Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#51

Post by flukus » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:05 AM UTC

bwang29 wrote: post #23

1. Some links on the resume (github, portfolio, linkedIn) return 404 or access denied. This is suprisingly common. 2. Little facts / actual performance data, and over use of words such as "passionate", "strong", "self-motivated", "success", "thrive", etc when describing themselves in the resume. 3. Changing jobs very frequently and no consistent theme in jobs, say 5 jobs in 5 years, one in A.I., one in e-commerce, on…

> 3. Have a big, long "technology used" for a project. For example, "technology used" in a project includes "Python, Java, Javascript, HTML, CSS, jQuery, SQL, C#, Django, Messaging, C, Bash.."

How exactly is this a red flag? Javascript, HTML, CSS, jQuery, SQL, C#, Messaging would be a typical project for me and there are likely to be integrations with other languages and I usually have some bash scripts for various parts. I wouldn't typically use java and c# in the same project but it wouldn't be the first time either.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#52

Post by muzani » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:06 AM UTC

matt_the_bass wrote: post #31

whoisjuan wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your definition of "short stint"? Less than 1 year?

Depends on context. If someone is a consultant/contractor, short stints are ok. But then have a clear reason why they want to go back to standard employee. If someone has a number of longer stints, then a short one here or there is no big deal. But I want their resume to tell a story. Don’t be afraid of explaining circumstances in a cover letter.

I have this kind of hero syndrome where I like to join dying projects to try to save them. Which means I join a lot of companies for short stints, and most of these projects fail. It's a bit hard to justify in a cover letter without looking defensive.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#53

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:09 AM UTC

jitl wrote: post #28

tehlike wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is c# a microsoft product? You are missing plenty of people if that's the case.

Do not underestimate the importance of Unix familiarity. I encounter engineers every day that don’t understand command-line flags or how to use the shell, and a big reason for this is people coming from a IDE/Windows/MSFT world that does not teach these skills. There’s a considerable gap of training between “C# developer who has only used windows” and “developer who has used C# and has used a command line”.

Heck, just really knowing how to use git is probably worth a lot. Git ain’t easy.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#54

Post by lhorie » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:12 AM UTC

flukus wrote: post #51

bwang29 wrote: post #23

1. Some links on the resume (github, portfolio, linkedIn) return 404 or access denied. This is suprisingly common. 2. Little facts / actual performance data, and over use of words such as "passionate", "strong", "self-motivated", "success", "thrive", etc when describing themselves in the resume. 3. Changing jobs very frequently and no consistent theme in jobs, say 5 jobs in 5 years, one in A.I., one in e-commerce, on…

> 3. Have a big, long "technology used" for a project. For example, "technology used" in a project includes "Python, Java, Javascript, HTML, CSS, jQuery, SQL, C#, Django, Messaging, C, Bash.." How exactly is this a red flag? Javascript, HTML, CSS, jQuery, SQL, C#, Messaging would be a typical project for me and there are likely to be integrations with other languages and I usually have some bash scripts for various p…

I think it might be a red flag if that same resume only has 1 or 2 years of work experience, and the section read like the person just dumped every buzzword they could think of, even if their "experience" with said technology consisted of reading a tutorial once.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#55

Post by viraptor » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:14 AM UTC

bwang29 wrote: post #23

1. Some links on the resume (github, portfolio, linkedIn) return 404 or access denied. This is suprisingly common. 2. Little facts / actual performance data, and over use of words such as "passionate", "strong", "self-motivated", "success", "thrive", etc when describing themselves in the resume. 3. Changing jobs very frequently and no consistent theme in jobs, say 5 jobs in 5 years, one in A.I., one in e-commerce, on…

> no consistent theme in jobs, (...) one in e-commerce, one in gaming

Not sure why that's a bad thing. I've done telco, cloud provider, ecommerce, embedded systems. I'm happy with that - it gave me much better experience on a path towards an architect position than any one industry on its own could.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#56

Post by wedmondson » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:14 AM UTC

I do lots of hiring. Here are some things I watch out for.

