4 ms·

Ask HN: Would you hire me if this was my resume?

6 points by mikeyy 16y ago

AlexBlom 16y ago
My biggest comments are as follows: 1) There are three points in your resume (page 1, 2 and last page) where there is a title, 1 point and the rest is on the next page. Try to keep each job on the same page where possible. 2) For most recent graduates a resume of about 2 pages is generally expected & appropriate. Hope this helps.
- mikeyy 16y ago
  So it's basically more toward how I have everything laid out besides what my actual skills are? Shitty.
  - AlexBlom 16y ago
    Sadly yes. The problem is recruiters often get a crapload of resumes, especially for less experienced positions. If it's too hard to understand, too long or doesn't fit the format they are screening chances are you are out then and there.
  - GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
    Yep. And the fact that you still think your resume is about your actual skills is a problem since it reflects a certain level of immaturity. Your resume is not about you or your skills, it's about the gap that exists at your future place of employment and how your skills can fill it. One of those skills is probably going to be effective and appropriate communication that addresses the problem at hand (in this case how you're going to fill the gap at your future employer). If you can't do that in two pages, there's a problem.
    - AlexBlom 16y ago
      This too. Resumes should be customized for the position. Don't simply apply forpositions either. Call them up. Ask what type of person they are looking for, how they will evaluate candidates, what makes somebody successful in the role? THEN customize the resume (and they know your name!)
  - gnoupi 16y ago
    Same for programs. You can have the most sophisticated and optimized algorithm in the backend, if your frontend has too much clutter and is not easy to use, it doesn't matter. I will use another program, especially if it is easily replaceable.
    - mikeyy 16y ago
      Point taken.
  - ax0n 16y ago
    Yes. Also, portrait mode will help you maximize your use of space. Furthermore, it depends on the kind of job you want, but if you're looking for a career within a company (as opposed to a career spent consulting), it really doesn't look all that great to have a bunch of couple-of-month stints broken out like that. You're young enough that your next job could be your first serious career foray. The places you did work for prior to this would make good professional references. If you're looking for a real career, I'd seriously suggest consolidating most of that into a single lump of consulting stuff. If you're looking to remain a consultant, then go all the way and break down all the fun stuff you've done into a portfolio of places you've helped, even research-wise and regardless of compensation. Lastly, I found your gratuitous mentions of age in your profile to be a bit distracting and excessive. I am not an HR person nor a hiring manager, but if my manager handed your rez to me for my infosec team, I'd think you were trying too hard.
seasoup 16y ago
Drop the mention of pornhub. You have plenty of companies listed there and don't need it. You risk alienating people by having it. Unless you are applying to a porn company, in which case you can keep it. Also, you list your title as back end developer, but javascript, jquery and web development are all front end related. PHP and Ruby are also web related, and so even though you often do back end work with them, having them along with javascript and jquery make you seem like a front end developer. So, change up your title or start mentioning more back end technologies you've worked with. Remove your age, not relevant and people will disregard you as inexperienced, judging you for your age before they even talk to you. Good luck!
- mikeyy 16y ago
  Hey, thanks for the tips! I agree that I should lean more toward the frontend side... EDIT: I just looked up the actually term for the two, hah. My age and the mention of PornHub really is irrelevant, I agree, I'll remove that now.
- gaius 16y ago
  Well, that is a more general rule. I see stories of people who send out "hundreds" of CVs and get no response. In truth your CV should really be considered a framework, that you customize to each application based on the job ad. A CV is a sales document, you mustn't lie on it, but its purpose isn't to be a completely objective file on you. It's purpose is to get you an interview. Every CV I have ever sent has been tailored to show that I would be a great fit for that job. If I have say 10 skills and they want 5 of them, then those are the 5 I'll list for my last job experience and simply not mention the others except perhaps in passing. Specifically to the OP, 5 pages is far too long. At your level, even 1 page is enough. And be careful with "experience" because it doesn't mean what you think it means. Basically, programming that you were not paid for, or is not "famous" (e.g. well-known open source) doesn't count as experience for the purpose of this. I'm in my 30s and I have more experience than you've been alive. Now, I'm cool, but most of the people who read that will immediately disregard you.
beilabs 16y ago
