Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job, Second Edition

A.1. The Technical Résumé

Technical résumés are written differently than the nontechnical résumés described in most résumé books. Nontechnical jobs generally have some latitude in terms of necessary skills, but technical jobs usually require a very specific skill set. Employers aren't interested in talking to candidates who don't have the necessary skills for the job. This means that technical résumés generally require more specific information than nontechnical résumés.

A.1.1. A Poor Example

The example in this section starts with an extreme case of a very poor résumé from a junior developer. Although it is hoped that no real résumé would ever be this bad, the steps taken to improve such an extreme case are made clear and are relevant to almost anyone's résumé. Figure A-1 shows the sample résumé before improvements.

Figure A.1. Figure A-1

A.1.2. Sell Yourself

Most of this résumé's problems result from a single fundamental error. Lee wrote his résumé to describe himself, not to get a job. Lee's résumé is much more an autobiography than it is a sales pitch for him and his skills. This is a very common problem. Many people believe their résumé should simply describe everything they've ever done. That way, a potential employer can carefully read all of the information and make an informed decision regarding whether to grant an interview. Unfortunately, it doesn't work this way. ...