5 ms·

The Startup Resume

83 points by dwynings 14y ago

Swizec 14y ago
This is the resume that has gotten me at least a call-back from every startup I have ever sent it to: [paraphrased since I type the email every time anew] Hi, I'm a coder from Slovenia. I like writing JavaScript and Python. I'm learning Haskell. Here is my github: http://github.com/Swizec http://github.com/Swizec I have a blog at http://swizec.com http://swizec.com Most recently I did cool thing X <relevant link, this changes every couple of months> Cheers, ~Swizec
- rexreed 14y ago
  Has it worked? Which startup are you with now? I see from your blog you are interviewing with Google (not a startup anymore), but still not bad. Are you still open to finding the right fit with a startup? Are you "startup friendly" (appropriate expectations of work hours, pay, and equity)? I find the latter to be the biggest hangup in folks that we're looking to add to our team. They like the tech challenge, but can't really grok the startup work environment.
  - jmspring 14y ago
    I'm not sure why but the phrase "Are you 'startup friendly' (appropriate expectations of work hours, pay, and equity)?" just rubs me the wrong way. Joining a startup is a two way street. If you are considering joining one, you should do as much diligence (or even more) than they are doing on you. I, personally, love startups -- the energy, the diversity of problems, the ability to learn and grow. But, I've also been bitten by all the glitz (early in my career during bubble one) as well as people that thing "it's a startup" is an excuse to demand above and beyond efforts on a regular basis. In general, you are going to work more at a startup, you may or may not get paid less, and you will need to weigh the whole work/life balance thing, most likely. You might be asked to make a tradeoff between equity and salary. The tangibles you have control over (salary, time you are willing to commit, etc) are the ones you need to weigh. But, you also need to understand as much as you can about the expectations of those in management. Poor planning, for instance, should never be excuse by "this is a startup" -- I don't mean pivoting, I don't mean tweaking as new information comes along, I mean those people that can't make up their mind on what constitutes the expected deliverable by a particular date.
    - rexreed 14y ago
      I think you have it reverse -- I'm not in search to join a startup, I'm in search of others to join me. Basically, what I'm finding is that many of the candidates I'm interviewing have entirely the wrong expectations for joining a startup... at least in my geographic region (mid-Atlantic US). I'm sure it's different in your locale. But around these parts, many candidates for the startup positions simply aren't "startup friendly".
  - Swizec 14y ago
    I'm currently focusing on graduating by the end of the year. But I do work with startups on a freelancing basis (10-ish hours a week). Which startup I'm "with" changes every couple of months. As for the Google situation, they came to me and I decided to go along with it. To see how far I get and have some external benchmark of my programming prowess. If I do end up getting an offer, I'll then decide whether I want to work with them. Before that I ask every engineer I get to talk with about their working environment to gauge whether Google is the type of company that has retained enough of a startup spirit for me to feel productive there.
angelbob 14y ago
The principle applies elsewhere, too. He's right - tailor your resume. Also, make sure what you rock at is big and clear and up-front and featured. Because you hope your resume is being read by somebody who doesn't just read resumes all day. Then put keyword soup at the bottom for recruiters, if you need to.
- davidcuddeback 14y ago
  I've been reading Land the Tech Job You Love [1] recently, and he says the same thing about putting "keyword soup" at the bottom. But he also recommends naming the section something like "Buzzwords" so that human readers know to skip that section. "Oh, this is obviously to satisfy the automated resume screeners." I'm not so keen on the idea, but probably because I usually apply to companies that are too small to use the automated resume screeners. [1] http://pragprog.com/book/algh/land-the-tech-job-you-love http://pragprog.com/book/algh/land-the-tech-job-you-love
  - angelbob 14y ago
    It makes it clear what it's for. Intent is good. You can improve signal-to-noise by listing in categories ("best", "okay", "seen it before", "academic-only") and then humans can get something out of it too. Or you can call it a loss and treat it like what it is.
    - petdance 14y ago
      The idea of listing categories is fine, but don't rely on those descriptions to give enough detail. What you think might be "good" knowledge of X might be strictly amateur to someone else. Better to tell stories and give descriptions of how you've used the technology in question. Also, if you know something good enough to say that you're good at it, there better be multiple bullets up above explaining how you've used that technology. I've had resumes where someone says they have expert knowledge in a given technology, but nowhere in their work history do they have anything that says that they've used it. You know Oracle? Then you have to have it in a bullet up above. Another way that you can get those details in the resume about what you know is by quantifying as much as possible. Instead of saying you wrote a Ruby app to do such-and-such, say that you wrote an N,000-line Ruby app to do such-and-such. The numbers give a sense of scale that's missing without it. More from my blog about the importance of numbers: http://petdance.com/tag/numbers/ http://petdance.com/tag/numbers/
mwhite 14y ago
Also worth reading: http://andrewhy.de/resumes-for-startups/ http://andrewhy.de/resumes-for-startups/
