Comments on: Beef Up Your Resume: Essential Skills for Coders

By: raena

raena — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:48:46 +0000

Cool business card idea, Wynnefield :) You never know when you’re going to meet someone who’s interested in hiring, so a mini portable resume is a top idea.

By: Wynnefield

Wynnefield — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:11:16 +0000

Great article. In addition to what is on the resume, I believe employers need to see how a candidate will contribute to the organization. The type of position for which I interviewed usually determined what I brought along “in addition to my resume.”
Interviewing for web design positions I suspected employers would appreciate additional demonstrated skills. For example, I might visit the corporate Web site and type a one page summary of SEO recommendations to improve the site. There are still many sites out there with duplicate and/or absent Title tags, no meta data, ignorance of 508 compliance. Presenting this summary during an interview can prove to be a powerful negotiating tool, as you bring an immediate benefit to the company prior to even becoming an employee.
For networking I used to carry a duplex business card with a creative logo of my initials and contact information on the front. The back included two headings: Skills & Experience and Accomplishments. If you do not feel comfortable presenting or speaking in groups, this can be an excellent “mini-resume” to circulate among networking meetings and not only demonstrate your creative side, but attract potential employers with demonstrated accomplishments.

Hope this helps a bit. It’s a competitive time now, and any edge can be advantageous in landing that next gig.

By: Bjorn

Bjorn — Fri, 01 May 2009 07:11:18 +0000

Great article! Writing persuasive, lively proposals, hosting workshops and speaking about technical subjects are all things I did early on in my job. Not only does it make my job more interesting, it demonstrates initiative and adds value to your employer.

By: raena

raena — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:53:23 +0000

@Observer: Probably, but it still stuns me that there are so many people out there in the job market without these sorts of skills.

By: Pawel

Pawel — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:27:30 +0000

Excellent post; I really like idea of writing more. Thank you!

By: Observer

Observer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:15:42 +0000

You are stating the obvious!

By: Hari K T

Hari K T — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:51:31 +0000

Yes, its a wonderful article . Looking forward to get more like this .

Have a great day guys .

Hari K T

By: rocking_line

rocking_line — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:41:19 +0000

Ya, i think being able to express your versatility is important.. My colleague and me are working together for long time, but when he talks of work he has done or knows it sounds like he is a real genius. I think this is necessary..

By: Perrorist

Perrorist — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:05:36 +0000

Yes, a good article. What often lets down capable technical people when applying for jobs is their poor presentation skills – problems in communication can be costly. Because employers keep staff levels to a minimum, the candidate with the best all-round résumé stands the best chance of success.

By: holdenk

holdenk — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:11:46 +0000

Great article !