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CV Tips for Software Developers?

drylight asks: "When writing a CV, what do people find to be an effective format that gets possible employer's attention and/or the desired job? Is Keeping things short, preferable or will two or more pages be acceptable? Is a complete work history desired, or would a list of applications and projects that you've been involved in a better idea? Any links to online examples of good CVs would be greatly appreciated. What are some other tips on how to get someone's attention when applying for a job?"

2 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. I just interviewed candidates for dev positions... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
    We hired people from all walks of life but anyone who had a letter of recommendation from a prior work got a job (even with less technical expertise).

    Come to think of it the ones who smiled the most and expressed their limits got jobs. Some who said they were experts in everything weren't called back.

  2. *EFFORT* (can I shout that loud enough?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Looking for a job is a full time job. Once you find a job, applying for that job is a full time job for a week, or at max 2 weeks.

    You can get the job if:
    a) you're enthusiastic,
    b) it's the right job for you,
    c) you're the right person for the job.

    If any of these aren't satisfied, you're wasting your time. All your questions are irrelevant, once you figure out a, b & c. Looking for a job is to satisy b, then while applying for it is to tell the employer that c is satisfied.

    Some specifics that helped me:
    Don't ever use email. Emails are in reality nothing more than a stream of bytes temporarily rendered (by an unknown mail app) on glowing dots of phosphor/LEDs.
    Have email, but don't use a free one. If it has to be free, make sure it's obscure and says something positive about you, like yourname@yourclub.etc
    Don't use agencies.
    Don't even think about trying to make a generic CV to throw at 100's of companies, they won't be interested. You can have a generic structure, but the content has to specific.
    Don't lie.
    If you think you need to figure out how to make lame things sound good, you need to stop thinking they're lame.
    Buy a B/W laser printer to print your CV on to *ultra-extra-hi-bright* white 140gsm paper.