You may have worked in the tech sector for years, or you may be looking to transition to tech from a completely different industry. Whatever the case, to help you put your best foot forward when looking for a new role in tech, you’ll need a tailored tech résumé or tech CV. And this guide will help you craft it like a pro!
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Why a great tech résumé is so important
Your résumé is the first opportunity you’ll get to present your “best professional self” to a prospective employer, making it the most important item in your job-search toolkit.
While a great résumé will get your foot in the door for an interview, a poorly written one may obscure your skills and competencies, rendering you unqualified for the role.
Plus, lots of employers use an Applicant Tracking System (or ATS) which automatically pulls out the relevant information from your résumé and sorts you into a list with other candidates. This means that if you score low on the ATS, your résumé might not even get considered.
In a nutshell, your résumé should show your future employer what you’re capable of, emphasizing your strengths, and why you’d be a great fit for their organization. While it’s a short document, it needs to do a lot of work, so it’s no wonder if you feel daunted about the prospect of writing one.
Speaking of first impressions… Your LinkedIn profile is just as important as your résumé, so make sure that’s optimized, too.
Where to begin with a tech résumé
Most people don’t enjoy writing their résumé… And who can blame them? It’s an incredibly difficult task to give an objective overview of your own career. People tend to either provide too much information, or they don’t give enough—it’s a fine line to balance.
To get around this, try to put yourself in the shoes of the person who will read your résumé. Don’t overthink the writing aspect. Instead, focus on your audience. Imagine you are the recruiter or line manager and try to appeal to what they’ll want to see. Each page on your résumé is valuable real estate and every word should work towards securing you a job interview.
So, writing a good résumé means hitting a few key points:
- Is all the information provided on your résumé relevant to the particular job you’re applying for?
- Is your résumé clear and engaging?
- Is your résumé succinct? (two pages or less)
- Does your résumé outline why you’re perfect for the specific job you’re applying for?
If you’re able to answer ‘yes’ to these four questions, then you’re definitely on the right track with your résumé.
How Revolent can help you write a great CV or résumé
We’re experts in helping skilled professionals to cross-train into in-demand cloud technologies. The way we see it, our job is to make our applicants’ lives easier, which is one of the reasons that our application process includes résumé-writing sessions.
That means that, even if a candidate doesn’t get accepted onto one of our world-class careers programs, they still get a lot of value out of the process—and leave us with a fantastic résumé in tow.
After your first-round interview, we’ll send you a résumé template and support you through the process of creating a compelling résumé. The résumé template includes:
- An outline of what to include in your professional and career summaries
- A few key skills list to highlight, based on the role you have applied for
- Guidance on what professional experience to include and how to meaningfully add additional context to your experience
- Information on which key projects and achievements you should include
Once that is done, we’ll book a résumé preparation session with you to help you tailor your résumé to make it perfect for the role you’re applying for. What’s more, even if you’re unsuccessful, you’ll have the knowledge, skills, and a résumé template you can use in your future job search.
What to include in your résumé
If you have been working for more than a few years, it can be difficult to know what information you should include in your résumé.
Start with the easy part—your name and contact details, along with the link to your LinkedIn profile.
You should also always include a professional summary beneath your contact details. This is your elevator pitch and your opportunity to communicate why the hiring manager should employ you.
What to write in your professional summary
Did you know you have just 7 seconds to capture a recruiter’s interest with your résumé when applying for a role?
A strong, clearly written professional summary will be a key deciding factor in whether you’re put forward for an interview.
Therefore, your professional summary should include three things:
- your top accomplishments
- your key skills
- any experience relevant to the role
Including these features will help recruiters and hiring managers to quickly discern if you’re right for the job, so make sure you spend a bit of time on this section.
What to include in your career summary
If you think of your résumé as real estate, with only one or two pages to sell yourself, then think of your career summary on the résumé as the foundation.
Following a professional summary, a career summary is a foundation block for the rest of your résumé. It should show the progression you’ve made in your career and outline reasons why you took the steps you did.
For example, did you move from Accounting to Marketing? If so, your career summary should include this and explain why.
What NOT to include in your résumé
Date of birth, marital status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion
This information is not required (or relevant) for a job application, so it’s best to remove it. In other words, the employer doesn’t need these details in order to decide whether to progress with the application.
Hobbies and interests
People often feel they have to put some kind of hobby or interest down but, in truth, it’s irrelevant. Stick to your work experience and only include non-work-related achievements if they are notable (such as raising a large sum for charity, winning a professional award, etc.)
"References available upon request"
Quite simply, this is a waste of a sentence and real estate on your résumé. Nearly all companies require references as part of their application process—and everyone knows that. In fact, adding this sentence might even make employers assume that you’re out of date with the working environment.
Objective statements
It’s crucial to strike the right tone on your résumé to show that you’re confident, capable but not arrogant. Therefore, steer clear of statements such as “I want this”, “I want to be that”, or “My dream is to be”, as these do more harm than good. Your résumé should be about what you—as a candidate—can do for the company you’re applying to, rather than what this opportunity can do for you.
We hope you’ve found this guide helpful! We understand how daunting it can feel to write a résumé, whether you’re looking to specialize further in one particular area of tech or join the sector in the first place. So, why not let us help you?
With Revolent, you can earn while you learn, making the career switch that much easier. We’ll equip you with training, industry certifications, and a full-time work placement to help you launch a fantastic career as a tech specialist.
Ready to take the first step?
