How to write a developer resume that will get you hired • Hacker News Board

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#81

Post by S4M » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:41 PM UTC

infinite8s wrote: post #79

S4M wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I put a link to my Github on my cv, and it was never mentionned - my Github doesn't have anything really interesting though.

Then why would you waste space (and interviewer time) by putting it on your CV. The CV is basically your first impression with a company (assuming you aren't coming in through backchannels). Basically everything you put into it should have a purpose.

Well, I put it because I thought it would be relevant, but apparently it wasn't. How could I know beforehand what will not be relevant or interesting to whoever will read my cv?

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#82

Post by tempodox » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:42 PM UTC

robalfonso wrote: post #72

tempodox wrote: post #66

On slide 16: Shows you actually care about programming I have yet to meet an employer that is actually looking for this. Caring about programming only gets in the way of the atrocities my employer needs me to commit to make things work. Now. One of the differences between academia & real life, I guess.

I am a hiring manager. I do want my people to "care" about programming, more specifically I want them to care about the quality of their work. Not all managers in all companies realize the costs incurred by doing garbage work and the follow on consequences. For those that do, it makes sense to have employees that care to do that level of work. If you are constantly committing atrocities, it may be time to seek out em…

  ... easier said than done

That's just it. An employer who understands those hidden costs and the consequences of software quality (and its lack) seems to be rather rare.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#83

Post by dalacv » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:43 PM UTC

nraynaud wrote: post #75

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be terrified of anywhere that didn't put their best people forward for interviews. Two reasons: 1) Hiring someone is a big deal. You want the people best placed to judge whether they're right involved. 2) You're selling the company to someone who may/will have other choices. Put the people forward who are going to do the best job of that. Point 2 is important. I have no interest in candidates who do the whole "yo…

Wait, the developers are the most important? Then why is the initial filtering done by someone else? Why does the hiring manager have no time to waste on hiring? When it's time to do some real work that take time and discernent, it's the developers who do it. 'sounds familiar? Showing respect is not having someone who have no clue in JS libraries filtering CVs for JS positions, certainly not. They'll settle for famou…

They put HR in between the hiring manager so that said hiring manager doesn't just bring in all of his buddies.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#84

Post by UK-AL » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:43 PM UTC

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #78

UK-AL wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people jump when the company is not paying market price so they switch. I move very fast from companies that don't keep up with pay. I stay at companies with regular pay rises. I've had both. So in my mind it means that companies concerned with job hopping, are really hoping to keep your pay down. It's an early warning .

I see where you're coming from but I disagree. I accept people leave when their salary diverges more than a certain amount from the market rate but that would normally - even in a good market - take time. Personally I wouldn't expect a major pay rise within the first 12 months of a job (if you do then you've probably not negotiated your starting salary properly). Add to that a couple of months after that to find anot…

It's simple logic, people move because they can better deal somewhere else otherwise there would be no point. So if people move, the benefits aren't keeping up with other jobs they can get.

Most employees are not loyal, because they know companies are not. If they think companies are loyal, they are probably new to the job market. Once a project ends, and there's nothing else to work on they will get rid of you. There's no reason why employees should not think the same way.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#85

Post by couchand » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:44 PM UTC

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #53

pjmlp wrote: post #27

Behind a corporate firewall, so I cannot read it. One thing I have been noticing lately with HR drones, is that unless you have stated specifically that you worked in technology X on a project at work, it doesn't matter how many off work projects you might have done in the said technology. Even if there are other people using the said projects. They just go top to bottom looking for keywords.

Speaking as a hiring manager this feels perfectly reasonable so I'd be interested to know why people might think it isn't. I write a job spec which lists what we're looking for which is advertised and passed to recruiters - if you're interested in the job you've almost certainly seen that. Assuming you do have the experience, using the spec you should be able to tweak your CV in about 5 minutes to highlight the key t…

There's one very simple reason that this strategy fails: good developers can and do learn new technologies quickly. It's far more important to find someone willing and able to learn than someone who can copy and paste a few keywords.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#86

Post by Tyrannosaurs » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:45 PM UTC

mercurial wrote: post #73

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as a hiring manager this feels perfectly reasonable so I'd be interested to know why people might think it isn't. I write a job spec which lists what we're looking for which is advertised and passed to recruiters - if you're interested in the job you've almost certainly seen that. Assuming you do have the experience, using the spec you should be able to tweak your CV in about 5 minutes to highlight the key t…

Speaking as a developer, why do you feel it's reasonable to disregard side projects? If, say, I claim LLVM knowledge based on a publicly available language developed on my spare time, why shouldn't be taken into account in the recruiting process?

I don't disregard them completely and I think CVs can be written in such a way that recruiters (who actually get very excited about such stuff these days) and HR people will be fine with this sort of thing.

What I would say is that there is a difference between hobby code where you get to do what you want and code where you didn't control requirements and had to deliver to unreasonable people in unreasonable timeframes (aka commercial software development). Obviously it would depend on the projects but generally someone who has commercial experience would probably be viewed more favourably as it's more directly comparable to what I need you to do.

All that said, I deal in corporate style CRUD apps (there is a bit more to it that that but that's the core). That's an area where OSS - the best sort of out of work project as it's team based, real world and so on - isn't that active so it's not a consideration I have to make too often.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#87

Post by philangist » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:45 PM UTC

> If you can't be bothered to dress up a little bit for your interview, the hiring manager knows that you're going to be a pain in the ass to manage.

I wonder how common this sentiment is in the UK. I know that most developers I've met/interviewed/been interviewed by in NYC don't care (at least outside of finance). Can anyone on the other side of the pond give me their thoughts or experiences?

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#88

Post by robalfonso » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:45 PM UTC

tempodox wrote: post #82

robalfonso wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a hiring manager. I do want my people to "care" about programming, more specifically I want them to care about the quality of their work. Not all managers in all companies realize the costs incurred by doing garbage work and the follow on consequences. For those that do, it makes sense to have employees that care to do that level of work. If you are constantly committing atrocities, it may be time to seek out em…

... easier said than done That's just it. An employer who understands those hidden costs and the consequences of software quality (and its lack) seems to be rather rare.

Agreed, to clarify my comment. One will not find that company working at the sucky company they are at. Might as well quietly network/research those companies in an effort to make the jump.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#89

Post by PublicEnemy111 » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:46 PM UTC

theVirginian wrote: post #67

herge wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good, if a company deals with a recruiter that dumb, imagine the quality of the rest of the staff you would have to deal with!

A large company might have an HR department that is insulated from any of the 'technical' branches that company might have. Imagine if they had to have all sorts of knowledge about what every individual branch of the company does? It's their job to be gatekeepers that make sure the people coming in for interviews are not raising any red flags, further along in the hiring process skill will be determined.

recognizing the "JS" in AngularJS or the name of a library which has all but become synonymous with JavaScript does not require intricate knowledge of the technical branches of a company. Furthermore, if a recruiter is filtering candidates based on a technical skill, they need to know more than just that single keyword. This is not necessarily a failure on the recruiters part; it could be a failure of the hiring branch to adequately prepare the recruiter. However you look at it, it is a failure.

Re: How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

#90

Post by raverbashing » Mon, Nov 10, 2014, 2:47 PM UTC

tempodox wrote: post #66

On slide 16: Shows you actually care about programming I have yet to meet an employer that is actually looking for this. Caring about programming only gets in the way of the atrocities my employer needs me to commit to make things work. Now. One of the differences between academia & real life, I guess.

Recently I've noticed that several companies look for this

(mostly in Canada)