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How to write a developer resume that will get you hired

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

#171

Post by pm90 »

Eiriksmal wrote: post #160
dpweb wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great slides - thanks. One surprise "leave off education". Would like to hear some more thoughts about that - haven't seen that before. 18 yrs experience so I'm sure its not too important (I did nothing spectacular in college, but did graduate) - still leave it off completely?

That's what I'm also curious about. I never finished my degree and understand I have to leverage work experience and a killer portfolio to get my next development job, but have yet to figure out how to structure my resume around this niggling detail. Leaving off the education section is interesting... I'm assuming this strategy is to give you an opportunity to create interest as a candidate before the (inevitable?) q…

Well, to be honest, I have had a masters degree and absolutely nobody has asked me about it EXCEPT for Google. I'm sure there are other places that focus a lot of Algorithmic stuff that would prefer if you had some academic backing, but by and large I don't think it matters at all. Especially in this job market.

The only place where an educational degree will help in development jobs is probably getting work visas.

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

#172

Post by jackmaney »

kruk wrote: post #170
jackmaney wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also had people show up in a suit that is 10 years out of style or with hideous tie,etc. And a sense of fashion is relevant to the job...how, exactly?

It's likely that at some point in your career you will have to interact with clients or present in front of an outside audience. What you wear and how you present yourself reflects on your company.

So, let me make sure I'm understanding what you're saying, here. You would reject a candidate for a software developer position (or any other mostly "back end" role) because that person may or may not some day end up making a presentation to people outside of the company?

Are you sure you don't want to take a bit of time and rethink that?

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

#173

Post by Guvante »

grecy wrote: post #154
dpweb wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great slides - thanks. One surprise "leave off education". Would like to hear some more thoughts about that - haven't seen that before. 18 yrs experience so I'm sure its not too important (I did nothing spectacular in college, but did graduate) - still leave it off completely?

I second the question. I have a bachelor of Software Engineering (certified Engineer) with First Class Honors, and I know I'm usually competing against people with a Comp Sci. degree, or even just a diploma. I think it's important to highlight my education, as it puts me a cut above. Am I being a little stuck-up?

I for one would never consider a Software Engineer better than a Computer Science degree. I check to see if you have a degree in software and assume whatever label you use is just due to the random selection by your college.

Having no experience and no experience is killer, but once you have some experience lack of a degree isn't a big deal.

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

#174

Post by kruk »

What's your view on listing multiple positions in the same company?

I've joined a company as a "Software Developer" during my final year in university. When I graduated I got promoted to "Senior Software Developer" but I left a month later to move halfway across the world (my employer knew I'll be leaving soon but chose to promote me anyway). How should I present this on my CV?

I feel like categorising the whole year as "Senior Developer" is bending the truth but splitting it into two takes too much space. Plus my responsibilities didn't really change, only my title did.

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

#175

Post by gsnedders »

pm90 wrote: post #171
Eiriksmal wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I'm also curious about. I never finished my degree and understand I have to leverage work experience and a killer portfolio to get my next development job, but have yet to figure out how to structure my resume around this niggling detail. Leaving off the education section is interesting... I'm assuming this strategy is to give you an opportunity to create interest as a candidate before the (inevitable?) q…

Well, to be honest, I have had a masters degree and absolutely nobody has asked me about it EXCEPT for Google. I'm sure there are other places that focus a lot of Algorithmic stuff that would prefer if you had some academic backing, but by and large I don't think it matters at all. Especially in this job market. The only place where an educational degree will help in development jobs is probably getting work visas.

Google is also totally possible to get hired at with professional experience alone — you're likely to get quizzed even more on CS than other applicants (which is a lot to start with!), but it's far from impossible.

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

#176

Post by couchand »

logfromblammo wrote: post #167
Retric wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have little idea what your opportunity costs are. However, it’s unlikely that the best fit is going to have your ideal background and be willing to spend much time jumping through your hoops.

I imagine Kernighan, Ritchie, or Dijkstra talking to an HR drone. They say, "I see from your resume you have a lot of experience with C and C++, but we're really looking for someone with more recent $MAGIC_KEYWORD experience." The legend laughs, says "thank you," and then hangs up the phone. Meanwhile, everyone behind the HR firewall that has actually earned a CS degree is blissfully unaware of the sheer magnitude of…

The image is hyperbole...

