jsync | Java Staffing Specialist

The Buzz on Buzzwords - Don't Overdo It

04/21/2005

by Dave Fecak

The story you are about to hear is true – the names have been changed to protect the innocent…

After submitting a resume to a client seeking to hire a Java developer, jsync received a lengthy e-mail response from the hiring manager that certainly made us think twice about resumes in general. To paraphrase the manager’s response:

“We got the impression he was just trying to put every acronym on his resume. I think candidates feel this gives them a better chance but what it actually does is make seasoned managers feel that they are being dishonest. A more focused approach that highlights actual talents is always a more successful approach.”

The bad news is that this candidate did not get an interview (even at our urging after the fact). The even worse news is the candidate was well qualified for the job, and the only reason he did not get the interview was that the resume seemed to overexaggerate his background. In hindsight, we decided along with the candidate that the resume was at least slightly embellished, but on most occasions like this the interview would happen regardless. We believe this trend will continue as managers spend valuable interview time with candidates that embellish resumes to get interviews for positions that are not a fit.

We typically recommend that most resumes should have a skills matrix divided into a few categories (languages, databases, operating systems, etc.) near the top of the resume. If your skills matrix includes technologies, tools, or API’s that are not included in your experience section, managers will start to raise their eyebrows.

How can candidates avoid missing out on interviews for which they are qualified?

• When listing technologies on a resume, it is most common to list in order from most experience to least experience. If you have much more JSP experience than EJB, JSP should come before EJB. If you have no relevant experience with or exposure to a technology, do not list it.

• If you have a fair amount of knowledge of a certain technology through self-study or reading, it is acceptable to list it but you should probably qualify your level of experience or expertise. Some resumes will use ‘knowledge of’ or ‘exposure to’ in order to make this more clear.

• Be sure to include some level of detail when describing your projects and include buzzwords from the skills matrix. Resumes that include a short briefing after each position as to what technologies were used. Something as simple as ‘Technologies used include: JSP, Servlets, EJB, Oracle, Solaris’ will usually suffice.

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