It’s interesting that I just signed up for this site, and the article is certainly true–I know, I am in the process of updating my resume and cover letter format.

I’ve been on both sides of the hiring fence: hiring manager and applicant. With experience in three different fields and 20+ years of diverse experience, finding the right job opportunity can be difficult–and reformatting one’s resume from a traditional date-driven format to a functional format can be downright tricky! Sigh…but I’m doing it!

Since I was laid off in September 2009 from an engineering position, I’ve been working contract as a Marcomm technical writer/editor. I thought about your suggestion to create an “I Want, You Have” list of skills and have decided to do just that. Although I am a non-PE’ed mechanical engineer, I have tons of IT software and engineering technical writing/editing experience, especially in Marcomm. I’ve been checking out Brookwoods’ positions–maybe I’ll just submit my new resume and skills comparison list and see what happens! One never knows, does one?!

Thanks for a really good, to-the-point article that hit home with me!

Linda Maus
Technical Writer/Editor
Schlumberger Oilfield Marketing Communications