How much experience do you need in a language before you can put it on your resume? There is one language I'm in proficient in (Java) which I would definately put on the resume but say I took I couple of semester courses in college which involved extensive programming in C or selftaught myself C# but have written no meaningful projects in it, can I put those languages on the resume without having the employer laugh at it or percieve it as resume inflation?
Tell me more
×
Programmers Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for
professional programmers interested in conceptual questions about software development. It's 100% free, no registration required.
|
|
migrated from stackoverflow.com Jul 12 '11 at 4:06
|
You can always list languages (as well as other skills) in tiers on a resume: As a guy looking at a resume, I will appreciate both the honesty and the effort; and when bringing you in the first question you usually get asked is to rate your individual language proficiency more precisely, orally or on paper. |
|||||||||||||
|
|
I find that the more technologies a candidate lists on their resume - the less they actually know! Knowledge of specific technologies is important but experience and knowledge of methodologies is more important. I would focus on communicating your experience (while mentioning the technology used), and what you know about how software is developed, rather than making lists of technologies and assigning arbitrary levels to them (beginner, intermediate, etc.). To answer your question - don't list any. Or, list only those that are mentioned in your experience. |
|||
|
I include any language which I have used as a professional; i.e. any language I used while paid to write in it. And I don't list competance levels. A resume is an introduction; If I say "Computer languages: Algol, Basic, C, C++, Cobol, Fiemaker, Fortran, and Foxpro", it's up to the interviewer to ask "Just how much Algol do you know?" Probably more than any other person he's ever interviewed. It's sort of a list of discussion topics, not an expertise claim. |
|||
|
|
|
As long as you are able to solve (even small) problems within a language it is worth to mention it on a resume. Along with the level of your skills on this language. |
|||
|
|
|
I have used levels while mention any technical skills on my resume. on top i have listed
and when i write Java i add the level to its subscript i.e. Java^3, Lisp^1 etc |
|||
|
|
|
I think its a good practice to typically list out the things and aspects you know in each language and support it with your experience and projects describing your usage of it. If not that way if you want to really list it and all you know is the basics and have not used it that extensively...then say something about it...then be honest and describe you experience like say -
instead of just saying - Conclusion : Do mention it but be honest and clear about it in your resume and when you are asked about it. |
|||||
|
|
Well I think you can put a language if you know pretty well the language syntax but should specify in which environments you had work, like java has a lot from desktop, applets, application servers.. etc. |
|||
|
|
|
I think you can put it on as long as you're honest about what you know and don't know. I'm basically a self-taught java developer - I learned it in my free time at my last job (a data analysis position) and used it in a couple projects. I decided that I wanted to do development, so I put it on my resume, along with the API's that I used (Swing, JDBC, etc.). I was honest in interviews about my experience, how much I knew, and said that I was looking forward to learning more. I got a web development job, now I do java and javascript development for a living. |
|||
|
|
|
Typically a job posting will specify the languages required by the position (though sometimes they specifically want a polyglot programmer). If you are posting to a job which asks for some knowledge of C#, and you have C# on your resume, you'd better be able to answer at least some basic questions of how the language works and write some simple code in it. It's OK to not be an expert in all languages, as long as you are up front with the interviewers and admit that you would go to a particular website/resource to look for the answer. |
|||
|
|
|
I think when you feel comfortable enough to be able to know how to get the stuff that you don't know, and that you know a little of the basic advantages and disadvantages of the language |
|||
|
|
