Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

What's the advantage of using something like LaTeX for a CV? The point of a a resumé is purely to make you look good, and as such you'd be much better off making a PDF using a real layout tool (like InDesign).

I think it really depends on a number of factors. Firstly, what job are you looking for? If it's design, then yes, maybe InDesign is a wise choice (I don't know, I'm not a designer and I'd never heard of InDesign before). If you are looking for a research position or more technical work, especially in sectors which value open source software experience, LaTeX might be a much better choice. Besides the fact that InDesign only runs on Windows and OSX (no FreeBSD or Linux), it's also not open source, and some places might prefer applicants that can get the job done with software that doesn't cost a bundle or come with onerous licenses.

I know that when I translated my resume from HTML to LaTeX, then posted it in PDF on my website, I started getting more requests for interviews (no, I'm not going to post a link; I'm not really looking for work and you probably wouldn't find it aesthetically pleasing anyway). I'm not sure whether it was the PDF or the LaTeX aspect (or something else) that made it more visible to recruiters, but LaTeX and/or a plain looking CV are obviously not interview killers. I wasn't even looking for interviews, didn't even post my resume to any job sites! I mostly try to keep my resume up to date for practice and keeping my options open.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: