IT Resume Tips
Matching up to the IT trends is not just upgrading the technology, but also matching up the technology to the enterprise people’s talent.
Focus on achievements, not tasks
Your basic job duties should not take center stage in your IT resume. Instead, save room to detail your achievements, and include metrics whenever possible.
Tell a cohesive story
Hiring managers want to quickly understand your resume—which can be difficult when you have a varied career. Remember to focus on the job you’re seeking as opposed to your entire work history. Content should emphasize accomplishments related to the position you want, and items that don’t support your career goals should be omitted.
Edit carefully and ruthlessly
Most recruiters agree the one-page rule for resumes is outdated unless you’re a junior candidate with less than 10 years of experience. But concision still counts, so restrict your CV to two pages or less—and don’t use the extra room to squeeze in more information. Instead, format your resume for readability, which means building in lots of white space and avoiding long chunks of text. Modern resume readers prefer bulleted text, which makes for easier scanning.
And even experienced writers need a proofreader to avoid making mistakes. Don’t have the luxury of a proofreader? Printing your resume will help you see your work with fresh eyes.
List skills near the top
Most IT leaders receive at least 10 resumes each week (many report significantly more), and they think at least half the applicants are unqualified for the positions they seek. Faced with a continual stream of resumes, IT hiring managers want to quickly determine whether yours meets the position requirements. Listing your relevant skills near the top of the resume gives readers a reason to pay closer attention to your application.
Enhance your credibility with social media
IT leaders believe most resumes contain exaggerations and even lies. Building a public LinkedIn profile can help validate the truth of your resume. Most employers place more trust in the social network than resumes, believing workers are less likely to exaggerate skills and accomplishments in a public forum. So include your LinkedIn profile as a resume link. Engineers and developers who use GitHub should feature that link on their resume, as well.
Make online applications easier
Many IT professionals report that online recruiting systems are the bane of their existence. It makes sense; you’ve already constructed the perfect resume, but every application system is different so you’re constantly rewriting your skills and achievements. One way to ease this problem is create a master achievement and skills document in a plain text format. List every achievement and skill, and just copy and paste the relevant ones into the system.
Skip resumes altogether
Don’t have the time, inclination or knowledge to market your skills effectively? A recruiter is a specialist who knows how to do these things for you.