Are you one of the many IT job seekers having difficulty landing that next great IT job or IT career? This article shares with you the seven top tricks of writing an excellent IT resume and online profile to improve your chances of landing a great IT job significantly. You need to make sure your IT resume stands out from the crowd, just as in any other field. Use these tips to help make your information technology resume stand out every time.
1. Technical SkillsSummary
One of the essential details on your IT resume is the specific technology expertise you possess. To be successful in your IT job search, you must make it easy for a reviewer to find details about your technical knowledge on your IT resume. What is best done by including a Technical Skills section on your IT resume? It could be a bulleted list, short paragraph, or even a table. If it makes sense, you may want to break your inventory into technical areas, such as programming languages, databases, networking tools, etc. Make it short so that a reviewer can skim it. You should avoid listing specific versions or models unless they are specifically mentioned as a requirement in a job posting. Reviewers look for your technical skills on the initial scan, making it easy for them to find a great strategy to position yourself well with the reviewer. The resume reviewer should be able to quickly identify your key areas of IT experience, whether it is a help desk, hardware maintenance, networking, database, programming, system administration, or whatever. Your resume needs to make this apparent.
When applying for specific job postings, make sure your resume shows your experience with all of the technical skills the employer identifies in their posting, no matter how small the requirement may seem. You might be surprised to learn that many candidates do not make the initial cut because the potential employer thought they didn't have experience with x, y, or z. Though they had a lot of experience with it, x, y, or z, they did not include it on their resume because they didn't think it was important. I have seen many candidates assume that reviewers would know that if you had experience with a, b, or c, you also had experience with x, y, or z. And that is the root of the problem. The candidate assumed a reviewer would know that, but frequently they do not. The lesson here is not to make assumptions about what a reviewer will or will not understand about your technical background. Rule of thumb: if the job posting spells it specifically, you should address it on your resume.
2. ProfessionalExperience Summary
Once a reviewer has determined that you meet the technical requirements for the position, they will begin to assess the depth of your experience related to the IT job. Again, it would help make this task easy for the reviewer to improve your chances of passing the resume screening. Not much time will be spent reviewing your resume, so if it is too difficult for a reviewer to determine whether you meet the requirements, you will most likely not cut.
Ditch the Objective on your resume. Honestly, it's not very valuable to anyone. Can you use this space on your resume much more wisely by providing a short one-paragraph (2-3sentences) summary of your qualifications for the position? You will want to include years of experience and the types of knowledge, perhaps even summarize your experience with a few of the most critical technologies related to the position. Toot your horn a little, but be honest. This summary should be directly relevant to the post you are applying for, as taken from the position requirements. Therefore, you will need to tweak the summary section for each resume submitted or at least for each type of position. Make sure you give them the highlights of your qualifications for THIS SPECIFIC IT job. You give the reviewer a shortcut to make their screening process more accessible and ensure you pass the screening. Use it to your advantage.
After your summary is complete, you will want to ensure that each write-up in your experience history(your job summaries) includes these details as well. Once you pass the initial resume screening, a reviewer will map the outline to the parties to see where and when you had the experience needed for the IT job. However, if your summary mentions something not shown in the details, a reviewer will most likely assume you don't have that experience, regardless of what your resume says. That is why you must make sure you address all of the details in your job summaries. The technical and professional experience summaries are often the key to getting past the initial resume screening. But you must make sure the details line up with what is, in summary, to get through the detailed resume review to get the interview.
3. Education andTraining
Most employers want to see your degrees, so list them. If you have worked towards a degree but are still pursuing or have never finished, but you may someday list it as progress.
You should also include a listing of relevant technology training courses you have taken. Many candidates forget to list these items out, but they can be invaluable when demonstrating expertise and exposure to different technologies, especially for less experienced candidates. Unfortunately, most people will list Training last on the resume, often paired withEducation.
4. Certifications
Are professional certifications necessary to a potential employer? Well, the truth is, it depends on the employer. One thing for sure, though, is that certificates do not substitute for work experience. Many employers find certifications essential and may even require them for certain positions. Other employers may have a preference for candidates with credentials, but they are not necessary. Still, others don't seem to pay much attention to them. You can never really know what the company wants unless the specific state certification is required; you should list these if you have them. They can only help you.
You must be aware, though, that not all certifications are created equally. Professional certificates from major technology vendors and professional associations carry the most weight and are well worth the investment of time and cost. They often will give you an edge over other similar candidates being considered. IT professionals with certifications from Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, and the like are continually in demand. Certifications from professional associations in-demand include A+, Network+, and Security + from Computing Technology IndustryAssociation (CompTIA); Certified Information Systems Security Professional(CISSP) from International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium(ISC)²; and Project Management Professional (PMP) from Project ManagementInstitute.
Consider training for the certification most applicable to you? It can give you a way to make a career transition by proving your knowledge in new areas where you may not have as much work experience. There are plenty of books, DVDs, online tools, and courses to prepare you for the certification exams. Consider it an investment in your future.
