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Hi Kafaesq, thank you for the tips. I agree 100% with you. 1. Unfortunately I'm slightly past the point where I can get a rock-solid foundation in something, I

Hi Kafaesq, thank you for the tips. I agree 100% with you. 1. Unfortunately I'm slightly past the point where I can get a rock-solid foundation in something, I just need a job. The classes I'm taking I've been focusing on for a while now. 2. My actual CV and cover letters don't read like this, and I had to abbreviate plenty to fit in the 2k character limit here on HN. Opinion on https://www.overleaf.com/read/jccfwqtdsfbd https://www.overleaf.com/read/jccfwqtdsfbd and how I can get my tech skills in there? 3. I agree, and it sucks because it's what my life is like right now. Having to hide it in interviews is ok I guess, but I did want to open up about it here so I could get some advice.

kafkaesq 10y ago
My quick take on your CV is that while it might be fine for applying for, say, an administrative or leadership position at a non-profit or an NGO, it doesn't read at all like a resume someone would want to see in the tech world. I'd suggest creating a completely different resume for tech positions you're applying to, mentioning your other positions but emphasizing just the technical side of your skill set. However (currently) meager this skill set may be. Also, to be blunt, not only does no one in the tech world care about graphic design, or self-assessment of generic personal traits (like being able to work outdoors), hobbies, etc -- making a point of these things (or presenting an over-designed resume of any sort) will quite definitely work against you. As will mentioning experience with LinkedIn as a "skill" comparable to actual programming or devops skills. That will instantly kill your chances at an actual tech position, in fact (again, to be very, very blunt). BTW it's absolutely no problem for you to mention your being homeless here, in this forum (I've been on the edge of it myself, and can only sympathize). But I would immediately delete any public postings of any sort where your personal story in this front is associate with your real name. Really, it just falls into the category of "too much information" for 99% of the folks out there who are making hiring decisions -- and can only work against you.
- amagnasco 10y ago
  Thank you so much for looking over it and giving me your honest opinion. It helps immensely-- I'll write up a new tech-specific CV and post it here. I agree with your assessment of hiring managers' mindset on that, and am being discreet. I'll even come back and delete my linked CVs as soon as I get a job opportunity.
  - kafkaesq 10y ago
    Best of luck. BTW in your situation (and in fact I was in something pretty close to it, during good stretches of my 20s) I would definitely keep my focus on getting any kind of a job (bike messenger, driver, delivery, whatever), and of course a cheap place to stay, well before winter sets in. Rather than on your ideal job and all that fancy ML stuff. You'll have plenty of time to think about long-term skill growth and how to best invest in it, how to get around the lack of a tech degree (or perhaps whether it's worth going to school again, after all) once you've got a place to stay and a regular paycheck.
    - amagnasco 10y ago
      I agree 100%, the problem is that the places that I've been staying haven't had any open opportunities within bike distance, and I don't have a car. I'm moving back to the city, over there it'll be different. Here's the new CV, opinion? www.overleaf.com/read/zrwcqvgrftvj
      - kafkaesq 10y ago
        Much, much better. Some quick feedback: (1) Relentlessly check for spelling ("videoconferencing" should be two words), and for correct and consistent use of acronyms ("SUNY Geneseo" should always be written that way, and no other way. (2) Be careful not to mix (to put it delicately) "brainy" languages like SQL and R with "webby" languages like CSS (or other formatting languages). Even though CSS can in fact be quite tricky, this is a common mistake people applying for junior-ish people make -- experienced people will think that you think these languages have equal "weight" when in their mind they clearly do not. And certainly don't mix them in the same mention as natural languages. So it would be better to split these into separate bullet points, e.g.: - Data analysis (intermediate SQL; basic R, SPSS) - Frontend web (intermediate HTML5, CSS); LaTeX - Natively bilingual in English and Spanish (3) Again, relentlessly check acronyms against their standard spellings (e.g. "GitHub", "csh", "Bash" should always be spelled exactly like that, and no other way). "OS X" has a space in the middle, etc. (4) "Vim" and "vi" are interchangeably; juste use one or the other. (5) Use color for hyperlinks only - not headings or anything else. Gratuitous color looks overdesigned to tech people (like you're trying to hard), and will likely be a dealbreaker. And finally: (6) If you have a GitHub profile with anything at all of interest in it, by all means, include that up at the very top. But do make sure that whatever is in there meets the same standard for correctness in terms of spelling, case as your resume. (A couple of typos are OK -- but it should look like you care). Good luck!

