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Why good developers don't need a resume

Seth Godin has an interesting take on resumes for people seeking work.

Over the past 6 months, I have interviewed close to 100 plus jobseekers and I have to agree with the core points Seth makes. Most of the resumes I receive are monotonous and you could not tell one apart from another, if it not were for the name at the beginning. Some have cover letters, some do not, but the overriding theme between all of them is common skills, relatively similar experience and a list of hobbies that do not tell me anything about what makes the person exceptional.

There is no surprise then that only 1 of our 3 existing team members actually had to submit a resume to us, which we never read twice. All 3 were hired from our network of influence either because we worked with them previously or because they came highly recommended from people we knew.

As a software company, the best thing you can do is get involved with the community and get to know who the brilliant developers are in your area of expertise. Too often, smaller technology companies get so involved in operations and selling, that they distance themselves from the communities that matter to them. The common excuse revolves around, "We just don't have enough time!" Therefore, recruitment becomes a cumbersome business with the daily drone of skimming through resumes and fighting over fees with your recruitment consultant.

Getting involved with the community means that you get to spot the talented people who have skills that cannot be quantified on paper. I would love to employ a Don Brown or a Gareth Rushgrove, as I am sure many others would. What sets both of them apart is their influence in their respective communities (even ignoring the fact that both of them are really good at what they do) and their involvement with grassroots level open source and standards groups. I doubt either of them will ever need to "apply" for a job.

As a developer, you can boost your chances by getting involved with various open source groups or contributing to the community through conferences, blogs or just plain brilliant code. Sure it will take time and sure it involves a lot of work but at least it will save you the effort of writing one more mundane resume.

posted by Sarat Pediredla on March 17, 2008 at 1:41 p.m.

Comments

Mar 17

Which leaves those of us of a reclusive bent rather shafted, doesn't it?

gwenhwyfaer

Mar 17

Gwen,

I wouldn't say so. However, my take on the subject is definitely that people who are more active in the community have a better chance to influence their career chances. Obviously, there are tons of good developers who are talented but never network, so I am not saying it is the ONLY way.

Sarat Pediredla

Mar 17

I understand your point but...

It seems to me your comment is contradictory with the title. Good developers with a strong network don't need a resume. Good developers without one do. I dare say that there are more good developers without a strong network then otherwise, therefore the majority of good developers still need a resume.

john

Mar 17

@gwenhwyfaer

I'm a software developer. I'm about as introvert as one can get and still be considered "functional". I don't speak in public. I don't write papers for publication. I don't blog. I don't participate in social networking sites.

Yet, when I wanted it, I've never been without work. How does that work? Somehow, even as an introvert, people inside where ever I was at the time recognized my work as quality stuff. When they moved on and their new employers needed someone with my skills, my name came up. OK, I was with the same employer 15 years; I didn't jump ship lightly.

I once got a job because a prospective employer called me to see if I wanted a job. At the time, I did. I asked where he got my name. His response was: "Your name was on a piece of paper in my files as a good developer. The tag was dated [3 years earlier]. I forgot who provided it."

So, it happens.

Rex Karz, yes, a pseudonym

Mar 17

@gwenhwyfaer Introverts can speak through actions "...just plain brilliant code."

EGHM

Mar 17

Gwen,

even outside of networking there is still working on great code. create something that is worth looking at and shows off your talents/skills.

being someone who has, in the past, relied on a resume and fealt it completely inadequate to the job, I see this as something that stands out completely.

I also believe there is a corollary regarding the company that only accepts resumes although I'm not sure how to word it quite yet.

Spune

Mar 17

@ Rex

It's entirely possible that I'm on the wrong side of that "functional" line. I'm not just saying that - I've just moved house rather than introduce myself to the people who moved in five months ago, because I could already hear way too much of them through the walls; the last thing I've ever wanted to do after leaving an employer is keep in touch with the people who used to work there; and I tend to actively avoid acquaintances (and even close friends, on occasion) rather than bump into them by accident.

Somehow I managed to work continuously for 7 years, but that came to an abrupt (burnout-related) end at the end of 2003, and aside from a 13-week contract 3 years ago I've not worked since. And worst of all, my experience is all fluffy high-level stuff (because those were the first jobs I was offered), whereas what I've always wanted to be doing is either something academic and researchy, or writing the lowest of low-level code (in assembler - but despite having followed the development of the ARM with fascination since I first read about it in BYTE in 1988ish, I have no commercial experience of coding for it, and it appears to be virtually impossible to get into without).

Well, what I *really* want to be doing is coding synths... but that's a whole other story :)

I'm glad it happened for you, and I'm sure that will give people in a similar position hope; but I don't think such a thing is ever going to happen for me. Right now I'm wondering what other careers might actually be open to ex-coders (with no capital) who have excellent problem solving capabilities, need to be stretched by their work, and have a morbid fear of interacting with the same human more than once. :/

gwenhwyfaer

Mar 17

So what do you do when you're fresh out of school and neither have a network nor a track record in the industry?