Few things that jumped out at me You're 18, you have no right to use the word plethora. What will you use when you're 19? Your CV is too long. Meant to fit on 2 pages. Remove all color. Black and white only! If you must have color then make a snazzy website. You are talking about your technical skills, this is meant to be on a cover letter, take Jquery for example, you mention "This is a very useful prototype framework, eases and simplifies my everyday job a lot more than if I was using javascript alone." Chances are that your future employer knows all about this! Why even mention this line? Often you need to tailor your previous experiences to the job your applying to. I take it you want to work in security rather than development? Do I have the right impression? Btw, where are your hobbies and other interests outside of coding/being on the web? Often people are hired who are a good fit for the company, simply being a shit hot developer is sometimes not enough. Best of luck with the job search though, this should get you a lot of exposure, tips and tricks.
- Locke1689 16y ago
  Your CV is too long. Meant to fit on 2 pages. To be precise, in the US a resume is meant to fit on two pages. A CV (literally, your life's work) can scale up to a small binder after many years. That said, the poster is talking about a resume, not a CV.
  - gaius 16y ago
    CV is the British term for resume.
    - meroliph 16y ago
      I thought it was the Latin term for Curriculum Vitae.
      - frisco 16y ago
        Which is basically the British (or academic) term for resume.
      - 16y ago
Emore 16y ago
I take it you saved a HTML file to PDF with PDFmyURL? Well, don't. If only to avoid the horizontal pages. Also, make your profile one concise paragraph. I like the non-bullshit words in it right now, but trim it.
mnemonicsloth 16y ago
Suppose an interviewer asked you, "Why should I hire an 18 year old kid?" You'd tell him that your skills matter and your age doesn't, right? So why mention your age at all in a document that's supposed to be about your skills?
- mikeyy 16y ago
  From that viewpoint I agree, it makes it much more clear. I'll have to keep a note on my forehead to not tell people my age since it's irrelevant.
dedward 16y ago
It would probably have landed you an interview at my last round of hiring. A CV rarely lands you a job - it just gets you in the door. While finding someone who's curious, smart, and capable at a young age is what I've looked for when hiring junior technical people - (I want the real hackers, not the paper graduates who can't think for themselves) - the trick is in weeding out those who think they already know it all and are above everyone else, making them difficult to work with, and potentially dangerous to a team in the long run. Some of what is in your CV belongs in a cover letter tailored to the job you are applying for - stick to clear skills and experience and keep it short. Put the details and adjectives, if you feel it's really necessary, in the cover letter - and keep that short too - save the rest for the interview... because that's where, at least in smaller shops, the real test is - whether you are going to fit into the team or not.
- mikeyy 16y ago
  Darn, I was too late! I'm glad you liked it though. Oh, I completely agree with you on the "paper graduates". I find myself to be very social, I don't let my ego go over my head, after all there is no reason to. I did get pretty carried away with what I was going for. I was going brain dead from trying to think of what and how to write it, so I came to ask for HN's help. :)
jazzychad 16y ago
Bandwidth exceeded in google doc viewer. I'd like to read this over and give you some feedback, but currently can't. Consider uploading it to scribd or something similar?
- ErrantX 16y ago
  It's convoluted but... 1. click the link here 2. go to your Google docs home 3. select the document, click share and email it to yourself That's how I've got it :)
- mikeyy 16y ago
  Hey, I uploaded it for you on scribd. http://www.scribd.com/full/31453326?access_key=key-1ar7q299rycwowads2jy http://www.scribd.com/full/31453326?access_key=key-1ar7q299r... :)
  - jazzychad 16y ago
    Thanks! Sorry for the delay; I've sent you specific feedback in an email.
jodrellblank 16y ago
Bits like this: have had some colorful experiences with computers; Came up with the name after learning shuck is another word for bragging or boasting. Get the idea?; Undoubtedly more set in the back of my head.; Darn. Jobless. Horrible fluff, too informal style for the rest of the document, like you're trying to befriend the reader of a fiction story. "After talking, I began working a located many more security problems that needed to take precaution." It's nonsense, how did that get past your proof read... oh. It looks like you have some good points to make, but I'd never have found them if I wasn't hunting for things to comment on. Good bits: Pornhub - keep the job in; finding a vulnerability, reporting it and turning it into a job, that's a great thing to have in there. Maybe describe it as a site with however many users/hits/revenue and more details available. PHP, Javascript, jQuery experience. Knowledge of XSS/SQLi/salted password hashes. Security flaw finding - if you did any for money then put that as work, if you did any for free put that as some kind of personal development / evidence of interest. MyTrueColor, Shuckit, Neverblue - draw more attention to these as examples of motivation and interest (if they are valid - mytruecolor and shuck.it don't seem to load). Github similar site - Yes keep this (what did you do, specifically?) What competitions did you win? Rewrite it into a page or so and keep the focus on what you did / can do in technical terms, what you have done, and what you want to do for {prospective employer}.
- mikeyy 16y ago
  Thank you for the response, I will keep these details in mind. The GitHub similar site was http://www.kinspir.com/ http://www.kinspir.com/, which I helped them back in April of 2009. I won two competitions in my area, which were C++ and VB.Net when I was in the 9th grade, first place for both of those competitions. I then went to state to compete against around 50 other contestants in each of those languages and got 2nd place and 4th place in the state. Wasn't able to compete at any FBLA competitions during my whole high school year, since I had an expulsion from school at the end of my 9th grade year.
