Questions tagged [work-experience]
One's past employment history, job functions, and different experiences related to the professional work environment.
603
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How can I overcome "years of experience" requirements when applying to positions?
Summary: I have 2 years of experience, but want to get a job that explicitly requires 3-7 years. I consider myself with sufficient skills. How can I get a job that requires more years of experience ...
user874
154
votes
17
answers
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How to respond to "You should have skipped college" in an interview?
In seeking my first full time position related to my college major, I was at a "cattle call" type job fair. One of the managers I was sent to looked at my resume and commented that I didn't have any ...
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7
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Why do companies not want to hire over qualified people?
I've heard stories of how people looking for jobs have been turned down by companies because they are over-qualified, even when they are willing to take a (sometime substantial) pay-cut.
Why do ...
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9
answers
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My contract is ending. Is it acceptable to just leave without any talk with the employer?
A bit of information: I know it's common at my workplace to renew contracts 1 day before their end (when the interested employee goes and asks for it). However, I usually think that if something is ...
- 4,642
105
votes
11
answers
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How do you grow in a skill when you're the company lead in that area?
I'm a member of a small startup. When we decided to look at including a bit of AI in our product, I was asked to investigate, simply because I found it interesting and had taken a few AI/Machine ...
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votes
11
answers
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My manager wants regular one-on-one meetings: is this bad?
I'm a recent computer science graduate and have been working at my first developer position for about a month.
Today I got an email calendar request for weekly one-on-one meetings with my manager. I'...
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97
votes
14
answers
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I think an employer believes I am much more skilled than I actually am. Should I let them know in advance, before accepting the job offer?
I received a job offer as a full-stack developer from a startup company which I found on Indeed. The job posting had seven required skills. 4/7, I knew. 2/7, I didn't know too well, but during the ...
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19
answers
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How can I reduce the size of a long resume without hiding all my skills and experience?
I'm in the US and have 30 years of experience with a bunch of different companies, working in high-tech and the software industry. I have a lot of links, skills, and education which has pushed my ...
- 11.3k
91
votes
9
answers
18k
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Personal and legal liability with respect to inexperience?
I am a recent Bachelor's graduate in computer science - I have been employed in the field for less than a year.
My current employer is asking me to design and implement a relatively advanced ...
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77
votes
17
answers
16k
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More junior teammates don’t understand my work...and that’s my fault?
I’m a software engineer and the most experienced within our team. My code has been labelled as “complex” and “hard”, by both my junior colleagues and (vicariously) my manager.
My code is “complex” ...
user67054
68
votes
13
answers
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How to avoid previous employer who is nagging me to do their job?
I used to work for a very small family-owned startup with minimum wage, zero benefit, and it was very exploitative and toxic in nature.
The family had other businesses and they used to run the startup ...
- 1,004
68
votes
11
answers
16k
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Boss is suggesting I learn the codebase in my free time
I was hired by an investor to solely work on an angular/Firebase CRM/ERP system. The project was built by an unknown number of people before me and it took 7 years to develop the system from scratch.
...
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68
votes
7
answers
10k
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Why do interviewers ask leadership questions even for "follower" positions?
I remember trying out for choir in college where I had to go through an interviewing process. The director asked me questions like "How did you form, lead, and manage a singing group?" as if I was ...
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9
answers
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Asking logistics questions during an Interview?
Background: I am sophomore college student currently working on my way towards a computer engineering degree. Despite being very young, I have 3 years experience with a Fortune 500 software company, ...
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votes
12
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12k
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Is this ordinary workplace experiences for a job in Software Engineering? [closed]
I'm currently working my first job as a Software Engineer. Prior to this position I've worked at places such as Wal Mart, Sam's Club, and Circuit City. I'm currently finishing my last two classes ...
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8
answers
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Can't remember much from previous working experiences
I'm not sure if this is a common problem or I just have a bad memory. Problem is, whenever I go to an interview and they start asking (technical) questions about my previous jobs, I can only remember ...
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10
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Offloading Interns to a New Junior Developer
I just found out yesterday that we're getting three interns this coming Monday and that my boss is offloading them onto me. I was a TA and tutor for several years in college, so I genuinely enjoy ...
