Updating The Old Resume
And I do mean old...take a look at what I found in the archives, in my file marked "resume." My, oh my. How far we have come in the way of word processing technology. And wow, am I really that old?! What I liked best was that I saved the press-on lettering for the next time I needed to do a cut and paste job like this one, last updated circa 1994. And do note the extensive use of Liquid Paper and tape (click to enlarge the photo), along with the dot matrix printer used to print out the body of text.
And then there's the fact that I kept the "Time Table" in the file so that I may never forget how utterly arduous was the task of completing college in four years (which turned into nine years, thank you very much...more orange, less blue, as the years wore on...note to self: don't comingle work, school and family like this again). And then of course, there's the illustrious work history that I shall be sure to include on my updated resume:
Dairy Queen counter worker...I can still impress my friends and family with the swirly on my ice cream at those all-you-can-eat buffets...it's just like riding a bicycle.
Fish Shanty fry cook...this was a very stressful job...when people are hungry and on holiday, they can be downright rude and obnoxious...and I learned that a large vat of grease has a very short shelf life...the fresher the grease, the fresher the fish...but restaurant owners like to stretch out the life of grease as long as possible and there are companies whose sole job it is to collect and recycle old grease...ick.
Oh, and by the way, that is no longer my address so don't be sending money there. :-)
Labels: Toil and trouble
posted by Gwynne @ 11:45 AM
13 Comments:
It’s funny how the patina on the jobs we had eons ago becomes brighter, more interesting, and seemingly more dangerous as we bore in our sedentary, pinch-me-to-keep-me-awake jobs of today. When the doldrums of the workweek really get to me, I sometimes daydream about some of the jobs I chored back in the days of high school and college. Doing construction work on a concrete house boat in Jersey with one of B. Springsteen’s high school buddies and welding wheel wells on Pintoes in a Ford Assembly plant (When “Quality was not Job #1”) are helpful recurring memories. Ah for the days when the body was bending (and bendable) and joyous and there was a song perpetually in my head.
It's funny. Nowadays, when I read potential employees' resumes, I skim over the dullness of the now and float on to the old job listings when summer's fun was interrupted by the need for cash. Those summer choices speak volumes to me of the candidate's frame of mind.
I, on the other hand, find myself saddened to no end after contemplating the fact that a date as recent (in my perpetually immature brain) as 1994 can be considered ancient history.
I still keep a box of papers from grade school whenever I want to take a trip back in time. Even some things from Del Mar! lgp
So...we're not supposed to be using press-on letters anymore? I really love those things. :)
I have to say, I don't have a lot of job-related nostalgia. I never did anything wacky or fun as far as the typical teen/college job. My first job was an internship doing programming...and I've been there (by and large) ever since. Maybe that means I'm boring?
All that aside, I hope you're updating the ol resume because of the possibility of something bigger and better and not because you have to. :)
Darko, so what do three summers of Dairy Queen say?! Working on a concrete house boat...well, that just doesn't sound wise. ;-)
Eric, I'm mistaken...all of this "junk" is actually circa 1986 I realized as I actually worked on the update. I'm not sure where the 1994 update resides...maybe on a big floppy disk in a landfill somewhere. ;-)
GT, I bet you still hang your ribbons and trophies in your bedroom too. ;-)
Beth, that's right...by brother's firm asked me to send them my resume and I found myelf adding yet another task to my list of things to do when I should be doing something else. ;-)
when people are hungry and on holiday, they can be downright rude and obnoxious
Much too kind. They can be rude an obnoxious because they are alive sometimes :P.
Hey, that timetable is pretty cool.
I used to think those press-on lettering were the best things since sliced bread. Can't believe I used to pay actual money for ONE SET of un-reusable fonts. Times change...
Definitely high tech there. Did you print it out on your Commodore?
Ice cream cone dispensing is a necessary and amazing skill that is often overlooked, don't you think?
Emma, I could only dream of one day owning a Commodore at that time. ;-) I think I printed this out at the library.
Mis_Nomer, I really liked those letters also. I worked in the "technical supplies" department of my college bookstore and one of my responsibilities was keeping all the fonts stocked. ;-)
Rach, true that. ;-)
I can remember doing resumes on a typewriter... does anyone even remember those? ~ I can... but just barely! ~ jb///
lz Blogger,
Yes, only took 3-4 versions to get all of the resume typed without a typo or erasure marks. No legit White_out was available unless you used diluted house paint.
I used onion skin paper, to give the tarted up resume a "European" flavor?
(Note: Didn't work too well as most employers at that time seemed to confuse Europe and Greenland)
How about you? Any special paper? Did you ever submit a resume with the daring red ribbon ink?
I never was much good at resumes. I always feel like I'm bragging if I talk myself up on the things.
I had some interesting work experiences over the years, though. I never have learned how to swirl a soft serve cone correctly, but I can wrangle a floor buffer like nobody's business.
And I think most of my best stories would come from the couple summers I machined parts, drove a forklift, etc. at a truck axle manufacturing plant.
LZ - while I may not have used a typewriter for my resumes, I did use one for every one of my term papers, and I remember using red ink on occasion and lots and lots of the special white correction ribbon or paper that had to be used to "lift" the errors from the page. I think we still have one (ONE) typewriter in our building of nearly 500 employees. I don't know what it is used for. ;-)
Darko, I also liked using special paper. You mean, Europe and Greenland are not one and the same? Hmmm...
Foo, yes, you are supposed to brag on your resume. I had forgotten how much though until I recently updated mine and felt embarrassed reading the old versions. Then to have to face the dreaded "tell us about your strengths" line of questioning in the interview...that's the part where I really stink. A floor buffer...wow! ;-) The machinist/fork lift operator sounds like a great job for a youngster (provided the plant has plenty of insurance). ;-)
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