Ask HN: Best way to show off job skills (How to build my resume online?) | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Best way to show off job skills (How to build my resume online?)

4 pointsthrowaway3348 comments

Throwaway due to coworkers being on here.

I've been realizing for awhile, that my current job situation is coming to an end, and I'm trying to think of ways to pursue my next opportunity. I've heard a lot about things like GitHub (but have no experience with it), building examples/demos of tech you know (but can't think of what to build). The other downside, is that my resume looks unspectacular on paper (php/mysql developer, no degree, two years programming/one year as a job). But every job I've been at, whether it was a web job or not, I've always exceeded expectations and gone from an entry level type job, to leading a team of people in a fairly short time. I'm a fast learner and strive hard for the company I'm at, so I guess I'm just trying to think of better ways to show people this.

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Skill set (in case you have ideas for demos I can build):

PHP (Object oriented, design patterns, PDO library)

--Kohana (Built a few apps in it, but am by no means dependent on it. Frequently read through the source)

MySQL

Javascript (the actual language, not just frameworks)

--jQuery

--Dojo (as well as Dijit widgets and such)

Objective-C (limited, just started learning and building basic apps like calculators and physics games)

Python (even more limited, just enjoy the language and learning it. No web experience with Python)

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As an example, here's some stuff I did for weekend projects to help my wife:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMLflmqMBGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ9fTSLef4M

Do you have any problems that aren't solved yet? Write yourself something to do that - and if you're worried about your employer/coworkers finding out, do it under a pseudonym, Chrome's Incognito mode (so that you're always aware when you're logged in under that pseudonym), and whois protection on any domains you set up.

If you want to show someone you learn quickly, start a blog - and chronicle your progress. "How I built [your app here] in a weekend - lessons learned, things I didn't like". Write a lot, especially about things you've learned while building all of your cool side projects.

Have a lot of side projects (or just one big one, if you can't think of many). Most of the jobs I've gotten that don't involve an arduous interviewing process have been because I met someone and said "this is [my cool project] - can you help me solve [problem x]?". I know it sounds weird, but asking someone who knows more than you do to help you out pays off - you end up with mentors, or coworkers, or even friends sometimes.

I guess at the core of it, my advice is: work on some side projects, and try to show them to people who you might want to work with (especially when you're applying for work - I can show you a private example, just send me an email).

So, would you say that the blogging is more about talking about the process then the end result?

I wouldn't say that one or the other is more valuable when it comes to blogging. You want to show process, because that shows that you know your shit - but you also want to show end results, because that shows that you ship your shit (which is almost more important).

Having an active, well-written blog shows that you're passionate about whatever you're blogging about (or at least disciplined enough to write about it frequently), and helps you establish a reputation.

Definitely agree with the idea that regularly posting on a blog shows dedication and commitment

Github is a neat way to host projects. A link to a repository or a hosted application is infinitely more consumable than a video demo. The Github bootcamp has tons of info: http://help.github.com/, and would be a great place to start. Don't worry too much about your credentials on paper --- put together code samples that demonstrates your ability to work with the languages and frameworks you mention. There are several startups that would love to hire a motivated, resourceful hacker.

For the github route, would you recommend showing new ideas off, or more proof of expertise type things?

I think you'd get more cred picking out a semi-popular project(so that your pull request doesn't get lost in the shuffle), and fix bugs and/or implement features. Maybe help with some documentation or translations.

Clickable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMLflmqMBGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ9fTSLef4M

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