- 3,833
56
votes
8
answers
14k
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Totally underqualified for position, don't know what to do
I'm in a technical position as a software engineer for a startup. At the beginning of my job (4 months ago) I was brought on with the expectation that I would be coding full time. I was the only ...
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54
votes
11
answers
10k
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Should money be paid as a motivation to testers and developers for detecting and producing bugs?
I read an idea for increasing productivity in a company. It went like this:
Have a certain fund that will be a bonus. Say $100,000. For each tangible bug found, the testers get paid $5 - $15. ...
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53
votes
7
answers
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I got fired on my last day; is that possible?
On my last day of work, I didn't feel comfortable going due to men making multiple sexual comments. The day before, I had a lot on my mind, and I was too scared to go. On the morning of my last day, I ...
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9
answers
271k
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How to respond to "Why do you deserve a promotion"?
Our company has a new IT manager and it is suddenly the time for promotions. He is still new to the company and he doesn't have much knowledge about the employees.
My project manager spoke about my ...
- 6,838
46
votes
4
answers
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Should I include my Github page on my resume?
I am looking to become a developer and while I have been studying I have made a Github page and have filled it mostly with scripts or simple games that I have made plus a couple basic web applications....
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votes
8
answers
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Should I list an employer that fired me after two weeks?
I was let go from my last position after two weeks. They said I wasn't picking up the job quick enough but I was working as hard and fast as I possibly could. It was the first time in my life that I'...
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votes
6
answers
8k
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Stuck in a dead-end job. How do I get ahead?
I'm stuck in a dead-end web developer job where I don't get paid much and rarely get to learn anything new. It's a small, mom-and-pop shop where there is no room for advancement either. I am not happy....
- 1,333
41
votes
6
answers
15k
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Is it a bad idea to have 2-3 months off after getting a degree? [duplicate]
I am currently at university, and I have been wondering how bad it looks to a potential employer if an applicant takes some time off after university before they start looking for work.
When I say ...
- 492
40
votes
9
answers
17k
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"You're overqualified" - What does that really mean?
I recently had a phone interview for a subcontracting job at a small programming consulting firm. The interview was very short, and at the end, the interviewer told me that based on my resume, he ...
- 535
38
votes
5
answers
26k
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Mistake in years of experience in resume?
I have 3 years 9 months of experience but since notice period for my organization is 3 months so I calculated that I will be having 4 years of experience on my last working day. I have mentioned in my ...
- 553
35
votes
11
answers
21k
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Can I avoid informal personal interactions at companies that offer free lunch?
Summary: I am looking for software development jobs in South Africa. Many companies offer a "free lunch" perk. I want my workday to be very formal, without mingling, or developing personal ...
- 3,067
35
votes
9
answers
11k
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Staffing companies ask to put fake experience: Ethical or Unethical
For an entry level candidate, staffing/recruitment agencies ask to add fake experience which increase the probability of landing a job interview.
While this question is asked by many recruiter agents ...
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35
votes
7
answers
7k
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Is it worth putting a skill that is a prerequisite of a lot of other skills on my resume
One of the sections of my resume mentions a lot of different JavaScript skills I have.
For example:
AngularJS, React, jQuery, Node.js, Express, PhantomJS, Tape etc...
That section just keeps ...
- 461
35
votes
8
answers
122k
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How long is too long of an unemployment gap?
During one of my previous background investigations, the interviewer had noted on my file that I had no questionable gaps in my employment history that I needed to explain to them. At the time, I had ...
- 4,716
35
votes
4
answers
6k
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What do employers expect from new graduates?
What does an employer expect from a new graduate who has just finished University and has no prior experience at all (neither as a summer intern nor as anything else)?
I'm a college student, majoring ...
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34
votes
5
answers
10k
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I'm short of required experience by 10 days and the company's online portal won't accept my application
I'm currently pursuing an opportunity with a good company. Their requirement is for 3 years experience but I'm 10 days short of that and the online portal won't accept my submission.
What should I do?
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How do I get a management position without management experience?
My career goal always has been to get into a position with responsibility, either in the field of project or team management. I finished a business engineering masters degree recently and already have ...