ErrantX 16y ago
Ok wicked; you fall directly into the demographic I hire - young, security consultant/programmer. This is subjective but it's not a very fine tuned CV. I would still interview you (there is something there for sure :)). It is a great start though; and this is how I would personally improve it... First off the prose is a little up/down. One one hand there is a lot of Buzzword jargon and on the other you have sections like the Pornhub job - which reads like a novella. :) Little asides aren't all that useful (e.g. ", fun experience" in the CakePHP section) - it's good to be casual/funny in a CV, but not like that. CV's should be entirely jargon free, written in the simplest of English and avoid long paragraphs Back to the Pornhub section. No hiring manager will care how you got the job. They care about two things - what you did, and why you left. You also list a lot of work You should keep the section fairly rigid - naming the job, employer (if possible) and a short bulleted list of: - things you did - responsibilities you had - stuff you learned about These could be technical things, or social "teamworking" things. Listing Jobs on a CV is crucial - but keep them succinct and informative Under technical skills you've basically listed Programming languages/frameworks. There is no need to put a remark for each one. Managers will know what they all are (and if not - it's irrelevant to them) and will really be only interested in your experience with them. You've also mentioned a lot of security testing in the jobs section - but no mention of that here? If you are good at it these are your most marketable skills!! If I write a CV for someone I usually write the "mundane skills" like programming languages as a list with the length/amount of experience. Follow that up with a short prose section "I started programming in PHP at the age of 15 and quickly progressed into other languages, picking up OOP and MVC as I went...". Then I would deal with the marketable skills - stuff you can offer than no one else can. Either as an extended list (preferred) or prose. In a CV you need to plug why you are an asset - knowing programming languages is only a marketable skill if you're in the upper echelons of said language :) Education is your best section (though a little more information about classes you took might add colour). What you are missing is an "about you" section. For me this about the most important bit; you have to sell yourself and your interests and someone who will be an asset to the company. You should explain, for example, some of your relevant interests (no one cares you read and swim :)). I usually talk about my interest in social networking and how people interact, my belief in privacy and how that syncs with working in the security/forensic industry. Be passionate. Some final tips: - Bullet points on CV's are fine, I'd even say encouraged - Brevity is a gift. Us poor hirers have to sift through hundreds of these a year - make it easy on us :) - Formatting is only useful if your applying for a design job. Tasteful highlighting is fine but otherwise 12pt text, nicely spaced with neat headings is preferred - At least once mention about working in a team and how you got on with that. - Discuss your aspirations in a way that a) appears to benefit the company but b) does not compete with it and c) does not make assumptions about possible promotion/career paths at said company - e.g. "Long term I want to become a leading expert in the field of fuzz vulnerability testing" That's all I can think of now. Bear in mind this is just me (though a lot of what I say will be mirrored by others) and the kind of CV I prefer. But hopefully there are some tips of use :)
tzs 16y ago
Fix the English. A large fraction of the sentences are awkward and in some cases read like a bad automatic translation from some foreign language whose grammar is not very English-like.
p858snake 16y ago
* Don't let information split over pages where possible, It's better to move them onto the next page so they are all together (Eg: you're education, CakePHP sections). * I would also consider putting page numbers on them (In a small font, so if people print it out they can easily sort them) * Also what paper settings are you using, It seems landscape to me? Use A4 or Letter (Depending on your local standard) and portrait mode, since most bosses like just to pile up the resumes and other documents they receive together and to be able to easily look at them, Having to flip them around is just a pain.
mightybyte 16y ago
One thing that jumped out at me was your PHP section. "used PHP numerous amounts of times" just sounds awkward. It's probably just poor grammar, but to me it communicates more (although maybe incorrectly). To me it says that your PHP experience is probably limited to small bits of code here and there. And saying that 4 years of experience makes you an "expert" reinforces this idea. The summary here is that you shouldn't interpret what you have done. Just communicate the facts. If I happen to think that one can spend a lifetime mastering a programming language, then you've already put up a barrier between us. If you had spared me the interpretation and had just told me that you've been programming PHP (or insert favorite language) for 4 years and that you love it, you'd be off to a much better start.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

