[firebolt]

Love the article.
So whats the maximum points?

[ayman_mastermind]

Very nice article and information Chris, thanks very much, but i have some questions:
1. Why is having a phd is considered bad?(just as Zerobu asked)
2. Why certifications are bad? (i was planing to get some soon, i thought they were good )
3. Why mentioning skills in excel/word is bad? I know you will tell me they are not related to programming, but anyone may at some time need to make a spreadsheet... anyways thanks for answering my questions and thanks for shedding light on this topic since it is very important, Thanks again

[bflosabre91]

i can only assume that maybe the Phd thing is bad because a lot of times they might be know it alls. and noone likes a know it all

[baavgai]

ayman_mastermind, on 17 Apr, 2009 - 06:24 AM, said:

Very nice article and information Chris, thanks very much, but i have some questions:
1. Why is having a phd is considered bad?(just as Zerobu asked)
2. Why certifications are bad? (i was planing to get some soon, i thought they were good )
3. Why mentioning skills in excel/word is bad? I know you will tell me they are not related to programming, but anyone may at some time need to make a spreadsheet... anyways thanks for answering my questions and thanks for shedding light on this topic since it is very important, Thanks again

Mostly perception.

1. First, because it's listed. Having one isn't bad, listing it means you believe it means something. If you put more value in the toilet paper than the actual experience then you're at worst useless and at best a self righteous pain in the ass.

2. Any idiot can pass a test. The most hopeless individuals I've ever had to deal with wave their certs in front of them as if that was a get of jail free pass for not knowing what they're talking about. I'm not alone in this assessment.

3. It's a given. Using a computer application should be trivial for a programmer. It's a tool made for the masses and it's simple. To list something like that means you feel it's an accomplishment. That's a very bad sign.

[OliveOyl3471]

ayman_mastermind, on 17 Apr, 2009 - 06:24 AM, said:

1. Why is having a phd is considered bad?(just as Zerobu asked)

I think maybe an interviewer might think you're overqualified (meaning they don't want to pay you as much as a doctor would make)

[skyhawk133]

Please remember... this is a comic. A joke. While some of it is very very true. Others are not.

[jjsaw5]

skyhawk133, on 17 Apr, 2009 - 08:59 AM, said:

Please remember... this is a comic. A joke. While some of it is very very true. Others are not.

lol and people should also take note to where you posted this. If it were in the Corner Cube or any other forum but the Lounge I could see why people would be taking it so serious.

[JackOfAllTrades]

Ph.D. == Piled High and Deep

Like Adam said, they're full of theory. We tried to hire a Ph.D. as a QA person once. He didn't have a clue what he was doing and was gone a couple of weeks later.

[doWhileSomething]

I do agree with:
1) Email addy
2) Resume length
3) Free-time development.

The fact that someone has a PHD shouldn't dictate or be an indicator that the person isn't competent, he could be 40 with a PHD and 12 years experience search algo's, etc.

As far as VB.Net goes (and the haters) most are simply mis-informed and basing their opnions on hype or --VB6 information.

There is absoulutely nothing you can do in C# that can't be done in VB.Net and vise versa. It compiles to the same IL and uses the same .Net framework. The big difference is the VisualBasic namesapce, which C# can use as well (if so desired).

Sure, C# sounds much cooler - can someone point out any significant advantages (outside of learning curve and syntax)?

[Imdsm]

Mike007, on 16 Apr, 2009 - 01:52 PM, said:

Quote

Looks kinda drunk on Facebook picture

Quote

Topless if Facebook picture

What does that got to do with anything? First what is "kinda" drunk? And the second one, so? I don't really see the point?.. makes other people insecure about their neglected body?

Two important things you missed, that often people (employers/professors) like to mention are team work and communication. I don't see it anywhere there, and I would think it is one of the most important things today. Being great by yourself will get you no where if you cannot communicate your thoughts and ideas to your co-workers.

With that being said, you should try use facebook to check if they are also able to engage in normal social activity, and not some asocial locked-in-their-basement kinda of individual.

But that's just me.

Kinda drunk.. where you're not sure if they've been supping some jack or whether they just look that way, either way, probably not best to employ them!


For more understanding, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke

[The Architect 2.0]

you guys honestly throw away resumes with accounts on those domains without even looking at them?

[janotte]

I love it. Very funny (but only because so much of it is true).

The 'tabs and spaces' bit was a favourite.
If they pay so little attention to getting their job app right (or are so unskiled / unknowing) how much attention will they pay to getting their code right?

Scary how many people in the world think they can pay no attention to what the current memes and fashions are in their career domain and still have a glittering professional career.

If an applicant is using @hotmail they have no concept of how bad that looks which means they have no programmer friends and are cut off from the world they are supposed to be immersed in. If they are unaware that they are embarrassing themselves by advertising they are years out of step with current fashion then how far out of date is their thinking about IT / programming? Why hasn't someone told them what is wrong before now?

It would be like a fashion designer showing up in clothes that are neither classic nor current. Wearing 3 year out of date fashion would mark them as unemployable. Be current (or pretend to be) or suffer the fate of every 'yesterday's hero'.

I would advance an exception to the "has PhD" rule. While clearly the odds are that anyone with a CompSci (or similar) PhD is going to be an utter disaster at your workplace (the rare exceptions prove the rule) this doesn't apply when the PhD is in something cool. One of the best programmers I have ever worked with had a PhD in Middle English (or similar - I'm no expert) and could quote long sections of Beowulf in the original. Him cursing a bug in guttural blood-curdling "Viking-speak" (as I, deliberately incorrectly, called it) was an amazing and strangely motivating experience.

[Raynes]

baavgai, on 16 Apr, 2009 - 01:50 PM, said:

bflosabre91, on 16 Apr, 2009 - 02:17 PM, said:

when is the vb hate going to end?!?!

Why on Earth should it? VB is the new COBOL.

Agreed.

[NickDMax]

well being one who used an @yahoo address I think that sucks. I would make a great web master... guess I know why Chris didn't call me back.

It was actually the "advice" that I had received to keep from getting tons of spam from all the public places the resume ends up. Alas that email address does get a ton of spam about job offers. -- but I suppose I will have to rethink this based upon this new "advice".

Funny thing is, I doubt most resume's really reflect the people who are behind them, but rather all the damned 'advice' others have given them.


...for me... my next resume will be compiled from LaTeX... or perhaps just written in Mathematica... better yet, Mathematica with LaTeX embedded.

[Gloin]

The Architect 2.0, on 18 Apr, 2009 - 04:27 AM, said:

you guys honestly throw away resumes with accounts on those domains without even looking at them?

I'm not surprised at all.. I used to sort out applications if they were either too long or if they didn't have a good structure. If the applicant hasn't put any effort in making a good application then why would he do a good job. They're all signs of interest or lack thereof.