According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in information technology occupations is expected to grow by 15% by 2031. The IT sector offers competitive salaries, a good work-life balance, and opportunities for professional growth. On the flip side, competition for jobs in top tech companies is also growing, so you will need a resume that effectively emphasizes your skillset, accomplishments, and relevant experience. In this guide, we will explain what to include in your resume to make it competitive for 2023 and get hired faster.
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How to create a perfect IT resume for 2023? Tips from IT resume writing service
To write a resume that makes a great first impression, be sure to include the following:
Your full name and contact details
Double-check the information in this section. A misspelled email address or a phone number can lead to missed interview opportunities. Use a professional email address that includes your first and last name.
Links to your professional social media and portfolio
IT specialists are hired for their hard skills and competencies in the first place. So, it will be helpful to show how you put those skills into practice. Add a link to your GitHub or Behance account, a personal website with the portfolio, and the apps and websites you have developed. A link to a LinkedIn profile is also helpful provided that your profile is complete and you use it actively.
Use a combination resume format
For an IT professional, it is best to use a combination resume format. This format lists both your professional experience in detail and the technical skills needed for the role. You can place the Skills section above the work experience. If you are a seasoned professional whose experience speaks for itself, you can put skills after the professional history.
A catchy career summary
The Summary section lets you introduce the most relevant qualifications, accomplishments and areas of expertise to the potential employer. Use it as an elevator pitch and focus on the experiences relevant to what the employer is looking for. Write 3-5 sentences, and use figures and facts to give examples of excellent performance in the past.
Technical and soft skills
Having a set of specific technical skills is a must to be considered for the role. List your skills, dividing them into categories for the reader’s convenience.
Example:
- Programming languages: Java, JavaScript, Python, HTML/CSS
- Databases: MySQL, Oracle
- Frameworks: Django, Web2Py, etc.
If you have 10+ years of experience, remove the outdated operating systems, programming languages and other details. If the job posting requires, for example, 3+ years of experience with Python, specify how many years you have in a resume summary or a work experience section.
In addition to listing specific software and tools, include your hard and soft skills, for example:
- Software development life cycle
- Unit testing
- Web services
- Operating systems
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
- Critical thinking
- Effective communication.
You can present these skills as a list, or give examples of how you used these skills in the workplace in the Professional experience section.
Relevant professional history
When describing your professional experience, only list jobs relevant to your target position. If you worked in customer service at the beginning of your career, no need to include this when applying for a Middle Front-End Developer role.
Include 6-7 bullets for each role, focusing on the most relevant responsibilities. Avoid writing a laundry list of daily job duties – make it short, and also try and make your resume easy to understand for a non-technical recruiter. Add the employer’s industry and the technology stack you used in this position. This will help the hiring manager better evaluate your skills.
Accomplishments and results of work
Listing your responsibilities is important, but hiring managers pay more attention to your achievements and measurable results. Accomplishments show that you’re a result-driven professional, which is valued at most tech companies. Moreover, they prove your value as a professional and serve as a proof of your ability to outperform. To list an achievement, explain what you did, the circumstances and what result you managed to achieve.
Example:
Tested the software and new features for bugs, improving efficiency by 26% and reducing the number of customer complaints by 15%.
Commercial and unpaid projects
In addition to employment history, it is helpful to give examples of successful projects. Don’t list every project you worked on – focus on those that benefited your former employers the most. List your role in the project, the scope of responsibility and the result you delivered. Use numbers whenever possible to quantify your impact.
If you don’t have paid experience yet, list academic projects you worked on with your peers. Describe them in a similar way – specify your role, list your contribution, and deliverables.
Training and certifications
List your Computer Science or a relevant degree under the Education section. In addition to mentioning a degree, it is also important to list the training and courses you attended, as the tech companies value candidates who keep their knowledge up-to-date and constantly develop. If you have taken multiple relevant courses, this can give you an edge over other candidates.
If you hold relevant certifications, list them under a separate section. Good examples of certifications to include are:
- Certified Software Development Professional
- Oracle MySQL certified professional
- Salesforce developer certification
- DevOps Engineer Expert Certification, and more.
Keywords
Most tech companies use applicant tracking software (ATS) to streamline hiring. This software tosses resumes that appear irrelevant, so it’s crucial to use relevant keywords to get your application seen by a hiring manager. Read the job posting, highlight the required skills and qualifications, and use them naturally in all sections of your resume. Thus, you will successfully pass the ATS check and have a higher chance of an interview.
A matching cover letter
According to the statistics, 49% of hiring managers reject resumes that don’t have a cover letter. Moreover, a customized letter can show your motivation to work for this particular company, explain the important project in further detail, and even explain the career issues such as an employment gap. Include a concise, 3-4 paragraph letter that uses a traditional structure and focuses on your technical and soft skills needed to excel in the role.
Avoid typos and mistakes
Hiring managers see typos and poor grammar as a lack of attention to detail or low interest in the position. Make sure that your resume can impress the top tech companies in every aspect. Once you’ve written it, proofread the document and check for mistakes. You can use an online spell checker to make the process faster, but do not rely on it completely and check the document manually as well.
If you are still hesitating about what to include or are not sure about the effectiveness of your resume, turn to a resume consultant for help. An experienced resume professional can check mistakes in your resume and give recommendations on how to improve its looks and content.
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