Comment by geocrasher | Hacker News Reader

Comment by geocrasher | Hacker News Reader

I am sorry about the position you're in. For the last several years I have been balancing taking care of my terminally ill wife who recently passed away, all while working remotely in the web hosting industry. It's hard to balance. Harder than you think. Setting boundaries will be vital to being successful in any WFH role.

Now that that's out of the way: You need to focus. You've described your abilities and that's fine, but you lack focus. Your qualifications are great, but your presentation is all over the place. You need a single one page resume that focuses on one aspect of your knowledge and experience, and lightly mentions the others. Make multiple resumes, each with a focus on one thing. Use the resume that's best for the job. I recently saw somebody who must have had 20 different resumes to match the jobs they were applying for. It worked.

Also, you might consider looking into the Web Hosting business. If your temperament is as you describe, and you like talking on the phone or live chat, most web hosts will overlook any technical gaps. Those can be taught. In fact that can lend to your focus! Focus on the fact that you know things that can't be taught: Customer Service, talking down angry customers, talented writing, friendly and always willing to find a solution under dire circumstances. Those are GOLD. Once those are on the table, the rest is negotiable. I'll email you a link to at least one that is hiring full remote entry level.

Additionally, you need to step up your confidence level. Let an employer know that your family is important to you and that you're dedicated to working hard so that you can support them- and leave it at that. They don't deserve the other details, and they aren't relevant.

I hope this helps.

Resume writer here. Don't overdo the resume customization thing - I've had clients who wanted to spend lots of time tailoring each line of a resume to the job, and the time invested really isn't worth it. Especially if it becomes far too clear to the reader that you were essentially pandering.

For most people, different resumes for different roles (web dev, mobile dev, etc.) make sense, but if you have 20 resumes for different roles you're probably applying for jobs that you are highly unqualified for - nobody has expertise in so many areas where they need 20 resumes. 2-3 for most is probably plenty.

The key difference in most resume customizations is how you define yourself to the reader. I use summaries to tell the reader who I WANT them to think you are. If the job is "web developer", I want to tell the reader right away that you are a web developer right in the summary. You've defined yourself as what they are looking for, checked their first (and most important box), and they will now keep reading.

If that summary said "embedded developer", they may stop reading. If there was no summary and your first job title is "data analyst", they may stop reading.

I’lol also add that someone hiring a green person for entry level work may be looking for enthusiasm, aptitude, and general excitement. Stripping all that away may be detrimental. There was definitely a time where I had no real experience to speak, and plenty of times I feel like me experience isn’t worth the time I spent writing a resume, and if I’d stripped out the passion I had, I’d might still be doing crap work. If you have little experience to focus your focus, some enthusiasm sounds great to me!

>Make multiple resumes, each with a focus on one thing. Use the resume that's best for the job. I recently saw somebody who must have had 20 different resumes to match the jobs they were applying for. It worked.

I'd like to second this methodology. It is a very effective approach. I've worked across multiple specialties within technology and I always tailor my CV to the job I am applying for. I highlight the most relevant experience and skills required and remove (or summarize) experience that is not relevant to the position.

Matching your CV to the job can be as simple as updating it to use the same keywords that you see on the job advert. It sounds trivial but many recruiters will filter job applications with a keyword search. If they dont see the exact keywords they are expecting, your CV will be thrown away.

Good luck!

This seems extremely helpful. 20 resumes, as GP mentioned, should be an excellent source. I've always seen multiple cover letters, and maybe 2-3 resumes, but never 20. While 20 is fairly high, I think it's also the right amount in being able to have a resume for almost every position that is "just right."

Question: how do you deal with gaps in your resume?

Let's suppose you were a machine learning engineer for 2 years, a web developer for another 2 and a product owner for 3 years.

I presume that some experiences would almost make it seem that you're not dedicated to the role you're applying for if you leave them in. So you have to leave them out.

How do you deal with that?

Why would you make such an absurd presumption? Life is life and there are lots of circumstances pushing you to make tough choices. Always being able to stick to your dream job or career path is not an option for most people.

It's my experience when applying for a job that people are very judgmental. I've learned to take that judgmental frame, if I wouldn't then I would never be invited for an interview.