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
zackzackzack 14y ago
Sounds like an excellent in-comment writing exercise. Zack's Resume (ala Justin Kan): If I could, I would spend all day rolling around in data. I have fond memories of spending a weekend graphing the comments of top posters on Hacker News[0]. In the next week or two, I will be opening a pull request for d3.js for an easy way to do fisheye distortions on geographic maps[1]. I got a beating over winter break trying to convert the R project into JavaScript via emscripten[2]. Hire me so I can make your data beautiful[3]. [0]https://github.com/zmaril/HN-Visual-Comments https://github.com/zmaril/HN-Visual-Comments [1]http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ [2]https://github.com/zmaril/emscripten/tree/herecomesdrtran https://github.com/zmaril/emscripten/tree/herecomesdrtran [3]https://www.odesk.com/users/~~80bea7ba2750c34b https://www.odesk.com/users/~~80bea7ba2750c34b (Shameless misdirecting plug)
- mattdeboard 14y ago
  That's a cover letter. You're not helping an overworked/exasperated resume reader by writing prose in your resume, IMO (for what it's worth...). Resume should be bulletized chronological work history with most relevant/interesting stuff getting a sentence or two of explanation. Leave long-form prose to the cover letter. And that is a pretty good cover letter, zackzackzack.
  - jsprinkles 14y ago
    Sometimes I'd much rather have a little bit of detail on an accomplishment or point than a couple sentences of a bullet point. If I end up confused because of someone sticking to this rule, I get annoyed.
    - mattdeboard 14y ago
      Yeah but it's so hard to tell when it's appropriate. It's subjective. I think everyone just has to find what works for them and go with it, hopefully achievements speak for themselves (with the help of a good cover letter).
kevingadd 14y ago
Am I correct in interpreting this post as saying that generalists don't get hired at startups, and that you should optimize your resume to look like a specialist? That seems pretty counter-intuitive, since at an early stage startup, employees end up wearing many hats.
- heretohelp 14y ago
  The generalist is the CTO, if they're bothering to hire somebody, they're looking for something in particular you're strong at that they need even if you'll be wearing multiple hats.
  - karterk 14y ago
    Things change very fast in startups. As your problem space emerges, you will be changing technology also to fit that picture. Strict specialists are rarely good in that kind of environment.
    - phillmv 14y ago
      If you're doing a standard web app stuff that doesn't push any boundaries of science, you probably won't need a specialist until after you've hired four or five engineers anyways.
    - heretohelp 14y ago
      I didn't say strict specialists, I said someone who had something they were strong at but still able to adapt. I'm a CTO hiring this sort of person right now.
- mustafa0x 14y ago
  > Overall, startups are looking for employees who are exceptional in the one key thing that they will be doing Key - in my opinion - being the operative word. In other words, you may be doing many things, but how good you are at those things aren't as relevant as how good you are at this key thing.
jaredsohn 14y ago
One thing to keep in mind is that the resumes looked at were for YC's "Work At A Startup" event. This means that while it is possible to tailor your resume based on the kind of job you want or your strengths, you can't at this stage tailor it to a specific company.
6ren 14y ago
Your cover letter (i.e. email) is far more important. Four short (1-2 sentences) paragraphs: 1. why you are choosing *them* 2. your basic competence for the job 3. what special talent you bring, that makes you outstanding 4. why you'll get along with them, be a good fit socially
claudiusd 14y ago
As the CTO hiring my first developers, I'm looking for people who will integrate with my company and my tech stack with the least amount of friction possible. This means that (a) you're a full-stack RoR/JS programmer, (b) you're smart as hell, and (c) you're not annoying. The only thing that's really going to come through on a resume is (a), and I might be able to glean some of (b) and (c) from your cover-letter. It's rare enough to see full-stack RoR programmers on the job hunt though, so (a) alone is enough to get a call from me. Your resume almost doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't violate (c). For me at least, just put together a generic resume and write a frank, friendly email/cover-letter. Even though I'll probably call you regardless of the cover-letter, a good one may give me enough confidence to skip right to on on-site (or coffee).
rexreed 14y ago
What happens to the resumes that don't make the cut? I know that I'm always in search of some great additions to our team and while the resumes might not be a fit for you, they might be a great fit for me, and YCombinator is an amazing magnet / funnel that attracts a relatively higher quality of candidate, regardless of whether or not they made the cut. Around these parts, it's hard to convince tech talent to join a startup at all, their skills notwithstanding. I know that resumes are probably shared with a reasonable expectation of privacy, but perhaps you can let it be known that there are other, non-YC startups that might be interested in these resources if you would be willing to share and float a few other boats with those that weren't a good fit. Just a thought.
codeonfire 14y ago
Programmers: you should be founding not applying. Don't waste your time on other people's ideas. Bag groceries if you have to. As an employee you will probably get nothing or some small token amount if the company is sold.
redguava 14y ago
The irony of having three separate points that all say the same thing... and that thing is keep it brief, don't use filler.