6 points by mikeyy 16y ago

My biggest comments are as follows: 1) There are three points in your resume (page 1, 2 and last page) where there is a title, 1 point and the rest is on the next page. Try to keep each job on the same page where possible. 2) For most recent graduates a resume of about 2 pages is generally expected & appropriate. Hope this helps.

mikeyy 16y ago
So it's basically more toward how I have everything laid out besides what my actual skills are? Shitty.
- AlexBlom 16y ago
  Sadly yes. The problem is recruiters often get a crapload of resumes, especially for less experienced positions. If it's too hard to understand, too long or doesn't fit the format they are screening chances are you are out then and there.
- GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
  Yep. And the fact that you still think your resume is about your actual skills is a problem since it reflects a certain level of immaturity. Your resume is not about you or your skills, it's about the gap that exists at your future place of employment and how your skills can fill it. One of those skills is probably going to be effective and appropriate communication that addresses the problem at hand (in this case how you're going to fill the gap at your future employer). If you can't do that in two pages, there's a problem.
  - AlexBlom 16y ago
    This too. Resumes should be customized for the position. Don't simply apply forpositions either. Call them up. Ask what type of person they are looking for, how they will evaluate candidates, what makes somebody successful in the role? THEN customize the resume (and they know your name!)
- gnoupi 16y ago
  Same for programs. You can have the most sophisticated and optimized algorithm in the backend, if your frontend has too much clutter and is not easy to use, it doesn't matter. I will use another program, especially if it is easily replaceable.
  - mikeyy 16y ago
    Point taken.
- ax0n 16y ago
  Yes. Also, portrait mode will help you maximize your use of space. Furthermore, it depends on the kind of job you want, but if you're looking for a career within a company (as opposed to a career spent consulting), it really doesn't look all that great to have a bunch of couple-of-month stints broken out like that. You're young enough that your next job could be your first serious career foray. The places you did work for prior to this would make good professional references. If you're looking for a real career, I'd seriously suggest consolidating most of that into a single lump of consulting stuff. If you're looking to remain a consultant, then go all the way and break down all the fun stuff you've done into a portfolio of places you've helped, even research-wise and regardless of compensation. Lastly, I found your gratuitous mentions of age in your profile to be a bit distracting and excessive. I am not an HR person nor a hiring manager, but if my manager handed your rez to me for my infosec team, I'd think you were trying too hard.

