With the recruitment of a new team of developers, you may be faced with a substantial number of applications to review. This includes specialists in web/mobile application engineering, cloud-native development and DevOps integration, as well as developers with a range of language capabilities such as JavaScript, Java, C++, Python, PHP and .NET. With so many components to consider, making a decision on who to hire can feel like a challenging task.
It’s not necessary.
When reviewing a large number of applications, it is important to have a clear understanding of the criteria required for a successful applicant. To ensure that a developer’s CV is successful, the following eight points should be taken into consideration; failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in their application being dismissed.
Maybe it’s as easy as that.
So, what exactly should your watchful eyes detect? Let’s dissect the sentence.
Profession Pathway
When assessing a professional developer’s CV, it is important to consider more than just their technical programming skills. It is essential to examine their career trajectory, ensuring that it is both clear and concise. Their track record should demonstrate a steady progression from their initial experience to the present day. It is also important to ensure that there are no gaps in their professional history, as this could be indicative of a lack of consistency in their work. A successful developer should be able to demonstrate their continual development and the efforts they have made to advance their career.
A rising career trajectory is desirable; the candidate should be able to demonstrate their professional advancement from intern to senior developer. Whilst a regression in this journey may be a warning sign, it is not necessarily an immediate cause for concern.
Personalization
We are looking for candidates who have tailored their resumes to the job they are applying for. A generic, pre-made template suggests an absence of effort and thought. Additionally, any side projects mentioned should be integrated into the professional history with great attention and consideration.
Identifying developers who have experience of developing projects independently, as well as those for businesses and open source projects, can be a sign of their capacity to achieve beyond what they have been trained to do.
Passion
It is likely that recruiting individuals who have a genuine enthusiasm for their work will result in higher quality code and a longer-term commitment to the company. Is it possible to ascertain an applicant’s level of enthusiasm from their CV?
Investigate personal projects, certifications and mentoring programmes in the ‘Skills’ section. Additionally, review the range of languages they are proficient in. Evaluate the impressive, long-term projects they have developed and maintained.
Better still if they list any of their managed repositories on GitHub.
Keywords
It is advisable to create a list of relevant keywords to be included in each applicant’s CV before beginning to review applications for the position. These keywords may or may not be directly related to the role, but it may be beneficial to run each CV through a keyword search to determine which applicants match the criteria.
However, you must be sure of the specific terms you’re searching for, as well as any possible variants or synonyms.
Information over Pretty Pictures
It is great if a candidate can present a visually appealing CV with attractive fonts, an attractive layout, and even a photograph. However, if the design is given more emphasis than the content, it is worth considering this as a potential red flag. If an individual does not have a significant amount of experience, they may invest significant amounts of time in the crafting of their CV to give the impression of considerable experience.
It is preferable to ascertain resumes which effectively combine both form and function. These resumes demonstrate that the applicant is both proud of their accomplishments and has made the effort to present them in an aesthetically pleasing way.
No Misspellings
It is clear that resumes containing spelling or grammar errors should be immediately disregarded. Such applications raise serious concerns, and it would be unwise to consider employing a programmer who is unable to demonstrate a high standard of written communication on their resume.
Specification of a New Name for Each Document
It can be difficult to differentiate between developers’ resumes when they are all saved as ‘resume.pdf’. Although this may seem like a trivial issue, it is worth considering the implications of receiving multiple applications for the same role.
Naming a CV file according to the role or company sought after is a widely accepted practice. For example, ‘Bob Java Dev.pdf’ and ‘Bob CompanyX.pdf’ are two ways CV files can be named. The latter approach can be especially beneficial as it clearly demonstrates that the applicant has tailored their CV to the desired organization, making it easier to review a large number of applications.
Organization
Having an organized and well-structured CV is of paramount importance when hiring a developer. Poorly constructed and ill-organized CVs should be a cause for concern and should be viewed as a red flag.
It is essential to look for CVs that provide an engaging story from beginning to end, making it appear as though you are already familiar with the individual prior to meeting them in person. Resumes that are well-structured indicate that the applicant is likely to also be well-organized in their work, which is an essential quality for a developer.
Conclusion
It is essential to have clear, easily recognizable criteria to effectively sift through a large volume of CVs when recruiting. Incorporating the following elements into your process should help to improve the effectiveness of the recruitment process.
