How To List FOSS Experience On Your Resume 103
maximus1 writes "If you're selling skills gained in an open source project, you have additional opportunities to shine, say experts in this ITWorld article. But what is the best way to explain your FOSS experience? 'Someone stands out because of how they talk about the project, says Zack Grossbart, author of The One Minute Commute. His advice is to describe the project and discuss your contributions in detail: 'If you were a committer, what did you do to earn that status? What features did you work on? Did you design new areas, or just implement predefined functions? Did you lead meetings? Define new architecture? Set the project direction?' If the FOSS experience is part of your background but not a shining beacon or job equivalent, it's common to list it under 'other experience.' Andy Lester, author of Land The Tech Job You Love, says: 'Think of each project as a freelance job that you've worked on. Just as different freelance gigs have varying sizes and scopes, so too does each project to which you contribute. The key is to not lump all your projects under one "open source work" heading.' Good examples are worth a thousand words. Grossbart offers up his resume as a sound but not perfect example (PDF) that includes open source experience. (His article on how to format your resume might also be of interest.)"
profit ! (Score:4, Funny)
step 1: get your resume posted on /. front page
step 2: ???
step 3: PROFIT !!!
Re:His formatting article might be interesting, (Score:5, Funny)
I hope you never accidentally open a book, you might go blind.
Re:"Meetings"? (Score:5, Funny)
> Did you lead meetings?
What are these "meetings" you speak of?
It like a mailing list flamewar but not as fun to watch.
Re:His formatting article might be interesting, (Score:4, Funny)
HR is worthless...
Where I work, only HR is hiring...
Re:Open source. (Score:5, Funny)
And it's exactly this kind of thing that makes honest resumés look like shit.
OTOH, if the software in question is good enough, you don't need to lie. "I have 14 lines of code in the Linux kernel" is more impressive than "coded an OS from scratch".
Unfortunately, all 14 lines of code are simply comments...
It's easy, but (Score:2, Funny)
You are forced to put the GNU notice in your resume and provide a blood sample in a test tube so they can sequence your ADN.
Re:It's easy, but (Score:2, Funny)
Acide (Deoxyribonucleic) Acid ... ...
ADN, DNA
Chemistry!!! Why aren't you language agnostic!!!!
Re:Open source. (Score:4, Funny)
And in the diff, they all begin with -