Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#61

Post by abawany » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:08 AM UTC

flukus wrote: post #46

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that the type of person who "[doesn't] put up with crappy work environments" is often the type of person who finds all sorts of perfectly fine work environments to be crappy.

I'm that person. For me it's the code quality, attitude and direction that matter the most. There is an awful lot of terrible code out there and an awful lot of companies that are either oblivious to it or lying about it until post hire. I can handle terrible code, but if there isn't a solid plan in place to improve it for whatever reason (or if it's getting worse) then I'm out of there.

I can empathize. You have one life to live so why be miserable? When a company's management disrespects its talent by imposing on them one or more of bad processes, malicious and/or incompetent minders, poor technology, and other non-technical obstacles, you enable and enforce this behavior by staying. There is only so much one can ask before accepting an offer, especially when some have no problems with lying. I resent the implication that I must agree to be voluntarily Shanghai-ed by the omnipotent employer for fear that I turn off some nebulous good prospect down the road. I hope the people who I encounter in desirable employment situations in the future evaluate history individually vs. do the whiteboard-interview lazy equivalent.

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#62

Post by _d8fd » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:14 AM UTC

Figure out the intersection of what you want to do, and what you can do, and emphasize that. So, for an experienced technical founder at a successful company, think about...

- this job for which I'm applying, what do they REALLY need, and which 3 to 5 bullet points capture my competence and accomplishment in this area

- how is this company like mine, and how can I communicate the similarities to my experience working w/ others, building a certain type of product, applying domain expertise, etc.

- what story will I tell if/when they ask, "So do why do you want a job when you've been your own boss for so long?" Maybe something like "You know, what I really like to do is make an impact doing X, and that's something I get to do in any position with responsibilities A, B, and C."

And my generic resume writing advice is... try writing your resume without adjectives. It forces you to focus on highlighting what you've really done. Let your awesomeness sell itself. Calling yourself awesome doesn't do much for you.

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#63

Post by jmtulloss » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:39 AM UTC

gorbachev wrote: post #6

Do you know your shit? If yes, you have nothing to worry about. If no, work on that. There're so many unqualified job candidates out there, you can rise above the crowd just by being good at what you do.

As a former hiring manager at a company that got way more resumes than qualified candidates (Rdio), I totally disagree with this. Candidates have to be able to communicate why they are good at what they do concisely, otherwise their resume won't even make it to the hiring managers inboxes at most companies.

This is pretty similar to the elevator pitch for a startup. I'm amazed that anybody has a hard time keeping their resume to a single page when any founder can describe their startup in a paragraph. In both cases, you're just trying to get a meeting, not tell your life story.

It's not enough to be good, you have to be able to say why you're good.

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#64

Post by quantumhobbit » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:39 AM UTC

flukus wrote: post #46

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that the type of person who "[doesn't] put up with crappy work environments" is often the type of person who finds all sorts of perfectly fine work environments to be crappy.

I'm that person. For me it's the code quality, attitude and direction that matter the most. There is an awful lot of terrible code out there and an awful lot of companies that are either oblivious to it or lying about it until post hire. I can handle terrible code, but if there isn't a solid plan in place to improve it for whatever reason (or if it's getting worse) then I'm out of there.

Some people just have lower bullshit thresholds. A wise manager can listen to what you are complaining about and use people like you to clean up a lot of the crap that accumulates in all technical organizations.

Sadly lots of places would just label you not a team player for complaining about the lack version control or whatever. This is when it is smart to switch jobs even if it has only been 6 months.

There are a two devs who fit this mold a my current job. They bounced from job to job until finally landing here for 2-3 years so far with no sign of leaving. They complain constantly and are honestly a bit annoying but are super productive. The changes they make have made hundreds of other devs more productive which more than makes up for the occasional bad attitude. The key is that they don't cross the line into being jerks, more curmudgeons than assholes.