83 points by dwynings 14y ago

This is the resume that has gotten me at least a call-back from every startup I have ever sent it to: [paraphrased since I type the email every time anew] Hi, I'm a coder from Slovenia. I like writing JavaScript and Python. I'm learning Haskell. Here is my github: http://github.com/Swizec http://github.com/Swizec I have a blog at http://swizec.com http://swizec.com Most recently I did cool thing X <relevant link, this changes every couple of months> Cheers, ~Swizec

rexreed 14y ago
Has it worked? Which startup are you with now? I see from your blog you are interviewing with Google (not a startup anymore), but still not bad. Are you still open to finding the right fit with a startup? Are you "startup friendly" (appropriate expectations of work hours, pay, and equity)? I find the latter to be the biggest hangup in folks that we're looking to add to our team. They like the tech challenge, but can't really grok the startup work environment.
- jmspring 14y ago
  I'm not sure why but the phrase "Are you 'startup friendly' (appropriate expectations of work hours, pay, and equity)?" just rubs me the wrong way. Joining a startup is a two way street. If you are considering joining one, you should do as much diligence (or even more) than they are doing on you. I, personally, love startups -- the energy, the diversity of problems, the ability to learn and grow. But, I've also been bitten by all the glitz (early in my career during bubble one) as well as people that thing "it's a startup" is an excuse to demand above and beyond efforts on a regular basis. In general, you are going to work more at a startup, you may or may not get paid less, and you will need to weigh the whole work/life balance thing, most likely. You might be asked to make a tradeoff between equity and salary. The tangibles you have control over (salary, time you are willing to commit, etc) are the ones you need to weigh. But, you also need to understand as much as you can about the expectations of those in management. Poor planning, for instance, should never be excuse by "this is a startup" -- I don't mean pivoting, I don't mean tweaking as new information comes along, I mean those people that can't make up their mind on what constitutes the expected deliverable by a particular date.
  - rexreed 14y ago
    I think you have it reverse -- I'm not in search to join a startup, I'm in search of others to join me. Basically, what I'm finding is that many of the candidates I'm interviewing have entirely the wrong expectations for joining a startup... at least in my geographic region (mid-Atlantic US). I'm sure it's different in your locale. But around these parts, many candidates for the startup positions simply aren't "startup friendly".
- Swizec 14y ago
  I'm currently focusing on graduating by the end of the year. But I do work with startups on a freelancing basis (10-ish hours a week). Which startup I'm "with" changes every couple of months. As for the Google situation, they came to me and I decided to go along with it. To see how far I get and have some external benchmark of my programming prowess. If I do end up getting an offer, I'll then decide whether I want to work with them. Before that I ask every engineer I get to talk with about their working environment to gauge whether Google is the type of company that has retained enough of a startup spirit for me to feel productive there.

