Interviews - Honesty & Expectations

[fluid scarab]

Hey all. I'm a recent grad and I have some questions about resume ethics, if you could call them that.

A few points of advice that I see thrown around are "don't put anything on your resume that you wouldn't be comfortable explaining", and "don't put a language on your resume that you couldn't answer an interview question in".

In a prior internship, I used C++ for a project. It was a few years ago, and I obviously included that experience on my resume and under languages. At the same time, I cannot remember the nuances of the language since it has been so long since I've used it. If I'm asked a question about C++, what would an interviewer think that I don't remember these details? How should this situation best be handled? If it's relevant, I don't plan on applying for C++ positions.

Similarly, I've used JavaScript and Python to create some projects that are featured on my resume, but I don't have formal training via school with either. I learned enough to accomplish my goals with those projects, but I'm not sure how that lack of depth would come across in an interview. I've also included these languages under technical skills because they came up in the aforementioned projects. Is that the right call?

The two languages I do have formal experience with are Java and C but it's been a while since I've used either, and I don't necessarily see myself using them in the industry.

My goal is to get a backend software engineering position. I'm not too tied up about what language I end up using, but I feel as though I'm in this weird limbo where I have a lot of breadth with languages but little depth. I've been doing leetcode with Python because its less verbose and the easiest to translate ideas into running code. I'm a little lost as to whether I should be refamiliarizing myself with old languages to pass interview questions. Would appreciate any form of advice. Thanks in advance.

[sterile locust]

You could used the Expert/Fluent/Familiar format and designate languages as such. Example: Python (Fluent), Java (Familiar)

Also typically languages are pretty easy to pick up once you know one well. It's more the technology/stack it's applied to that is harder to learn so I wouldn't be too stressed

[serene coral]

I would not recommend you try and rate your own skills in a language. What is an expert level of familiarity to one person may not be to another.

I think you’re fine if you have proven usage of the languages you listed on your resume, either through projects or internship experience

[rotund dagger]

do not put expert/fluent/familiar. They aren’t going to ask “so how did you deal with floating points in Cpp” or some dumb nuance, but rather “what troubles did you encounter programming it?”

less language dependent, more about yourself

also I would definitely start having at least one language you can go to no matter what. You said you know Java / C but haven’t used it in awhile, and use Python for LeetCode. I would either learn Flask with python for backend, or refresh on Java for springboot

LC is way different that real-time programming in python

[sterile locust]

I've seen FAANG resumes include Expert/Fluent/Familiar and not include it. If they want nuance on those levels they will ask, but most assume the terms are somewhat subjective

It is optional though, listing your languages "best" to "worst" is more than fine if you aren't worried

[rotund dagger]

i would only put something on the languages section if you asked me to do something basic at least

Without looking stuff up

I’d say putting a rating on languages is only a hindrance

[lucid delta]

i personally also dont really agree with putting ratings on languages

[sterile locust]

My logic is you're already putting implied ratings on languages when you list them in a certain order. OP was worried about putting a language down and having their knowledge of said language assumed to be at a different level than it is, ratings are an attempt to address this. But again, it's just one path and they could just as easily leave them off and then bring them up in the interview when asked

[lucid delta]

i dont think its correct to assume that people are putting languages in order based on anything

mine are randomly assorted

and idk what recruiter would assume

[rotund dagger]

putting them on projects is different than listing in “languages” section

[fluid scarab]

What would you consider as proven? I'm sure my manager could attest that I used a language. However, my resume projects are not open-sourced for various reasons so I feel as though the burden of proof for those is much higher

[serene coral]

Proven = mentioned in your skills section and in a project, for example

[fluid scarab]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts on putting languages in the skills section. I've tended to lean toward not rating myself in a language, but splash brings an interesting point that putting a language for a project may be different than including it under skills.

I've thought that a recruiter may look and see a project mentions a language and doesn't see it in the skills section and would dismiss it as me forgetting to include it

[serene coral]

What kind of companies are you targeting, btw? You mentioned dedicating a lot of time to leetcode

Companies like meta, amazon, or google won’t ask you questions about languages you list on your resume

I wasn’t asked about my resume at all at google

[fluid scarab]

Oh thanks for clarifying, definitely feel better about listing them in some capacity then

I could see myself at a big tech firm in a few years but I was looking at smaller tech companies for the time being. Or maybe a larger F500 non-tech company that uses modern tech-stacks. Do you suspect this would affect things?

[sterile locust]

That's interesting. In my industry, as well as the college I attended that was absolutely an unspoken rule. Could be regional though

[rotund dagger]

Like I understand the ranking of languages

[serene coral]

Every company has its own interview process, usually if i am asked questions about languages on my resume, they are also listed in the job description as either must-haves or nice to haves

[rotund dagger]

But if you are applying for a job in python flask let’s say, and you are a really good backend person but you have python in “familiar” recruiter might second guess putting you forward

[sterile locust]

That's a valid concern. On the other hand you could not rank it, get hired based on the recruiters/engineers assumption you are at a certain level of python+flask (hard to test in an interview) and then fail on the job

Or learn quickly and adapt. Who knows haha. I guess it's just what the individual feels they are willing to risk. No right or wrong answer

[stiff ridge]

The problem is that people have different definitions of familiar, proficient, and expert, etc. I have no idea how good someone is at a language if they listed that. I know even less if they do the 1-5 stars rating scale.

[elfin finch]

Don't worry too much about trying to explain all the nuances on the resume - that's what the interviews are for.