- 1,372
33
votes
9
answers
10k
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Why did my abusive boss insist that I take an unpaid leave of absence when I tried to resign?
I've been working at this company for over 6 years and for those 6 years, my boss has been an absolute bully. He micro-manages everything I do, dumps so much work on me, and then criticizes everything ...
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33
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4
answers
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Should the company pay the tips I gave?
I went on a business trip and I took a few Uber trips. At the end of the trip, Uber asks you if you want to tip the driver.
I chose yes and paid 15% tip.
I have to send a list of my expenses to the ...
- 1,012
31
votes
9
answers
7k
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How do companies hire people for positions where years of experience doesn't correlate to skill?
On every, or nearly every job listing I've seen, a primary qualification of the job is listed as "X-Y years of experience". When was younger, this was frustrating since I thought that my skill ...
- 36.3k
30
votes
10
answers
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Should I omit very early programming experience and/or a job that required clearance? [closed]
So I recently had a problem with an employer that I never expected to have... They accused me of lying about my experience.
The first issue was the "How long have you been programming?" question. I ...
- 257
29
votes
10
answers
8k
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Taking over another fired developer's role
I really need general consensus between experienced developers on my scenario below.
I have a situation at a small company where the only developer was fired. My position was a field technician and ...
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29
votes
4
answers
8k
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Built a startup for 2 years that didn't get anywhere, how do I show it on my resume?
I have been working by myself on a startup for nearly 2 years. In those 2 years I did not make a profit. Granted, the startup was very ambitious.
The startup was official and incorporated, but I did ...
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28
votes
4
answers
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Should I list my 3-years PhD in 'Education' or 'Experience' on LinkedIn?
I've been PhD candidate for the past 3 years, and recently (successfully) defended my thesis. I now want to apply to companies outside academia (and maybe not directly related to my field of study) in ...
- 1,540
27
votes
3
answers
5k
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Can working with niche apps/tech exclusively hurt your career in actual software development? How to get out of the cycle?
I'm finding myself in a bit of a pickle. I've been at a pretty comfortable IT group for almost a decade. I got my start here working on web development, mostly CRUD, but have demonstrated the ability ...
- 939
26
votes
4
answers
6k
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A contact's glowing referral has exaggerated my volunteer/work experience
I am applying to jobs and I have been using my "volunteer" experience at a university's software development laboratory under the experience section in my resume. I say "volunteer" because it was ...
- 1,926
26
votes
4
answers
6k
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Dealing with age when applying for jobs
I am 17 years old and will be graduating from university this academic year with a bachelor's degree in computer science, and I am applying to a variety of software engineering jobs. I am fairly ...
- 277
25
votes
9
answers
10k
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Bring up a candidate's possibly unethical work experience in interview?
I have a candidate for an open position and I will interview him in a few days. His résumé looks quite promising. However, his work experience lists two projects which are in a field of activity which ...
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25
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11
answers
11k
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Do new software developers get fired if they can't solve a certain bug? [closed]
I'm going to start applying to software developer jobs. I have a fear that if I can't solve a bug I'll get fired.
There was this port bug for a personal project I spent hours on and couldn't figure ...
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11
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5k
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Is the right move to stay and search or leave and search (considering my level of experience) at this failing workplace? [closed]
My current developer role is the first corporate developer role I have ever landed (I was previously in another career, but left that career due to safety concerns then taught myself programming and ...
24
votes
5
answers
14k
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I am doing tasks not listed in my working contract
I would like to ask how to deal with my current situation. I was hired as a C/C# developer for embedded hardware and user desktop applications.
After a few months working it became clear that there is ...
- 847
24
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How can I get my colleagues to stop interrupting me?
I am the youngest and the least experienced member of my team of eight. Everyone else has at least six years' experience.
I have been observing that, for a long time now, whenever I try making a ...
- 817
23
votes
3
answers
15k
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Basically unemployed for 5 years. How do I explain this to prospective employers?
I’m 32, unemployed, and live with my parents in an expensive US city. In 2010, I finished a Masters Degree in Business outside the US, but I have suffered from depression ever since and have been ...
