9 Resume Writing Tips

Here are a 9 tips for tuning up your Résumé. While these tips are geared toward the IT professional, the principles can be used across various industries.

Proof read- always proof read your Résumé and check for grammatical errors as well as the proper spelling and usage of technical terms.

Create different versions- employers have different requirements for how they would like you to submit your résumé, so you should consider having a text only copy, web-based copy and a file for attachment(most times in MSWord format). You will also need to create multiple types of résumés if you are applying for more then one type of position.

Professional email- provide a professional email on your résumé, no employer will take you serious with an email like "Catdaddy1@yahoo.com". If you don't have a more professional sounding email, then create one to use solely for your job search. What's a "professional sounding" email example? When in doubt use your <first initial and last name@your mail carrier.com>.

Maintain your résumé- maintaining your résumé regularly is very beneficial. It allows you to keep your résumé up to date with any newly acquired skills, education, certifications etc. You will want your résumé to reflect that your technical skills are up to date. As a rule of thumb I try to update my résumé every six months.

Size does matter- your résumé should be a brief introduction to who you are professionally. Not so brief that the reader doesn't remember you and not so long that the reader dreads picking your résumé up in the first place. I've heard from professionals that it's best to keep your résumé between one and two pages. Only in special circumstances will a three page résumé be acceptable. 

Personally I keep two types of résumés; an abridged version which is one page and serves as a nice overview of who I am professionally. Then I have a detailed version consisting of three pages describing my experience, accomplishments, and skills in depth. When I apply for a job I submit the abridged version and I display the detailed version at the interview as a part of my portfolio. As a rule of thumb, your résumé should act as your 1 minute elevator pitch of why you're right for the company.

Farewell objectives- I have to admit I was saddened when I heard to replace the objectives section with a professional summary. It took me years to come up with an objective statement that I was totally proud of, only to find out that it's somewhat outdated. The truth of the matter is, there are still times when an objective can be used on a résumé and other times when a professional summary should be used. 

According to ModernAnalyst.com, "Objectives are great if you plan to have a friend distribute your résumé around their office. The objective should be the first thing listed on your résumé. It gives the reader a very quick idea of the type of position that you are seeking....if you are submitting a résumé for a specific position, then an objective makes less sense. Instead, most résumés nowadays have a summary. The summary would typically be the first thing on your résumé in the absence of an objective. Here you can list your technical skills—those most often required a business or systems analyst—in a succinct, organized fashion."

Soft and hard- one area that gets overlooked by technical people are their soft skills. We remember to include our technical conquests and abilities on our résumé but we often forsake to include our soft skills. *Not sure what soft skills are? Click here for examples of the top 10 soft skills in 2009. This is one of the most important set of skills we need to add to our résumé and repertoire. 

The IT industry is very competitive and overflowing with highly technical professionals eager to fill a much desired position. When an employer has 10 to 20 résumés of equally skilled candidates how do they choose the perfect fit for the company? Simple, they allow soft skills to be the deciding factor. A highly skilled employee in a customer-facing position will need to be able to translate technical concepts into plain English for a customer this is where the soft skills come in to play. Displaying soft skills on your résumé shows that you are not only capable of handling the technical issues, but you are also a good communicator for example. 

Keywords & phrases- does your résumé contain keywords and phrase indicative of the position you’re after? It should. When employers release job opening information they can get an overwhelming response so they use filters to help sort the massive amount of résumés they receive. These filters can be customized to narrow the search down to résumés  that use a particular keyword or phrase. If you aren’t sure which words to include on your résumé simply find a position that you’d like to apply for and pay close attention to the words that are listed in the job description and include those exact words on your résumé. For example, if you’re applying for a technical analyst position then include ‘technical analyst’ or 'analyst' on your résumé.

The bottom-line- what can you do for the company? is the bottom-line for the interviewer. To help them see just how valuable you are, be sure to include quantifiable information on your résumé. This is information that gives specific details about your accomplishments. For example, if you developed software that saved your former company a lot of money, you would write that like this: “developed asset management software that saved the company $150,000 annually.”