5 ms·

I don't understand using a star system on a CV.

bshimmin 12y ago
Nor I. Why would you advertise so prominently on your CV something that you aren't either very good or excellent at? I mean, it'd certainly be useful to the hiring manager to know that you give your communication skills 1 star, but it definitely wouldn't do the candidate many favours...
- remyp 12y ago
  When I interview candidates I will frequently ask them to give a rough "1-10" rating on how good they are with a particular language/technology. This sheds a lot of light when we get to the technical portion. Someone who says they're a "5" and gets most of the questions right is a great hire. Someone who says they're a "9" and can barely answer the basics is a huge red flag.
  - EliRivers 12y ago
    I had an interview once where I was asked to award myself a score out of 10 in C++. I pointed out that Bjarne Stroustrup rated himself 7 out of 10 once.
  - simi_ 12y ago
    Why then don't you ask the candidates to interview themselves, while you're at it?
    - mkoryak 12y ago
      I think you are missing the point. Figuring out how good you are at a skill is only 1/2 of the story. There is also value is finding out if you think you are good at it, or if you know that you suck. A good programmer should know what they don't know, and not be arrogant.
    - readme 12y ago
      His technique is great for identifying a novice because of the dunning-kruger effect.
fecak 12y ago
Years ago many candidates used a skills matrix graphic to list languages/tools, and would rate themselves 'advanced', 'intermediate', or 'beginner'. This was rather useless, though it helped candidates who wanted to list a technology on their resume without claiming to have advanced knowledge. The star system is the same thing, just perceived as more attractive I'd guess. Usually I'd recommend candidates list items in order of their knowledge, from best to worst, and to use discretion in what to include. If you aren't comfortable having a 5-10 minute conversation about an item, don't list it.

Nor I. Why would you advertise so prominently on your CV something that you aren't either very good or excellent at? I mean, it'd certainly be useful to the hiring manager to know that you give your communication skills 1 star, but it definitely wouldn't do the candidate many favours...

remyp 12y ago
When I interview candidates I will frequently ask them to give a rough "1-10" rating on how good they are with a particular language/technology. This sheds a lot of light when we get to the technical portion. Someone who says they're a "5" and gets most of the questions right is a great hire. Someone who says they're a "9" and can barely answer the basics is a huge red flag.
- EliRivers 12y ago
  I had an interview once where I was asked to award myself a score out of 10 in C++. I pointed out that Bjarne Stroustrup rated himself 7 out of 10 once.
- simi_ 12y ago
  Why then don't you ask the candidates to interview themselves, while you're at it?
  - mkoryak 12y ago
    I think you are missing the point. Figuring out how good you are at a skill is only 1/2 of the story. There is also value is finding out if you think you are good at it, or if you know that you suck. A good programmer should know what they don't know, and not be arrogant.
  - readme 12y ago
    His technique is great for identifying a novice because of the dunning-kruger effect.

fecak 12y ago

Years ago many candidates used a skills matrix graphic to list languages/tools, and would rate themselves 'advanced', 'intermediate', or 'beginner'. This was rather useless, though it helped candidates who wanted to list a technology on their resume without claiming to have advanced knowledge. The star system is the same thing, just perceived as more attractive I'd guess. Usually I'd recommend candidates list items in order of their knowledge, from best to worst, and to use discretion in what to include. If you aren't comfortable having a 5-10 minute conversation about an item, don't list it.