Pete

Mar 17

Pete,

Almost all of our hires are either completely fresh out of school or just recently out of school (or university if you will).

Being at school does not stop you from being involved with the community and open source efforts. In fact, some of the best people I meet out on geek networking events are people at uni.

Sarat Pediredla

Mar 17

I understand and appreciate that, but with all due respect, that's not the question I asked. The question was what someone who has in fact not participated in such networking events and is not involved in any significant open source projects should do.

Pete

Mar 17

I'm recruiting developers for my company, and the main problem is that most resumes are devoid of actual content. The typical resume is just a list of buzzwords and company names. This tells me close to nothing of his/hers strong skills, interests, or if he/she would be a good fit. If people only would grade their skills, and actually tell me of the accomplishments. Being employed by company X is not an accomplishment in itself; being employed, and solving the hard problem Y is. Be specific, and you will stand out.

yena

Mar 17

There are many other things you can do. I will humbly admit I do not profess to know all the answers. There are a couple of things from Seth's recommendations that do not require much networking or project experience.

Getting recommended by your teachers/tutors would be great but then you have to be brilliant enough to warrant their enthusiasm.

If none of these apply to a person, then I am afraid there is nothing to make them stand out from the crowd. Then the real question to ask is, "What do I have that other applicants to the job haven't?" Then sell yourself on that point!

Sarat Pediredla

Mar 17

We all know that word of mouth is the best way to get hired but many companies (i would assume the larger companies) prefer a resume to a recommendation.
But now with tech jobs alot of us are working on the side or full time as consultants....so we are working for a few places at a time or working for a company only for a short term (weeks to months).
When it comes to consultants or being a temporary worker; a great resume can help out alot.

Dave

Mar 18

pete,

I was in the same situation as you when I graduated. I consider myself a top notch developer however due to my lazy college ways I wasn't prepared to put my best foot forward when I graduated.

I had to work my way up in a smaller development shop before I was able to land the job I wanted. After a few years in the industry rocking out good code in a small shop I was able to land a job a prestigious giant in the industry that we all know and love.

daniel

Mar 18

you still need a CV to handle to the HR dept.

btw, i dont participate in open source dev and lectures to get a job, understood?

aHa

Mar 18

The article points out a good topic of conversation, but it does short-side a larger topic at hand (How to get a development job). I say take the article for what its worth and give the author a little slack for stepping on toes and writing from a narrow slant.

People who explode on the social seen of developers are just like any other spotlighted people: It sure is easy to focus on them because they are the people making noise. The issue is that we can not all be in the spotlight. There just isn’t enough fame.

Andrew Martinez

Mar 18

I think the larger debate of "how to get a development job" is far too broad and subjective to discuss in any one article or post.

My take on the issue was simply that you "increase" your chances of getting into jobs and companies preferred by developers if you market yourself.

The not so subtle jab was of course aimed at resumes and their quality or lack of, in recent times (especially for developers).

Sarat Pediredla

Mar 18

What I've always wanted to know is how well these devs who get jobs based on their perception in the community are paid. The average for a good dev?

Zair

Mar 18

Even as a 21 year old entrepreneur working on a few startups, I've found it to be the case that the best people to hire generally are the ones you have to go out and find or are referred to. All the coders/hackers I've had apply to work for me ended up great disappointments.

Albeit there are exceptions.

Steven Kovar

Mar 18

@Zair

If pay was the end all and be all of everything, we would all be slaving in investment banks and bypass a computing career overall. Nevertheless, it is a given that these developers DO make a good earning. Whether it matters all that much to them or not is of contention.

Most developers I know would happily accept a lower salary for better working conditions. At the end of the day, is that additional 5k worth in a job with no other benefits?

@Steven

I agree with you. This has generally been my experience and I have already mentioned more than once, there are always different ways to do things. I know which way I would choose.

Sarat Pediredla

Mar 24

I've been on both sides of the hiring table, more than once.

Not high profile in the industry although worked at several very well known companies, and done well.

The idea of not needing a resume just doesn't fit into 90% of real-world hiring situations.

Yes, some companies and people find each other in unconventional ways, and I can vouch for that from experience.

But I've also gone in through the front door, with a resume. Everybody asks for one. So whaddya gonna do?

If your name is Ray Ozzie or James Gosling or you wrote the code for Google Earth, well maybe you don't need one.

But as one of the responses (from a recruiter, yes they are a real part of the ecosystem) indicated, a blog is not a resume (and yeah, I got a blog too).

As a hiring manager, even if I knew someone who was great my HR dept would never let them interview without first vetting their resume.

Resumes are just a fact of life.

em vee

Mar 27

Gwen,
As long as you are not a total recluse then I'd say you still wouldn't need a resume. A one man project tells you a lot about the person doing the project specially for open source projects. You just have to get your work out in the wild and showing it to the right people.

Giancarlo Angulo

hedgehog lab Bug Tracking, Defect Tracking, and Issue Tracking software for the enterprise.

Why good developers don't need a resume

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