Resumes are a snapshot of you and what you can offer a perspective employer; it’s not intended to be a novel complete of your professional life.  Keep it short and tailored.  Remember, resumes get interviews and interviews secure jobs.  Cater your resume to the position with the goal of getting an interview…the rest is up to you!

Prove Yourself

Make sure your resume reflects the qualities and strengths you possess, as well as those the employer is seeking.  The best way to communicate strengths and qualities is to show a connection between them and your previous job experiences…even better, connect them to the duties the position requires.  If you don’t explain how you will benefit the company, who will?

Proofread, Proofread, and Proofread again

No employer or employment specialist will continue reading a resume full of errors and redundancies so read and re-read your resume for spelling and grammatical accuracy.  Try having another person read your resume as well; a non-biased party is more easily able to spot mistakes or confusing verbiage.  Use the resources around you to help improve your resume!

Four…

…pages are all that is necessary for an IT professional’s resume, in fact most managers won’t even look past page four.  If you have a long work history then cut out anything that is 15 or more years old; also try cutting out irrelevant positions you have held in the past.  In a manager’s mind as long as they see quality in your resume, shorter is better!  Remember tip number one, “Resumes are a snapshot of you and what you can offer a perspective employer; it’s not intended to be a complete novel of your professional life.”

Keywords are the Key!

When presenting your resume for a position, it should reflect how you can meet the needs of the client and the position at hand.  Incorporating the job description into your resume by using the same keywords in your previous work experiences will help make your resume more effective.  Previous titles can also act as keywords; use descriptive language and/or keywords to give a lot of information about your role in just a few simple words.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Plain and simple…don’t lie in your resume.  You will get caught and burn your bridges to new and exciting opportunities.  Honesty and confidence in yourself, along with your professional abilities will take you much further than a lie.

Bring on the Action

You should always bullet your job responsibilities and achievements, but did you know it is best to always start out using action verbs?  It’s true!  These are the words that draw attention and speak volumes about your contribution and achievements during past work experiences.  Use words like: coordinated, created, managed, assisted, prepared.  Also, try using the word responsible in conjunction with your action verbs, for example “Responsible for planning and coordinating all testing activities”.

No brainers…

We reccomend that you avoid doing any of the following.

v  Do not send your picture (unless asked for).

v  Do not include negative comments regarding your past jobs.

v  Never include sensitive information (religion, political affiliation, age, etc)

v  Unless it is relevant to the position you are applying for, don’t include your hobbies.  Your love of fishing, reading, biking or dancing is not likely to entice managers to interview you.

v  Keep out the slang and jargon.

v  Never use “I” or “me”…using pronouns in a resume is redundant.