Unfortunately, it's not. I recently heard about a conversation DHH had with a recruiter, who asked him how many years of experience he had with RoR. His answer: "all of it."

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

#177

Post by Eiriksmal »

SnacksOnAPlane wrote: post #143
mrottenkolber wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't say I don't own professional clothes. For me its a shirt--the ones you iron--a suit jacket and jeans, no tie. It's just that I am not willing to compromise on my interpretation of "business attire". I consider it quite offensive to openly criticize based on looks. If anybody would consider my jeans unfitting then that's their problem as I have a very good reason to wear jeans (exclusively). I wear clothes be…

This is just my opinion, but I think every guy should own a suit. Sometimes you want to class it up for various reasons, whether to show respect, or indicate status. When I'm giving a presentation at work, I class up my look a little bit, and I think it helps people take me more seriously.

Especially when you look like you're not even old enough to buy a beer. The apparent age difference of me wearing an untucked polo with jeans and me wearing a decent suit replete with nice dress shirt and classy belt is quite interesting.

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

#178

Post by gsnedders »

philangist wrote: post #87

> 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?

As others have said — a suit is almost never a negative here (provided it's well fitted, clean, etc.). Nobody would be surprised at someone turning up for a interview for even a retail job in a suit. Is it nowadays often unnecessary? Yes. But it's a safe choice, because nobody will claim you're overdressed, and you're not going to be underdressed.

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

#179

Post by Retric »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #150
Retric wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have little idea what your opportunity costs are. However, it’s unlikely that the best fit is going to have your ideal background and be willing to spend much time jumping through your hoops.

My hoops? Did you read what I wrote? I suggest 5 minutes of CV tailoring. You think that's jumping through hoops?

Yes, my last job search consisted of posting my resume on one and only one job board. I then received a deluge of phone calls and multiple job offers soon after that.

In the end if you’re depending on people reading a job posting you’re already missing out on a lot of highly qualified applicants. If you then want tailored resumes your mostly excluding the type of people you actually want working for you.

PS: And no I will not show up to an interview if you don't list a salary range.

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

#180

Post by logfromblammo »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #150
Retric wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have little idea what your opportunity costs are. However, it’s unlikely that the best fit is going to have your ideal background and be willing to spend much time jumping through your hoops.

My hoops? Did you read what I wrote? I suggest 5 minutes of CV tailoring. You think that's jumping through hoops?

Yes, actually.

I'd love to have my resume show that I have successfully automated work for other software developers, small business owners, photojournalists, hospital physicians and nurses, corporate attorneys, military pilots, and rocket scientists, and that all of it was done in a manner that is largely invisible to the beneficiaries. Throwing a bunch of keywords tailored to a specific job ad is completely pointless, from my perspective. I have successfully learned the work of several different skilled professionals and reduced large portions of that work to computer programs.

What you ask, and is mirrored at hundreds of other companies, is roughly analogous to someone in the construction trade building residential homes, commercial office space, retail buildings, and municipal buildings over the course of their career, and then having someone suggest that they ought to list "hammer" and "screwdriver" on their resume. Never mind if the person actually uses pneumatic nail guns and power drills for the nails and screws, the magic keywords are "hammer" and "screwdriver". Never mind if the person is actually smart enough to be a general contractor and halfway to being a civil engineer. If that resume doesn't say "hammer" on it, he doesn't get called back.

What you are asking is irrelevant, gratuitous, and counterproductive--thus, hoops to jump through. My skills are not Java and C#. My skill is making other skilled workers more productive, by any means necessary--though usually with the help of a computer. Part of that is recognizing that when thousands of people are each wasting their time on unnecessary steps every time they perform a task that may be repeated several times every day, the situation may be improved dramatically by eliminating that waste.

There are several potential solutions. One is to tell you, and everyone else in a similar position, that your expectations are ignorant and counterproductive, and show a cavalier lack of respect toward potential hires. You are asking that they invest five minutes of time specifically into your company, rather than into their own general job search, just so that you will not arbitrarily toss their application into the trash. This is in addition to the 20-60 minutes the typical HR gatekeeper already requires to re-type every single datum from that resume into a non-portable custom form in their candidate tracking system.

If I'm going to spend even more time on your company, I'd like the potential return to be worth the effort. Until you actually talk to me, I won't know that. And as long as we're talking, we can just skip the resume and spend that extra five minutes on the way to "yes", instead of just evading "no".

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