angelbob 14y ago

The principle applies elsewhere, too. He's right - tailor your resume. Also, make sure what you rock at is big and clear and up-front and featured. Because you hope your resume is being read by somebody who doesn't just read resumes all day. Then put keyword soup at the bottom for recruiters, if you need to.

davidcuddeback 14y ago
I've been reading Land the Tech Job You Love [1] recently, and he says the same thing about putting "keyword soup" at the bottom. But he also recommends naming the section something like "Buzzwords" so that human readers know to skip that section. "Oh, this is obviously to satisfy the automated resume screeners." I'm not so keen on the idea, but probably because I usually apply to companies that are too small to use the automated resume screeners. [1] http://pragprog.com/book/algh/land-the-tech-job-you-love http://pragprog.com/book/algh/land-the-tech-job-you-love
- angelbob 14y ago
  It makes it clear what it's for. Intent is good. You can improve signal-to-noise by listing in categories ("best", "okay", "seen it before", "academic-only") and then humans can get something out of it too. Or you can call it a loss and treat it like what it is.
  - petdance 14y ago
    The idea of listing categories is fine, but don't rely on those descriptions to give enough detail. What you think might be "good" knowledge of X might be strictly amateur to someone else. Better to tell stories and give descriptions of how you've used the technology in question. Also, if you know something good enough to say that you're good at it, there better be multiple bullets up above explaining how you've used that technology. I've had resumes where someone says they have expert knowledge in a given technology, but nowhere in their work history do they have anything that says that they've used it. You know Oracle? Then you have to have it in a bullet up above. Another way that you can get those details in the resume about what you know is by quantifying as much as possible. Instead of saying you wrote a Ruby app to do such-and-such, say that you wrote an N,000-line Ruby app to do such-and-such. The numbers give a sense of scale that's missing without it. More from my blog about the importance of numbers: http://petdance.com/tag/numbers/ http://petdance.com/tag/numbers/

mwhite 14y ago

Also worth reading: http://andrewhy.de/resumes-for-startups/ http://andrewhy.de/resumes-for-startups/

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

zackzackzack 14y ago

Sounds like an excellent in-comment writing exercise. Zack's Resume (ala Justin Kan): If I could, I would spend all day rolling around in data. I have fond memories of spending a weekend graphing the comments of top posters on Hacker News[0]. In the next week or two, I will be opening a pull request for d3.js for an easy way to do fisheye distortions on geographic maps[1]. I got a beating over winter break trying to convert the R project into JavaScript via emscripten[2]. Hire me so I can make your data beautiful[3]. [0]https://github.com/zmaril/HN-Visual-Comments https://github.com/zmaril/HN-Visual-Comments [1]http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ [2]https://github.com/zmaril/emscripten/tree/herecomesdrtran https://github.com/zmaril/emscripten/tree/herecomesdrtran [3]https://www.odesk.com/users/~~80bea7ba2750c34b https://www.odesk.com/users/~~80bea7ba2750c34b (Shameless misdirecting plug)

