Resume Qualification

So, since TheJobMarketSucks these days (2001), what are people sifting through a glut of resumes looking for on a resume in order to bring a candidate in for an interview?

For GettingResumesThroughHumanResourcesFilters?, what keywords are good, and which are bad? My first job was to operate a Resumix database for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about keywords if I were you. Resumes were given special priority if it came to us through inter-office mail (meaning if the job-seeker had already by-passed our department). They were given special priority if they already had a job number on them. Or last, but not least they were given a special priority if the job-seeker was a former employee or simply a current employee wanting a promotion.
How important is experience with a specific toolset (e.g., JBuilder, WebLogic, ClearCase)? Is it now a must-have, or just a nice-to-have? IME, specific tools/toolsets are the buzzwords you need to pass the big corporate HR departments. If you ain't got 'em, you won't interview
Like the toolset: how important is experience in the domain of the target company? Is it a must-have, or just a nice-to-have?
How much has the required experience level for a given position changed?
Other good questions...

IME, specific tools/toolsets are the buzzwords you need to pass the big corporate HR departments. If you ain't got 'em, you won't interview

Anyone with experience with the filtering in smaller companies these days? IME, I've had to do more of the resume filtering myself, rather than HR, in small companies (if we even had an HR department!). When I'd hire people, I looked for an emphasis on understanding the core technologies and techniques, and the tools were nice but not nearly as important. So, for example, I'd like to see an emphasis on distributed, multi-tier programming, not so much EJB or its friends. Of course, that was back in TheGoodOldDays. -- TimHuske

We're a long way off having an HR department (in a recent 5 year strategy meeting, some people said they'd resign they day we got one), so CV filtering is done by the operations manager, team leader and myself. We look for what we call "real programming" experience. We don't consider filling-in EJB wizards to be real programming. We'd like candidates to be familiar with the tools we use: VAJ and VC++6, make(1) and perl5. We also like to see some exposure to the object style of thought. UML with Rose doesn't qualify. But we can teach people that stuff, if we think they've got promise. What we're really looking for is someone we can get along with. Someone with breadth and depth. Someone who's been around a bit. That can be hard to identify with CVs that have been mangled by an agency, but we get a lot of direct applications. Wittingly or otherwise, people often put a lot of their personality down on the paper. -- KeithBraithwaite

Read WhatColorIsYourParachute for a different perspective on JobHunting?.

I would also recommend AskTheHeadHunter? at http://asktheheadhunter.com/ That author takes a an extreme view on the subject and you probably don't need to buy the book since most of his content is online.

Small anecdote: I was applying for AssistantProfessor? positions in MolecularBiology? and put my 6502/68000 AssemblyLanguage experience on the bottom of my C.V. under the heading "Computational Expertise". My advisor told me I should take it out since it "made me look like a secretary". I figured that the people who didn't know what it was would ignore it but that it might set off some bells here and there with people in the know. Sure enough, when interviewing I was asked about it a couple of times, once by an engineer (who also happened to be the dean of the graduate school) and once by a prof with an engineering background. It didn't help me get a job, but it gave me some unexpected commonality with a few people that made for some pleasant discussions. I wonder whether putting such "orthogonal experience" on a resume is net harmful, helpful, or just plain doesn't matter. Anyone else have experience along these lines? --AndyPierce

I haven't had experiences with it yet, but if it's not a hobby, I'd include it. Since it would be job-related, you'd avoid any prejudicial effect of "Anyone who digs ditches for a hobby must be an idiot", but would help for thos who like ditch-digging.

I have no idea what you all are talking about...

Assistant wedding videography
3 years of fine arts
Temporary data entry
Quality Assurance
Mentoring

In retrospect, a ramp like this would introduce variety, while a single spike would confuse. --PhlIp

I have a degree, but I don't have experience in ASP, VB.Net, C#, Java, etc. I know that I want to be a programmer. I love doing it and I feel I have the potential to be a great programmer. Does this count for anything? If so, how do I communicate that in my resume??