While applying for jobs, do you mention skills that you learned via side-projects but never used them at your work?

Publish Date: Jun 2 '21

7 6

Hi everyone! I'm a software engineer who recently transitioned into Developer Relations. I like programming and enjoy learning and tinkering with new technologies - and they aren't necessarily stuff that I use or require everyday at my workplace. Pretty sure that I'm not the only one! 😇

When I look at the stuff that I know, I can divide them into 2 broad categories:

Grade A skills:

These are stuff that I require very less ramp-up time, because I've had enough exposure with them and use them almost everyday at work. For me, they happen to be the following:

JavaScript / TypeScript
Node.js / Express
MongoDB
React

If I'm ever asked questions like "How many years of experience do you have in x", and it happens to fall under Grade A, I can answer it somewhat accurately (for instance, 2 years or 4 years or whatever).

Grade B skills:

These are skills that I never had a chance to work on or use in production at work, but I acquired them while working on my side projects. Here are some of my own skills that fall under this category:

Python
Django
PostgreSQL
Docker
Scikit-learn
Keras
Figma

For this category, answering questions like "how many years of experience do you have" becomes difficult, because I use them every now and then, not every single day. However, I can still get things done with them and would like the person going through my profile to know that. I may not be as comfortable in these as my Grade A skills, but I still know much more than just writing a simple hello world program (or its equivalent).

If you can relate with the above, I would love to know from you on:

Along with Grade A, do you also mention Grade B skills in your resume, CV or in job applications?
If the answer to the above is yes, how do you list them? Do you make a distinction between Grade A and Grade B, or do you just club them all together?
If you're asked "How many years of experience do you have in x skill", and that skill happens to be a Grade B skill, how do you answer it?
If in a job posting, you find that 60% of the required skill-set fall under your Grade B and 40% fall under Grade A, do you still apply for the role?

Comments 6 total

MadzaJun 2, 2021
Imo the golden rule is to present just the grade A skills that you feel proficient and are relevant to the position, otherwise you might end up being tested on B skills, score average and leave an impression that you are 'jack of all trades, master of none' 😉
- Ashwin HariharanJun 2, 2021
  Good point! However, for roles such as a full-stack developer you typically know a few set of skills very well, while having average skills in others. With the growing list of things to learn, it seems pretty impossible to know everything to perfection. How do we square this?
Bill RaymondJun 3, 2021
As a manager that hires developers and product designers, what I’m interested in is your skill set, your ability to work on my team, and your ability to solve complex problems. I would suggest highly that you re-think this concept of graded technical skills.

If I ask you: do you have experience with Figma? And you have graded yourself, you might answer with something like this: “no, but I have played with it on the side”. Hearing that does not help the conversation because I don’t know what you did, if you liked it, or how it might help your career.

If you answer “you know, we don’t use it where I work, but I wanted to learn the basics, so I designed this cool app with some friends and learned a bit about collaborative design and am trying to get my company to get a license”, then I’m going to see someone that may not have all the experience I need, but is willing to step up and learn the skills required.

If you grade yourself with “A” and “B” I guarantee your answers will come out soft and not as strong for anything that is “B”.

From what I read in your question, I get the sense that you like to try new technologies, aren’t afraid of them, and will pick them up if requested. Use those “B” experiences to your advantage because that’s the stuff managers want to see: someone that tries new things and is willing to form opinions on technology stacks.
dgloriawebJun 12, 2021
Yep.
JeffDMar 14, 2023
Do you also mention Grade B skills in your resume, CV or in job applications?

My resume contains a specific section "self taught" for Grade B. Mention theses skill in your resume show to the recruter:
- the ability to work with the technology; you have some basics, you know the vocabulary, you understand the GUI ...
- your interest to this technology or domain; if you learn something outside your current job then you're probably motivated to explore this point deeper
- your open-mindedness; you're not addicted to a specific language, you use the rigth tool for the right job, you'll not start a revolution if we don't use your favorite language...
So I list only Grade B that I love, I want to use and I'm proficient with (for a enterprise use). This rule applies for Grade A too.
- Ashwin HariharanMar 15, 2023
  Do you list them as soon as you've got some basic skills and vocabulary, or only when you become proficient in them? What if you haven't used that skill (yet) for an enterprise project but only within personal projects?

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Ashwin Hariharan @booleanhunter