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Resumes suck for hiring engineers

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Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#101

Post by mangrish »

CmonDev wrote: post #76
nnnnni wrote: post #68

You know what's frustrating? When you don't even make it to the interview stage because hiring managers think that "Red Hat" and "Linux" are two different things. I was recently passed over because my 15 years' of experience with Linux has been with multiple distributions (including RPM-based ones) and my resume didn't have a line that just said "Red Hat" on it. Them: "Oh, I'm sorry, we can't hire you because you don…

Treat CV writing as a SEO task: "JavaScripted the JavaScript scripts using the JavaScript MVC framework Angular.js (JavaScript)." instead of "Implemented using Angular.js".

I've recently written a resolution engine for keywords when matching cv's to job descriptions. it also helps finding patterns in other skills that may be transferrable. i hope to show HN as soon as i finish some performance improvements (which includes writing a brand new db driver :'()

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#102

Post by pc86 »

Spearchucker wrote: post #71
nnnnni wrote: post #68

You know what's frustrating? When you don't even make it to the interview stage because hiring managers think that "Red Hat" and "Linux" are two different things. I was recently passed over because my 15 years' of experience with Linux has been with multiple distributions (including RPM-based ones) and my resume didn't have a line that just said "Red Hat" on it. Them: "Oh, I'm sorry, we can't hire you because you don…

Had the same experience. These days I tailor my resume for every single job application. I make sure it uses the language the job description uses. If it says Red Hat, my resume says Red Hat. If it says JavaScript, my resume says JavaScript. It takes time, but its been worth it. Where a skill is required that I don't have, I don't mention it. Where a skill applies to a version I'm not experienced with, I leave the ve…

> These days I tailor my resume for every single job application

You absolutely need to do this unless you're in crazy demand. Every generic resume I've sent out has yielded exactly zero phone calls. Every tailor-made resume I've sent out has gotten at least to the in-person interview stage.

Survivor bias? Maybe, but 5 jobs in since college and I'm never sending generic resumes anywhere ever again.

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#103

Post by 3am »

A resume is a list of qualifications, and to see how a candidate frames themselves. They also set expectations for me, the interviewer for the questions I would like to ask (they say they're a Node and Clojure expert? I will tailor my questions to verify that).

It's also a way (in addition to the cover letter) to quickly judge their communication skills.

I wouldn't hire someone without 1) a cover letter 2) a resume 3) a phone screen 4) review of their projects (ie github) 5) a team interview 6) references. Granted, I don't have to do it at scale.

It's time consuming, but not as much as a bad hire.

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#104

Post by ghaff »

terranstyler wrote: post #61
hw wrote: post #7

It's hard to gauge a person's qualities from a resume. Things like culture fit (extremely important IMO), fast thinker, quick learner - are all aspects that can't be garnered from a resume. IMO, resumes are only a decent filter for experience, and provides a baseline for the interview. There are many I've interviewed that padded their resumes and said they are experienced in something they really aren't, and there ar…

Are you hiring right now? I wrote exactly these two tags "fast thinker" / "quick learner" in my CV / cover letter / LinkedIn profile and I removed them a few months later because from my experience it looks like they drive recruiters away or scare them.

I can only speak for myself but terms like that set off my BS meter and probably make me think at least marginally less of whoever sticks them on their resume. They're vague and unquantifiable. They're of a class with words like acclaimed, industry-leading, and so forth in copy describing products.

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#106

Post by ghaff »

3am wrote: post #103

A resume is a list of qualifications, and to see how a candidate frames themselves. They also set expectations for me, the interviewer for the questions I would like to ask (they say they're a Node and Clojure expert? I will tailor my questions to verify that). It's also a way (in addition to the cover letter) to quickly judge their communication skills. I wouldn't hire someone without 1) a cover letter 2) a resume 3…

I tend to agree that a lot of the hate on resumes seems to be missing the point. Sure, if I know or know of someone, maybe a resume doesn't add a whole lot. But they provide: - A first pass at there being some match between experience/background and those needed for the position. - Some guidance for the interview process. Frankly, a lot of the details on the resume don't really matter all that much to me but, overall, it usually gives me a sense of which avenues are worth probing in more detail and which ones I can skip over fairly quickly. Sure, I could draw a lot of this out during the interview but it's easier to read over a couple of pages in advance and spend a few minutes thinking about how to spend the interview slot.

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#107

Post by nissimk »

iN7h33nD wrote: post #100

The real questions are: What would be better than sending a resume? Should the job ask for a resume as well as have every applicant submit a project somewhere, one which will be "unit tested" automatically to filter candidates? Should they just ask for the project? Should there be something other than a resume like a timed coding test or something (where the applicant needs to take half an hour and write a program to…

There's a great book which answers your first question:

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Send-Resume-Other-Contrarian/dp/0...

It's a good collection of advanced marketing techniques for job searchers.

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#108

Post by hnnewguy »

danielweber wrote: post #92
ddebernardy wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The solution we came up with was to invite people to work on projects for a weekend at no cost other than their time. As in working for you for free, and on a WE to boot? For a student or someone who is unemployed, that might work. For someone with a job and a family life, I don't think so. Especially if that person can command a $120k+ salary.

Dude, they get to contribute to the company for free .

I almost spit out my coffee when the OP stated "for free", as if not having to pay anything but time, my most valuable asset, was some perk.

I'm sure the OP means well, and it may have been a success for them, but I don't know anyone in my circle who would participate in something like this, unless they were utterly desperate for a job. I thought there was a serious talent crunch? Who is courting whom?

I wonder what sort of engineers self-select in a process like this?

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#109

Post by benihana »

nnnnni wrote: post #68

You know what's frustrating? When you don't even make it to the interview stage because hiring managers think that "Red Hat" and "Linux" are two different things. I was recently passed over because my 15 years' of experience with Linux has been with multiple distributions (including RPM-based ones) and my resume didn't have a line that just said "Red Hat" on it. Them: "Oh, I'm sorry, we can't hire you because you don…

I would bounce this back and say, if the hiring manager doesn't know the difference between Red Hat and Linux, do you even want to work at that place?

Re: Resumes suck for hiring engineers

#110

Post by wallflower »

iN7h33nD wrote: post #100

The real questions are: What would be better than sending a resume? Should the job ask for a resume as well as have every applicant submit a project somewhere, one which will be "unit tested" automatically to filter candidates? Should they just ask for the project? Should there be something other than a resume like a timed coding test or something (where the applicant needs to take half an hour and write a program to…

A friend of mine made it through the initial interview stages at SoundCloud. He was then given three days to build an iOS app using the SoundCloud API that showed off his experience and skill. I like that approach because three days is a nice length of time to build something you can be proud of. He was interviewing for the iOS team, of course.
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