kafkaesq 10y ago

My quick take on your CV is that while it might be fine for applying for, say, an administrative or leadership position at a non-profit or an NGO, it doesn't read at all like a resume someone would want to see in the tech world. I'd suggest creating a completely different resume for tech positions you're applying to, mentioning your other positions but emphasizing just the technical side of your skill set. However (currently) meager this skill set may be. Also, to be blunt, not only does no one in the tech world care about graphic design, or self-assessment of generic personal traits (like being able to work outdoors), hobbies, etc -- making a point of these things (or presenting an over-designed resume of any sort) will quite definitely work against you. As will mentioning experience with LinkedIn as a "skill" comparable to actual programming or devops skills. That will instantly kill your chances at an actual tech position, in fact (again, to be very, very blunt). BTW it's absolutely no problem for you to mention your being homeless here, in this forum (I've been on the edge of it myself, and can only sympathize). But I would immediately delete any public postings of any sort where your personal story in this front is associate with your real name. Really, it just falls into the category of "too much information" for 99% of the folks out there who are making hiring decisions -- and can only work against you.

amagnasco 10y ago
Thank you so much for looking over it and giving me your honest opinion. It helps immensely-- I'll write up a new tech-specific CV and post it here. I agree with your assessment of hiring managers' mindset on that, and am being discreet. I'll even come back and delete my linked CVs as soon as I get a job opportunity.
- kafkaesq 10y ago
  Best of luck. BTW in your situation (and in fact I was in something pretty close to it, during good stretches of my 20s) I would definitely keep my focus on getting any kind of a job (bike messenger, driver, delivery, whatever), and of course a cheap place to stay, well before winter sets in. Rather than on your ideal job and all that fancy ML stuff. You'll have plenty of time to think about long-term skill growth and how to best invest in it, how to get around the lack of a tech degree (or perhaps whether it's worth going to school again, after all) once you've got a place to stay and a regular paycheck.
  - amagnasco 10y ago
    I agree 100%, the problem is that the places that I've been staying haven't had any open opportunities within bike distance, and I don't have a car. I'm moving back to the city, over there it'll be different. Here's the new CV, opinion? www.overleaf.com/read/zrwcqvgrftvj
    - kafkaesq 10y ago
      Much, much better. Some quick feedback: (1) Relentlessly check for spelling ("videoconferencing" should be two words), and for correct and consistent use of acronyms ("SUNY Geneseo" should always be written that way, and no other way. (2) Be careful not to mix (to put it delicately) "brainy" languages like SQL and R with "webby" languages like CSS (or other formatting languages). Even though CSS can in fact be quite tricky, this is a common mistake people applying for junior-ish people make -- experienced people will think that you think these languages have equal "weight" when in their mind they clearly do not. And certainly don't mix them in the same mention as natural languages. So it would be better to split these into separate bullet points, e.g.: - Data analysis (intermediate SQL; basic R, SPSS) - Frontend web (intermediate HTML5, CSS); LaTeX - Natively bilingual in English and Spanish (3) Again, relentlessly check acronyms against their standard spellings (e.g. "GitHub", "csh", "Bash" should always be spelled exactly like that, and no other way). "OS X" has a space in the middle, etc. (4) "Vim" and "vi" are interchangeably; juste use one or the other. (5) Use color for hyperlinks only - not headings or anything else. Gratuitous color looks overdesigned to tech people (like you're trying to hard), and will likely be a dealbreaker. And finally: (6) If you have a GitHub profile with anything at all of interest in it, by all means, include that up at the very top. But do make sure that whatever is in there meets the same standard for correctness in terms of spelling, case as your resume. (A couple of typos are OK -- but it should look like you care). Good luck!