Making a Tech Resume Speak for Itself

Making a Tech Resume Speak for ItselfMaking a Tech Resume Speak for ItselfHow a certified resume writer helped a systems analyst elevate her resume.If theres one thing that sets Lisa apart from many of her techie brethren, its that she communicates well. Just ask Mary Schumacher, a certified resume writer for Ladders who worked with the Midlothian, Va., nicht auslagerbar in March.Lisa said she welches often pegged for nontechnology projects in her company for organizational development, and I could see why. She could communicate really well, Schumacher said. She was able to communicate well about what she knew and what she did and what was important and why it might be important to the companies she applies to.But while Lisa tells her story with style, the resume this technology project leader started to shop around in February came up short.Heres an example of what that lackluster communication looked likeProject Management ? Team Building ? Corporate Communication ? Presentation De velopment.Those words comprised the first chunk of text on Lisas old resume, bold and bulleted, centered at the top of the page just under her contact information and desired job title of Information Technology / Systems Analyst.Whats so bad about that laundry list? After all, it states Lisas field (information technology) and her desired position (IT analyst) and it contains those oh-so-important keywords.What it lacks is a summary statement, Schumacher said. Thats a key part both recruiters and ATSes (applicant tracking systems) are looking for nowadays.Her resume wasnt too bad, Schumacher said. But if you cant sum up your history and strengths in a few sentences, its one reason your resume might be thrown out. Theres just so little time for recruiters to look at resumes now.Mistaking tasks for accomplishmentsBeyond the lack of a summary statement, the language was weak, Schumacher said. The resume needed more hard-hitting accomplishments. For example, one accomplishment said she was responsible for a $500,000 company wide IT annual budget. That should elend even be there she sort of mixed up accomplishments and the job description. In this case she did have the job description, but the budget item - that wasnt an accomplishment it was more a task.Lisas job search ramped up slowly, and her decision to get a resume rewrite wasnt immediate. Currently in her fourteenth year at a pretty decent company, shes a little leery about the state of the economy. She also misses her family in Kansas and would like to move back.While Lisa wasnt fully invested in looking for a new position, she said, she still saw interesting opportunities. The problem was, her resume simply embarrassed her. Every time I submitted my resume I was embarrassed for myself, the TechnologyLadder member said.While shed paid for the old resume three years ago, I never got something I was satisfied with and just gave up on it and did my own edits after that, she said. My situation changed, I never ended up using it, and I just tabled it.When she decided to start the current search, out came the old resume. But after a few weeks, she decided that enough was enough. Every time I looked at my resume I was reminded of that experience, and it made me so mad, Lisa said. I decided I had to have another leg up.A first draft within one weekThe resume rewrite with Schumacher couldnt have been more different from her previous disappointing experience. Within 48 hours after Lisa signed up on Ladders, Schumacher called her to schedule a conference call. Schumacher asked Lisa tons of questions, Lisa said, and would then relay Lisas answers back to her to enaya they were both on the same page.Within about four days, Lisa had a first draft. The results a resume that included that critical summary statement with energetic wording thats sure to catch recruiters eyes, including words such as versatile and energetic, along with dynamic passages such as, Effective communicator able to solicit fe edback and convey technology vision to stakeholders.Finally, Lisas resume communicates the fact that shes a great communicator.Lessons learned?Lisa said she learned that a superlative resume can surmount even the toughest of roadblocks, such as her lack of a college degree. (It) makes me self-conscious. I was very nervous when I presented myself because Ladders (includes) executive-level, higher-paid positions. I looked at my old resume as a detriment, but the way (that Schumacher) wrote it, it covers such a broad skill set that Ive applied in the last 15 to 20 years, that the lack of a degree fades in importance.She represented me as a higher-level professional, somewhat of a generalist, well-rounded, experienced in all facets, not just the technical aspects of her career, Lisa said.And thats exactly whats shes after a tech job that includes project management instead of requiring her to be a narrowly focused technology specialist.I think she did a fantastic job, Lisa said of Schum achers efforts.