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I started doing Android mobile development (with a partner) sometime ago. I do this in part time.

I'm trying to find out how to display this information in my CV, since I believe it is relevant for the development jobs which I'm searching for (not only due to the Java/Android experience that I aquired but also in terms of showing some personality traits).

I could place it in the "Professional Experience" section, but I fear that it could "flaky" (i.e. trying to pass a hobby around as real experience). Although it actually is real experience...

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

PS: I'm asking this because I did place it as a normal "job" entry in my CV (it contains a link for the startup's website which contains a description aboutthe product/app, and so on). Last week I had an interview and got questioned on it. Namely, the usage of the "founder" expression seamed to intrigue the HR lady. So I'm wondering if this may raise strange vibes or may look like I'm faking some experience.

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Try posting this on startups.stackexchange – Tom Squires Dec 11 '11 at 19:02

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

List it just like you would any other Job.

List the CO. Name (If there is no Co name i would use the product name as the Co name) , Dates worked, Responsibility, accomplishments etc.

(You can list you self as Co-founder for the title, but feel free to use any title you like if you think it will look "flaky")

Do not Lie. It's perfectly OK to not write things on your resume you feel some will view as negative. If questioned on it, Be honest and state things in a Positive light.

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That's what I currently have, but I think it got some bad interpretation in an interview last week. The way the HR person asked abou it seamed weird, as if having "founder" in a job entry was weird (and it least it will be uncommon). – MyNameIsZero Dec 11 '11 at 19:38
HR People are like that. I wouldn't make a sweeping judgment based on one persons opinion. If you can talk about being a Founder in a positive light, leave that as your title. That means being able to discuss sales and marketing decisions you made as well as why you are now looking work for someone else (IE closing shop). If you can't answer these question in a way that will be looked at positively by your potential employer, use a different title. – Morons Dec 11 '11 at 21:14
up vote 1 down vote

Your CV shall not be generic or you will end-up sending thousands of copies and getting zero response. If you shape your CV to fit a particular company you will very quickly understand what information you will need to include about your experience in a start-up.

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I really disagree with this (Though not down voting). It's just way too time consuming. I only customize my cover letter, not the resume itself. (If I was unemployed or looking to two very different types of positions at once, i might do tings differently) – Morons Dec 11 '11 at 19:27
I do agree that for some jobs/companies there may be advantages to have a "custom CV". That can happen if there's something you can highlight which is relevant for that company. But this is not always true. – MyNameIsZero Dec 11 '11 at 19:47
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+1. Some people don't even customize their cover letter. I've read more than one completely generic cover letter starting with the sentence "I'd like to apply for the position as a Java developer..." when the position was actually for a C++ oder C# developer. People will throw these away with the rest of their daily spam mails. – nikie Dec 12 '11 at 8:58

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