I don’t like resumés. I find them difficult to write, difficult to read, and many times resumés provide little value without an interview. Many resumés are cluttered with an alphabet soup of technologies, operating systems, concepts, tools, etc. I know candidates do this to make pass the automated resumé scanning tools and make it to recruiters’ “short piles”. However, I don’t really care if a Java developer has used Microsoft Word or has experience using Ubuntu Linux, these are skills that a) should not be very difficult to acquire, and b) it can be assumed that they are fairly common for a developer.

What I want to see in a resumé is:

  1. Proper grammar
  2. Current and previous jobs with dates
  3. Tools and technologies you used in support of those jobs
  4. Any extra-curricular projects you’ve worked on
  5. If you provide a personal website, make sure it works

Proper grammar is important on a resumé. Your resumé is the first thing a potential employer will see. Spelling and grammar errors can make you appear unprofessional and careless. There are many times where we’ve rejected resumé just because it was riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. Another common fault is when candidates use incorrect abbreviations or names for technical words. For example, I’ve seen many resumes that have references to JAVA, JUNIT, Mvc, etc. Even when candidates refer to Java Platform Enterprise Edition (JEE) as J2EE (Java 1.4 and below), shows that they are not keeping up with proper naming conventions for technologies. It’s not very difficult to ensure that you’re using the right name with the right spelling for your technologies and tools.

One of the main areas I look at in a resumé are a candidates previous job experiences. I tend to look at the tasks and responsibilities a candidate had while in that position. I don’t really look at position titles because a Programmer to one company and a Senior IT Analyst in another could mean the same thing. What is important, though, is the time frame the candidate spent at that job. I don’t fault a candidate for having a short assignment (under 6 months) nor do I reward lengthy stays. However, if a candidate was at a job for a short time and lists tons of achievements and responsibilities it makes me wonder whether the candidate is a superstar or inflating their skill levels. Repeated short assignments can also point out a trend, a candidate with several short assignments in a row may not be the right candidate for an extended job.

Resumé writing is difficult, and as people learn more and more skills they usually get added to the generic Skills, Tools, or other sections. These sections end up becoming cluttered with frameworks, libraries, tools, and everything the candidate has ever worked with but provides little to no value to potential employers. Instead, use your previous experiences to show how you used a framework or tool. For example, instead of just listing “experience with jUnit, Spring, and Mockito”, mention: “Implemented unit and integration tests using jUnit and Mockito”. This will allow an interviewer to open up a conversation with you to elaborate on those experiences.

Extra-curricular projects are impressive to see on resumés. I like to see whether candidates have an interest in software development outside of work. Items like blogs, open-source projects, even a stackoverflow account immediately add points to a candidate’s potential. Being part of the overall software development field shows that the candidate has interests that extend beyond their day-to-day job. These are qualities which are desirable as I’ve experienced that people who are passionate about software development also tend to be very good at it. So, if you have extra-curricular items, add them to your resumé and make sure they reflect the best you have to offer.

Along those same lines, if you include a link to your blog, make sure it works! I’ve seen personal sites listed on resumes that have Under Construction pages, dead links, broken designs, etc. When I encounter these situations they are disappointing. A personal site or blog doesn’t need to be technical, it can be about your life, your hobbies, your pets, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it shows some of your skills. Whether it be your skills as a writer, a graphic designer, a programmer, etc, this can count as your portfolio and should be treated as such. Above all, make sure it works!

Those are my thoughts on resumés, it’s a hard topic for me because resumés are very personal. They are a person’s way of marketing themselves. However, after having looked at dozens of resumés, I find that the better candidates tend to follow the guidelines I’ve listed above.