Secrets of A Great I.T. Resume

Okay, I lied. The following ideas are not secrets nor do they represent original thought. In fact a better title might have been “Not Really so Secret Secrets of a Great I.T. Resume). Yet, within the I.T. Field at least, the factors that contribute to a good resume appear to be unknown. Among the hundreds of resumes I have reviewed during my career only a few were well written. Why is this? Instructions and examples abound. An internet search will reveal thousands of sites that offer advice and insight into the writing of resumes. Not only is the information readily available, we as programmers are usually detail oriented, logical individuals.

So, if sources abound, why did I write this article? To be honest, the main motivator for me was the purely selfish hope that the next person to send me a resume will have read an article like this one.

So what are the secrets that really aren’t but still seem to be? The secrets (that really aren’t) are:

1. Include a Customized Cover Letter
2. Keep in mind the purpose of your resume.
3. Target your resume and cover letter to a specific position at a specific company.
4. Size matters, keep your resume and cover letter brief and to the point.
5. Keep you resume accurate and honest.
6. All that stuff you learned in High School English and (for those who at least completed a freshman year of collage) re-learned in English 1 & 2.

Include a Customized Cover Letter

Failure to include a cover letter is probably one of the worst mistakes you can make when submitting a resume. Why include a cover letter? A cover letter (also called a letter of introduction) introduces you to the prospective employer, informs the employer what job you are applying for and how you fit the employer’s needs. The best cover letter is one that is customized to the company and position to which you are applying. Do your homework and find out as much as possible about a potential employer. Use this information and the requirements in the job posting to create a letter that presents you as the best candidate for the position.

Purpose of a Resume and Cover Letter

Always remember that the purpose of your resume and cover letter is to win you an interview; a chance to go face to face with a prospective employer so that you can demonstrate why you are the best candidate for the open position. It is an advertising tool and the product being offered is you. It should catch the eye of the person responsible for scanning resumes and convince him or her to forward your resume to those responsible for interviewing candidates.

As all good advertising, your resume and cover letter should be pleasing to the eye and engaging, easily conveying the message that you are strong candidate to an advertised position.

Target Your Resume

Competition for good jobs is fierce and yet the majority of job seekers shotgun generic resumes to as many employers as possible, assuming that more is better. A resume, with a tailored cover letter always stands out since it addresses the needs of the hiring company.

This step (and indeed your job search) should start with your career goals in mind. The positions you apply for should be chosen to help you reach your career goals. Tailor your resumes to those goals. Yes you read that correctly, resumes, plural. You should have a good idea of where you want to be. Be aware that there may be more than one avenue to get there. For example, say you have determined to become a software architect. If all of your programming experience is with web-applications, you would be well served to find a position that would give you more experience in middleware and data access layer development. If you have not yet been a team lead you may want to move in that direction. These are two different paths and require two different resumes. For the first (middleware and data access) create a version of your resume that emphasizes the experience, training and certifications you have in those areas. The idea is to be specific, not general. For the second path (team lead) you may want to emphasize you experience, training and certifications that highlight your ability to lead development teams, write specifications, meet deadlines etc.

Find positions that match the next step in your career. Research each prospective employer and create a cover letter that demonstrates how you, and your skill set, meet the needs of the employer for that position. Pair this cover letter to the resume that best matches the target position.

Keep it Relevant and Brief

In the 1995 remake of the movie Sabrina, Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond), who has been asked to take pictures of the Larrabee cottage on Martha’s Vineyard, asks multi-millionaire Linus Larrabee (Harrison Ford) which section of outdoor scenery he would like to include. Linus responds “all of it” to which Sabrina responds “More is not always better Linus, sometimes it is just more.” With a resume and cover letter the same concept applies. Everything in your resume and cover letter should be relevant to the position you are applying for.

I was always told to keep my resume as short as possible; it is not a Curriculum Vita. However, most software developer positions, while not executive level jobs, require more detail than say a manager at a fast food restaurant, especially if the relevant experience extends past ten years. As long as the information is relevent, do not be afraid to include detailed descriptions of your experience. That being said, if your resume becomes longer than two and a half pages review everything; if something is not relevant to the position(s) you are applying for, cut it out. If something requires more clarification or deserves more attention, highlight it in you cover letter.

Be Accurate and Honest

We are taught from a young age that lying is wrong. This is a lesson that more and more often seems to get forgotten when resumes are written. There are several web sites that teach the “art” of resume enhancement. The reasons given are that everyone lies on their resumes and companies, through hiring practices, force job seekers to lie and expect job seekers to lie.

In the field of software development it is fairly easy to bluff your way past non-technical individuals. Your new coworkers, other software developers, will not be as easy to fool. Software developers tend to be less tolerant of incompetence than most people since software developers recognize that development work done by someone who is not skilled results in more work for everyone. Lying is cheating. It is cheating your coworkers, your employer and ultimately yourself.

Your resume should be an honest representation of your experience and skill set. Enough said.

Everything Else

Remember all of the stuff you learned in high school English (and later in English 1 & 2 as a freshman in college) about essay / report writing? All of it is essential to writing a good resume and cover letter.

1. Ask a friend or trusted or colleague to review your resume(s) and cover letters. This is especially important if English is a second language (and your resume is written in English), or if writing is especially troublesome for you. Remember that your resume is your opportunity for a first impression and the individual reviewing it does not know you as a person.
2. Check spelling and grammar.
3. Be careful of perspective. Your resume should be written in the third person. Your cover letter can be written in the first person, but avoid overuse of personal pronouns.
4. Check spelling and grammar.
5. Do not switch tenses or perspective within a document. The only exception would be to present a current position in the present tense while presenting previous positions in the past tense.
6. Check spelling and grammar.

It should not need to be said but I am going to repeat it again – make use of your spell checker and grammar checker.

Summary

A resume (coupled with a good cover letter – remember this) is like a sales brochure. It is an advertising tool and the product being offered is you. It should catch the eye of the person responsible for scanning resumes and convince him or her to forward your resume to those responsible for interviewing candidates. Always remember that the purpose of your resume and cover letter is to win you an interview; a chance to go face to face with a prospective employer so that you can demonstrate why you are the best candidate for the open position. Target your resumes and cover letters; keep them brief, relevant and honest. Above all remember to make use of your spell checker and grammar checker.