CV Advice Please

Noospheric

Hi,

I am currently writing my CV to apply for Web Design jobs. This is a job I studied for and have been in for the last two years but I'm now on the hunt for a new job.

One thing that has always bothered me is this:

A lot of Web Design jobs ask for knowledge of a programming language called PHP. I have a very basic understanding of this, I can write a bit and have always dabbled but would only class myself as 'beginner'. I am 'advanced' in other areas that are being asked for, just not PHP.

Should I put this on my CV? I wouldn't feel confident saying I know it but showing you have a minimal understanding is better than nothing, right?

How do I approach this?

DVardysShadow

Depends on the employer. Many companies find it difficult to assess software skills, so they look for experience instead. They also think that learning a computer language is difficult. It is not, certainly after the first one, and you can be very useful with just a few days experience of a language, provided you know what you want to do and how to go about it in a language independent way.

What languages do you have apart from PHP and HTML? I think you need to look beyond the languages - HTML does not really count as it is not executable. You should perhaps look to present your skills in terms of Client side scripting and Server side scripting. For the right company, some skill in these areas will go a long way to counteract any deficiency in a particular language.

Noospheric

I wouldn't class myself as a programmer.

During my studies I learnt Visual Basic, PHP, Java, Javascript and MySQL but none of which I really kept up with, however I could pick them up quickly. I dabble in PHP, MySQL and Javascript in my current job.

My skills I list as: XHTML, CSS, Cross Browser/Standards Compliance and SEO as well as knowledge of several design applications.

As an example if a job were to ask for: XHTML, CSS and PHP, I'd be confident of my XHTML and CSS skills and that I could pick up PHP quick but how do I go about saying that in a CV?

Vader123

On the CV, for the ones you are are "expert" list as

Expert Knowledge :
Visual Basic, PHP, Java, Javascript and MySQL

For the ones you are not so sure of, do it as

Exposure to :
PHP

That way you are not saying you know nothing, but also you have used it and would know it.

You can then build on it at interview.

Vader

Noospheric

That's an excellent idea, thankyou.

DVardysShadow

As Vader says.

With your mix, a wise employer will choose to interview you or not on the whole of your cv, rather than on any one language - and you should be able to give them a good feel for your capabilities at interview. With all that lot under your belt, you should be able to get up to speed sufficiently for any task quite quickly. A lot of it is choosing the most appropriate tool and being flexible in your approach.

There may be some employers who are looking for language specific experience because they are not able to assess general skill. They are probably to be avoided - the more so if they focus down on a specific language.

buftymctufty

I would learn PHP / ASP

They are they key thinks that web design companies are looking for at the moment - Search online for books etc