In the IT industry, a professional resume that highlights technical achievements is necessary in order to be a competitive job candidate.
Not all resumes should look alike. While some industries value creative resumes, others call for professional resumes that adhere to certain criteria. Follow these best practices whether you are applying for a temporary IT job or a full-time position.
Stay Focused
Every item on your resume should be related to your technical knowledge, abilities, and experience. Avoid listing non-tech-related jobs or internships unless the alternative is a gap in your employment history.
Go Beyond Your Degree
Many IT positions require or strongly recommend a college degree, so it is important to list it on your resume.
However, you should also include technology-related certifications, recognitions, and awards besides your diploma. Adding these to your resume will demonstrate your abilities and help you stand out as an applicant.
Spotlight Achievements
Highlight accomplishments at your past jobs instead of simply listing your assigned duties and responsibilities.
Naming the assignments you received in your previous workplace does not speak to your individual strengths. Hiring managers will always be more interested in the projects you completed, the innovations you pushed, and the value you added to your company.
List Technical Skills
Besides listing formal education and credentials, IT resumes should include a summary of the candidate’s relevant technical skills. These include capabilities in programming languages, operating systems, databases, and platforms.
When compiling your list, indicate your level of proficiency for each technical skill. Avoid overstating your skill level.
Tailor Your Resume to the Job
Many hiring departments use software called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to scan resumes for key terms and phrases before passing them to human readers. If your resume does not contain enough of these terms, it may be automatically rejected.
To improve your resume’s odds of making it through the ATS, ensure the descriptions of your skills and credentials match the terminology used in the job posting for the position you are interested in.
Include general, overarching descriptors and keywords in addition to more specific keywords. If you worked as a systems administrator, including both the operating systems you worked out of as well as the specific technologies you used will help match your resume to more jobs.
Send Your Resume to ABBTECH
Speed up your job search by sending your resume to ABBTECH. We are an IT staffing and recruitment firm that matches talented IT contractors with temporary jobs.
ABBTECH places tech professionals in small businesses, startups, major corporations, and government agencies. We save you the time and energy of hunting for jobs by finding opportunities that suit your qualifications and preferences.