type of business oriented job.

So in that sense the suggestion of grad school above isn't a bad one, assuming you have a high GPA, can get a good GRE or other test score and go in a field where you can get a free ride plus stipend and get paid to get a Master's or other graduate degree. That will give the job market more time to improve, and give you another edge on your resume assuming you get a degree that will help you in whatever field you want to enter anyway.[/QUOTE]
I still run into that problem, so I see what you mean (although not as bad as when I finished college).

I really want to go to grad school. I had a high GPA, not sure how I'd do on a GRE. I NEED to think of something since my live is spiraling into a mess again.


[quote name='kburns10']I just graduated myself in December. I am a Communication major with a business minor. The best advice my mother gave me was to apply to temp agencies. They can provide you with a temporary placement in a job usually in the field of your choice. It is not ideal since the jobs often end when the assignment is done, but it is work. I went through one and I am currently working for a medical firm here doing admin work. Some temp jobs (mine included) often hire people on for longer if they do a good job, so you never know if the job might lead to something.

It is a great way to start your career since the jobs are temporary and you can see if you will even like the career choice or not. Consider looking into that and feel free to message me if you want to know more about how temp agencies work.[/QUOTE]
I had my resume sent to one temp agency. They called me about a few jobs, but that's it. I need to go back through them again.
 
Sorry for bumping a completely dead thread, but I wanted to let you guys know that I was able to get a job thanks to the advice some of you gave me. I currently am the Social Media and Gaming Consultant for a headset manufacturer trying to enter the gaming market. Essentially that is my task.

Just wanted to thank you all very much.
 
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