Rant: Generation Y: Please stop lying on your resumes

[sactoking]

yawn, just be happy you've got a massive pool of applicants thanks to the recession.

edit: also, GenX, quit complaining about how you raised us. Karma, dude, it's come around.

I would change that to "Blame the Baby Boomers for passing unemployment extensions and not saving for retirement, thus refusing to retire, for the shortage of jobs so that the Gen Y'ers who are fresh outta school can apply for the shitty job that the Gen X middle manager is offering at $8/hr in record numbers just to satisfy their Unemplyment logs for applications for the week to keep benefits coming."

 

[JMapleton]

yawn, just be happy you've got a massive pool of applicants thanks to the recession.

edit: also, GenX, quit complaining about how you raised us. Karma, dude, it's come around.

Uhhhhh, GenX did not raise us. Gen X = born late 60s and 1970s.

 

[ShawnD1]

And one more thing. Some of the positions I interview people for, require you taking a proficiency test. Google.com is not an answer to a technical question. I totally get you can find the answer to anything online, but that also means you are useless without Internet access.

Still keep in mind that using the internet to find answers has some validity. A person who is good with computers and googling is only ignorant until he finds the answer. Someone who hates computers or doesn't know how to use them is ignorant until someone else finds the answer.

It's worth noting that a significant percentage of my job is googling random stuff. Seriously. Programs like Excel and AutoCAD are bigger than you can imagine, and I don't have any instruction manuals at my desk.
A few weeks ago there was a slowdown in the amount of work we had. The other guy I'm working with had some things to do but he wanted me to read up on AutoCAD scripting and give him a brief summary of how it works. I spent literally 3 full work days just googling things. I learned a lot, I wrote a nice little summary that was about 5 pages long, I included examples of scripts that I tested, and now I'm the #1 AutoCAD scripting guy in the office :thumbsup:

 

[Gigantopithecus]

...The burners tend to get themselves fired within the first couple months by doing totally stupid crap that can't be overlooked like losing their driver's licenses to DUI or stealing company equipment or wrecking company trucks doing stupid stuff or surfing porn or parking placarded company trucks in strip joint parking lots or getting in stupid arguments with extremely highly paid subs over stuff they don't even understand* or basically not showing up for anything on time.

holy shit that's one hell of a run on sentence.

 

[RPD]

If you say you design webpages, be prepared to show pages you have designed.
If you say you type 100 WPM, you will get a typing test just for my amusement.
If you say you code, great get ready to code during the interview.
If you bring code samples, don't look like a deer in the headlights when I wipe the comments out of your code and ask you what the code is written to do.

I don't know what it is with this generation, but outright lying on resumes and looking surprised when you get called to the mat; it's ridiculous.

Oh yeah, I don't care about your GPA. And running a guild in WoW is not something you should put as a "skill".

Also, don't ask me if I play fantasy football. I don't and I now know what you will be doing most of your day if hired.

/rant

I lie on my typing skills
Probably one of the few commissioned salesmen that can go above 65+wpm, but I think my resume says like 80ish.

 

[SP33Demon]

A buddy of mine said that Indians lie on their resumes almost every single time (he's actually Indian). He said they do it because most dumbass American companies won't call them on it, and even if they do, another company won't.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Still keep in mind that using the internet to find answers has some validity. A person who is good with computers and googling is only ignorant until he finds the answer. Someone who hates computers or doesn't know how to use them is ignorant until someone else finds the answer.

Your supposition is that any information you may need is on the internet. That is patently false and, in fact, the majority of information and recorded human experience is NOT available online or even mentioned. Your narrow view of using the net may work for your situation but, it is not the only source nor even the best.

 

[TridenT]

I lie on my typing skills
Probably one of the few commissioned salesmen that can go above 65+wpm, but I think my resume says like 80ish.

I wouldn't lie about mine. I do 100WPM. I can do 120 or more depending on the material.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

When I worked for Corporate America, I lied on my resume all the time because I was better educated and had more experience than the people interviewing me.

 

[Ricemarine]

I wouldn't lie about mine. I do 100WPM. I can do 120 or more depending on the material.

You should start a typing test thread. We'll see who has the bigger e-peen then .

 

[TridenT]

You should start a typing test thread. We'll see who has the bigger e-peen then .

We already have had many.

 

[Ricemarine]

We already have had many.

So... if this is your score while drinking water...

does this establish something?.

 

[ShawnD1]

So... if this is your score while drinking water...

does this establish something?.

shens unless you have a video of yourself typing

 

[TridenT]

So... if this is your score while drinking water...

does this establish something?.

:awe:

 

[IronWing]

holy shit that's one hell of a run on sentence.

Yeah but we fired a different Gen Y'er for each offense listed. Most Gen Y'ers have been great as employees but the ones who weren't really weren't.

 

[IronWing]

A buddy of mine said that Indians lie on their resumes almost every single time (he's actually Indian). He said they do it because most dumbass American companies won't call them on it, and even if they do, another company won't.

I had an Indian co-worker several years back who claimed to have a PhD in Chem E. I never saw the slightest hint that he had the capability to obtain such a thing nor any indication of the expertise one would hope a PhD Chem E. would possess. One time I jokingly asked him how he ever made it through school. He exploded on me. Hmmmm.

 

[PingSpike]

Uhhhhh, GenX did not raise us. Gen X = born late 60s and 1970s.

I guess by some definitions GenX goes to 1980? Still, blaming Gen X for the raising of GenY kids in the work force is a huge stretch unless GenX had alarming teen pregnancy rates. We all know most of the blame for this, along with almost everything else, belongs to the baby boomers.

