You develop in Linux and are looking for work, and are requested to provide CV as a .doc file - what would you do?

[Stan Goodman]

At 23:28:44 on Sunday Sunday 15 August 2010, Omer Zak <w1 at zak.co.il> 
wrote:
> I am now looking for work, and am undergoing the usual drill of sending
> E-mail messages in response to job/project ads and referrals.
>
> My mode of operation is to E-mail the URL to my CV in my Website. 
> Light and sweet E-mail and the receipient's E-mail client has the
> convenient affordance of letting the receipient see my CV by clicking
> on the URL in the E-mail message.
>
> I encountered an interesting phenomenon.
>
> Some of those companies (both placement and project subcontract work
> outfits) look for a Linux software developer AND expect you to E-mail
> them a MS-Word .doc file.
>
> My current rule of thumb is to accommodate the job placement companies
> - they just matchmake according to keywords, and they have too much
> work to educate their workers about the foibles of Linux developers.
>
> But I would expect the subcontractors to have a clue about Linux
> developers/users (no MS-Word, in other words).
>
> If YOU were looking for work now, how would YOU deal with such
> companies?

I hope that, in the situation you describe, I would have the sense to load 
OpenOffice, open my CV in whatever format I am keeping it, and save it as 
a DOC file. There is no problem with that procedure, based on the meager 
details you have supplied.

As you say you already realize, the head hunters that are searching for a 
programmer have no reason to think of formats, or to try to match 
required formats to the proclivities and abilities of applicants. They 
probably have no clue about what Linux is, nor is there any reason that 
they should. Why make an issue of format -- if, that is, you are 
interested in the job that is offered.

You do know about OpenOffice, right?

>
> --- Omer



-- 
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel