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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

#191

Post by opendais »

vinceguidry wrote: post #188
opendais wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I mean, if your job comprises only tasks and no responsibility, then your job then is to either demonstrate enough value so as to convincingly ask for responsibilities or hop around until you find someone that will give you the latitude you need. > I've worked three jobs in the last year where I had a lot of flexibility in this regard. And I enjoyed it when I was freelancing too. The world's a lot bigger than the l…

Are you seriously trying to tell me that for some people it's impossible to have career goals because your job won't let you?

Did I say a career goal? No? Maybe y'know, you shouldn't put words in people's mouths and actually read what was written.

I'm telling you the way you value/put things is specific to you and a smaller percentage of the programmer population than you imply. It works for web developers working on small projects. It doesn't work in larger team environments where having 90% of the developers needing to learn X to maintain the project is a noticeable impact.

> Ultimately this is why I don't take any of my side projects seriously anymore, and if there's something I want to learn, I'll find a way to get paid for it.

Side projects should be taken seriously because people aren't going to rearrange their careers to scratch itches like "I want to see if I like Django better than RoR".

If that falls under the category of "career goal" for you, we honestly should stop talking to each other because we operate on two very different levels. We are never going to agree.

The problem becomes when you [like the OP] try to apply your limited world view as a universal truth.

One of my side projects that I run for fun and setup in a couple weekends generates thousands of dollars a year which I then reinvest into my side projects to amuse myself. It is a hobby that pays for all of my computer-related hobbies. So when people like you and the OP dismiss them, I'm amused because I realize I can't take either of you seriously. You don't consider the possibility that you are wrong when told you are mistaken but instead resort to claiming I don't know what I'm talking about.

I know another developer whose side project generates non-negligible revenues and consulting gigs.

So when you said can't take your side projects seriously to reinforce the OP's point, you reinforce this idea that side projects should not be taken seriously.

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

#192

Post by robalfonso »

wylee wrote: post #141
robalfonso wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at a very casual office, when I've interviewed I've seen just about everything from jeans/t-shirt to a suit. My take away is "look nice" regardless of what level of dress you have chosen. I've been impressed by candidates that wore suits. It shows they understand their appearance is important, however, it is not a deciding factor in the job, just a nice to have. Also had people show up in a suit that is 10 yea…

> 1 When in doubt, wear a suit As general advice, this is wrong. There are a lot of positions where wearing a suit to the interview would automatically mean you won't get hired. Of course, it depends on the locale, the position, &c, but the idea that a suit is always safe is somewhat outdated.

I will slightly adjust that to - it depends on the company (do your research). Clearly if you are applying for a startup of early 20 somethings a suit makes zero sense (but then there is less doubt, no?)

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

#193

Post by bitwize »

logfromblammo wrote: post #108
bitwize wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true everywhere. Always, ALWAYS wear a suit to your interview, even if the hiring manager says he doesn't care. It presents a crisp, professional appearance and shows the hiring manager that you care.

No. This is horrible advice for software professionals in the US. In a lot of places, it will show the hiring manager that you are an alien to their culture. You should simply wear what you would ordinarily wear to work when clients are expected that day in the office. If the software professionals there actually wear suits, you can also wear one to interview, but be mindful that you probably won't enjoy working ther…

If on the job you are expected to wear casual or business casual clothing, by all means do so. But only once you have the job. During the application and interview process, making a good impression is paramount. A suit is clothing literally tailor made to make a good impression. I have yet to meet the hiring manager who would dock a candidate for overdressing to the interview, even if overdressing on the job would raise a few eyebrows.

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

#194

Post by nemanja »

agumonkey wrote: post #69
nemanja wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An awful confrontation is definitely not a way to go. May want to try coaching approach, politely explaining the difference. For all you know, it may have been an intentional filter. Bottom line though is that it helps you to use the same keywords they are looking for, to the extent you have the relevant experience.

Intentional meaning her toying with me to test my stability ? Any way I failed hard, I was in a bad place and immature. Of course I would do everything differently. Acceptance of the game instead of anger.

Yeah, it's possible - HR should screen for cultural fit and sometimes they may pull a trick or two like that.

I've never toyed with applicants per se, but would occasionally ask them to explain me something that is either very simple or that they know very well, to test for condescension and arrogance. Bottom line is that if someone shows arrogance in an interview, they will likely suck to work with and unlikely to be good mentors to juniors.

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

#195

Post by shalmanese »

magoon wrote: post #13
Bahamut wrote: post #5

"...did you wear a suit" I guess it might depend on the industry, but at most interviews I have done, the expectation has been to just wear jeans and whatever. I usually go with jeans and a polo shirt for safety.

It may seem like you were dressed OK, but do you really know? Does anybody ever say "we can't hire that guy, he dressed up?"

> Another quick story before I really dive into this blog post. We had a gentleman over to interview for one of our account executive positions at 42Floors. He had strong experience leasing SF office space: great resume, great cover letter, did well in our initial phone screen.

> When he walked in the door, we could hear the clacking of his shoes on our hardwood floor. He was dressed impeccably in a suit that probably cost more than my first car and was carrying one of those leathery-thingys that seemed to exist only for the purpose of being carried during interviews.