seasoup 16y ago

Drop the mention of pornhub. You have plenty of companies listed there and don't need it. You risk alienating people by having it. Unless you are applying to a porn company, in which case you can keep it. Also, you list your title as back end developer, but javascript, jquery and web development are all front end related. PHP and Ruby are also web related, and so even though you often do back end work with them, having them along with javascript and jquery make you seem like a front end developer. So, change up your title or start mentioning more back end technologies you've worked with. Remove your age, not relevant and people will disregard you as inexperienced, judging you for your age before they even talk to you. Good luck!

mikeyy 16y ago
Hey, thanks for the tips! I agree that I should lean more toward the frontend side... EDIT: I just looked up the actually term for the two, hah. My age and the mention of PornHub really is irrelevant, I agree, I'll remove that now.
gaius 16y ago
Well, that is a more general rule. I see stories of people who send out "hundreds" of CVs and get no response. In truth your CV should really be considered a framework, that you customize to each application based on the job ad. A CV is a sales document, you mustn't lie on it, but its purpose isn't to be a completely objective file on you. It's purpose is to get you an interview. Every CV I have ever sent has been tailored to show that I would be a great fit for that job. If I have say 10 skills and they want 5 of them, then those are the 5 I'll list for my last job experience and simply not mention the others except perhaps in passing. Specifically to the OP, 5 pages is far too long. At your level, even 1 page is enough. And be careful with "experience" because it doesn't mean what you think it means. Basically, programming that you were not paid for, or is not "famous" (e.g. well-known open source) doesn't count as experience for the purpose of this. I'm in my 30s and I have more experience than you've been alive. Now, I'm cool, but most of the people who read that will immediately disregard you.

beilabs 16y ago

Few things that jumped out at me You're 18, you have no right to use the word plethora. What will you use when you're 19? Your CV is too long. Meant to fit on 2 pages. Remove all color. Black and white only! If you must have color then make a snazzy website. You are talking about your technical skills, this is meant to be on a cover letter, take Jquery for example, you mention "This is a very useful prototype framework, eases and simplifies my everyday job a lot more than if I was using javascript alone." Chances are that your future employer knows all about this! Why even mention this line? Often you need to tailor your previous experiences to the job your applying to. I take it you want to work in security rather than development? Do I have the right impression? Btw, where are your hobbies and other interests outside of coding/being on the web? Often people are hired who are a good fit for the company, simply being a shit hot developer is sometimes not enough. Best of luck with the job search though, this should get you a lot of exposure, tips and tricks.

Locke1689 16y ago
Your CV is too long. Meant to fit on 2 pages. To be precise, in the US a resume is meant to fit on two pages. A CV (literally, your life's work) can scale up to a small binder after many years. That said, the poster is talking about a resume, not a CV.
- gaius 16y ago
  CV is the British term for resume.
  - meroliph 16y ago
    I thought it was the Latin term for Curriculum Vitae.
    - frisco 16y ago
      Which is basically the British (or academic) term for resume.
    - 16y ago

Emore 16y ago

I take it you saved a HTML file to PDF with PDFmyURL? Well, don't. If only to avoid the horizontal pages. Also, make your profile one concise paragraph. I like the non-bullshit words in it right now, but trim it.

mnemonicsloth 16y ago

Suppose an interviewer asked you, "Why should I hire an 18 year old kid?" You'd tell him that your skills matter and your age doesn't, right? So why mention your age at all in a document that's supposed to be about your skills?

