I need a nice critique of my new resume that is here: http://www.stackheap.com/resume_crit.pdf A larger overview of my experience is located here: http://thestackframe.com/about-me/experience/ Also, when applying, a lot of companies what demos or code samples. I work full time and am usually in pain and exhausted from work... makes it hard to complete applications right now... but I have plenty of code sitting around... if I send in code samples, are there any types of samples in particular I should be sending? Thank you!

Quote: Original post by Ameise
if I send in code samples, are there any types of samples in particular I should be sending?

Really really good ones. Clean code. Well commented. Elegant solutions.

You have some really, really good experience. And it doesn't come off that way at all.

Quantify, quantify, quantify. What are "core routines" in the server emulator? How many people in the junior developer team? How long did you manage them? What work was completed under your supervision?

You need to be a lot more specific about your successes. This is the one place where you should toot your own horn.

Also, you need to rewrite your objective. It doesn't tell me anything about you or your goals.

Quote: Original post by Ameise
Also, when applying, a lot of companies what demos or code samples. I work full time and am usually in pain and exhausted from work... makes it hard to complete applications right now... but I have plenty of code sitting around... if I send in code samples, are there any types of samples in particular I should be sending?

Employers have only two questions: (1) Will you do the job well? and (2) Will you fit in?

Any demo or code sample should help answer those questions in your favor. Sending in a simple "Hello, World!" application will not provide evidence that you can do the job well. It is your responsibility to figure out what you think will provide that evidence, and give it to them.


As for your resume, I don't have much hope.

Reword the objective. It is nice, but the market is hard right now. You shouldn't be looking for a job to develop your skills, you should have the skills already.

Cut the skills and experience section. Stating that you have 5 years of programming experience is pointless, they can look at your other history. It doesn't look like 5 years; if it was five years of work experience, prove it. If it wasn't documented external experience it doesn't count. Stating that you know C, C++, TorqueScript, Lua, and PHP are pointless, they can look for those words in your work history. If they want to know about your experience with Lua or GameMonkey or Direct3D, they will find it in the text.

A list skill keywords does not help answer the question about doing the job well or fitting in. Seeing details about how you used those skills in a project does help answer that question.


The titles and dates on your projects scare me. Lead developer for five months (with no evidence of doing lead tasks). Sole developer for five months. Over four years as a sole developer on a project, your web page for the project reeks of poor quality and indecision, containing only a few pictures of something that might be a game, and a simulation along the lines of a third-year college student class project.

Seeing that your experience overlaps with your education is another strike against you on paper --- why were you a history major spending their free time as a programmer? What is the justification for the decision? Shouldn't a history major be focused on history stuff? Was this indecision on your part? It doesn't provide good evidence about doing well in a programming career where countless tiny decisions end up finding their way to shipped code.

Your education (history major) does not lend itself to the industry. The economy is bad and you are competing with people who have BS degrees in computer science and people with other industry experience.

Here is what I would do:

If you can afford to go back to school and get a second degree in computer science (either BS or MS) you would be much more strongly positioned. Right now is a hard time to find a job, so it is a great time to return to school.

It doesn't look like you have experience. If you do, prove it. If you don't, don't bother trying to hide it.

1> Name and contact
2> Objective
3> Personal Projects
-- DETAILS of what you did on each project, from the perspective of an employer wanting to know if you will do the job well.
4> Work History
-- Evidence that you can hold a job.
5> Education
-- Evidence that you can complete a big project.



Do not forget that it is a very competitive job market right now, and there are many applications for each job. There is a steady stream of unsolicited applications by qualified candidates. You will need to appear better than them on paper for the two questions (will you do the job well, will you fit in) in order to get an interview.


Unless you have some serious evidence that you can do the job well (which I don't see), I recommend you don't limit yourself to games and try to get a programming job anywhere you can for a year or two. If you manage to get in to games then it is great, but take any programming job you can find. Wait for the economy to settle down a little bit and jobs to open up. Once you have some documented programming work history, you can leverage the personal projects in your favor to your desired game programming job.

As for education, I don't have a degree - I switched majors but have not been able to pursue my new major (Computer Science) due to money concerns - my GPA dropped due to my work experience as well.

I feel as though my work experience, which is an associate at Radio Shack, doesn't even seem relevant - although it shows that I can hold a job, is it actual meaningful experience for this line of work?

There is no way I can afford to return to school right now, I hardly make ends meet as it is - minimum wage with rent is not fun.

As far as details go, should they be bullet points or actual descriptions?

Quote: Original post by frob

Reword the objective. It is nice, but the market is hard right now. You shouldn't be looking for a job to develop your skills, you should have the skills already.

I'd vote for cutting out the objective section altogether. It seems to be one of those things that university offices tell you to put in your resume that no-one actually looks at. If you're applying to a job, they already know what your objective is: to get a job.

In my experience, it basically gets skipped over. I removed mine after my first job.

Quote: Original post by Ameise
As for education, I don't have a degree - I switched majors but have not been able to pursue my new major (Computer Science) due to money concerns - my GPA dropped due to my work experience as well.

Don't put your GPA on your resume then. In my experience, there are two kinds of students that employers like to see: students with a good GPA, and students with a mediocre GPA but lots of personal projects. Emphasize personal projects.

Quote: Original post by Ameise
I feel as though my work experience, which is an associate at Radio Shack, doesn't even seem relevant - although it shows that I can hold a job, is it actual meaningful experience for this line of work?

Its not relevant, at least not to a programming position. Its only relevant in the capacity that you've managed to remain employed, which means you aren't a slacker or dead-weight. I'm not sure what I'd do in this case. Maybe a one-liner near the end that described your work experience, so employers realize you aren't unemployed.

Quote: Original post by Ameise
There is no way I can afford to return to school right now, I hardly make ends meet as it is - minimum wage with rent is not fun.

As far as details go, should they be bullet points or actual descriptions?

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. That sucks.

You should flesh out the parts that are the most impressive. Be fairly detailed. You've done a lot of personal work, so make sure to emphasize that. That you are passionate about programming and pursue it in your full time is a great thing to show off in a resume.

I'm not so sure about cutting out the "relevant skills" section. In my experience, that section is mostly positioned as a "pass-HR-monkey" section. If your resume lands in a manager's hand, he's going to be mostly interested in actual projects.

As others have noted, don't limit yourself to game companies. Try to cast your net a bit wide. Even if working for a game company is your dream, getting a non-minimum-wage job that can give you experience and fund your schooling is a good stepping stone.

Ame wrote:
>my work experience, which is an associate at Radio Shack, doesn't even seem relevant - although it shows that I can hold a job, is it actual meaningful experience for this line of work?

It sounds to me like you know full well its actual worth on your resume.

You should be doing the best job you can while that's your job, but you also need to get the best education you can afford. And you need to build the best portfolio you can. If you can't get a CS degree, you'll need a more impressive portfolio than the average CS grad.

Quote: Original post by Ameise
I feel as though my work experience, which is an associate at Radio Shack, doesn't even seem relevant - although it shows that I can hold a job, is it actual meaningful experience for this line of work?

Sounds like you are committing a résumé sin. Read Résumé tips

and this Industry experience.

Your guide actually says don't include irrelevant information like a sales associate job... which I'm not...