Ask HN: What to put on a resume for a start up.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=797308

by mattwdelong • 17 years ago

23 16 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hypothetical situation: You're the founder/CEO of a start up, you're rapidly growing and now you're looking for an employee to fill a customer development role. As it`s an important role, what are you looking for on a resume of the ideal applicant? I am sure there is no cookie cutter answer to this question, so I am searching for skill/trait generalizations.

technomancy• 17 years ago

Free software contributions.

Nothing else comes close to contributions for demonstrating passion, coding ability, and communication skills.

wheels• 17 years ago

That's less applicable for customer development.

trekker7• 17 years ago

what you've sold in the past, and how much of it.

zaidf• 17 years ago

Real metrics showing how kickass of a job you previously did in a similar position.

If you are just starting out, then your ATTITUDE towards customer development. Again, emphasis on measurable results.

boggles• 17 years ago

Do you mean "reported metrics" or "verifiable metrics"? If the latter, what would be appropriate verification?

paulsingh• 17 years ago

+1 for "emphasis on measurable results"

FraaJad• 17 years ago

Apart from relevant academic credentials, a link to your github/bitbucket/sourceforge profile.

schammy• 17 years ago

Academics is the least important thing to me. It's like having an "A+" certification - it doesn't mean a damn thing in terms of how smart you are or what you are truly capable of.

blasdel• 17 years ago

You're right in that the credential doesn't mean much.

But what the candidate describes having done in academia is enormously expository -- what research did they do? with whom? did they publish? did they attempt substantial development projects? with a group of people? did they have jobs? did they teach?

abyssknight• 17 years ago

I know this is sort of frowned upon, but education is an important factor. Perhaps not in how smart someone is, but rather how dedicated they are. Granted, a start up sale or failure can show the same thing.

Flemlord• 17 years ago

A cover letter that shows enthusiasm and excitement about our company. We cast a wide net and do a screening interview for most of the applicants who seem qualified. (Our screening process weeds out 80% of the candidates.) If you're weak on our specific technology stack, a good cover letter may push you over the edge and get you an interview.

jwilliams• 17 years ago

People generally need to be self-sufficient, self-starters, etc. Someone that you can point at something and leave to it. Someone that knows what's relevant to bug you with, and what they need to just work out for themselves.

I'd usually look for these traits, rather than specific skills or experience.

bkbleikamp• 17 years ago

Remember: the resumé only gets you an interview, the interview will get you the job.

Previous experience is usually most important. If you don't have it, volunteer to be a community leader somewhere (a forum?)

Short of experience, list things you've taught yourself (not necessarily computer related - did you teach yourself physics in your spare time? how to play the violin?). That will show your intelligence as well as a willingness to learn and grow.

Recommendations - if you know someone who says you're brilliant, work your ass off, or whatever, it will go a LONG way to getting you a job.

udfalkso• 17 years ago

URLs of great websites that you've previously been involved with.

derwiki• 17 years ago

You have some sort of side projects that you've been working on. I've talked to people in start ups who say they won't even consider candidates who don't have this.

prakash• 17 years ago

early stage sales, or before sales was a repeatable process. The lean-startup-circle group talks a lot about this, join that group and search the archives.

Ask HN: What to put on a resume for a start up.

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