Well, I figured it’s about time to ask everyone out there what their opinion is; I would like to put together a collection of the comments and opinions from everyone out there and put them together as a coherent set of ideas in a follow up post.

An Apology

Okay, my last post, “What a Resume Should NOT Look Like“, was meant to be more of a piece of humor; however, it wasn’t taken like that at all.

I ended up taking a verbal beating for my About page instead, which I well deserved. The fact of the matter is that I can’t put crap out there on the internet tubes. I apologize. I was lazy and careless, and I deserve all of the flak.

I modeled the About page off of this template, which was, apparently, the wrong decision.

Resume Questions

Here just a few questions that I could come up with:

• What should it look like?
  • Plain? Fancy? What fonts? Arrangement? Etc?
• What format should it follow?
  • What content? Sections? Cover Sheet? Etc?
• What level of detail should be included?
  • Languages? APIs? Concepts? Certifications? Etc?
• How long should it be?
  • 1 page? 2 page? 400 page hardcover?
• What types of things are important?

Other things to think about and consider:

• Automatic searching of resumes for 1st round. Do you include as much info as possible, which you can speak honestly and intelligently about, on the resume to make the cut?
• Some places like short resumes (minimalism). Let them ask the questions?
• Change up the design? Make your resume stand out?

You Speak!!!

I am asking you to seriously think about the answers to the above questions and any other ideas/questions out there that I might have missed.

I am asking you to leave a comment or idea. Please, I believe that everyone would benefit from a popular ideal of SE resumes.

Hiring managers, architects, developers, team leads, program managers, technical fellows, professors… whatever your skill set, I’d like to hear from you!

A Follow Up

Once I have enough comments and ideas, I will post the summed suggestions and some example resumes that you can vote on.

Once the voting is done, I can put together some final guidelines that we all can agree on.

So get involved!

Commenting Guidelines

• Please don’t just rant. If you are going to rant, make sure you equally provide a solution to your rant. It takes no effort to complain;however, it does take a little more gray matter to solve.
• Take a minute to search through comments and the ideas posted already. Don’t rehash the past…

After years of sitting on either side of that ever-dreaded interview table (and giving an interview to a horrible candidate today), I figured it was about time to enumerate some things that I have found useful.

Interview-er: (The Bad Guy)

• Prepare your questions beforehand. Don’t look like an idiot.
• Have a set schedule and constrained time-frame.  Don’t waste your time nor the interviewee’s.
• Create a personal atmosphere to bring out the “true” interviewee
• Talk about the history/job of what they will be doing.
• Find what they are passionate about; make sure they have the drive to do what needs to be done
• Verify items/topics on their resume. Make sure it’s not fluff!
• Ask relevant and to-the-point questions when verifying any technical qualifications
• Take enough notes to help you remember, not for a master’s thesis
• Smile They need to know you are not there to kill them.
• Ask the interviewee whey they think they are the best candidate (or what they have to offer)
• Appearance and dress at an interview can paint a 1,000 words, but don’t judge them by it or shy away from them if it’s a bit shabby.  You may miss hiring a gem that could help your team tremendously
• Be objective. Be smart. Be frank. Be friendly.
• Remember: If people have the drive to learn and get things done, they can be taught anything. (College graduates are prime examples here).

Interview-ee: (The Good Guy)

• Prepare!!! Know about the company and its values so you can include those in some of your answers
• Do NOT be on time; be 10-15 minutes early!
• Be dressed appropriately! (“dress-to-impress” and “first impressions are the only impressions”)
• RELAX!
• Give a firm, but not ridiculous handshake
• Be prepared to discuss, in full, anything on your resume Seriously folks, don’t put anything on there that you can’t talk about for at least 5 minutes.
• Sit up!
• Either take notes our clasp you hands and form your arms in a triangular shape to be attentive
• RELAX and take a deep breath.
• Smile
• Eat a mint beforehand (don’t laugh until you interview someone with bad breath!!!)
• Try and get them to talk about what they want to talk about. The interviewer doesn’t necessarily want to be there either
• If someone asks you the question “Why should I/we hire you?“, answer immediately, giving several reasons
• Ask them questions!!! You will be surprised at the positive response if you ask them questions like:
  • What can I do to help you/this group/the company?
  • What is the atmosphere like?
  • What do you like best about your job (or the company)?
  • Why is this position open?
  • etc…
• Make eye contact
• Stay attentive!!!
• Don’t brag on your past, talk about the future
• Remember: You are not only being interviewed, but also you are interviewing them! Make sure you are not getting yourself into a job that is not what you want to do and this company has values that align with your own! Don’t get screwed into a job that’s not what you signed up for.
• If you really need to be hired somewhere, be careful about asking for salary figures.  Do your research on salary.com instead.

• This is not a pissing contest… do NOT brag!

Get Involved!

There are more cliche items I left off, but if there are some more I can add on there, just let me know below!