The opportunity cost of a broad skillset

Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by shaggyfrog on Sunday August 07, 2011 @05:19PM (#2857768)

I run into this problem all the time with recruiters, especially non-technical recruiters, who are the kind of people who just want to match up YEARS_EXPERIENCE_NEEDED with ${ACRONYM} down a list, and if you don't match up, you're filtered out. It's very frustrating because it's hard to get interviews, which is where I have a chance to shine, and show that client why taking on someone with a broad skillset -- especially one who understands business issues -- is better than hiring a hyper-specialized candidate.

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by SoftwareMaven on Sunday August 07, 2011 @08:00PM (#2858187)

Unfortunately, many companies don't want engineers who understand business issues, because they ask hard questions.

Personally, I really prefer engineers who spend time understanding the business: It forces me to have data for my decisions.

Want a job in Utah? ;)

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by shaggyfrog on Sunday August 07, 2011 @11:46PM (#2858665)

>Want a job in Utah? ;)

Only if it's telecommute. :)

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by saturdayplace on Monday August 08, 2011 @11:29AM (#2860362)

I'm not currently looking, but I'm always interested in Utah-based tech. You talking about clicklock?

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by maukdaddy on Sunday August 07, 2011 @09:17PM (#2858351)

This is exactly the problem I run into as a technical person with an MBA. It's very hard to demonstrate broad technical knowledge via a cover letter and CV. Without languages and acronyms recruiters have nothing to match up my "skills" against.

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by dennisgorelik on Sunday August 07, 2011 @10:22PM (#2858505)

Is it too hard to beef up resume with required buzzwords?

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by shaggyfrog on Sunday August 07, 2011 @11:52PM (#2858684)

I have as many of the requisite buzzwords and acronyms of which I can legitimately claim knowledge.

The problem is that's not enough. For example, a job description might call for "Eclipse: 5-7 years". Eclipse. A freaking IDE.

Or "Swing: 5+ years". I've used Swing off and on since Java 1.2, but I certainly don't have 5+ years of it, thus my knowledge of other GUI frameworks (like Cocoa's UIKit) counts for nothing. And never mind that making a UI is more a process of proper design principles than it is of knowing intricacies of any particular framework.

Harumph!

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by dennisgorelik on Sunday August 07, 2011 @11:56PM (#2858700)

Did you use Swing 5 years ago and refreshed what it is today?

Claim 5+ years of experience with Swing.

These are rules of the game.

(I assume you want to get that interview).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by shaggyfrog on Monday August 08, 2011 @12:58AM (#2858853)

First time using Swing was about 13 years ago, actually...

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Re:The opportunity cost of a broad skillset by dennisgorelik on Monday August 08, 2011 @01:17AM (#2858884)

So put "10+ years of using Swing" on your resume and tell recruiter that you are using Swing since 1998.

Again, I assume that you don't mind using Swing on your next project.

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