Having a technical background, I know how easy it is to fall back on technical descriptions of my achievements. But unlike other industries, IT resumes have two entirely different readers. Each reader brings their own perspective, knowledge, and experiences to the task of finding highly skilled technical professionals to fill vacant positions.
Your resume needs to speak to both of these readers and peak their interest in wanting to learn more about you. This is a very difficult task when you consider that resumes for mid-level professionals are typically no more than 2 pages (2.5 pages when the individual has a very robust technology profile.)
HR managers generally have a specific list of job requirements that represent the minimal acceptable skills. They’re going to quickly scan your resume, giving you a maximum of 30 seconds. In that short time frame, they want to see the following:
RESUME?
Technologies
Your years of experience
Titles/positions that you’ve held
Your work history — employers and dates
Industries in which you have experience
Education and other related credentials
The value you’ve provided to other organizations
When you describe your accomplishments in only very technical terms, you’ve already shown that you’re not able to speak in language that the business can understand. Even in very technical positions, leading off with a solid business achievement is to your advantage. Let’s look at an example that illustrates this point.
