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I see candidates putting skill level bars, e.g. ------- 1 ------- 10 C++: xxxxxxx Python: xxxxxxxx SQL: xxxxx I'm not seeing any upside.

I see candidates putting skill level bars, e.g. ------- 1 ------- 10 C++: xxxxxxx Python: xxxxxxxx SQL: xxxxx I'm not seeing any upside. Are you someone that did this, why?

xmprt 2y ago
I did this. I was a freshman in college, didn't know better, and needed to pad out my resume somehow.
bobthepanda 2y ago
I think at some point this started spreading around on blogs as "a thing you can do to separate yourself." A lot of resume advice floating around is not good.
advisedwang 2y ago
I don't do this, but I considered it because it allows you to list a wide range of skills (critical for getting past filters) but also tempers expectations in an interview. E.g. I can and have programmed in Java, but if you ask me about less common Java features I'm probably going to give pretty weak answers.
doe_eyes 2y ago
I have seen this used two ways: 1) As a recruiter-level screening question. A recruiter can't evaluate your answers to a coding problem, but they can reject all candidates who select less than "7" on a slider. It's basically a cheap way to go from 1,000 resumes to a more manageable number that's actually shown to the hiring manager. 2) As a "gotcha" on technical interviews: oh, you selected "9" on C++? Well, here's my favorite IOCCC entry, figure it out! You can't? "No hire, the candidate lied." It's counterproductive, but many engineering organizations approach interviewing this way (also see: "brain teaser" questions). Between #1 and #2, the safest answer is always "8".
kevindamm 2y ago
There was a ratings system like this in early days of Google but it was accompanied by a very explicit guideline for what each number means. IIRC 6 was demonstrated mastery, 10 was "literally wrote the book on the topic." It wasn't for candidates, though, it was initially for interviewer stats and possibly maybe referred to for team transfers. (the current version is in a completely reworked system and on a four-point scale that includes "interested" and "currently learning" so really only a two point scale of claimed knowledge)

I see candidates putting skill level bars, e.g. ------- 1 ------- 10 C++: xxxxxxx Python: xxxxxxxx SQL: xxxxx I'm not seeing any upside. Are you someone that did this, why?

xmprt 2y ago

I did this. I was a freshman in college, didn't know better, and needed to pad out my resume somehow.

bobthepanda 2y ago

I think at some point this started spreading around on blogs as "a thing you can do to separate yourself." A lot of resume advice floating around is not good.

advisedwang 2y ago

I don't do this, but I considered it because it allows you to list a wide range of skills (critical for getting past filters) but also tempers expectations in an interview. E.g. I can and have programmed in Java, but if you ask me about less common Java features I'm probably going to give pretty weak answers.

doe_eyes 2y ago

I have seen this used two ways: 1) As a recruiter-level screening question. A recruiter can't evaluate your answers to a coding problem, but they can reject all candidates who select less than "7" on a slider. It's basically a cheap way to go from 1,000 resumes to a more manageable number that's actually shown to the hiring manager. 2) As a "gotcha" on technical interviews: oh, you selected "9" on C++? Well, here's my favorite IOCCC entry, figure it out! You can't? "No hire, the candidate lied." It's counterproductive, but many engineering organizations approach interviewing this way (also see: "brain teaser" questions). Between #1 and #2, the safest answer is always "8".

kevindamm 2y ago

There was a ratings system like this in early days of Google but it was accompanied by a very explicit guideline for what each number means. IIRC 6 was demonstrated mastery, 10 was "literally wrote the book on the topic." It wasn't for candidates, though, it was initially for interviewer stats and possibly maybe referred to for team transfers. (the current version is in a completely reworked system and on a four-point scale that includes "interested" and "currently learning" so really only a two point scale of claimed knowledge)