Ask HN: How would you refer to a patent on your resume?

1 pointEwanG2 comments

Just got word the two patents I assigned to my current employer (per my contract terms) have gotten approved. There's nothing that says I can't mention my role, but outside of Google I don't know if anyone would care I had them or not. Used to have a section with my publications (five books, some professional articles, etc) and was counseled to drop that as "no one is interested". Perhaps this is the same?

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As someone who's hired people before, I'd be much more intrigued to see the patent on your resume (especially if you include the number so its easy to search for). The second a resume makes me stop and look for a second, then you've already beat 97% of the competition.

Inventing something, and having a patent issued on it is one of those things I consider a "stripe" or "merit badge". You should be proud of it. Not everyone can claim to have done so.

When I read resumes and see "I was issued 3 patents" or "Inventor of 3 issued patents" it really doesn't mean all that much to me; just another (generally positive) data point.

In general I think you would be doing yourself a disservice by NOT mentioning them. Just don't over do it.

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