Tips to Write Resumes for Tech Professionals
Given below are ten tips that can be especially helpful for tech professionals to improve their resume and get their dream jobs.
Optimize your resume for a short attention span
Recruiters for tech jobs often have to go through hundreds of resumes, so they have a short attention span. They may go through half of your resume page or screen before making the decision to shortlist you or delete your profile. Therefore, keep your most marketable and interest aspects on the top third of your resume to ensure you do not end up in the rejection pile.
Keep your resume at an appropriate length
The appropriate length of your resume depends mainly on your professional experience. If you have two or less years of experience, keep your resume limited to just a page or two. If you have 10 or more years of experience, you can extend your resume to an extra page. Try to limit your resume into three pages all the time. If you have too much experience to show, you can cut down on the objective and jobs that are not directly relevant to the opening you are applying for.
Technical summaries are the best kind
General summaries in the beginning of the resume are good in most industries, but not the best option for technical fields. You can still use them sparingly, but technical summaries are more helpful. However, the first person reading your resume may not be a non-technical person, so avoiding just listing out all the technology you know and have worked with.
Use the right dates
You have to be clear about your employment dates. Exact days may not be required, but most companies still do want months and not just years. Dates of employment are even more important if you are unemployed or have had a few jumps in occupations recently. Do not try to hide it; it is better to be upfront than to make them doubt your credentials.
Highlight your achievements too
Most people write about their job functions and responsibilities in their resume, and it makes sense because recruiters want to know what you did day to day. However, they also want to know what effect you had on your department or company. They want to know how you helped the company, so focus on your achievements.
Writing quality is important
You are a tech professional, so no recruiter expects you write exceptionally well. Besides, long and large paragraphs are not good in any professional's resume. However, you have to make that you write short, simple, and well-structured sentences. The ideal resume should include bullet points and a few short paragraphs, and most importantly good grammar. You can look at sample resumes online to help guide you on the right path. A couple recommended resources are Dice.com and ITresume.org.
Use more action verbs
Most resumes reuse a lot of the same phrases, like 'participated in' and 'responsible for'. Unfortunately, these phrases are vague and do not really clarify if you were just part of a team or an active contributor or even a leader. You can still use such terms in your resume, but it is best to limit them and use action verbs like 'completed', 'developed', 'managed', and so on.
- -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Aug 20, 2013, at 4:35 PM
- -- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Aug 22, 2013, at 10:26 AM
Posting a comment requires free registration:
- If you already have an account, follow this link to login
- Otherwise, follow this link to register