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How programmers should write their resumes

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Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#51

Post by JazCE »

JazCE wrote: post #34
chadwickthebold wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a portfolio website is necessary to get a job at the place most HN entrepreneurs are interested in running. For better or worse, a portfolio or an active github are almost necessary to land a position at a top-tier company or a startup. If you want to work for a generic business that has grown a software division out of necessity then your basic resume will do just fine.

Would you/they discount people who have >5 years experience working for mainstream organisations that might have "grown a software division out of necessity", but no github activity?

@danielweber i agree about what you're saying, but i tend to find that only happens when a recruiter gets their hands on your CV. If you generally allow yourself or HR team to have direct access to the CV's, they tend to know what will make a good hire, and won't be looking for people who have only driven a Ford "focus"

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#52

Post by mh_yam »

aeonsky wrote: post #45
mh_yam wrote: post #9

Don't call yourself a programmer.

While it might make one feel better to call oneself an engineer (you're not, it is not one of the original engineering practices), a developer (I guess, is it any better though), guru, ninja, evangelist (rebranded words). There is absolutely no need for these names in the software context. All of these words are made for the touchy-feely Gen-Y'ers (which I am a part of). While everyone tries to make the word "program…

Agreed that there is really no distinction in most cases (software engineer = software developer = programmer = guru = ninja etc), but it matters to the people in positions to hire you. I bet someone with a job title of 'software engineer' is perceived to be more 'prestigious' even if the job is really the same.

I am sick of job ads that use words like 'ninja' and 'rockstar', btw.

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#53

Post by danielweber »

luch wrote: post #2

I rarely agree with the author of this blog post : - "Don't bother mentioning your G.P.A." : I know firms are only interested in your diploma's name, but it can be an advantage to mention you passed summa cum laude whereas another barely made it by coasting and offloading his share of works on others students (which is unfortunately a useful skill in the workplace). - "Don't bother using verbs other than "made" for p…

Database preference is almost silly, once you have figured out the general type of DB you need. If you are in the realm of open-source RDBMS, "do you prefer MySQL or Postgres?" seems designed to just start a religious war. (Yes, there are differences, and I could tell them to you. If you want the differences, ask.)

Added:

How are you using hobbies to evaluate the person's personality matters? Does someone who coaches his son's ultimate Frisbee team have a better personality than someone who plays with his Raspberry Pi?

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#54

Post by philjr »

mh_yam wrote: post #21
imdsm wrote: post #12

> "Don't try anything cute. You resume should be devoid of personality." I have to disagree. I got my current job because my resume stood out. It was the only one not written in MS word. The other candidates had equal if not greater experience than me, but I got the job before they even got a response. If you're going for a programming position where you're not expected to be different, then sure, but if you're going…

Agreed. My (LaTeX) resume that I spend many hours refining has caught the attention of many hiring managers, and I often get compliments on it. Curse those recruiters who reformat my resume into their shitty Word templates. I've had times where a hiring manager would have the recruiter's version of the resume, and when I handed them my pretty resume they were pleasantly surprised.

Typically, the reason that happens with external recruiters (i.e. those folks who are not employed directly for the company you're talking to), is because the initial engagement is often "anonymized" with the employer.

As a result, they'll take your CV, remove all identifiable information and send it on

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#55

Post by cpwright »

In general, I think this advice is off. Particularly, "don't use a word other than made." Using developed, designed, implemented, deployed, or a variety of other words that have slightly different meaning to indicate what your actual contributions were makes sense. In general I think made is imprecise, and makes whatever the object that was created appear simple.

I also think that if you have a GPA that is worth being proud of you should include it. It takes up very little space, and it summarizes years of accomplishment in a quantitative way. I'm more than 10 years out of my undergrad now, but I'm still going to say that my GPA was 3.98 (4.0 in majors).

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#56

Post by rjbez17 »

aeonsky wrote: post #45
mh_yam wrote: post #9

Don't call yourself a programmer.

While it might make one feel better to call oneself an engineer (you're not, it is not one of the original engineering practices), a developer (I guess, is it any better though), guru, ninja, evangelist (rebranded words). There is absolutely no need for these names in the software context. All of these words are made for the touchy-feely Gen-Y'ers (which I am a part of). While everyone tries to make the word "program…

I would argue anyone that is creating anything within software is doing engineering (and know what they are doing):

The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD, the predecessor of ABET) has defined "engineering" as: The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation or safety to life and property.