mattdeboard 14y ago
That's a cover letter. You're not helping an overworked/exasperated resume reader by writing prose in your resume, IMO (for what it's worth...). Resume should be bulletized chronological work history with most relevant/interesting stuff getting a sentence or two of explanation. Leave long-form prose to the cover letter. And that is a pretty good cover letter, zackzackzack.
- jsprinkles 14y ago
  Sometimes I'd much rather have a little bit of detail on an accomplishment or point than a couple sentences of a bullet point. If I end up confused because of someone sticking to this rule, I get annoyed.
  - mattdeboard 14y ago
    Yeah but it's so hard to tell when it's appropriate. It's subjective. I think everyone just has to find what works for them and go with it, hopefully achievements speak for themselves (with the help of a good cover letter).

kevingadd 14y ago

Am I correct in interpreting this post as saying that generalists don't get hired at startups, and that you should optimize your resume to look like a specialist? That seems pretty counter-intuitive, since at an early stage startup, employees end up wearing many hats.

heretohelp 14y ago
The generalist is the CTO, if they're bothering to hire somebody, they're looking for something in particular you're strong at that they need even if you'll be wearing multiple hats.
- karterk 14y ago
  Things change very fast in startups. As your problem space emerges, you will be changing technology also to fit that picture. Strict specialists are rarely good in that kind of environment.
  - phillmv 14y ago
    If you're doing a standard web app stuff that doesn't push any boundaries of science, you probably won't need a specialist until after you've hired four or five engineers anyways.
  - heretohelp 14y ago
    I didn't say strict specialists, I said someone who had something they were strong at but still able to adapt. I'm a CTO hiring this sort of person right now.
mustafa0x 14y ago
> Overall, startups are looking for employees who are exceptional in the one key thing that they will be doing Key - in my opinion - being the operative word. In other words, you may be doing many things, but how good you are at those things aren't as relevant as how good you are at this key thing.

jaredsohn 14y ago

One thing to keep in mind is that the resumes looked at were for YC's "Work At A Startup" event. This means that while it is possible to tailor your resume based on the kind of job you want or your strengths, you can't at this stage tailor it to a specific company.

6ren 14y ago

Your cover letter (i.e. email) is far more important. Four short (1-2 sentences) paragraphs: 1. why you are choosing *them* 2. your basic competence for the job 3. what special talent you bring, that makes you outstanding 4. why you'll get along with them, be a good fit socially

claudiusd 14y ago

As the CTO hiring my first developers, I'm looking for people who will integrate with my company and my tech stack with the least amount of friction possible. This means that (a) you're a full-stack RoR/JS programmer, (b) you're smart as hell, and (c) you're not annoying. The only thing that's really going to come through on a resume is (a), and I might be able to glean some of (b) and (c) from your cover-letter. It's rare enough to see full-stack RoR programmers on the job hunt though, so (a) alone is enough to get a call from me. Your resume almost doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't violate (c). For me at least, just put together a generic resume and write a frank, friendly email/cover-letter. Even though I'll probably call you regardless of the cover-letter, a good one may give me enough confidence to skip right to on on-site (or coffee).

rexreed 14y ago

What happens to the resumes that don't make the cut? I know that I'm always in search of some great additions to our team and while the resumes might not be a fit for you, they might be a great fit for me, and YCombinator is an amazing magnet / funnel that attracts a relatively higher quality of candidate, regardless of whether or not they made the cut. Around these parts, it's hard to convince tech talent to join a startup at all, their skills notwithstanding. I know that resumes are probably shared with a reasonable expectation of privacy, but perhaps you can let it be known that there are other, non-YC startups that might be interested in these resources if you would be willing to share and float a few other boats with those that weren't a good fit. Just a thought.

codeonfire 14y ago

Programmers: you should be founding not applying. Don't waste your time on other people's ideas. Bag groceries if you have to. As an employee you will probably get nothing or some small token amount if the company is sold.

redguava 14y ago

The irony of having three separate points that all say the same thing... and that thing is keep it brief, don't use filler.