The only places that don't have these judgmental frames are a subset of startups.

Just my experience, YMMV.

That's an interesting question and something that hadn't really occurred to me.

Personally, over the past few years I've been a developer, a product owner and now a product manager.

But if I were to apply for a new developer role, would I leave out my current product manager role from my CV? Absolutely not!

It's generally considered a bad idea to have gaps in your CV. And actually having worked various roles can actually be to your advantage. There are transferable skills you would have gained as a product owner that you can apply to a developer role. In fact, very few developers will have the skills required to be a product owner, so employers should look favourably upon your skillset.

Case in point: my experience as a developer has put me at quite an advantage in the product management field. Due to my technical knowledge/experience, I can understand how systems work better than most other product managers, and I'm better placed to know what the development team needs of me.

So I would say, don't leave gaps in your CV, include all the really good experience you have, even if it is varied, and use that to your advantage to show how these experiences will help you in the role you're applying for.

How’s the compensation (pay and/or stock options) for your product manager role now, as compared to your development roles of past?

How about if I was a stay-at-home dad for a year? I haven't included that in my resume - I figured if I were asked I have no problem speaking about it, I'm actually super proud of it, it just doesn't strike me as something I should put in my list of experience.

I think that's a perfectly reasonable reason for you to have a gap in your career, and prospective employers should be understanding of that.

It is something you should be prepared to explain at an interview, but I don't think it would cause any problem.

You're right that it doesn't really count as experience. Employers won't necessarily mind a one year gap on your CV, but if you do find it difficult to get to the interview stage, it could help to add a short note to your CV explaining the gap. But I'd hope that wouldn't be necessary.

Employers worry about gaps in CV because of two possible scenarios:

- you were actively looking, but were unable to find a job during that whole time - for them it's social proof that you suck

- you're actually picky and "high maintenance"

"you were actively looking, but were unable to find a job during that whole time - for them it's social proof that you suck"

Gee... I would hope I don't suck. Most places I apply to ghost me when they find out I'm deaf! They don't want to "deal with accommodations".

What you are referring to aren't what we'd traditionally call gaps. Resume gaps are usually periods of unemployment. What you're referring to seems to be some career inconsistency.

I write resumes all the time for people who have bounced between different types of roles. In those cases, having a couple resumes makes sense. For the description you have in your comment, if this person is applying for ML roles, we provide more detail and emphasize that role. If they were applying for a product owner job, you emphasize that aspect and those skills.

As I mentioned in another comment, you can also use a summary to define yourself. If you're applying for product owner jobs, you define yourself as a product owner with skills in web dev and ML. If you're applying for a web dev job, you define yourself as a web dev with skills in ML and product.

fecak's reply is the best answer. In particular this quote:

>As I mentioned in another comment, you can also use a summary to define yourself. If you're applying for product owner jobs, you define yourself as a product owner with skills in web dev and ML. If you're applying for a web dev job, you define yourself as a web dev with skills in ML and product.

This is great advice. Make sure you still include all the roles in your CV to illustrate a consistent period of employment. Just highlight the aspects of each role that are most relevant to the position you are applying for. If a previous role is barely relevant, just summarize the experience in a couple of sentences.

The point is to make most of your CV relevant to the role. Dont make the employer hunt through your CV for relevant experience. Most people will make a snap judgement within a minute or two of scanning your CV. Make it easy for them.

I also think a summary is very important. Sum up your best points with some dot points at the top of your CV.

Be honest. I make a habit of having gaps in my resume. I like to take some time off between jobs. It's a luxury, but if you can swing it, it will do a lot to recharge you and get you ready for your next role.

If the gap is fairly large (say over six months), be prepared to discuss what you were up to during that time. Hopefully it's something interesting, but it doesn't have to be something related to your career path.

To your actual question: I see no issue with bouncing between roles. If anything it shows flexibility and a diverse interest. You'll fit right in at small to medium places where folks frequently wear many hats. Plat it as a strength.

It's pretty kind of you to take such effort to write this fellow a detailed reply. Especially considering the crappy situation you've had to deal with. Hope 2021 is a better year for you.

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