Five Tips for a Better Resume

One of the common questions that come up time and time again when talking with technical candidates is, “What should I put on a resume?”  There is no shortage of websites, blogs, and so called “experts” who tell you exactly what it should contain.  The problem that arises however is that usually they are tailoring it to resume aggregators, keyword finders and HR coordinators who aren’t looking for the same thing a development manager might be.  Here are a few key pointers I have found to be successful in putting your experience in the best light: 

1. Have a skill section at the top of the page, break it down into languages you know, OS, database, tools, etc. so the hiring manager can take a quick look and understand where your experience lies.

2. Under each position, make sure you describe how you used the technologies you list in your skills section.  If a hiring manager sees Java in the top but never again on the resume he/she will wonder if you are just giving a laundry list or have any actual experience.

3. If possible, try and give a sense of the size and depth of the applications you have worked with, give number of users, speed, size, etc. to give weight to your work.

4. If you have contributed to open source projects or have given presentations at user groups, conferences, these are good to summarize and will show you have an interest in technology outside of the workplace.

5. The idea of a 1 page resume is not the right move if you are an experienced developer/engineer, try and give as much detail without being repetitious or overly wordy, 2-3 pages is perfectly acceptable.

Hopefully these pointers will help you when crafting your next draft and will put you ahead of the pack when the hiring manager get’s a hold of your resume.

If you have any additional questions about how to improve your resume, contact Jeff Pierce at jeff@ehire.com.