DEV Community

Discussion on: Intermediate to senior dev resume

Collapse
 
miniharryc profile image
Harold Combs • Edited

Oh, Jesus, don't make it long. :)

The job of your resume is to wow the person/program scanning it in ~15 seconds or less.

The best ones I see are 1-2 pages.

Format

  • Brief blurb about yourself
  • Scannable list of tech you're proficient at. I don't care that you did 'Hello World' in Erlang once. Don't list that.
  • Actual CV section. List your duration at the company (I want to see if you job-hop), your title, and a bulleted list of projects in this format.
    • Built (what's it called) in (techology) leading/on team of (how big) that (measurable result)
    • Example:

I built a customer relationship portal in Node + Angular leading a team of 3 engineers and one QA that resulted in a 50% reduction in our returns year-on-year.

If something has no result, do not list it.

  • Education. Leave of the year, because as you get older this leaves you vulnerable to age discrimination.

Things to absolutely omit

  • Interests outside work. I don't care.
  • Volunteer things, unless you're doing pro-bono stuff related to tech.
Collapse
 
mortoray profile image
edA‑qa mort‑ora‑y

I disagree about not listing "outwide of work" activities. Sure, I don't want to hear about what clubs you belong to, or that you like knitting. However, if you've achieved something notable in those activities then I absolutely do want to hear about it.

For example, if you founded a local outreach program, that's a notable achievement. Or for example if your knitting YouTube channel has avid 10K following, that says something very positive about you as an employee. I don't care if not's tech related. Achievements are achievements and reflect positively on the candidate.

I like knowing the people I hire exist outside of their job, that they have interests and things that drive them. I want well-rounded people, not just tech-heads. It won't offset skills needed for the job, but when I have to choose between candidates having something more than tech will definitely sway my decision.

Collapse
 
miniharryc profile image
Harold Combs • Edited

Point taken. "I don't care" is a bit strong, I agree. I do care.

There's a bit more sinister reason.

People put stuff in these sections that allow employers to discriminate without with perfect deniability. Don't give them that opportunity. For example:

  • "Coach of my son's soccer team"
  • "Leader of African Americans in Business Group."
  • "Volunteer at the Catholic Shelter"
  • "Meditation teacher at temple XYZ"

I'm trained (and bound by law) to avoid asking you about any of that in an interview. However, you're handing it to the prospective employer on a platter.

Not a comforting subject to talk about, but it can happen.