Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

One very small tip - don't overdo it in selling your accomplishments. I see surprisingly many resumes with the words "vast experience", and they're usually obvious bullshit.



OTOH I've got a close-ish relative who's had a very successful career in HR in multiple large orgs and now does some résumé consulting on the side, and she always re-writes things way beyond what I'm comfortable actually claiming and insists that's for-sure the right thing to do when applying to most bigcos—just part of playing the game, and if you don't play, you can't win.

You'll tell her you did X and she'll be like "well it sounds to me like that was Y, so write that down" and you're like "well... kind of? But not really" and she's like "yes, it's Y, you're cutting yourself off at the kneecaps if you don't put Y". Where Y is usually something to do with leading or managing or "architecting" something, and it's maybe technically true but I'd never have characterized it that way and would be struggle to talk about it as if it were that.


That may be fine for getting past recruiters, but if you get to competent tech interviewers who decide to ask you about technical things you are "expert" in, and you flounder, then your credibility is shot.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: