How To Write A Great IT Resume

Resumes and CVs are usually documents that you write when you apply for a job, and don’t update until you move on from that job and are looking for another one. The IT industry can be competitive, but, if you’re reading this site, you’re interested in improving your IT career so you can stand out from the rest! Writing a great IT resume or IT CV is the best way of doing that to get a new job.

1.	Focus On Your Strengths This may seem an obvious one, but your IT resume should focus only on your strengths. If you’re a great database administrator, include that on your resume. If you’re exceptional at dealing with customers or end users, put that down on the resume. The idea is to show your potential future employer all the things you’re good at, and why they should hire you.
2.	List Accomplishments Instead Of Responsibilities In your past roles, you will have had certain tasks or things you had to do as part of your job. These should be listed on your resume, but the key is in how they are worded. They should be worded as though they are an achievement, rather than a responsibility. A responsibility is something like “Developing code fixes to large systems for the company”. This may seem good, as it’s specific and was actually what you do. How about wording it as an achievement – “Supported and resolved issues in critical, large scale systems for the company that prevented significant financial losses and implemented cost savings.” Much better? I think so. It still includes your job description, but lists it as something you achieved and accomplished. It also includes a measurable statistic – “significant financial losses”. This kind of information stands out. If you know the actual numbers, such as “saving $500k in support costs per year”, that’s even better, but words like “significant” will still do.
3.	Include Testimonials From Past Employers If you’re able to, ask your old employers to provide you with testimonials on your work. You don’t need to mention you’re going for a new job, you can just say you’d like it for future reference. Testimonials can generally be written by anyone you’ve worked with, but obviously only choose ones you think will write a favourable one! Customers, end users, managers, co-workers are all the kinds of people who are able to give you a review – which you can then use on your resume. It’s a great way to show your future employer that other people have high opinions of you and your work.
4.	Put Your Most Important Information Below Your Contact Details Your contact details should always go at the top of the resume – name, phone number, email address. However, what should you put next? What is the next thing that you want your reader to see? The next thing down should be the most important information about your career or skills. This is because it stands out and is the first thing the employer sees (after your name, of course). The most important thing would depend on your work history, but it should be whatever you think will help you get a job. If you’re going for a project management role in a large company, you could start with “PMP Certified with 10 Years PM Experience In Large and Small Companies”. Obviously, you should only put that if it’s true, but it highlights your strengths that are related to the role you’re going for or what your main skills are. These can, of course, be changed depending on your skills – whether it’s software development, system testing, business analysis, system architect, or whatever area you’re involved in!
5.	Use Language Both IT Staff and Non IT Staff Can Understand Your IT resume is something that might be read by a few people. Recruitment would probably read it to begin with. There may be someone else in HR, senior management, the technical team or the team in which the role was advertised for – any of these roles might read your IT resume. The language used in the resume, therefore, should be understandable by both IT staff and non-IT staff. This means, don’t use IT-speak that only fellow technology users can understand. Make sure people throughout the company in different roles can read and understand it. If they have any difficulty in understanding it, they won’t realise the full meaning of what you’re trying to say. Or worse, they may dismiss the resume and you won’t get the job!
6.	Don’t Refer to Old Technologies Information technology is a fast-changing industry. Technologies and methods are improving and being created all the time. Companies need to stay up to date with these in order to try to get the edge in the market. Depending on how long you’ve been in the IT industry, your skill set might be quite large. You might know ten or twenty different programming languages. You might have experience in configuring or using software that has been around for decades. This may be an important skill at the moment, but if it’s a technology or product that is no longer widely used, then it shouldn’t go on your resume. It doesn’t really serve any purpose or have any relevance. Personally, I’ve got experience in Visual Basic from my high school days. I don’t put that on my resume – partly because I haven’t used much of it since, and partly because it’s not widely used. Sure, there is plenty of VBA or VB.Net around, but that wasn’t what my skill was. Additionally, if you’re competent in older systems or languages, you may not need to include them on your resume.
7.	Spelling And Grammar Should Be Perfect This is quite an important point, and is relevant not only to IT resumes, but to all kinds of resumes and even other documentation. Your spelling and grammar on your resume should be absolutely perfect. Don’t make mistakes when spelling things such as: Technology names – especially acronyms  Company names  Certifications or qualifications you’ve received  People’s names (e.g. references)  Even if you know what you mean, it’s very unprofessional to misspell something on a resume. Make sure your spell checker is turned on. Give it a proof read once you’ve finished. If you can, get someone else to read it as well. This extra pair of eyes is useful in picking up spelling and grammar mistakes, and can also provide feedback on your IT resume overall.

Conclusion

I hope these tips have helped you prepare your resume for your next IT job!