So I sent my normal resume, but of course it says very vague things like "designed, implemented, and document new desktop application." While this got my foot in the door, apparently the client wants something with more "technical details." So my question: how much to put on this? He really is trying to see if I really am a "Delphi Guru" (in other words that I know how to do more than put buttons on a form and write a few lines of code to fill in some database fields), so my tendency is to just start describing everything I've done in great detail, paragraph form. Since I've already gotten my foot in the door is this OK? Or is he still expecting an abreivated description of some kind? I really hate this resume stuff, it's so easy to stumble on form rather than content.

P.S. And I know, I know, I'd said before I wanted to get away from Delphi. Truth is, it appears that there's a lot of money out there for those of us who know what we're doing. My current company, however, doesn't seem to know this.

If it's a second round style resume, techno it up, I say. If they're now looking for specifics, give them specifics but still use bizno speak. Using words like 'leveraged, pioneered, developed increased, streamlined, exceeded...' may still be necessary to prove that what you did was beneficial and an improvement.

Why don't they want an interview with you to clarify some of these technicalities?

If it's a second round style resume, techno it up, I say. If they're now looking for specifics, give them specifics but still use bizno speak. Using words like 'leveraged, pioneered, developed increased, streamlined, exceeded...' may still be necessary to prove that what you did was beneficial and an improvement.

Good, this is sort of the direction I'm going, so it's good to have some confirmation.

Why don't they want an interview with you to clarify some of these technicalities?

Two reasons:

1. They're simply trying to weed out the "I've dropped some stuff on a form, I'm a software engineer" people.

2. Different city. *sigh*

Still, they're thinking we might to a phone interview next week. I get the impression that they've had bad experiences with Delphi programmers who know the basics but haven't gotten very deep. This is pretty typical, since most people use Delphi for database front end stuff. I was told on the phone repeatedly (by the HR person) that they want someone with non-database experience.

Go with the phone interview. Even see if they have specific questions they can send you so you may better prepare your response. Naturally, be prepared for every question. You can cover far more detail over the phone than you could with pages of resumes.
Good luck with the job!

If I were you, I would ask them if you can come to interview. Don't waste time with paper in this case: how on earth can you know what you write is what he wants to hear? In my opinion they are being cheapskates and don't want to go through the effort and time of a proper interview to find out what you know.

Another alternative is to say you are prepared to make yourself available for an initial telephone interview at a time of their choosing. However, don't hold your breath.

hmmm, you see I thought that this was a pretty typical thing from the way the HR person was talking. Apparently not. *sigh* Too late now, as I already sent something off. We'll just have to see what happens, but I'm not holding my breath.