“How technical do I need to get? How will my future employer understand the value of what I’ve done? How do I know what to include and what to omit in my work experience?” These are just a few of the questions my clients have asked. In response to those questions—and more—here are seven tips for technical resume success.
1. Know your Goal
We’ve all heard the adage “Begin with the end in mind.” Nowhere is that more true than in resume writing. Given an average of seven seconds to captivate a hiring manager, every word and detail counts. Having a clear picture of your ideal job enables you to tailor your resume precisely for that future position.
Once you know where you’re going, think about how all of your prior experience positions you for success in this future role. Those are the projects, skills, and accomplishments you want to bring to the forefront of your resume—show your future manager how your experiences align with this new position.
2. Use the Right Tools
Keywords are one of the most important components of a solid technical resume. They are vital not only to the hiring manager or recruiter but also to getting past the Applicant Tracking Systems used in most companies today. Keywords are the industry and job-specific words that confirm your knowledge in the field.
You may be asking, “How do I know which keywords to use?” A job posting for your target role is the ideal place to start. As you read the key responsibilities and requirements, they are essentially telling you what keywords they expect to see in your resume. Are they looking for PMP certification? Lean manufacturing experience? Risk management? Technical documentation? Whatever words they use, you want to mirror back to them in your resume (as long as they are relevant to your experience and skills!).
3. Focus on the Highlights
There aren’t a lot of people who enjoy reading technical documents. While you might be one of those rare enthusiasts who read software manuals and specifications for leisure, your future hiring manager may not be. With that in mind, keep your resume focused on the most relevant aspects of your experience. Succinctly summarize your job responsibilities and spend the bulk of your time focused on your accomplishments and projects.
4. Emphasize the Impact
Identifying accomplishments can be one of the hardest components of technical resume writing. If you find yourself stuck here, think about the major projects you have worked on over the past year or two. What was the situation that led to the implementation of this new technology or process? What was your role? Did you lead a team to execute the solution? How did you achieve success in this endeavor? What were the results? How did this influence the business?
5. Share your Data
Quantify as many things as you can in your resume to convey the scope of your projects and responsibilities. How many servers did you manage? How many users did you support? Are they local, national, international? Do you support multiple locations? How many? How much did you save by virtualizing those servers or renegotiating contracts with your vendors? Using numbers makes your story more compelling and adds to the impact of what you’ve accomplished.
6. Be Creative
Technical resumes tend to be a little, shall we say, dry. They don’t have to be. Your resume is your personal marketing document—it should be interesting, visually pleasing, well written, and highly professional. That being said, don’t be afraid to try something new.
For example:
- Use a logo to show off your CEH, CCNA, or CISSP certification.
- Throw in a hint of color in your bullet point, headings, or lines.
- Embed a chart or graph to illustrate growth or savings over a period of time.
- Link to your professional blog (if it aligns to your target role), a relevant personal video, or your Twitter feed (where you’re posting regular comments applicable to your field of interest).
You’ve probably heard that more than 90% of recruiters and hiring managers are checking LinkedIn when researching a candidate. Anticipate their search by having an active, updated LinkedIn profile that reiterates and reinforces what’s on your resume.
Also, don’t underestimate the importance of customizing your URL on LinkedIn (and other social media sites like Google+). If you’re trying to present yourself as tech savvy, you don’t want a random string of LinkedIn assigned numbers on your profile address. Taking a few minutes to change your URL to your first and last name can go a long way in elevating your image as a technical guru.
Writing a compelling technical resume writing can be a challenging endeavor. These seven tips for technical resume success will give you a competitive advantage as you pursue the next step in your career journey.