by Dave Jensen » Fri Jan 19, 2007 5:52 pm
NPL asks, "(1) In many sample resumes, no career objective statement is included. For my part, I include this in the cover letters I draft rather than on my resume. Given there is no hard rule for the objective statement, where would it do the most good, in the cover letter or the resume or both? "
If you read this month's Tooling Up, most of those people's comments in the "Source Addendum" linked to that piece comment on the cover letter being more important. I'd agree. Put your objective into the cover letter, and use the preferred "Qualified By:" or "Summary" statement at the beginning of the document.
Also, "In drafts of my resumes and CVs (I have several, tailored to various positions), I have included volunteer work where the experiences seem relevant. My PI and other faculty members have advised me not to include these for two reasons. First, take the time to volunteer makes it seem that I am not sufficiently devoted to my career. Second, some volunteering has been through my church, which can provoke an negative reaction in some and "alerts" prospective employers to my religious beliefs."
This one may be six of one and a half-dozen of the others. Most people from industry would tell you that your PI advice is off-base for them, that indeed appropriate volunteer experience is good to show in the document. Perhaps for a tenure track job, you couldn't show anything other than 100 hours a week dedicated to your science, but in industry the hiring managers want to see you as a whole person. Having a life outside of science is OK, and showing volunteer work that seems relevant is OK most times. Derek's advice is good, but I'm not as hard and fast on the matter. I wouldn't go TOO religious though . . . they are right that some people are quite anti-religion on resumes. This means that a "Volunteer, Food for Hungry Program, United Methodist Church 2001-2007" could be OK, but that "Volunteer Sunday School Teacher, United Methodist Church" may not be. Others thoughts on this??
Dave Jensen, Moderator
“There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.”- Alain de Botton