2020-10-17 01:38:14

I have to write a resume that looks visually presentable. I don’t really know how to start going about that. I’ve done a fair amount of reading on resumes themselves, I simply don’t know how to edit them without making them look like a mess in the process. What is the most accessible program to edit a resume template in? I have access to Mac, Windows, iOS, and no money. I’ve tried editing a resume template that made use of a table on Microsoft Word and pages, both iOS, with rather unfortunate results. Are there any resume templates that are particularly easy to navigate for those who use screen readers, preferably geared towards those with absolutely no work experience starting out? I have templates that I could work with but I figured I may as well ask just in case something better might happen to be available. Also, does anyone have tips? Thanks.

I would rather listen to someone who can actually play the harmonica than someone who somehow managed to lose seven of them. Me, 2019.

2020-10-17 02:04:52

Sure, I have tips.

Firstly: format doesn't matter so much.  I don't mean font and color, I mean things like tables vs lists vs whatever.  Mine is roughly a header per job, then a list of major projects, then sublists flagging notable things on the ones where a little bit more detail is needed to explain why it was impressive.  I've done 5 interviews in the last year (as the interviewer) and seen 5 different resume styles in that time.

The best bet is Microsoft Word.  If you want to start with something else and know some tech, you can run markdown through pandoc and get reasonable formatting to go off of, but in general you're going to need to maintain it in a form where someone sighted can help you with it from time to time, so you want something accessible enough for you to type and easy enough for them to format for you.

Some jobs, especially big companies, are going to look at only the first page.  You want short and to the point.  You want the first page to show all the things you're skilled in.  I've done it by just having a couple lists of skills: things I know well, things I know something about, things I haven't touched in a while, etc.  Named better of course.  You need to provide enough meat for someone to want to interview you, but you also need to provide enough "this was fast to read" that some recruiter somewhere can decide to try to recruit you in 20 seconds.

No one is going to read to page 6, but no one is going to hire you if it's got nothing on it either.  It sounds like you're at the beginning of the job hunt for the first time period of your life.  You're going to want to figure out how to stretch it out so that it's not "I've done this one thing".  If you go too far, it'll look like you're bullshitting.  So don't go too far.  But don't be afraid to mention your job-related side project or something.  Later, this advice flips: after a few years you'll have too much to mention if you want it to only be a page or two.  In that case, you drop everything but the most impressive stuff.

Your goal in general is to tell someone who is in a hurry and who has 10 other resumes in front of them and who is thinking "what's for lunch? Let's hurry up and get this finished" that you're worth bringing in for an interview.  The resume is a screening tool most of the time.  The interview is where it's at.  The resume just gets you that far.

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2020-10-17 19:02:55

Search for LaTeX templates of resumes. It really isn't too difficult to pick up where you can enter your information so that you don't have to fiddle with the actual code. Then, you download something like MiKTeX to compile it to PDF, HTML, etc.
My setup is that I have different source files for different job types (one for Python, one for JavaScript, and so on). And then I just run it through the software to generate my PDF, and I watched the interviews happen back when I was looking for a job.
I recommend using LaTeX because with something like Word, you have no real way of knowing if you mess up the formatting when you modify or add your information. LaTeX has stuff that will hopefully handle the formatting, depending on template or if you know how to adjust the code yourself.
If you go the template route, be cautious in making sure the template you are downloading has all the sections you need and is appropriate for the type of job for which you are searching (software engineer, language interpreter, etc).
If you don't want to deal with LaTeX, because it can be kind of intimidating, then you could always call Aira. Just make a free account, and they have free offers where you can use their service solely for resume writing assistance (with some time limit of course).

2020-10-17 19:23:53

Hi.
I use Ulysses, which is a markdown editor. They have a Resume template, and then what I do is create headers and lists and subheaders.
It's not al that complicated to use markdown.

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2020-10-17 20:07:21

@3
You can turn on all NVDA's formatting indication stuff in Word and tell that formatting is wrong fine.

The problem with LaTeX is that it's not actually as clear cut that you got it right as people who like it claim, and you can't get someone sighted to take literally 5 minutes and clean it up if necessary.

I really don't think this is the kind of place where "I am independent" is valuable.  Much, much more valuable to be "I am hired".  And that's easiest to do with a sighted person helping out unless you don't have one.

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2020-10-18 00:50:21 (edited by kaigoku 2020-10-18 00:52:54)

@5, good thing there are options. And NVDA report formatting doesn't give all information needed, not to mention there are other things to consider such as conciseness, relevant skill highlighting, etc.
I put my idea out here because it works for me, and having sighted confirmation and having received many offers just based on my LaTeX method, perhaps I'm doing something right. Or not. Either way, I'm getting results. lol
But seriously, at the end of the day, whatever works. We're all trying to get jobs out here.
Like I said, Aira, BeMyEyes, resume templating. It's never been easier to get a resume written, and iteratively improving upon it of course makes it even better!
Cool thing about the Aira technique is that you can have someone remote into your computer with TeamViewer, and have them help with speeding up the formatting process in whatever tool you are comfortable using like Word.

2020-10-18 05:50:19

If you are in school and they have a career center they will help you polish it. If not here are some things I know. Your name should be slightly bigger than everything else. If you are using 12 font make your name 14 for example. It should only be a page. If you have a Graduate degree it can be a little longer. Put all the dates on the same side. When listing Graduation dates only include the month and year. Put the most recent things first. Your contact information goes up at the top. You can make it 1 line too cut down on space. Refferences should go in another document and only send if it says you need to include them. Structure your resume towards the job you are applying for with the information relating to the job closer to the top. For example I applied for a therapist job. I included the populations I worked with. The types of disorders I worked with and so on. The cover letter will say why you are applying to the job and stuff like that. That is trickier to write but that’s only 4 paragraphs. I hope this helped.

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