I'm a software engineer working as a full-stack developer using JavaScript, Node.js, and React. I write about my experiences in tech, tutorials, and share helpful hints.
If it's on your resume be ready to talk about it. I can't tell you how many times I have asked someone about a skill on their resume and they reply, "Well, I have only ever read a blog post on that" or "I worked with that once 5 years ago." To me, that looks deceitful. I would rather you not have it on your resume, to begin with. Furthermore, if you are asked about a technology you are not familiar with I would rather you admit you are not familiar with it than trying to pretend you are.
While I agree it can look deceitful, I can also see how it might be necessary to get your foot in the door to get an interview. I think it is a symptom of the broken hiring processes in tech. An example might be a 10-year Java developer that is applying for a C# job. Maybe they used C# on a small project a while back or they are actively working on a personal project with it, but do not have nearly the same amount of experience as Java. Whether they "know" C# is debatable, but I think they could easily pick it up. If they only list Java and not C# on their resume, chances are they will be automatically rejected from companies, even if a human is reading the application. In-house recruiters may not know that Java and C# are similar and the recruiter was tasked with finding a C# developer. Does it make the Java developer a bad candidate? I would say no. Should that Java developer be locked into using Java for the remainder of their career? I would also say no.
There could be a coding test and they can complete it using C# without a problem. If they make it past the screening and get an interview, will C# trivia be the best approach to legitimize the candidate? They have already proven they can write C# in the code screening. I think I would be more interested in learning about how they approach problems and work with others than the specific ins-and-outs of a certain technology.
Only listing what you are an expert in could limit your opportunities or pigeonhole you into working with a particular technology that you may no longer want to use. It can make experienced developers feel like imposters all over again.
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While I agree it can look deceitful, I can also see how it might be necessary to get your foot in the door to get an interview. I think it is a symptom of the broken hiring processes in tech. An example might be a 10-year Java developer that is applying for a C# job. Maybe they used C# on a small project a while back or they are actively working on a personal project with it, but do not have nearly the same amount of experience as Java. Whether they "know" C# is debatable, but I think they could easily pick it up. If they only list Java and not C# on their resume, chances are they will be automatically rejected from companies, even if a human is reading the application. In-house recruiters may not know that Java and C# are similar and the recruiter was tasked with finding a C# developer. Does it make the Java developer a bad candidate? I would say no. Should that Java developer be locked into using Java for the remainder of their career? I would also say no.
There could be a coding test and they can complete it using C# without a problem. If they make it past the screening and get an interview, will C# trivia be the best approach to legitimize the candidate? They have already proven they can write C# in the code screening. I think I would be more interested in learning about how they approach problems and work with others than the specific ins-and-outs of a certain technology.
Only listing what you are an expert in could limit your opportunities or pigeonhole you into working with a particular technology that you may no longer want to use. It can make experienced developers feel like imposters all over again.