Sell Yourself Better!

Adam HeptonNovember 2009

Who the hell are you?

• Adam Hepton (@proxymoron)

• 29 years and two days old

• Husband and Father

• Senior Developer at Frogtrade– A growing company of 60-70 in

Halifax– 9 Developers (Mainly LAMP /

Javascript)– Hosted solutions primarily sold to

education– They’s the ones paying for the beer.

Yee ha!

• Massive in the figurative sense, although I have piled on a bit of weight lately

Geek

So why are you here?

• 120+ applicants for “Web Applications Developer” in last 12 months

• ~60 interviews in same period

• Two hired

• Why?

– We’re too picky

– The applicants aren’t good enough

• Recession means even happy people might be looking for work soon

Too Picky? WHAT DO YOU WANT?• Highly Experienced with PHP and

SQL

• Some experience with Javascript and CSS

• Problem solving skills

• A good attitude

• The ability to communicate

• Anything else we might find interesting

So why the low numbers?

UNIMPRESSIVE CVs

RECRUITMENRECRUITMENTTAGENT FAILAGENT FAIL

TERRIBLE INTERVIEWS

CREATIVE CREATIVE CVCVWRITING WRITING WINWIN

CV No-Nos

• If the earliest mentioned project on your CV is 3 years ago, it is not right to put 8 years’ experience on your CV

• A six-page CV when the most advanced thing you have done is plot some points with Google Maps API is overkill

• Brochure sites (no matter how many) do not accurately display the skills required to develop web applications

Making your CV better

• Get past the recruitment consultants– Key Skills: DOM / CSS === HTML?

If it’s not written down, the recruitment consultant won’t tick it off their list.

• Only put relevant stuff on there– Going for a job in PHP? Got an

MCSE? So?

• Gauge the position you’re after– If you’re after a senior role, you need

to have done something to warrant it– This means something people have

used– Who aren’t related to you

I get nervous at interviews!

• We know. We take it into account. Especially for programmers

• Sometimes, though, we’re a bit naughty

– If you’re asked a question that gets you worked up, we’re trying to see if you’re going to blow your top under stress

– If we ask you something ridiculously easy, it’s not because we’re stupid – we’re trying to see how you explain things

Why bother with Accessibility if you don’t have any disabled users?

No, I’ve never heard of Smarty. What is it?

So, what SHOULD I do/say?

• Know your stuff, and let us know you know your stuff– There’s a thin line between

confidence and arrogance

• Answer honestly

• Show your passion!

And what not to do/say?

• Don’t feel challenged by us asking you questions. It’s why you’re here

• Don’t present yourself as something you’re not. You’ll be caught out sooner or later

• “I use Dreamweaver"

This is really unprofessional, isn’t it?• Specifically, which technical area do you

feel you’re best at?Web Development

• Of all the new things coming to the web, which excites you the most?REST, and AJAX

• Can you explain this section of code?Hmmm. I’m not sure what “function” means

These are real answers given by applicants for Senior Development roles in 2009

We’re still hiring!

frogtrade.com/vacancies

Adam Hepton

@proxymoron