Resumes and Interviewing
Andy Lester, Land The Tech Job You Lovehttp://petdance.com/[email protected]
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Awesomeness
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Y! are a
unique & beautiful
snowflak"3Saturday, October 1, 11
... but this is my desk.
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Your awesomenessis not self-evident!
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Hunting
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Start networkingNOW
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LinkedIn is not networking.
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Facebook is not networking.
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BTW, what's your Google footprint?
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Leland
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"I'm not goodtalking to people."
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"I'm not goodtalking to people."
Tough.No better time to start.
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Talk to a strangerhere at Barcamp.
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Talk to a strangerhere at Barcamp.
Conferences are a goldmine of contacts.
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Resumes
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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 ...
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Why you write a resume
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There is noResume Police.
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You do not havea resume.
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Master resume
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One page?Two page?
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"No good movie is too long and no bad movie is
short enough."-- Roger Ebert
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Lose the clichés
• Professional
• Industrious; hard worker
• Good people person; team player
• Motivated; self-starter; makes things happen
• Strong communication skills
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Give examples!Let the reader decide.
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The resume
• Summarize at the top
• Tailor it to the job
• Emphasize what's important
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NO! NO! NO!
• No lies
• No fudging
• No "objective" or "references available"
• No salary history
• Nothing illegal
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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)
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July 2001-presentNight 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
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Cover letters
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Rule #1:Write one.
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Rule #2:Write one for the specific position.
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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
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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
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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 eyesas 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
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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.
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A good cover letterDear 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.
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Interviews
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15 ways tokill 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
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15 ways tokill an interview
• Come underdressed
• Speak ill of anyone, including especially past employers
• Complain or discuss your problems
• Bring up your needs: Money, benefits
• Lie
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15 ways tokill an interview
• Appear uninterested
• Appear overenthusiastic or desperate
• Fail to ask your own questions
• Leave your phone on
• Cut the interview short
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Interviewer + candidate want the same thing.
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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.
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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.
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After the offer
• "Do I want to work for this guy?"
• "Do I want to work on this team?"
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Conversation,not interrogation.
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Your interview is your first day on the job.
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Preparingthe day before
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Preparingthe 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.
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Questions you'llhave to answer
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Tell me about yourself.
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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?
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Where do you want to be in five years?
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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?
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What is your greatest weakness?
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Why do you want to work for us?
- and -What do you know about our company?
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Why do you want to work for us?
• Has she done research?
• Is this just another job for her?
• What drives her?
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Tell me about a project that didn't go well.
- or -Tell me about a
teammate you've had trouble with.
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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?
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Candidate questions
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What's a day like?
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What sorts of projects will I be working on?
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What will the first day be like? First month?
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Is this a new position, or are you replacing?What happened?
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Tell me about the team I'll be joining.
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Can I meet the team I'll be joining?
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Show you cando the job.
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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.
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Closing
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Always ask for the job.
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Debrief after.
• Thoughts
• Impressions
• Stories
• Follow-up
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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.
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[email protected]://petdance.com@petdance on Twitter
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