I have a question that I'm hoping can provide me a solid answer or at the very least a better understanding. Regarding the skills you list on a resume at what point do you list a skill or language? For example my comfort and confidence is with Excel, Access, VBA, ASP.net, VB.net and SQL. These are listed on my resume. However, I also understand c# and know a bit of Python and Javascript as well as reporting tools such as Power BI. Would it be advantageous to list these? At what point from an industry best practice could I list them? Is there a minimum degree of proficiency or competency?
2 Answers
The rule is pretty simple: if you list a language or a tool on your resume, you should be prepared to answer questions about it during your interview. If you claim to know Python, and I ask you a very basic Python question that you can't answer, it's going to be embarrassing, and will probably work against you.
answered Jan 31, 2019 at 0:53
-
I still have some skills on my resume which are *ahem* rusty. That is clear enough from the date. For instance, I have about 10 years C++, but the last was 5 years ago. I leave it there any way, as it is somewhat like falling off a bike - once you learn how, you never quite forget :-) It might take a few weeks, but it will come flooding back. Jan 31, 2019 at 8:20
-
1@Mawg be careful with that particular case, "Modern C++" is a very different animal to the "C with classes" derived one of year 2k. Basically that committee has (so far as I can tell) never the once seen a feature in another language that it did not thing would be a good fit for c++.... Jan 31, 2019 at 21:10
-
Fortunately, I am in embedded systems, where we are very cautious & distrustful of new-fangledness, especially in defence & satellite work - hence most of my work is in C (which I got into after 7 years of assembler). In fact, my last C++ gig was C++ 2003. Upvote for "
never the once seen a feature in another language that it did not thing would be a good fit for c++". I'm looking at you, lambdas and promises :-) Feb 1, 2019 at 7:37 -
1@Mawg Quite! Also the fact they managed to accidentally add a Turing complete meta language.... I also live in the embedded space (broadcast), and yea, trying to convince the PC based IT crowd that a 20+ year design life is a thing is hard. Feb 3, 2019 at 18:05
-
Yup. We are already concerned about the year 2038 problem Feb 4, 2019 at 7:26
As long as you are comfortable talking about the skills and your competency in a face to face interview, I would throw it on there. If the employer is interested in the skills, they will likely bring it up during the interview.
However, make sure that what you put on there is relevant to the job you are applying for. No point throwing C++ in if you are applying for a job that is solely based on Python, but feel free to add them if they could be related e.g. You code in Java mentioning CSS or HTML doesn't hurt for a web developer role.
-
1Thanks for the replies. Incredibly obvious when someone spells it out like this, but when looking at potential opportunities i question myself.– SteveJan 31, 2019 at 1:48