A Secret Society? 

Reading IT resumes when you’re an outsider to the industry can be a hair-pulling and frustrating experience. Filled with mysterious industry jargon and even more mysterious lists of acronyms, IT resumes can make you feel that you have been invited to a meeting of a secret society without the right handshake!

Technology professionals regularly fail to get their point across by relying heavily on obscure terms and little-known acronyms that fly right past the interest level of the average recruiter who on the whole, is simply seeking an employee with the right fit for an existing team.

The modern IT résumé is no place for complex narratives of convoluted methodologies and functions, and while usually included to impress, virtually always fails to elicit enthusiasm from recruiters.

Keep it Simple: Think Business

Never lose sight of what an employer or recruiter ultimately wants to see in a successful IT candidate. “Keep it Simple” is your “secret handshake” that bridges the gap between you and the job you hope to achieve.

Let’s keep it simple by asking: What drives business? The Answer: money, people and productivity. Therefore what is it that you do or have done in the past that can help the business advance these missions?

• Money (make more of it or save it)
• People (how to get and keep good ones) and
• Productivity (how to create more with less).  

Let’s look at some groups of IT professionals.

Are you an IT Manager, Chief Information Manager, or Head of a Department?

If so, then demonstrating your leadership strengths is your aim, like any resume for any management professional. You will want to expose your strengths in building teams, making budget, overseeing solutions that improve the way business is done, and you will want to articulate how you have steered positive change, so that you leave your organisation in better shape than you found it. While technology is what you do, don’t get swept into the maze of technology jargon. The message has to be clear and unequivocal. You are a leader and manager first so no matter how much you love throwing acronyms around, do not allow your true story to be distracted by the seductive lure of jargon. Employers of senior IT executives and managers will be interested in hearing about budgets, projects being on time and on budget, staff being happy, change being seamless and positive, and customer satisfaction being increased under your management.

Are you a programmer, test analyst, database developer, or application developer?

If so, then you can get lost in a world of technologies, testing procedures and acronyms if you are not careful. Individuals in these disciplines tend to over-emphasise the technology and fail to communicate the big picture of what they are trying to achieve. In these disciplines you want to think outside the square. If you are a Software Developer what was this software going to do for the company? How was it going to make it better? Was it going to save money? Boost productivity? How? Now place the project on your resume in a business-focused sense so that the employer or the recruiter can see your value. If you were a business owner would you rather employ a software developer who created a piece of software that went on to make six million dollars for the company in commercial sales nationally, or would you rather hire someone who applied a convoluted acronym-filled methodology to create a testing outcome? The “Keep it Simple” standard applies.

A technology listing of all the areas you are good at is imperative. Remember, old technologies are “out”. Don’t waste the reader’s time by giving a long and dull list of basic, rusty or passable skills. Promote only those technologies you are good at and have used recently.  

Are you a Technical/Hands-on Type?

Examples of these professionals would be people who install desktops, set up printers and networks, and troubleshoot and resolve issues when they occur. If so, a listing of what technologies you know is crucial. Again, the listing needs to be technologies you are good at and have used recently. Nothing looks worse than a person showcasing Windows 3.1 for WorkGroups from the eighties as a key skill! Instead of focusing on configuring networks and implementing servers and disaster recovery plans, instead approach your writing from a business perspective. How did you make things work better for “customers”. Maybe you improved security so viruses that were crippling the system are now a thing of the past. Maybe you reduced congestion so that everyone in the company could now use the network of computers without all stations grinding to a halt. These are the hot spots employers are looking for.

Keep Your Story Simple

As long as you keep the money, people and productivity at the foremost of how you position your skills in your resume, the rest will fall easily in place. Allowing the technology to take over will confuse the very people you are hoping to impress!

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