mikeyy 16y ago
From that viewpoint I agree, it makes it much more clear. I'll have to keep a note on my forehead to not tell people my age since it's irrelevant.

dedward 16y ago

It would probably have landed you an interview at my last round of hiring. A CV rarely lands you a job - it just gets you in the door. While finding someone who's curious, smart, and capable at a young age is what I've looked for when hiring junior technical people - (I want the real hackers, not the paper graduates who can't think for themselves) - the trick is in weeding out those who think they already know it all and are above everyone else, making them difficult to work with, and potentially dangerous to a team in the long run. Some of what is in your CV belongs in a cover letter tailored to the job you are applying for - stick to clear skills and experience and keep it short. Put the details and adjectives, if you feel it's really necessary, in the cover letter - and keep that short too - save the rest for the interview... because that's where, at least in smaller shops, the real test is - whether you are going to fit into the team or not.

mikeyy 16y ago
Darn, I was too late! I'm glad you liked it though. Oh, I completely agree with you on the "paper graduates". I find myself to be very social, I don't let my ego go over my head, after all there is no reason to. I did get pretty carried away with what I was going for. I was going brain dead from trying to think of what and how to write it, so I came to ask for HN's help. :)

jazzychad 16y ago

Bandwidth exceeded in google doc viewer. I'd like to read this over and give you some feedback, but currently can't. Consider uploading it to scribd or something similar?

ErrantX 16y ago
It's convoluted but... 1. click the link here 2. go to your Google docs home 3. select the document, click share and email it to yourself That's how I've got it :)
mikeyy 16y ago
Hey, I uploaded it for you on scribd. http://www.scribd.com/full/31453326?access_key=key-1ar7q299rycwowads2jy http://www.scribd.com/full/31453326?access_key=key-1ar7q299r... :)
- jazzychad 16y ago
  Thanks! Sorry for the delay; I've sent you specific feedback in an email.

jodrellblank 16y ago

Bits like this: have had some colorful experiences with computers; Came up with the name after learning shuck is another word for bragging or boasting. Get the idea?; Undoubtedly more set in the back of my head.; Darn. Jobless. Horrible fluff, too informal style for the rest of the document, like you're trying to befriend the reader of a fiction story. "After talking, I began working a located many more security problems that needed to take precaution." It's nonsense, how did that get past your proof read... oh. It looks like you have some good points to make, but I'd never have found them if I wasn't hunting for things to comment on. Good bits: Pornhub - keep the job in; finding a vulnerability, reporting it and turning it into a job, that's a great thing to have in there. Maybe describe it as a site with however many users/hits/revenue and more details available. PHP, Javascript, jQuery experience. Knowledge of XSS/SQLi/salted password hashes. Security flaw finding - if you did any for money then put that as work, if you did any for free put that as some kind of personal development / evidence of interest. MyTrueColor, Shuckit, Neverblue - draw more attention to these as examples of motivation and interest (if they are valid - mytruecolor and shuck.it don't seem to load). Github similar site - Yes keep this (what did you do, specifically?) What competitions did you win? Rewrite it into a page or so and keep the focus on what you did / can do in technical terms, what you have done, and what you want to do for {prospective employer}.

mikeyy 16y ago
Thank you for the response, I will keep these details in mind. The GitHub similar site was http://www.kinspir.com/ http://www.kinspir.com/, which I helped them back in April of 2009. I won two competitions in my area, which were C++ and VB.Net when I was in the 9th grade, first place for both of those competitions. I then went to state to compete against around 50 other contestants in each of those languages and got 2nd place and 4th place in the state. Wasn't able to compete at any FBLA competitions during my whole high school year, since I had an expulsion from school at the end of my 9th grade year.

