10 Things to Keep in Mind with Your IT Resume

Your resume is the first step towards getting your new IT job. It is the first impression you make on your prospective employer or recruiter. There are some things you can do to make yourself look good or look bad. Opt for looking good. This is especially necessary when you are in the field of Information Technology (IT). The field is highly competitive and you have to make a lot of efforts to make yourself stand out from the rest.
It is important to consider that the hiring managers do not have enough time to run through every detail that you mention in your resume. So, you should draft it in a manner that they get to know your strengths and abilities in one glimpse. This is what the best resume structure for IT is about. Remember that the hiring managers go through hundreds of resumes every day. Yours need to be the one that not only gets their attention but also delivers the purpose effectually. To help you in the process of making a perfect IT resume, we have accumulated a list of top ten things that you need to keep in mind. Let’s have a look at them one by one.

1. Have a Skills Section on Page 1

When drafting a resume, you have to keep in mind the constraints of time that the hiring manager faces. As mentioned, they do not have time to run through each detail, so you have to take a rather careful approach in aligning the sections of your resume. When you think from the recruiter’s perspective, you will see that the most important thing they are interested in is what skills you have. It is your skills that give you a competitive edge over others. So, make sure that you put your skills section on the first page in a manner that you are able to catch the hiring manager’s attention right away.

2. Group the Skills

The competitiveness in the IT sector is very high. Your skills are your biggest asset. They are going to get you hired in the best places in the IT field if you are able to project them efficiently to the hiring managers. When you put them on the first page, you have to make sure that the recruiter has no difficulty in learning what your forte is. However, you have to make give the recruiter valuable information in the least amount of time. So, you have to design your resume in a same fashion. The best way to convey your skill set in an efficient manner is to group them together rather than mentioning them separately. For instance, instead of numbering every programming language individually, you can group them together. Bring together technology-related skills closer and line them according to the level of proficiency. This will facilitate the recruiter and show your resume as compact.

3. Have a Summary Section on Page 1

The third thing you need to add in your resume is a section that summarizes everything mentioned ahead. This gives the recruiter an entire overview of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. It marks valuable impression on the person viewing your resume and enables them to know what to expect out of it. You can put the summary section in the start of the first page so that recruiter knows what to expect.

4. List Big Name Universities on Page 1

The first page of your resume makes the first impression on the hiring manager. So, you have to be careful in drafting it and making sure that you have the right things on the front page. The institutions you have studied from are an important part of your resume. The skills you have to denote your competence, but your educational background helps the hiring managers understand your suitability for the role. Your university can set you apart from other candidates. So, if you have studied from a famous university, make sure you have it clearly mentioned on the first page. Otherwise, you can list them at the end of the resume.

5. Highlight and Reinforce Your Strengths

You have to convince the hiring manager that you are the person best-suited for the job. IT field has a lot of competition. There will be numerous candidates having the same set of skills as you do and have tremendous experience. The art you need to master is to convey the message through your resume that you have what the job requires of an ideal candidate. This can only happen when you highlight your best points. Therefore mention your strengths in the very beginning so that they have the greatest odds of getting noticed.

6. Last 5 years / Past 2 Jobs on Page 1

IT is a field of continuous innovation. It needs people with advanced skills and updated experience. So, when applying for an IT job, you have to build a resume which showcases what you have done in the past five years and your most recent jobs. This has to be mentioned on page one and two. Your experience sets your seniority level and ultimately gives you an edge over others. So, let your experience be clearly visible to the hiring manager.

7. Summarize Your Old Jobs

Remember that you do not have to go overboard with the details of the older jobs that you have done. Give a brief overview to shed light on what you have been doing and the experience that you have gained. The overview must show how your previous job experience is valuable for the prospective vacancy you have applied for. Also, ensure to highlight the technologies you have mastered.

8. Add Bullet Points instead of Paragraphs

To make an appealing IT resume you have to make it an easy read for the hiring manager. The best way to do so is to utilize bullet point format instead of paragraphs. When you use bullets, you eventually have to be concise in your writing and emphasize on the exact qualities rather than relying on fluff. Moreover, it gives an appealing look to the recruiter who can easily go through your resume without filtering it.

9. Keep Things Simple

You have to keep your IT resume really simple. Avoid adding any sort of design or writing format that make things complex or difficult to read or understand. This is really common in mentioning dates of joining / resigning previous jobs and education certifications. Make sure that you keep a standard MM/YY format. Do not get into any further complicated details.

10. Talk About Your Latest IT Experience

The most important thing in your resume should be IT. Talk about it specifically. The rest of the details are not as significant. They are mandatory but they shouldn’t divert the attention of the reader from the main thing. So, emphasize what your strong points are in the field and your experience about it. Similarly, instead of adding details of all your older jobs, talk about your most recent IT-related experience. If it is a job you did, any course you completed or seminar or workshop you attended – talk about this. It will ultimately give you a competitive edge.
Your IT resume makes the impression on the hiring manager before you meet them. It sets the expectations in their mind and offers an insight into the person that you are. So, put in considerable amount of effort in drafting your resume because it will decide the things ahead for you.

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