Career and resumes
I have received lots of advice about the 'best' resume for me, or for a particular situation, and am constantly amazed by how much has been written about resumes.
Over the years, I have been told that I needed a 'time-formatted' resume, a 'skills-oriented' resume, or both, or something completely different. Use the following links to view my resume in any way you like. You can also get a printable version, too.
Since job interviews go hand-in-hand with resumes (hopefully!), I thought it might save some time by providing answers to many of the standard interview questions I have heard in my time.
If you have more questions, please let me know.
- Proven abilities and results (skills-oriented)
- Employment history (time-formatted)
- Employment details (task-oriented)
Other resume-related information:
- Education/training
- Skills and technology assessment
- List of writing/speaking credits
- Virtual job interview
- Printable current resume (MS Word format)
- Printable current resume (plain text format)
Contact Information
Mark Luczak
1622 Arboretum Trace
Cary, NC 27518
Phone: (919) 414-8329
E-Mail: mluczak@msn.com
Proven Abilities and Results
I have experience in marketing writing/editing, Web content development, customer support, and corporate training and documentation issues.
Mainly, situations where writing and/or speaking skills are required to solve problems regarding the accurate and timely creation, organization, and dissemination of corporate information on policies, procedures, and products to a wide variety of audiences.
Challenge #1:
A small software company had no full-time marketing department. However, they needed to publicize a new product with a professional marketing brochure.
Action #1:
- Quickly familiarized myself with the new software and available technical documentation without extensive training or 'ramp up' time.
- Produced it in a timely manner to meet an aggressive corporate deadline.
Results #1:
- Produced an effective, professional marketing brochure.
- Increased sales of the product.
Challenge #2:
A retail store needed a Web presence, the store owners needed someone to guide them through the process of setting up and developing a professional-looking Web site—quickly.
Action #2:
- Assessed their Web site requirements.
- Researched and recommended appropriate vendors.
- Developed, wrote and posted the site content, along with all the HTML coding and cascading style sheets.
Results #2:
- Created and published an effective Web site.
- Management spent their time minding the store, not minding the Web site.
Challenge #3:
A start-up Web development company launched a new site. However, they could not afford a full-time customer service department. Site visitors still needed to have their questions answered and problems resolved in a timely manner.
Action #3:
- Provided senior management with documentation verifying the current level of customer satisfaction, identifying problems and escalating them to senior management as appropriate and logging all problems/requests.
- Wrote reports summarizing results and created an Intranet Web site that provided management with timely access to the results.
- Quickly mastered their proprietary trouble ticketing system and provided feedback and documentation on new releases/upgrades.
Results #3:
- Customer issues were addressed in a timely, professional manner.
- The site grew dramatically (30,000 registered users) and an essential part of the company's success.
Challenge #4:
Supporting new corporate applications often calls for a variety of skills to be organized from within the organization—quickly. This is especially true when the new application requires resources not previously found in a given department, such as testing, documentation, or project management.
Action #4:
- Developed and executed test scripts for a variety of corporate, Web-based applications, such as Siebel 2000 SFA and IT trouble tickets.
- Wrote reports summarizing results and created an Intranet Web site that provided management with timely, convenient access to the results.
Results #4:
- Provided the company with documentation that verified the realesae of new applications with a demonstrable level of confidence.
- Electronic access to such reports via the corporate Intranet dramatically reduced the number of status meetings each new project required.
Challenge #5:
Creating a corporate marketing literature package can be problematic for start-up companies looking to get the most out of every marketing dollar.
Action #5:
- Created, developed, wrote, and edited marketing literature.
- Included: product data sheets, customer case studies, white papers, scripts for corporate sales presentations, trade show presentations, marketing newsletters, and Web site.
- Used a single source document to generate literature for multiple uses.
Results #5:
- This versatility saved the company precious time and money that otherwise would have been spent on hiring outside writing resources, duplication of effort, and document generation in a parallel, rather than serial, fashion.
Challenge #6:
Technology companies, especially start-ups, often have trouble translating the working details of their products into terms customers can understand, creating communications problems and increasing the number of service calls.
Action #6:
- Created, developed, presented and maintained training courses on a wide variety of telecommunications topics, such as the basics of data communications, LANs, and product-oriented overviews of networking products, as well as customer training programs on company products.
Results #6:
- Provided a consistent, professional "first impression" of the company during the installation and training phase of post-sales support.
- Improved customer confidence in the company and its products.
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Employment History
| From/To: | Company: | Position: |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 to Present |
Plumazo Associates Cary, NC |
Owner (Self-employed, I am also the writer, editor, developer, tester, presenter, etc.) |
| 1999 to 2001 |
Marconi Communications Warrendale, PA |
Application Test Team Leader |
| 1996 to 1999 |
FORE Systems, Inc. Warrendale, PA |
Web Developer |
| 1994 to 1996 |
FORE Systems, Inc. Warrendale, PA |
Senior Marketing Writer Marketing Writer |
| 1991 to 1994 | Gandalf Technologies, Inc. Cherry Hill, NJ |
Senior Network Specialist |
| 1989 to 1991 |
Infotron Systems Corporation Cherry Hill, NJ |
Technical Features Editor |
| 1978 to 1989 |
Infotron Systems Corporation Cherry Hill, NJ |
Junior Technical Instructor Technical Instructor Senior Technical Instructor |
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Employment Details
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Education/Training
General Education
- Bachelor of Science, Basic Science, Drexel University (Dean's List)
Technical Education
- IEEE Member (2000 to present)
- Self-paced, Web-based courses on Unix, HTML, Perl, CSS, Adobe InDesign Lotus Notes and XML
- Introduction to JavaScript:four-day, e-learning class from Global Knowledge
- IBM Web Services Technical Briefing
Business Education
- Marketing Communications Writing Course
(one semester at Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania) - Siebel 2000 Sales Force Automation
one day course, Seibel Corp.) - MS Project and Outlook
(two day courses on each from Marconi, plc.) - "How To Write Killer Copy"
(three day course, Padgett-Thompson/American Management Association) - Project Management
(three day course, Marconi, plc.) - Time Management (one day course, Covey Leadership Center, Inc.)
- Toastmasters International: Certified Toastmaster - ATM Bronze level (1999); ATM Silver level (2004)
(Various club officer positions for seven years, including President, FORE Better Speakers, Warrendale, PA and Cary Toastmasters, Cary, NC)
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