Software engineers take scientific methods created/researched/etc from Computer Scientists and created something from it. The difference between an engineer and joe shmo is that an engineer understands the science behind what they are doing.

An engineer could build a bridge and a regular guy could build a bridge. Both may work for 100 years, but the engineer KNOWS it will work for 100 years (under specific conditions obviously) and the regular guy doesn't. The same could be said for software.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#57

Post by dllthomas »

philjr wrote: post #54
mh_yam wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. My (LaTeX) resume that I spend many hours refining has caught the attention of many hiring managers, and I often get compliments on it. Curse those recruiters who reformat my resume into their shitty Word templates. I've had times where a hiring manager would have the recruiter's version of the resume, and when I handed them my pretty resume they were pleasantly surprised.

Typically, the reason that happens with external recruiters (i.e. those folks who are not employed directly for the company you're talking to), is because the initial engagement is often "anonymized" with the employer. As a result, they'll take your CV, remove all identifiable information and send it on

I wonder if you could hack this by providing a pretty anonymized version as well.

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#58

Post by dllthomas »

luch wrote: post #2

I rarely agree with the author of this blog post : - "Don't bother mentioning your G.P.A." : I know firms are only interested in your diploma's name, but it can be an advantage to mention you passed summa cum laude whereas another barely made it by coasting and offloading his share of works on others students (which is unfortunately a useful skill in the workplace). - "Don't bother using verbs other than "made" for p…

"it can be an advantage to mention you passed summa cum laude whereas another barely made it by coasting and offloading his share of works on others students"

Coasting and offloading work don't necessarily negatively correlate with GPA. Some of the people I knew in school who cared most about GPA would 1) pick the easiest classes they could find and 2) push as much of the work as they could onto others, neither of which was particularly impressive.

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#59

Post by doesnt_know »

danielweber wrote: post #49
doesnt_know wrote: post #35

Programmers shouldn't write their resumes at all. Get it done by a professional service. It's pretty much one of the most important documents you will ever have created. It's your ticket to employment, which is quite likely determining your quality of life. Shop around. Find a quality, professional resume writing service with plenty of positive testimonials that will provide a custom service, not some "paste your tex…

How will the programmer know that the professional service is doing a good job? I've seen recruiters -- supposedly experts in what it takes to get hired, and are motivated because the only way they get compensated if I get the position -- completely butcher my resume.

Recruiting and Resume Writing are completely different services. One gets paid by a company when they fill roles, the other is paid directly by you and are accountable to you. Surely you can see the difference? Also, for the record, not all recruiters are like that, but it's probably pointless trying to convince you otherwise.

Pick the service like you pick any other service. Word of mouth from people you trust, reviews, research into the service, common sense, money-back guarantee etc. How do pick how to use any service? How do you pick an important SAAS or library or API to use?

If you are so convinced you wouldn't be able to tell if a service is doing a good job, how do you know that this recruiter you went to "butchered" your resume and didn't improve it?

Sorry if I'm coming across as overly combative, I just feel that IT professionals in particular are really bad at acknowledging their inexperience in other domains. I think this is especially true when it comes to writing. Perhaps it has something to do with documentation traditionally being an afterthought in the FLOSS world.

Re: How programmers should write their resumes

#60

Post by dllthomas »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #42
alttab wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a hiring manager, I actually care about your GPA. There is some self-selection with those that have a 3.9+. It means they cared about the topic, they went to class consistently, and they performed well during tests (under pressure). I'd much rather have the motivated, driven guy who wants to dot his I's and cross his T's than a programmer who thinks that learning big-O notation isn't worth it, that learning softwa…

Do you weight against school and course load? It's easy to get a 3.9 GPA and it's easy to take a few upper division math classes taught by a top field professor and get much less than that. The 3.0 I got in my upper level discrete math was more meaningful than the 4.0 that I got in most of my upper level CS courses (and with a phd, it's all moot now a anyways). I see so many 4.0 students from top schools that it does…

Right, and I keep remembering schoolmates saying "you're taking that? But this is an easy A..."
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