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#65

Post by robinson_k » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:45 AM UTC

MyNameIsFred wrote: post #60

barnacs wrote: post #51

Just skip the resume. They're worthless anyways. If you find a position you like, send an email. Tell them why you're interested, what you could bring to the table. You can mention your history if it's relevant, casually, just like you wrote it up here. If they don't like it, fck them, their loss, try a different company. edit: Just to be clear, i'm not suggesting you skip the resume because of your specific history,…

I can only speak for myself, but as someone who interviews developers for a small-medium company ( I need some formalized experience document, even if your resume just looks like bullet points. It gives me discrete items/events/projects/education/skills that I can consider and discuss with you. If I don't have that as a reference point when talking with you, all I can say is "So, tell me why you're awesome", which is…

have you thought about your hiring process in general?

you don't you have something to talk about with people applying, coming from the same industry?

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#66

Post by lintiwen » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:54 AM UTC

You don't need that. Anyone with basic understanding of how business works will know that you have far more profound experiences than most corporate ladder climbers.

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#67

Post by tamana » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:59 AM UTC

cableshaft wrote: post #28

lloyd-christmas wrote: post #4

> So, how does one communicate that they are hirable after running a semi-successful startup for years The fact that you've held a job for more than just 6 month stints is enough to push you all the way to the front of the line. Most applicants we see just do 6 months here and there. I refuse to hire anyone that hasn't stayed at a company at least 2 years (excluding new grads). 4 years is pretty much a unicorn nowada…

Here's what the last 6 years of my resume look like: * 1.5 years - Startup I joined crashed and burned * 0.5 years - Contract work for web design firm while I went back to university, they couldn't get their clients to pay their invoices * 1.0 years - Worked for the university while I finished my degree * 1.0 years - Startup I joined crashed and burned * 1.5 years - Small company that was doing well, but proceeded to…

Let me rephrasethar for you:

* 5.5 yrs of contract work as proprietor of Cableshaft Technology

  * Gig 1

  * Gig 2

  * ....

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#68

Post by barnacs » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 3:01 AM UTC

MyNameIsFred wrote: post #60

barnacs wrote: post #51

Just skip the resume. They're worthless anyways. If you find a position you like, send an email. Tell them why you're interested, what you could bring to the table. You can mention your history if it's relevant, casually, just like you wrote it up here. If they don't like it, fck them, their loss, try a different company. edit: Just to be clear, i'm not suggesting you skip the resume because of your specific history,…

I can only speak for myself, but as someone who interviews developers for a small-medium company ( I need some formalized experience document, even if your resume just looks like bullet points. It gives me discrete items/events/projects/education/skills that I can consider and discuss with you. If I don't have that as a reference point when talking with you, all I can say is "So, tell me why you're awesome", which is…

I'm not suggesting that the applicant should withhold any relevant information. Obviously, the whole point of the application process is to get to know each other.

I believe if I see your job posting, research your company a bit and get in touch describing why I'm interested in that specific position and what I think I could bring to the table, that's a better starting point for a discussion than me sending a generic list of buzzwords, positions, qualities, etc. trying to sell myself.

And maybe the next step could be grabbing a coffee rather than an overly formal interview where we're both trying to see through each other's distortion of reality.

We're human after all.

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#69

Post by withdavidli » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 3:29 AM UTC

recruiter/sourcer, 4 years exp.

- don't worry about inflated job title, especially in the bay area.

- resumes are targeted to its audience.

- know what you want to do (engineering, product management, etc).

- reach out to managers at companies that you'd like to work at. ask them what they need (don't go by job postings, too generic most of the time). fill resume with relevant info if you have them.

- communicating that you're a desirable hire is done in the interview stage. resume is a tool to get you the interview if you have zero connection inside that company (don't blow it off though, since it's usually shown to a hiring board for final decisions).

Re: Ask HN: How do I write a resume after five years of a startup?

#70

Post by curiouslurker » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 3:42 AM UTC

lintiwen wrote: post #66

You don't need that. Anyone with basic understanding of how business works will know that you have far more profound experiences than most corporate ladder climbers.

Not true. To most corporate recruiters 'doing a startup' for a couple of years is almost the same as being unemployed. I faced this myself after years of slogging away at an unsuccessful project and then trying to get back into the job market.