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Resumes and Interviewing for tech jobs

Andy Lester
October 01, 2011

Resumes and Interviewing for tech jobs

Resumes and interviewing for tech jobs. Given at Milwaukee BarCamp 6, October 1, 2011.

Andy Lester

October 01, 2011
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  1. Resumes and Interviewing Andy Lester, Land The Tech Job You

    Love http://petdance.com/ [email protected] 1 Saturday, October 1, 11
  2. "I'm not good talking to people." Tough. No better time

    to start. 13 Saturday, October 1, 11
  3. Talk to a stranger here at Barcamp. Conferences are a

    goldmine of contacts. 15 Saturday, October 1, 11
  4. Resume questions • Should I put skills first, or education?

    • Does it have to be only one page? • Should I list extra-curriculars? • Should I leave off ... • Should I tell about my ... 17 Saturday, October 1, 11
  5. "No good movie is too long and no bad movie

    is short enough." -- Roger Ebert 24 Saturday, October 1, 11
  6. Lose the clichés • Professional • Industrious; hard worker •

    Good people person; team player • Motivated; self-starter; makes things happen • Strong communication skills 25 Saturday, October 1, 11
  7. The resume • Summarize at the top • Tailor it

    to the job • Emphasize what's important 27 Saturday, October 1, 11
  8. NO! NO! NO! • No lies • No fudging •

    No "objective" or "references available" • No salary history • Nothing illegal 28 Saturday, October 1, 11
  9. Emphasize what's important 21 years professional software development, most recently

    in Perl and PHP • Manager and senior engineer for e-commerce site (3+ years) • Develop object-oriented Perl and PHP, interfacing with Oracle and MySQL (8 years) • Create intranet database applications with ColdFusion, Access & VBA (5 years) 29 Saturday, October 1, 11
  10. July 2001-present Night Operations Technician, Bug-Be-Gone Corp. * Maintained insect

    population by applying insecticides with truck-mounted sprayer. * Precisely tracked assigned paths through areas served. It came from my inbox 30 Saturday, October 1, 11
  11. Dear Prospective Employer, Your Advertisement on jobs.perl.com for a Sr.

    Prog. for library book wholesaler caught my attention. I would like to apply. I am confident that I can perform the job effectively. My background and career goal, seem to match the job requirements well. It came from my inbox 34 Saturday, October 1, 11
  12. I am much more than a programmer. In my long

    and varied work history, I have performed such jobs as knife salesman, manager of a hardware store, extracting retinas from bovine eyes as a neurological lab assistant, flower delivery driver and retirement home activities director, all of which make me a well- rounded candidate. It came from my inbox 35 Saturday, October 1, 11
  13. I am much more than a programmer. In my long

    and varied work history, I have performed such jobs as knife salesman, manager of a hardware store, extracting retinas from bovine eyes as a cow eye sucker, cow eye sucker and cow eye sucker, all of which make me a well-rounded cow eye sucker. It came from my inbox 36 Saturday, October 1, 11
  14. Your cover letter • In plaintext in your email. •

    Explains relationship with contact, if any. • Explains what you're looking for, and what you can bring to the company. • Shows that you care enough to send a personalized cover letter. • Shows that you know about the company. 37 Saturday, October 1, 11
  15. A good cover letter Dear Mr. Lester, My colleague Richard

    Dice referred me to the job recently posted on jobs.perl.org. I believe that I can help Elsinore Publishing with my skills, including: • 4 years of database apps for MyCo, including.... • 3 years Perl experience, including two CPAN modules (http://...) that extend DBI.... • A BS in CS from UIUC, with a 3.7 GPA. • Experience in the book industry, and a natural love of books. I look forward for a chance to meet with you to discuss your needs and how I can help you and Elsinore. 38 Saturday, October 1, 11
  16. 15 ways to kill an interview • Show up late

    • Be unprepared • Chew gum, smell like smoke, bring a drink • Shake hands like a fish • Have bad breath or body odor 40 Saturday, October 1, 11
  17. 15 ways to kill an interview • Come underdressed •

    Speak ill of anyone, including especially past employers • Complain or discuss your problems • Bring up your needs: Money, benefits • Lie 41 Saturday, October 1, 11
  18. 15 ways to kill an interview • Appear uninterested •

    Appear overenthusiastic or desperate • Fail to ask your own questions • Leave your phone on • Cut the interview short 42 Saturday, October 1, 11
  19. Hiring manager's task • "Can this guy do the job?"

    • "Do I want this guy working for me?" • "Do I want this guy on my team?" • Convince candidate that yours is a company to work for. 44 Saturday, October 1, 11
  20. Candidate's task • "Can I do the job?" • Convince

    the HM you can do the job. • Get a job offer, or move closer to it. 45 Saturday, October 1, 11
  21. After the offer • "Do I want to work for

    this guy?" • "Do I want to work on this team?" 46 Saturday, October 1, 11
  22. Preparing the day before • Clear your schedule. • Prepare

    to get there. • Prepare what you're going to take with you. • Include a portfolio of work if you can. • Prepare your own questions. 50 Saturday, October 1, 11
  23. Tell me about yourself. • Did she do any research?

    • Is she prepared? • How does she speak? • Does she take pride in her work? • What else should I ask about? 53 Saturday, October 1, 11
  24. Where do you want to be in five years? •

    Does he have any sort of plan? • Does he work on self-improvement? • Will I have a place for him? 55 Saturday, October 1, 11
  25. Why do you want to work for us? - and

    - What do you know about our company? 57 Saturday, October 1, 11
  26. Why do you want to work for us? • Has

    she done research? • Is this just another job for her? • What drives her? 58 Saturday, October 1, 11
  27. Tell me about a project that didn't go well. -

    or - Tell me about a teammate you've had trouble with. 59 Saturday, October 1, 11
  28. Tell me about a project that didn't go well. •

    Is he a blamer/whiner? • Can he learn from mistakes? • How are his personal skills? 61 Saturday, October 1, 11
  29. Is this a new position, or are you replacing? What

    happened? 66 Saturday, October 1, 11
  30. Show you can do it. • Diagnose a dead PC.

    • Write some code. • Assess design problems on a web page. • Participate in a code review. • Critique a network diagram. 70 Saturday, October 1, 11
  31. Recap • Your awesomeness is not self-evident. • Think like

    the hiring manager. You both want the same thing. • Speak of value in terms of time & money. • Interview is first day on the job. 74 Saturday, October 1, 11