Technical Resumes

UW Bothell Career Services Technical Resumes Resume Overview Keywords Career Center The purpose of a resume is to get an interview Be interesting; make whoever reads your resume view you as valuable to their cause A resume is a marketing piece Highlight your strong points Skills & Accomplishments Education Professional or Relevant experience Customize each resume to the job for which you are applying Read the job descriptions carefully to insert keywords & identify the skills they are targeting Know your audience – use industry specific terminology (web development, software engineering, systems administration) Demonstrate Value Employers have in mind: “How can you be valuable to me?” “Value” = skills, accomplishments, education and experience Successful job seekers understand their unique combination of skills, education and experience and articulate their value to employers. It takes on average 10 – 30 second to review a resume Most significant part of the resume is the top half of page – must give evidence of a good “match” to the position Keywords are the "hard" skills "soft skills” - second tier of searched words Pull job descriptions by category from DICE.com to identify common keywords by skill or job title Examples Developed Oracle 9.0 database for marketing department Wrote web-based sales tracking application in C++ on Linux/Apache platform Managed customer database (MS SQL 7.0), product updates, and upgrades. UW1 161 (425) 352-3706 careers@uwb.edu Name & Contact Information Email & phone number are important, address optional Use a professional looking email (i.e. not bigsexy@hotmail.com) Link to eportfolio, website or LinkedIn page Objective List the position you’re applying for and the company or organization List important, valuable attributes that you bring to the job Keep in mind the employer perspective Objectives are concise, usually one sentence, two at most Resume Components - Contact and Objective Resume Components - Summary of Qualifications Summary of Qualifications or Technical Summary - more commonly used for technical resumes Highlight skills specific to the job description Experience you have that prepares you for job Can be in list form (more common) or a short paragraph List skills that are transferable from job to job and highlight flexibility Try not to use skills that everybody has, or that are generally expected (ex: Hard worker, proficiency in Microsoft Word) Applying to position as a trainer in a technical environment Designed and delivered student-centered technical material on X Experienced in formal, instructor-led adult instruction environment Conducted tutoring in computing technology, math and statistics Wrote instructional video scripts for technical topics in X X and X Applying to entry level software engineering position Wrote disassembler in Assembly language Team leader on project management model using COCOMO Modeled video store operations using C++ and OOM Resume Components - Summary of Qualification Examples Technical Resumes must match skills AND technology Developer on C++ vs. Fortran Project manager on 727 vs. MS Word Include important acronyms, abbreviations Possible Skills or Qualification headings: Operating Systems: Linux/Unix, etc. Languages: C/C++, JAVA, etc. Applications: MS Office Suite, etc. Database: Oracle, Access, MySQL IDEs: Visual Studio, Eclipse Resume Components - Technical Skills Relevant (Work) Experience Internships, volunteer, or professional experience applicable to this position Be specific; “worked at a gaming company” doesn’t tell anyone anything useful Use action verbs http://www.uwb.edu/careers/job-search-tools/resumes/actionverbs Potential words to avoid http://www.uwb.edu/careers/job-search-tools/resumes/words-to-avoid Quantify wherever possible; % of improved efficiency number of users how often you made a status report dollar amounts responsible for how many customers served or co-workers managed Resume Components - Experience Chronological resumes highlight job progression and career growth Experience Provisioner, Integra Telecom 2007-current Career Specialist, UWB 2006-2007 Tutor, UWB 2006-2007 Tutor, SPRITE Project 2006-2007 Financial Analyst, Law Firm 2003-2005 Sr. Recruiter, Compaq 2001-2003 Sr. Recruiter, F5 Networks 1998-2001 Recruiter, XXX Websystems 1991-1998 Education BSCSS, UW Bothell, Graduated June 2007 AAS, Client Programming, Highline, Graduated June 2005 Chronological Resume Relevant Work Experience Senior Recruiter, Compaq 2001-2003 Senior Recruiter, F5 Networks 1998-2001 Recruiter, XXX Websystems 1991-1998 Education Bachelor of Science Computer & Software Systems, University of Washington Bothell 2007 Associate of Arts & Sciences Client Programming, Highline Community College 2005 Professional Experience Provisioner, Integra Telecom 2007-current Career Specialist, UWB 2006-2007 Tutor, UW B and SPRITE Project 2006-2007 Financial Analyst, Law Firm 2003-2005 Modified Chronological Resume Example First impressions are important Use professional consistent styles, punctuation and fonts Chronological, Functional and Combination resumes Resume “real estate” and page layout -centering/lining up parts of the resume Utilize bullets in order of importance 1 –2 pages at most Resume Format Communications Skills (listening, verbal, written). Exceptional listener and communicator who effectively conveys information verbally and in writing. Analytical/Research Skills. Highly analytical thinking with demonstrated talent for