The Masochist's Institute of Technologyanecdotes of an ambitious MIT student

I recently received an email from the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program stating that my resume was unsatisfactory and required a revision. I was directed to an online resume workshop to help me with this, and after going through the videos and slides, I was perplexed. My resume fit all of the specifications perfectly, except for one thing…

My resume is two pages long.

Cue gasps and swoons from the masses. “No way!” you gasp. “Resumes are never, ever longer than one page; you have just committed job-search blasphemy!” My only response is to roll my eyes and stick my finger down my throat to gag in mock horror. Here’s radical statement #1, guys:

Resume can be more than one page long.

It is true that sometime, long ago, someone made up the silly rule that resumes can’t be longer than one page. No matter how small you need to make your font, how many relevant experiences you need to omit, or how narrow you need to make your margins, you must never exceed that one page. It’s a terrible rule for several reasons:

1. Some job seekers genuinely have that many experiences that are necessary to document, and it’s unreasonable to ask people to “water down” their relevant experiences just to fit that one page.
2. It forces people to squish all their text together to the point of being unreadable.
3. It forces people to make their margins extremely small (0.25 inches), so that the entire page looks like a wall of text.
4. Any rule that includes the word “never” is by default unreasonable, as it presents some silly ultimatum that does not take into account the situation at hand.

My resume contains the five traditional headings – objective, education, experience, skills, and awards/honors. All items included under these headings are extremely relevant to any job for which I decide to apply. In total, my resume spans two pages, which I print out on the two opposite sides of one sheet of paper. Naturally, I place the most important information on the first page, and the not-so-important (skills, awards/honors) on the second.

You want to know what else? My resume has not failed me yet; even as a mere sophomore, it has landed me:

• A research job at Harvard Business School
• Web design jobs with two Boston-area startups
• Interviews with Unica Corporation, Microsoft, IBM, and Booz Allen Hamilton

Next time you tell me my resume is unsatisfactory, I will direct you to the above points. Let’s not make this nasty, UPOP office.

At times it’s hard to believe that we’re already nearly halfway through the semester! I’ve experienced some drastic changes to my academic schedule, along with getting more active in various organizations on campus (including but not limited to: AXO, SEBC, NSUW, UEA, and a variety of other lovely acronyms). I’ve rearranged my four-year plan (something I like doing on a weekly basis it seems – there’s just too many good classes to take here); I’ve run numerous succesful practices with MITADT, I’ve taken time to reflect on why I’m here and where I’m going…

And you know, despite some major troubled times the past month or so, I think I’ve finally got things under control. To celebrate, let me share with you a few pictures I took the past few weeks (there haven’t been many chances to do so…)

A few weeks ago, when I was feeling absolutely miserable, my AXO mystagogue Yuri sneakily dropped by my room when I was taking a nap and dropped off a bag of goodies for me! In addition to an adorable get-well card, the care package also included tea, fruit, cough drops, soup, crackers, chocolate, and more. And this isn’t just exclusive to me and Yuri either – many of the AXO girls are super nice and always support each other through thick and thin. I feel a little bad since I’ve been way too busy (and sick) to attend a lot of the events, but as initiation approaches, I feel like I will definitely try to devote more time to getting to know this amazing group of girls. We get our Big Sisters sometime in the coming week or two, which is something to which I’m really looking forward =)

Ever since I’ve gotten sick, I’ve been trying my best to eat healthier. Yesterday, after dance rehearsal, I decided that I would go down to Next Dining and make use of that Preferred Dining plan in which we’re forced to participate. Instead of getting a cheeseburger or a quesadilla or stir-fry, I made my way over to the salad bar and load up on some veggies! My salad consisted of some crunchy greens, lots of cucumbers (there were no tomatoes, unfortunately), carrots, a pinch of cheese, lots of fresh eggs, and just enough lowfat vinaigrette dressing to give it a deliciously sweet-yet-sour taste. Needless to say, I love salads and I was very glad to devour one yesterday; I’ll have to make trips down to Next Dining more often! But now, to finish up my entry, here’s a…

Summary of my fall semester:

• 14.02 – Principles of Macroeconomics
• 15.301 – Managerial Psychology Laboratory
• 18.03 – Differential Equations
• 21F.107 – Chinese I streamlined
• AXO – Alpha Chi Omega
• MITADT – MIT Asian Dance Team (captain)
• MIT Concert Choir (soprano II)
• HKSS – Hong Kong Student Society
• NSUW – Network of Sloan Undergraduate Women
• SEBC – Science and Engineering Business Club, Marketing focus group
• UPOP – Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program
• IM Badminton B League (for Next House)
• RAship at Harvard Business School

This also means that on an average day, my calender is extremely full. I extend my fullest apologies to anyone who’s been trying to reach me for a quick lunch/dinner – I end up eating at really strange hours due to my busy schedule!