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I feel like this may be a tech-centric phenomenon, unfortunately. In a lot of industries, omitting the right keyword from your CV will exclude you from intervie

I feel like this may be a tech-centric phenomenon, unfortunately. In a lot of industries, omitting the right keyword from your CV will exclude you from interviews. Thing is, past the first N years of your career, your CV / resume doesn't (or shouldn't) matter much. Ideally, you are connected to important people in your industry, who know what your work (or portfolio) is, and what you are best suited to do. In such a situation, a person who wants to hire you would make the decision in advance, coach you to put in the right keywords so that your resume passes all the necessary and appropriate HR tests, and make the hire happen. It's all about networking, who you know. What you know is obviously important, but if nobody knows in advance that you can do it, it's harder to prove such a thing in an interview? (Of course, this is less true for new grads or newer professionals, who haven't had time to build up a professional track record.)

joonix 13y ago
Some people do great work but aren't connected to others. They don't immerse themselves in their field, they aren't vocal publishers or active members of organizations.
- theorique 13y ago
  True, and if the work is "great enough", then it will shine and be recognized (e.g. virally, through being discovered through sharing links or github or similar). Not everyone can do this, of course.
GFischer 13y ago
"Ideally, you are connected to important people in your industry" That's why being suckered into backend positions with little or no contact with customers or other parts of a company is often not a good idea, even if the pay is good and the tech interesting. Doing postgraduate studies, participating in events, speaking, all of those are very important, yet, at least in my case, I only learned about those relatively recently. I know some good people that don't do this, and they get outsmarted in the career ladder by the more gregarious types (which, in some cases, did worse work, or even worse, some sociopathic/liar types). That's also a reason not to work in big companies :) unless you're a good hand at self promotion and office politics yourself (and there are some toxic companies where not even that can save you. Usually monopolies or oligopolies).
- hef19898 13y ago
  Completely second this.And office politics are a nasty thing. One day you are the king pin at it, the next day some restructuring a new boss or a only a little slip in a project and you can be dead in the water. And yes, big companies tend to be more prone to be like that. EDIT: And after that happened you may just realize that all you can show is some experience in office politics. By trying to sell that in the next interview you just turn into the next CV optimizer. Kind of a vicious cycle.
chollida1 13y ago
> Thing is, past the first N years of your career, your CV / resume doesn't (or shouldn't) matter much. I completely agree with this. I remember one of the most shocking things one of my professors said was "If you're sending out a resume past the age of 30, you've done something wrong." This might seem a bit arrogant but I think his point that at some point your achievements and network should be sufficient to stand alone.

joonix 13y ago

Some people do great work but aren't connected to others. They don't immerse themselves in their field, they aren't vocal publishers or active members of organizations.

theorique 13y ago
True, and if the work is "great enough", then it will shine and be recognized (e.g. virally, through being discovered through sharing links or github or similar). Not everyone can do this, of course.

GFischer 13y ago

"Ideally, you are connected to important people in your industry" That's why being suckered into backend positions with little or no contact with customers or other parts of a company is often not a good idea, even if the pay is good and the tech interesting. Doing postgraduate studies, participating in events, speaking, all of those are very important, yet, at least in my case, I only learned about those relatively recently. I know some good people that don't do this, and they get outsmarted in the career ladder by the more gregarious types (which, in some cases, did worse work, or even worse, some sociopathic/liar types). That's also a reason not to work in big companies :) unless you're a good hand at self promotion and office politics yourself (and there are some toxic companies where not even that can save you. Usually monopolies or oligopolies).

hef19898 13y ago
Completely second this.And office politics are a nasty thing. One day you are the king pin at it, the next day some restructuring a new boss or a only a little slip in a project and you can be dead in the water. And yes, big companies tend to be more prone to be like that. EDIT: And after that happened you may just realize that all you can show is some experience in office politics. By trying to sell that in the next interview you just turn into the next CV optimizer. Kind of a vicious cycle.

chollida1 13y ago

> Thing is, past the first N years of your career, your CV / resume doesn't (or shouldn't) matter much. I completely agree with this. I remember one of the most shocking things one of my professors said was "If you're sending out a resume past the age of 30, you've done something wrong." This might seem a bit arrogant but I think his point that at some point your achievements and network should be sufficient to stand alone.