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

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

#101

Post by raverbashing »

jmtulloss wrote: post #63
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 the…

> has a hard time keeping their resume to a single page

Last time I did that I got complaints that my CV was not detailed enough

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

#102

Post by highCs »

77pt77 wrote: post #98
highCs wrote: post #22

I've been there, and this is a real concern. My cofounder and I both didn't succeed to get our experience really recognised and we both got to start again with entry level jobs. However, we've found that we got up in the ladder quickly. My cofounder is almost CTO again now after only 4-5 years.

How old were you when you switched?

28

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

#104

Post by antoniuschan99 »

boxcardavin wrote: post #35
xophishox wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We shipped our hardware in Pelican Cases. They are indestructible, and they come with foam liners that can pretty much be custom molded or "plucked" to fit the object your are shipping. I could almost guarantee what we were shipping was more fragile than your printers, (not a pissing contest) but it was precision instrumentation that needed to not get jittered around. Pelicans worked great for us. http://www.pelican.…

Oh yes, I love our Pelican's, we use them for our printers as well. The problem was the first few iterations of our printer were fragile once outside the protective cocoon of the pelican and in the hands of live-event people. As a result, we've beefed up our gear but it's expensive to do as such a small scale (dozens not thousands).

Have you reached out to snapchat about your product? Anything come out of that?

Product looks really cool!

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

#105

Post by lloyd-christmas »

overcast wrote: post #21
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…

After twelve years at the same company, I must be some type of ultra grand wizard unicorn.

Triceratops.

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

#106

Post by lloyd-christmas »

vonmoltke wrote: post #15
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…

What specialty are you hiring for? Is it something about the people in that area? I have personally worked for two companies in my 14-year career, and most people I have worked with have had similar tenure lengths. I do embedded/systems/scientific-type work, though.

I do web development, but I'm not involved with any of the designer hiring, which I understand to be more of an expectation of short term contracting.

I hire for back end web-dev/dev-ops. We do long term contracting with brick and mortar businesses building internal efficiency web apps. Web-dev tends to be more of a "startup of the week" field, so it's harder to find people that fit my "formula". Part of it is that my background is originally in finance, where the formula is 2 years at Bank A, 2 years at Bank B, 2 years at Bank A, etc. taking a 20% pay boost each time you switch.

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

#107

Post by lloyd-christmas »

angersock wrote: post #13
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…

Out of curiosity, why do you think that that is? How do you feel about that?

Hiring and training is expensive. Contrary to what most people think of themselves, they aren't capable of hitting the ground running. If their history is indicative of their career with my company, I have an expectation that they are going to cost me money, not make it.

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

#108

Post by lloyd-christmas »

eropple wrote: post #44
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…

This feels to me like a rationale for trying to get something for nothing, to be honest. Why would a quality engineer with an understanding of their worth stay at a company for two years when the next company's offering 20% more after twelve months? "Make hay while the sun shines."

Why would I spend money hiring and training someone that I expect to leave before they contribute anything significant? Contrary to what most people think of themselves, they aren't capable of hitting the ground running. This is even more important in a senior dev position where they need to know how everyone under them actually performs. I don't hire monkeys, I hire employees. They should be a benefit to each other and the company, not just themselves.

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

#109

Post by lloyd-christmas »

angryasian wrote: post #75
quantumhobbit wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen two types who fit the six month pattern: 1 Devs who simply can't code and get fired/managed out/not contract renewed 2 Unlucky people who don't put up with crappy work environments The first groups should be easy to weed out with decent interviews. The second are a goldmine as long as your company isn't as dysfunctional as the companies that drove them away previously.

I don't get this at all. As developers we should always be looking out for our best interests. If you think you can find something better for more money do it. The whole idea of company loyalty is bs in my opinion. They generally aren't loyal to you.

You're the type of person I don't hire:

> As developers

Developers aren't special. They are a profession which doesn't even necessitate advanced degrees/certifications like most other high-pay industries (med/law/finance/engineering). This instantly comes across as self-importance.

> we should always be looking out for our best interests

Sure, but not at the expense of my company. I'm assuming you have some experience based on your commentary. My expectation of a senior dev isn't to just hit keys and write 600 functions before they leave my company. I expect them to make everyone around them better. That doesn't happen if you spend your lunch hours looking for the next job.

> The whole idea of company loyalty is bs in my opinion

None of this is about company loyalty. It's about hiring useful employees that don't cost you money. Hiring is expensive. A rule of thumb for a medium sized company is that it takes 1 years salary to hire someone worth that salary. So If I'm paying you a salary of $100k, In six months I've actually spent $150k. When you put the numbers on paper, anyone viewing them would call me an idiot.

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

#110

Post by lloyd-christmas »

raverbashing wrote: post #91
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…

> I refuse to hire anyone that hasn't stayed at a company at least 2 years (excluding new grads) Then you're selecting for people that care more about a paycheck than the work they're doing Also, I was let go after a couple of months in a small company because they closed the office I worked on, my fault I guess

> Then you're selecting for people that care more about a paycheck than the work they're doing

You can only go through so many companies before you need to acknowledge: "maybe it's me, not them".

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