ErrantX 16y ago

Ok wicked; you fall directly into the demographic I hire - young, security consultant/programmer. This is subjective but it's not a very fine tuned CV. I would still interview you (there is something there for sure :)). It is a great start though; and this is how I would personally improve it... First off the prose is a little up/down. One one hand there is a lot of Buzzword jargon and on the other you have sections like the Pornhub job - which reads like a novella. :) Little asides aren't all that useful (e.g. ", fun experience" in the CakePHP section) - it's good to be casual/funny in a CV, but not like that. CV's should be entirely jargon free, written in the simplest of English and avoid long paragraphs Back to the Pornhub section. No hiring manager will care how you got the job. They care about two things - what you did, and why you left. You also list a lot of work You should keep the section fairly rigid - naming the job, employer (if possible) and a short bulleted list of: - things you did - responsibilities you had - stuff you learned about These could be technical things, or social "teamworking" things. Listing Jobs on a CV is crucial - but keep them succinct and informative Under technical skills you've basically listed Programming languages/frameworks. There is no need to put a remark for each one. Managers will know what they all are (and if not - it's irrelevant to them) and will really be only interested in your experience with them. You've also mentioned a lot of security testing in the jobs section - but no mention of that here? If you are good at it these are your most marketable skills!! If I write a CV for someone I usually write the "mundane skills" like programming languages as a list with the length/amount of experience. Follow that up with a short prose section "I started programming in PHP at the age of 15 and quickly progressed into other languages, picking up OOP and MVC as I went...". Then I would deal with the marketable skills - stuff you can offer than no one else can. Either as an extended list (preferred) or prose. In a CV you need to plug why you are an asset - knowing programming languages is only a marketable skill if you're in the upper echelons of said language :) Education is your best section (though a little more information about classes you took might add colour). What you are missing is an "about you" section. For me this about the most important bit; you have to sell yourself and your interests and someone who will be an asset to the company. You should explain, for example, some of your relevant interests (no one cares you read and swim :)). I usually talk about my interest in social networking and how people interact, my belief in privacy and how that syncs with working in the security/forensic industry. Be passionate. Some final tips: - Bullet points on CV's are fine, I'd even say encouraged - Brevity is a gift. Us poor hirers have to sift through hundreds of these a year - make it easy on us :) - Formatting is only useful if your applying for a design job. Tasteful highlighting is fine but otherwise 12pt text, nicely spaced with neat headings is preferred - At least once mention about working in a team and how you got on with that. - Discuss your aspirations in a way that a) appears to benefit the company but b) does not compete with it and c) does not make assumptions about possible promotion/career paths at said company - e.g. "Long term I want to become a leading expert in the field of fuzz vulnerability testing" That's all I can think of now. Bear in mind this is just me (though a lot of what I say will be mirrored by others) and the kind of CV I prefer. But hopefully there are some tips of use :)

tzs 16y ago

Fix the English. A large fraction of the sentences are awkward and in some cases read like a bad automatic translation from some foreign language whose grammar is not very English-like.

p858snake 16y ago

* Don't let information split over pages where possible, It's better to move them onto the next page so they are all together (Eg: you're education, CakePHP sections). * I would also consider putting page numbers on them (In a small font, so if people print it out they can easily sort them) * Also what paper settings are you using, It seems landscape to me? Use A4 or Letter (Depending on your local standard) and portrait mode, since most bosses like just to pile up the resumes and other documents they receive together and to be able to easily look at them, Having to flip them around is just a pain.

mightybyte 16y ago

One thing that jumped out at me was your PHP section. "used PHP numerous amounts of times" just sounds awkward. It's probably just poor grammar, but to me it communicates more (although maybe incorrectly). To me it says that your PHP experience is probably limited to small bits of code here and there. And saying that 4 years of experience makes you an "expert" reinforces this idea. The summary here is that you shouldn't interpret what you have done. Just communicate the facts. If I happen to think that one can spend a lifetime mastering a programming language, then you've already put up a barrier between us. If you had spared me the interpretation and had just told me that you've been programming PHP (or insert favorite language) for 4 years and that you love it, you'd be off to a much better start.

deleted 16y ago

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