What’s the Best Layout for My IT Resume?
When embarking on a technology job search, crafting a compelling and detailed resume remains an essential part of any successful effort. Your resume serves as your calling card, highlighting your technical skills, professional experience, and the tangible impacts you made for employers. A resume needs to be clearly laid out and easy to read, helping the HR manager quickly decide on your candidacy.
With an eye towards finding a great IT job, here are a few tips on writing and designing a compelling tech resume. Leverage these ideas to ensure your efforts place you in the technology position of your dreams.
An Organized Resume Format is a Must
Companies expect their technical employees to take pride in being organized. When a tech hiring manager sees a resume that’s poorly formatted, it’s a bad look for that candidate. Don’t expect that person to be contacted for an interview.
Your resume needs to use a logical format, with clear sections focused on your skills, experience, and educational background. Consider a section with a bullet point list of your most impressive accomplishments towards the top. This draws the attention of the person doing a first quick analysis of your candidacy.
Include a brief objective at the top of the resume, along with your contact information. Follow this with sections on major accomplishments, technical skills, professional experience, and educational background. Use a reverse chronological order with your work history and list your more recent tech skills first.
Also, consider tailoring the information in your resume for a specific position. If so, emphasize the skills and experience matching the requirements of that job role.
Remember that companies are increasingly using applicant tracking systems, so using a standardized format for your resume makes it easier for an ATS to import your data.
The Best Practices for Crafting a Resume
Using a resume template helps you get started. A template includes a general layout, including the typical sections, alignment, spacing, and font choices. Stay away from garish colors, and don’t use illegible fonts: leverage bolding and larger font size for section headers.
When it comes to font choice, stick to something in the Arial or Times New Roman families. A resume is no place for typeface experimentation. Stick to one font and make black your color of choice.
If you need a second eye to help you with your resume, speak with the experienced recruiters at Digital Prospectors. As one of the top IT staffing agencies in Boston, we can help you take your career to another level. Connect with us soon!