8 Elements of an Effective Technical Resume

October 30, 2020
8 Elements of an Effective Technical Resume

Landing a tech interview at a huge company can seem quite daunting, but how do you do that if you don’t have any personal connections? The answer as you already know is your technical resume. This is your opportunity to show HR or recruiters you meet enough criteria for them to call you for an initial screening.

In this blog, I am going to highlight the areas of the technical resume that are worth putting extra effort into.

With that being said, a study done shows that recruiters initially spend only 6 seconds on each resume.  This is not always followed, but it’s a great rule of thumb to live by. Humans’ attention span is short and technical resumes need to be visually pleasing, and easy on the eyes to find the key highlights.  

So let’s dig in and pay attention to the 8 elements of an effective technical resume:

  1. The Most Recent Role
  2. Company Recognition
  3. Overall Experience
  4. Keyword Search
  5. Gaps on your resume
  6. Personal Web Presence
  7. General Logistics
  8. Education

The Most Recent Role on Your Technical Resume:

Recruiters generally try to figure out what the professional’s current position or employment status is. They are constantly asking themselves questions to help make the perfect match between the open position and the candidate’s current skill set. 

The person reviewing the technical resume tries to assess a couple of things from this section.

  1. Are their skills in their current position suitable for this role?
  2. Why would this person be interested in a new role?
  3. Are they a passive candidate, or did they get laid off or fired?
  4. How long have they been in their current role?

Company Recognition:

Many recruiters are company snobs and it’s not even that some companies are better than others (even though some are). It’s purely a matter of companies having a name for themselves. Some companies are known for using a particular technology, and that can create huge value for the candidate’s technical resume. This helps recruiters understand the environment that the candidate comes from. 

Overall Experience on Your Technical Resume:

A recruiter is looking to see if the types of roles and responsibilities match the role they are looking to fill.  When it comes to a leadership or management position, seeing a progression in your career, with our responsibilities shows you have the experience suitable for that position. 

In the tech industry specifically, titles are not labeled the same across the board. So it is here where the recruiter or HR manager will grab a better understanding of your skillset and the value you can bring to the table. 

Keyword Search: 

Keywords! I can’t stress this enough. Most companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) where it tracks all of the information of a top tech candidate and creates a profile.  Thus making it easier to search. When a hiring manager, HR, or recruiter goes to search through their database for a “front developer” or a “product manager” their system will scan all technical resumes and pull up most relevant to the search.

Those who are screening the resumes look to see if the candidate has experience for the role that is open. Remember, keywords are deal-breakers when it comes to landing the interviews. Most of the time, technical resumes are sent to HR managers that are not extremely technical, so if they don’t see those important words, they will pass.

Gaps on Your Technical Resume:

Do you have a gap between work experience? Most recruiters don’t mind gaps, so long there’s a sufficient explanation. Maybe you tried starting your own company/app and failed miserably? Very impressive! Gap explained. But remember whatever it is, needs to be explained. The absence of an explanation is what makes hiring managers wonder.

Personal Web Precense:

This includes GitHub, Dribbble, Kaggle accounts, portfolios, or anything a candidate has chosen to list. If you have a personal blog showcasing your writing and communication skills this is a huge plus.

(Especially, if you are looking for a remote position. It shows a future employer you can communicate.) 

General Logistics:

Location (open to relocation), Eligibility to work in the US.

Education:

Experience is king. There are always exceptions when perhaps a hiring manager wanted a bachelor’s or master’s degree but that’s happening less and less, but do include. Any certifications or courses you have done to improve your skills are beneficial here.

In conclusion, most recruiters can take them close to 30 seconds or less to check all of the above, if they see potential then they will likely read the technical resume far more in-depth. There will be times that the recruiter will ask to highlight certain technologies and/or ask for more information based on the job he is calling you for.  Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of the key details that recruiters notice when looking at technical resumes. With all that being said, before looking for your next opportunity, take out your technical resume and spend some time optimizing it to increase your chances of landing that interview.

If you feel that you need help crafting your technical resume to stand out in your next opportunity, send me a message or contact us through our website, and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible!

Happy Hunting!