> I stole a glance to a few of the people from my team who had looked up when he walked in. I could sense the disappointment.

> We’re all happily wearing blue jeans and sneakers. It’s not that we’re so petty or strict about the dress code that we are going to disqualify him for not following an unwritten rule, but we know empirically that people who come in dressed in suits rarely work out well for our team.

> He was failing the go-out-for-a-beer test and he didn’t even know it.

http://web.archive.org/web/20140618142018/http://blog.42floo...

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

#196

Post by vinceguidry »

opendais wrote: post #191
vinceguidry wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you seriously trying to tell me that for some people it's impossible to have career goals because your job won't let you?

Did I say a career goal? No? Maybe y'know, you shouldn't put words in people's mouths and actually read what was written. I'm telling you the way you value/put things is specific to you and a smaller percentage of the programmer population than you imply. It works for web developers working on small projects. It doesn't work in larger team environments where having 90% of the developers needing to learn X to maintain…

> Side projects should be taken seriously because people aren't going to rearrange their careers to scratch itches like "I want to see if I like Django better than RoR". If that falls under the category of "career goal" for you, we honestly should stop talking to each other because we operate on two very different levels. We are never going to agree.

I guess you're right, we're never going to agree. The choice of platform to specialize in is in my opinion a very very important career decision you have to make, because the switching costs are greater than we're going to see. Platform familiarity has bought me 90% of the flexibility I have at my job. I got to be that familiar because I happen to really like Rails. I got to learn Rails because I got someone to pay me to learn it.

At one point, a career goal of mine was to "get paid full time to work with Rails." Now that I've achieved that goal, I have bigger and better ones. I don't know what level you are operating at, but my new goals involve putting together a cohesive team that can knock out projects really fast, followed by starting a company with the experience gained from accomplishing the former.

> One of my side projects that I run for fun and setup in a couple weekends generates thousands of dollars a year...

Thousands a year? I just don't get spending that kind of time for that little of a return. I'd rather roll that effort into being a better coder and the best way I've seen to do that is to work on projects bigger than yourself, that bring lots of people with different talents in to build something that much more interesting and viable. If I just wanted a few thousand more, I'd ask for a raise. Just because it's non-negligible doesn't mean it's worth my time.

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

#197

Post by opendais »

vinceguidry wrote: post #196
opendais wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did I say a career goal? No? Maybe y'know, you shouldn't put words in people's mouths and actually read what was written. I'm telling you the way you value/put things is specific to you and a smaller percentage of the programmer population than you imply. It works for web developers working on small projects. It doesn't work in larger team environments where having 90% of the developers needing to learn X to maintain…

> Side projects should be taken seriously because people aren't going to rearrange their careers to scratch itches like "I want to see if I like Django better than RoR". If that falls under the category of "career goal" for you, we honestly should stop talking to each other because we operate on two very different levels. We are never going to agree. I guess you're right, we're never going to agree. The choice of pla…

So you make over $200k a year AND have fun doing it?

I'm just asking because that is the only way your comment makes sense. If not, I suggest you re-read.

> At one point, a career goal of mine was to "get paid full time to work with Rails." Now that I've achieved that goal, I have bigger and better ones. I don't know what level you are operating at, but my new goals involve putting together a cohesive team that can knock out projects really fast, followed by starting a company with the experience gained from accomplishing the former.

I wish you the best of luck with your goals, for whatever that is worth. I don't mean any of this personally...I just think the view you and the OP take is far too narrow.

The reason I said "different level" is our goals are so completely different as to be incomparable from an objective viewpoint.

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

#198

Post by Guvante »

bitwize wrote: post #193
logfromblammo wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. This is horrible advice for software professionals in the US. In a lot of places, it will show the hiring manager that you are an alien to their culture. You should simply wear what you would ordinarily wear to work when clients are expected that day in the office. If the software professionals there actually wear suits, you can also wear one to interview, but be mindful that you probably won't enjoy working ther…

If on the job you are expected to wear casual or business casual clothing, by all means do so. But only once you have the job. During the application and interview process, making a good impression is paramount. A suit is clothing literally tailor made to make a good impression. I have yet to meet the hiring manager who would dock a candidate for overdressing to the interview, even if overdressing on the job would ra…

Don't discount his advice about culture, finding people who culturally fit is important and if they are using dress as an indicator you don't want to fail it.

The advice I have heard is to ask the hiring manager. If they say they don't care feel free to wear a suit, however if they say something like "nothing too formal" listen to them.

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

#199

Post by infinite8s »

S4M wrote: post #81
infinite8s wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Well, if your github had nothing interesting why would you think it was relevant?

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

#200

Post by infinite8s »

grecy wrote: post #184
Guvante wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Interesting, thanks for the perspective. My degree was an extra year on top of Comp. Sci. and included fields like compiler theory and design, real time programming, digital electric design and engineering math 1-4 which comp. sci. didn't. I'm also a certified Engineer (in Australia, anyway), which I always thought counted for something. I have about 5 years experience now.

After about 5 yrs experience most people don't really care about where you went to school (except places like Google or Facebook). Some might care whether you completed a degree but are probably more interested in what you did the last 5 years (ie if the most exciting/interesting you can talk about after that many years of working is your school experience then you have bigger problems than your CV).
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