- Multiple, short stints at different companies. Sometimes things happen but if you have a track record of jumping from one place to another I am pretty confident you won't stay around very long if I hire you.

- Multiple pages. A long resume is not impressive. Typically it is just annoying because it makes it harder to find key information. It shows a lack of ability to communicate in a concise manner. I have worked for several companies, completed three degrees, have worked in multiple functions, lead a wide variety of teams, and am still able to keep my resume to a single page. If you need more than one page, fine, but if you need several you are doing something wrong. If there are multiple candidates for an opening your resume is going to the bottom of the pile.

- Keyword stuffing. This typically means the candidate is writing their resume for a search engine. They aren't really looking for the right job...just "a" job. It also shows a lack of ability to communicate effectively.

- "Creative Resumes". Don't be cute. Don't use alternate layouts, photos, background colors, interesting fonts, or graphics. It doesn't get you noticed. At least not in the way you want to get noticed. Stand out by being concise and organized. Show you that you can identify the most important aspects of your career and communicate them effectively.

- Buzz words. Be a human and communicate like a human.

- Lack of precision. Don't just say "Improved application speed" say "Improved application throughput by 50%". When you lack precision my conclusion is either a) You are hiding something or b) You don't know how to communicate effectively.

- Objective statements. These aren't a red flag. They are just a waste of space. Nobody looks at them. They clutter the resume and make it longer than it needs to be.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#57

Post by sahil-kang » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:16 AM UTC

rlopezcc wrote: post #40

I normally use an outlook email because I can have username@outlook instead of user.name2392.stuff@gmail, also outlook advertisement is less intrusive. I'm under the impression that it turns recruiters away, can this be right? [Edit]: Yes/No is enough, no need to downvote.

If you’re mainly interested in having a clean username, why not purchase your own domain? If you pay for a small vps, most registrars will host an email server at no extra cost.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#58

Post by tehlike » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:18 AM UTC

jitl wrote: post #28

tehlike wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is c# a microsoft product? You are missing plenty of people if that's the case.

Do not underestimate the importance of Unix familiarity. I encounter engineers every day that don’t understand command-line flags or how to use the shell, and a big reason for this is people coming from a IDE/Windows/MSFT world that does not teach these skills. There’s a considerable gap of training between “C# developer who has only used windows” and “developer who has used C# and has used a command line”.

Sure, that's fine. But this wasn't a "lack of unix familiarity". This was "microsoft familiarity" :)

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#59

Post by viraptor » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:19 AM UTC

wedmondson wrote: post #56

I do lots of hiring. Here are some things I watch out for. - Multiple, short stints at different companies. Sometimes things happen but if you have a track record of jumping from one place to another I am pretty confident you won't stay around very long if I hire you. - Multiple pages. A long resume is not impressive. Typically it is just annoying because it makes it harder to find key information. It shows a lack of…

That's good information! One thing I don't really agree with is:

> Keyword stuffing. This typically means the candidate is writing their resume for a search engine.

If you're applying to a larger company, your CV is likely to be imported into their internal system, often semi-automatically. Sometimes the keywords are not for the public search engine, but for the initial HR's sorting.

Re: Ask HN: What do you consider resume red flags?

#60

Post by lhorie » Thu, May 03, 2018, 2:21 AM UTC

whoisjuan wrote: post #5

matt_the_bass wrote: post #3

- lots of short stints employment. It costs a lot to find, hire and on board someone. Ideally I’d like them to stick around for a while. - lists of buzzwords without clear descriptions of what they actually did. I don’t care about “fashionable” terms. I wanted heard about concrete things they’ve done. - poor formatting. If they don’t care enough to make their resume look clean and neat, why would I expect them to car…

What's your definition of "short stint"? Less than 1 year?

For me it's 3 or more jobs back to back with <1 yr duration each and irregular durations. Usually, their LinkedIn also boasts being CEO of their own company for an overlapping duration of time.