Having a resume that stands out is critical. Unfortunately, many tech professionals create resumes that stand out for all the wrong reasons.

No one wants to know your life story

Resumes are marketing tools, not autobiographies. Keep them on topic.
“You are not required to put every little bit of your professional history into the resume,” says Christie.

Do: Highlight only the parts of your background that are relevant to the job.

Don’t add too much jargon, not everyone is technical

Jargon narrows down the number of people who can read your resume, including the non-technical HR employees who often see your resume first.

“A technical resume does need to have some aspect of technology, but when you’re listing information relating to different applications….it’s better to just list that in one place rather than scattering it across your resume,” says Graham.

Do: Make the job easy for your reader by spelling out acronyms and using comprehensible language.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

A period of job hopping is not necessarily a negative. Balthazard, Graham, and Christie all agree that layoffs are common in young technology companies It may even suggest broader experience.

There is, however, a problem with unexplained career gaps, says Christie.

“Unless you provide a bit of context and explain to the reader what happened to those [employers], you’re running the risk of people thinking, ‘This person can’t stick,’” says Christie.

DO: Be honest. If the company folded after 2 months and you worked right up until the last day, say so. It happens.

Cookie cutters are for grandma

A good resume stands out from the crowd both professionally and visually. Using a resume template is lazy. Tech professionals in particular should pay attention to layout.

“There’s an expectation that tech professionals…know how to present themselves better than others,” says Graham.

DO: Spend time on the design of your resume so that it is effective and attractive.

Be careful with design

Although it’s important to have good design, resumes are often submitted online, so you need to think about how your resume will look in different web browsers and search engines.

“You may look at your page and think, ‘what a beautiful design.’ But once you upload it, it looks awful,” says Balthazard.

DO: Keep the design appealing, but simple in order to maximize accessibility.

It’s about organization, not length

The appropriate length of a resume is debatable. While Balthazard believes that a resume should be between two to seven pages, Christie and Graham think that there is no limit for tech professionals.

Resume length will also vary depending on where you are in your career. A recent university graduate will have a shorter resume, as would a tech professional who has been at the same company for a long time.

However, all three agree that a resume needs to be concise, with the most important information in the top third of the first page.

“The only rule that I follow is that [the resume] should be as long as it needs to be to market your background and no longer,” says Christie.

DO: Present all information clearly and concisely and organize your resume so that the most relevant information is highly visible.

“I’m a good communicator” (pssst, so is everyone else)

The problem with focusing on soft skills, such as being a “good communicator” or a “hard worker,” is that these skills are true for everyone.

“Those things don’t distinguish you,” says Graham.

Instead, she suggests playing up hard competencies that are required for the job. This might include knowledge in C++ or systems design – definite skills that set you apart from other applicants.

This is also why Christie warns against copying and pasting bullets of job descriptions – it does nothing to distinguish you from the crowd.

DO: Focus on hard skills that are specific to the job, which will make you stand out.

Don’t forget who’s reading your resume

There are often two readers of a resume, a person and a machine.

For the person reading your resume, it’s a good idea to focus on business results that you have accomplished. Christie also suggests adding the names of CEOs, customers, and clients that recruiters may be familiar with.

Computers, on the other hand, scan for keywords. Christie suggests including words that are explicitly listed in the job description such as knowledge in “intrusion detection,” or “threat assessment.”

DO: Tailor your resume to include relevant key words.

The average resume has 10 seconds of ‘impression’ time. This should put things in perspective when deciding on design, information, and structure.

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