Recently, I was talking to a couple of Java guys about what to put and what not in the resume (CV). One of them said: “I do not know, because I do not have a resume. I have more work than I can handle, and if I need cash, I just announce that I’m available “.

I was really impressed! Of course, he is not an average Java developer, but a well known person in the industry. But still…

During the last year or so, if I need to interview a job applicant for a senior position, I spend about 30 seconds skimming through his/her resume. Yeah, yeah, yeah…same old, same old: J2EE, Struts, EJB, design patterns… developed, lead, participated. I am not sure though, if knowledge of Struts and design patterns is a plus or a minus, but it’s irrelevant for this discussion. Then, I go to Google and key in the name of the job applicant. If I see some activity there, I consider it a huge plus. If the person blogs, you can get a feeling of the temper and attitude of this person. Knowing Java is good, but if this is a nasty person, would you want to spend eight hours a day with this guy/gal? If s/he participates in the technical forums, you can have an idea about the technical abilities and interests of the candidate.

A couple of days ago, James McGovern blogged about how to hire a consultant, and he thinks the same way. Internet can help you in making this kind of a decision. He talks about consultants only, but I do not see why the same approach would not work for employees?

Hiring is about finding capable people with the personality and attitude that fits your organization. It’s not about people who know a particular API or a framework.

Let’s take J2EE APIs. I did not have a chance to work with Java Connectors (JCA). Would this stop you from hiring me for developing an application that heavily relies on JCA? I know Java and the rest of J2EE. Don’t you think that I can pick it up pretty fast, and can contribute to your project in other ways without being the JCA expert?

So let’s get back to my original question, “Would you hire me without seeing my resume? “. Google my name, and it’ll bring you enough technical and non-technical materials that would give you an idea of my personality and abilities. I’m sure that there are people who do not like me, but there are people who do. The fact that there are people who subscribe to my blog tells me that some people want to hear my opinion (I’ve got plenty of those) on a regular basis. This does not mean that they like me, but they are interested in my opinion.

So here I am again: if you want to hire me, please send me the following: the cIty and the country where you want me work, the project and my role’s description, and how much are you willing to pay. I’m not going to show you my resume, and I’m not going to go through technical interviews.

Are you up to the challenge?