[blindhippo]

Resume filtering is terrible - I tend not to be involved in the process since usually recruiters or hiring managers do this. However, when someone stops by my desk and asks "should we schedule a phone screen with this candidate who lists HTML, CSS, and jQuery, as programming languages" for a senior web developer position, I say no.

A huge problem is people list technologies as keywords on their resumes and rarely indicate they know what those words even mean. This makes screening next to impossible at scale (think 1000's of resumes coming in for a single position).

[noxToken]

I know this isn't always the case, but how does one note competency in a given language or with a given tool(set) while fitting a resume on a single sheet. Especially if it's for a senior/lead or higher position?

There's a lot that's broken with the hiring process. One of the toughest thing as a potential candidate is how to properly tailor a resume to fit the bill without "gaming" the hiring process. There is no standard - only methods that work better than others in most situations.

[blindhippo]

My personal approach is to present myself as an individual with a large amount of skill and experience working in a specific programming discipline (e.g. web applications). I present a short list of the core tech I have experience with, ones I'm comfortable answering interview questions in. I do not list every tech I've used - that list would be half a page long and do no one any good.

I describe the projects I've worked on, what the problems challenges were, and how my work helped solve them. The format I use tends to work itself out as a simple narrative outline, and I tailor every resume to be the most relevant to the position I'm applying to, and I submit a cover letter specific to the job. This isn't "gaming" the process, this is doing your homework on the company/position and selling yourself as a viable candidate. If I'm weak in a desired skill, I call it out in the letter and demonstrate my past experience as an example of how I can learn new technologies quickly (something vital for any programmer, IMHO).

That said, after a certain level of experience, relying on your resume to get you in the door isn't going to get you the job you want in most cases. You want to meet people directly and apply via recommendations or requests. Direct contact with peers working at the company you want to apply to matters a lot. Even communication with a recruiter is better then blind submitting to a job post.