identifying, scrutinizing, improving, and streamlining complex work processes. Computer/Technical Literacy. Computer-literate performer with extensive software proficiency covering wide variety of applications. Flexibility/Adaptability/Managing Multiple Priorities. Flexible team player who thrives in environments requiring ability to effectively prioritize and juggle multiple concurrent projects. From What Do Employers Really Want? Top Skills and Values Employers Seek from Job-Seekers by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., and Katharine Hansen, Ph.D. Skills Most Sought After by Employers Interpersonal Abilities. Proven relationship-builder with unsurpassed interpersonal skills Leadership/Management Skills. Goal-driven leader who maintains a productive climate and confidently motivates, mobilizes, and coaches employees to meet high performance standards. Multicultural Sensitivity/Awareness. Personable professional whose strengths include cultural sensitivity and an ability to build rapport with a diverse workforce in multicultural settings. Planning/Organizing. Results-driven achiever with exemplary planning and organizational skills, along with a high degree of detail orientation. Problem-Solving/Reasoning/Creativity. Innovative problem-solver who can generate workable solutions and resolve complaints. Teamwork. Resourceful team player who excels at building trusting relationships with customers and colleagues Skills Most Sought After by Employers Continued No matter what you major in, you need excellent writing skills and eloquent speaking skills. The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently asked employers who hire at least 25% of their workforce from two- or four-year colleges what they want institutions to teach. The answers did not suggest a narrow focus. Instead: 89%  said they wanted more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing” 81% asked for better “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” 70% were looking for “the ability to innovate and be creative” From Zernike, Making College `Relevant’, The New York Times, 2009 Skills to Focus on in Coursework Save as pdf and in Notepad as text version Use only keyboard characters for text version Limit formatting, avoid graphics, bold, lines and bullets Avoid word wrap Each line 64-70 characters Send to self to test Databases will scan for keywords - Pull from the position description Avoid textured papers Stack contact information One line for each part of information Digital and Scanned Resumes Make your resume visually appealing, easy to read, and consistent in resume style and format. Don’t make the employer guess on your reasoning or your meaning. Example: If you put dates for one job, put them in for all. Don’t use acronyms unless you explain them first. Maximize the space on your resume. Don’t waste an entire line on your page for one to three words. Keep it to one page (two pages dependent on professional level relevant to the position). Choose a resume style for your particular skill level/work history. For suggestions on what style to choose, view outlines and sample resumes http://www.uwb.edu/careers/job-search-tools/resumes on the UW Bothell Career Center website. Spell and grammar check. Keep the correct verb tense. Use past tense for previous jobs and present tense for current jobs. Do not use personal pronouns. Resume Checklist Immediately impress the reader – be job specific, customize. State up front in your objective and the job for which you are applying. Include keywords from the job description. In choosing what character traits, skills, accomplishments, academic knowledge and employment history you are going to highlight, focus on the employer’s needs and job requirements. In your bullets, not only communicate your job duties; but also make sure to include the abilities and skills that made you successful in performing those duties. Stress your productivity in terms of your potential for solving employer’s problems. Quantify whenever possible. Numbers help to draw the eye and stand out. Resume Checklist Continued Explain why you are sending a resume Tell specifically how you learned about the position or the organization Convince the reader to look at your resume. Call attention to elements of your background relevant to the position. Be specific, use examples Reflect your attitude and interest in the position Provide or refer to any information specifically requested Indicate what you will do to follow-up Cover Letters Choose the Right Reference A good reference: A professor in whose class you earned a good grade or an employer who has commented positively about your work.  A great reference: In addition to the above, they can comment on your personality and passions. Academic Reference Consider any Professor: who has seen your best academic work that you engaged with in a quarter-long special topics or research project Work Reference Consider any Employer: where you received promotions where you completed any special projects where you can qualify or quantify your contribution to the organization that you left the organization on good terms with whom you still communicate References Resume Components - Education Education Your major and expected graduation date GPA if above 3.5 or if required by company Relevant coursework or projects Describe in relative detail the process by which you learned a skill Group projects, research and presentations are good to use here, they can show your demonstrated ability Technical Certifications