This is the first installment in a continuing series that asks hiring managers and recruiters to share their criteria for putting a resume in the ‘superstar’ category.

I want to see developers who are living and breathing their languages and skills, on the job, to solve problems, not just reading about Java in a book one day

To find out, Red Canary asked Greg Veres, Director of Development with Blue Coat Systems and Penny Curtis, a recruiter with the Laudi Group who specializes in R&D placements. Both of them agreed on some very specific points.

If you’ve built it, they will call
Curtis, who recruits R&D professionals for employers as diverse as Research in Motion and Points.com, loves to see three little words: “developed flagship product”. Contributing to a company’s core product is the resume equivalent of a gold star, particularly if the developer is able to describe how they impacted the company’s bottom line.

Working on cutting-edge projects is also an indicator of ability and trustworthiness. According to Curtis, a great resume is one that conveys, “When the hard projects come in, I’m who they turn to”.

For Veres, staying power is key: “I look for people who have been through the full development cycle of a project. I want people who have lived through shipping a product and have had to deal with the bugs that come back in from the field.”

It’s not what you know, it’s who you’ve worked for
Where you’ve worked makes a difference. “Certain companies have a good reputation,” says Curtis. “I’ll always look at those resumes.” Recruiters know which companies consistently produce superpower developers, and which ones produce cheesy sidekicks. And bigger doesn’t mean better. “In a medium-sized company, a developer is exposed to so much more—the good, the bad, and the ugly,” says Curtis.

Smart developers don’t stop . . . developing
A scintillating CV shows progression in project complexity and responsibility—and parallel development of skills and languages. According to Curtis, developer resumes can get rusty quickly. “New technologies stand out,” says Curtis. “Do they have a keen interest in independent projects, including contributing to Open Source projects?” Continuous learning counts. “I look for developers who’ve taken coursework after finishing school,” says Curtis.

Fluent in Java? Great. But do you speak customer?
Recruiters love resumes that show customer-facing responsibilities. Why? Because it demonstrates ‘soft’ skills and an understanding of the bigger picture. “If an employer put them in front of customers, I know that they can break things down to people who might not be technical”, says Curtis. Coding with the customer in mind is an invaluable asset—especially for a young technology company.

Great devs are object(ive) oriented
As Blue Coat’s Director of Development, Greg Veres has seen thousands of resumes. He says, “I want to see developers who are living and breathing their languages and skills, on the job, to solve problems, not just reading about Java in a book one day.”

Both Veres and Curtis dismiss ‘grocery list’ resumes that rattle off every tool or language the person has ever read about or overheard in the lunch room. “No one can be be an expert in everything” says Curtis.

Resume dampeners
• Switching from industry to industry
• Jumping from job to job
• Sliding from development to management and back
• Grocery lists of skills or tools
• Lack of career growth

Other Pow Factors
• Mix of coding and design involvment
• Good job tenures
• Complexity of work
• Can fit job into company’s bigger picture