Presentation

Ceci n'est pas un CV

The short version: I'm a system architect, computational linguist, and entrepreneur. I speak Swedish and English. If you have an interesting project, let's talk.

The slightly longer version:

I used to have a CV here. As in, I used to have a CV. Singular. But I found that having a single one doesn't really work when you're a generalist.

I badgered and harrassed my poor CV, trying to make it cover my programming experience of working with Perl, Java, Flex, C/C++, shellscripting, Python, etc. I tried to make it mention all the tools and services I have worked with — Apache, JBoss, Postfix, Amazon Web Services, and many others — and the communication protocols and data formats I know — HTTP, SMTP, XML, etc. I tried to have it enumerate the companies I have started or co-founded, the projects I have managed, and the research I have done, both academically and independently. I tried to squeeze in my graphic design experience: Indesign, various graphics manipulation packages, HTML/CSS, what I have learned about creating print-ready PDF files. And I tried to emphasize my language-related skills, from writing to representing and interpreting text in a computer.

Unfortunately, that never really worked out. My CV couldn't be everything at once. It either turned into a dense, unreadable list of buzzwords (AI! JBoss! Scrum! Cloud computing!), or ballooned into a long and winding document that, frankly, was much too boring for anyone to read.

My CV and I have now gone our separate ways, and I think we're both happier. Occasionally, when I need to introduce myself to someone new, I try to find out what kinds of skills they need and write a short document just for them. If you are that someone, contact me and let me know what you're after.

Peter Wastholm
Gåsgränd 2
11127 Stockholm
SWEDEN

peter@wastholm.com

Sidebar

Hard or Soft?

Specialization is for insects. — Robert A. Heinlein

"You are like milk," my then-team leader once told me."Huh?" I said, eloquently, as I tried to think of a way in which I might remind her of a dairy product.

"Well, you know," she said, "when you're cooking or baking... No matter what you're making, you usually need milk. If you don't have milk, you have a problem."

"And," she continued, "when I hear about some new project, I almost always think that you should be on the team. You can be used for almost anything."

She had been my boss for about two years when this conversation took place. The first person to ever be recruited to her team fresh out of university, I was a "hard tech" guy in a team that otherwise worked with "soft" issues like structuring information, writing documentation, and producing multimedia. From the start, I made it a point to tiptoe the line between "hard" technologist and "soft" information designer, and thus came to write both users' manuals and program code, design both graphics and databases, and manage both development projects and training programs.

I have been a generalist ever since. I have broadened my academic scope by studying artificial intelligence and computational linguistics at the Stockholm and Uppsala universities, my experience from working in different roles by starting three different companies, and my practical skills by working as an art director and a reporter.

So maybe I am like milk.

Ceci n'est pas un CV

Hard or Soft?

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