Hi HN, I am currently looking for a new job. I've already applied to a few, but I'm still tweaking my resume. I've run into a snag in how to present my skills. I am graduating with my Masters in May, and I have picked up a fairly broad array of skills via internships, jobs, class projects, and side projects. I have no idea how to present all this information on my resume. Currently, I am listing the following under my "Skills" section:
Object-oriented programming (C#, PHP, Python)
Front-end web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, YUI, Django, MVC design pattern)
Familiarity with C programming (including C syntax, pointers and memory management)
Windows application development (.NET Framework, WPF, MVVM design pattern)
Mac OS X application development (Objective-C and Cocoa)
SQL databases (MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite)
Version control (git, SVN, CVS)
Linux (Bash, Vim)
These are things in which I feel I have reasonable experience or practice in for a recent graduate. I'm also omitting things (such as Java and Lua) with which I have experience with, but still less than the above. Does anyone have any recommendations on how I can best present this information? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
A resume should echo what you are passionate about.
Some people write up a resume per interview specifically tailored to the need of the company. (I see you plan to do X, I have skill Y)
Saying 'I can do everything' doesn't imply 'I can do everything well'.
If you market yourself as a .NET programmer, then that's the job you'll get.
It's nice to have the occasional additives (languages/frameworks you rarely use) just in case of referral (being asked to interview for something that's not your speciality). But be sure to weigh your primary and secondary skills differently.
Be sure to provide social proof to back up your claims (ex. I used X, Y, Z to build A, B, C for company N to accomplish E, F, G). Interviewers/potential employers also want to see what your responsibilities were at your previous jobs/projects.
Don't be shy to mention hobby projects if your portfolio in regards to experience is a bit thin - also try to keep it less than 4/5 pages (think menu, not memoir) :)
Good luck