 

[AreaCode707]

I will swear up and down this is half the fault of the career counseling offices in colleges. They teach that the way to write a resume is this:

(Approximating content here, not resume headers)
Page 1
Name/Contact Info
Long wordy buzzword-filled objective
Education
Key classes in education
GPA
experience
Skills list

Page 2
References

In reality, you want 2 pages of:
Name/Contact Info
Short summary
Experience
Skills
Degree

They turn kids loose believing that they have to load up their resume with a shit ton of skills they don't have and they can get a job that pays way above their skill set.

That, and I agree entirely with IronWing. I know some GenYers that work themselves into the ground (unfortunately me included, trying to keep my current job down to 60 hours a week and develop some better work-life balance) but I know far more that are just complete idiots unwilling to take any work or responsibility or initiative.

 

[Saint Nick]

Agreed with CRX... I have applied for so many jobs that I am qualified for, it hurts. I have only gotten two interviews out of them and neither panned out. Shit is completely absurd, honestly. I want to meet who they're hiring.

I have had a few people tell me that I might be applying for jobs I'm over-qualified for...but then I check the jobs requiring experience and I don't meet that criteria either. One of the reasons I decided to go to grad school...probably not a good reason, but fuck, what else am I supposed to do? At least this way I snagged an internship working for a fortune 500 doing web dev and SQL Server.

 

[AreaCode707]

Agreed with CRX... I have applied for so many jobs that I am qualified for, it hurts. I have only gotten two interviews out of them and neither panned out. Shit is completely absurd, honestly. I want to meet who they're hiring.

I have had a few people tell me that I might be applying for jobs I'm over-qualified for...but then I check the jobs requiring experience and I don't meet that criteria either. One of the reasons I decided to go to grad school...probably not a good reason, but fuck, what else am I supposed to do? At least this way I snagged an internship working for a fortune 500 doing web dev and SQL Server.

In general I advise my friends to be completely honest on their resumes, make sure you have good examples listed of everything you can do (say what you've done, not just that you can do it) and don't be afraid to apply for jobs that require 1-3 years of experience even if you don't have it. Don't say that you do, but don't rule yourself out if you don't (that's the recruiter's job, if the role actually does seriously require that experience).

A lot of the time they're willing to hire someone with the skills and without the experience, if you're actually good.

 

[Fritzo]

That's why I always say I was a CIA astronaut and I have speak Navajo. Not really a way to prove it, but it sounds damn impressive.

 

[sactoking]

I guess by some definitions GenX goes to 1980? Still, blaming Gen X for the raising of GenY kids in the work force is a huge stretch unless GenX had alarming teen pregnancy rates. We all know most of the blame for this, along with almost everything else, belongs to the baby boomers.

Isn't Gen X up to 1979 and Gen Y 1980-> ? IIRC my brother and I are only 3 years apart in age yet members of different "generations".

 

[coloumb]

Agreed with CRX... I have applied for so many jobs that I am qualified for, it hurts. I have only gotten two interviews out of them and neither panned out. Shit is completely absurd, honestly. I want to meet who they're hiring.

I have had a few people tell me that I might be applying for jobs I'm over-qualified for...but then I check the jobs requiring experience and I don't meet that criteria either. One of the reasons I decided to go to grad school...probably not a good reason, but fuck, what else am I supposed to do? At least this way I snagged an internship working for a fortune 500 doing web dev and SQL Server.

It's not you - my wife is running into the same problem. Qualified, under-qualified, over-qualified - they just aren't responding.

There might be a few reasons from what I saw about 12 years ago when I applied to move up from manufacturing to an engineering spot within the company I was working for:

[1] Companies have to post the job publicly so anyone can apply. I suspect a lot of jobs posted have already been decided who's going to fill the spot [internally within the company]
[2] Companies have to hire a certain # of minorities else they suffer the wrath from being sued.
[3] Simply your resume' is in a dark void of a billion other resume's - a lot of companies have automated the process with a default answer. Gone are the days where you'd at least get an interview or a response from a HUMAN being.

 

[gophins72]

There definitely needs to be a crackdown on resume honesty. But I suppose it is another reason why networking trumps blind screens.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Agreed with CRX... I have applied for so many jobs that I am qualified for, it hurts. I have only gotten two interviews out of them and neither panned out. Shit is completely absurd, honestly. I want to meet who they're hiring.

It has to be your resume. At one time I had that problem, and then I sat down and completely reworked my resume so that it was simpler, easier to read, and my experience jumped right out. Since then, I have no problems getting interviews.

Another tip is to maintain different versions of resumes. If you're applying to be a programmer, for example, emphasize programming experience, projects, etc. If you're planning on applying for a management position, emphasize projects you've led and your experience.

I have had a few people tell me that I might be applying for jobs I'm over-qualified for...but then I check the jobs requiring experience and I don't meet that criteria either. One of the reasons I decided to go to grad school...probably not a good reason, but fuck, what else am I supposed to do? At least this way I snagged an internship working for a fortune 500 doing web dev and SQL Server.

Honestly, a lot of companies are trying to take advantage of this being a "buyer's market" for employees and many of those companies are being extremely foolish in the lengths they're going to nickel and dime people while posting ludicrous qualifications given the pay range. For example, I saw an MIS Manager posting the other day. The posting wanted a degree, 3-5 years experience in IT, and 3-4 years of management experience (IIRC). The salary range was $35K to $50K. Seriously, who is going to work that job at that piss-poor salary? The people who apply are going to be desperate, unemployed people and believe me, once something better comes along, they'll bolt immediately.