I've been teaching technology courses for almost a decade now, and I really enjoy helping students work on their careers outside of the classroom - whether it's trying to help them find jobs, improve interview skills, or helping with networking. Resume help is a common request; technical resumes can be a bit different than others so I'm glad to share some of the things that I've learned. It seems to me that a lot of students have a good base for their resume, but make some common mistakes; here are some issues I regularly notice and how you can improve upon them.
#8: Ordering
Problems with ordering are not the most common problem I see, but I see it often enough. Since people tend to read resumes from the top to bottom, the order that you present your content sections can be pretty important. There are no hard-and-fast rules about ordering on a resume; but because of the typical top-to-bottom approach, I think it's best to put the most interesting and compelling sections first on your resume. Most students start their resume off with their education, which makes sense since they're currently in school. After that, though, you should focus on what you think is the next most important thing about you - put that section next. Maybe it's your work experience; perhaps it's a few notable class projects or some research you've done. Whatever it is, your best content should go near the top of your resume.
This can also apply to the bullet points listing experience under each one of your jobs. Ordering these bullet points by impact or the value they provided can make your resume more engaging. What's more, it can help you to identify your own strengths.
#8: Ordering
Problems with ordering are not the most common problem I see, but I see it often enough. Since people tend to read resumes from the top to bottom, the order that you present your content sections can be pretty important. There are no hard-and-fast rules about ordering on a resume; but because of the typical top-to-bottom approach, I think it's best to put the most interesting and compelling sections first on your resume. Most students start their resume off with their education, which makes sense since they're currently in school. After that, though, you should focus on what you think is the next most important thing about you - put that section next. Maybe it's your work experience; perhaps it's a few notable class projects or some research you've done. Whatever it is, your best content should go near the top of your resume.
This can also apply to the bullet points listing experience under each one of your jobs. Ordering these bullet points by impact or the value they provided can make your resume more engaging. What's more, it can help you to identify your own strengths.
#7: Skills Lists
When you're constructing a technical resume for technology jobs, there are typically four different targets that might read it: a resume scanner / database, a recruiter or someone in human resources, a hiring manager, and a peer / developer / engineer. Lists of skills can be pretty effective for the first one - keyword matching can work well for a scanner, but they don't work as well for the other three. This can usually be improved by adding a little detail about how you've used these skills - how did you gain this skill? How have you applied it?
An even better approach is to identify the skills you've used within your experience - it will make them seem much more concrete and realistic.
If your last 3 internships were in systems analysis and I received your resume for a systems analyst position, I'm just going to assume that your objective is to get a position in systems analysis.
When you're constructing a technical resume for technology jobs, there are typically four different targets that might read it: a resume scanner / database, a recruiter or someone in human resources, a hiring manager, and a peer / developer / engineer. Lists of skills can be pretty effective for the first one - keyword matching can work well for a scanner, but they don't work as well for the other three. This can usually be improved by adding a little detail about how you've used these skills - how did you gain this skill? How have you applied it?
An even better approach is to identify the skills you've used within your experience - it will make them seem much more concrete and realistic.
#6: Formatting and Consistency
Fonts are typically not the problem here (though they can be). The bigger problem with formatting and consistency is around tense and the way that experience is described. It's pretty common to see a resume jump from present tense to past tense to present perfect within the description of just one job. Make sure that your tenses are consistent - it makes your resume much more readable. Switching tenses can make a reader subconsciously uncomfortable, which is not the feeling you want your resume to inspire.
Another problem that I see with formatting and consistency is with dates and ordering - make sure that you're consistent with the way you're formatting dates. For instance, don't spell out months in one section and abbreviate them in another. The way you're ordering things by date is important, too. Don't go from oldest-to-newest in one section and newest-to-oldest in another - it can add a bit of confusion.
Another problem that I see with formatting and consistency is with dates and ordering - make sure that you're consistent with the way you're formatting dates. For instance, don't spell out months in one section and abbreviate them in another. The way you're ordering things by date is important, too. Don't go from oldest-to-newest in one section and newest-to-oldest in another - it can add a bit of confusion.
#5: Reviewing
Probably the most important thing to understand here is that I don't know everything. It's possible that some of this advice won't work for you. This is why it's important to have more than one person review your resume. Not everybody has the same style. You don't want to write your resume to conform to just one opinion, unless the only person you're going to put it in front of is the only person who might hire you.
The more people you can get to look at your resume, the better - you don't have to take all of the advice, but the different perspectives can give you some insight into how an interviewer might see your resume.
The more people you can get to look at your resume, the better - you don't have to take all of the advice, but the different perspectives can give you some insight into how an interviewer might see your resume.
#4: Missed Opportunities
With students, this can be a big gap. Lots of students are looking for experience to boost their resume, without considering some of the things they might have already done. Volunteer work, class project experience, open source contributions, and leadership positions are all things that are notable on resumes, but I often see them missing, even from students that I know have done these things.
Note that as a student, you have plenty of opportunity to fill this in throughout your schooling - find opportunities to volunteer. Look at your class projects as an opportunity to build something great that you can put on your resume. Go join a club. Work on an open source project that interests you. All of these can really help fill in a resume without a ton of extra effort, and they can be rewarding experiences regardless.
With students, this can be a big gap. Lots of students are looking for experience to boost their resume, without considering some of the things they might have already done. Volunteer work, class project experience, open source contributions, and leadership positions are all things that are notable on resumes, but I often see them missing, even from students that I know have done these things.
Note that as a student, you have plenty of opportunity to fill this in throughout your schooling - find opportunities to volunteer. Look at your class projects as an opportunity to build something great that you can put on your resume. Go join a club. Work on an open source project that interests you. All of these can really help fill in a resume without a ton of extra effort, and they can be rewarding experiences regardless.
#3: Unnecessary Objective
Almost every student resume I see has this. I don't see much value in them - it might just be my personal opinion, but I think that in general, objective statements on resumes have fallen out of favor. They just take up space that could be used in better ways; typically your resume should convey your objective without really stating it. I'd say the only place these make sense is if you have no experience, you're trying to change careers, or if the job you're looking for can't really be determined from your past experience. If your last 3 internships were in systems analysis and I received your resume for a systems analyst position, I'm just going to assume that your objective is to get a position in systems analysis.
#2: Job Descriptions as Experience
Your experience will be more striking and sound much better if you list the bullet points under your job as accomplishments instead of regurgitating the job description. I see this problem on almost every resume I review, and it always makes resumes blend in with the rest of the stack. If you were a software development intern, anybody who sees your resume can safely assume that you developed software. What did you do that was interesting? What did you do that nobody else in the position did? How did your work affect the team?
Listing notable accomplishments and the impact that you were able to have as an employee will make your resume stand out from others.
Your experience will be more striking and sound much better if you list the bullet points under your job as accomplishments instead of regurgitating the job description. I see this problem on almost every resume I review, and it always makes resumes blend in with the rest of the stack. If you were a software development intern, anybody who sees your resume can safely assume that you developed software. What did you do that was interesting? What did you do that nobody else in the position did? How did your work affect the team?
Listing notable accomplishments and the impact that you were able to have as an employee will make your resume stand out from others.
#1: Ignoring Opportunity Cost
This one applies to resumes for students and for more experienced professionals. The concept of opportunity cost is very important on a resume. Put very simply, opportunity cost is what you pay in missed opportunities for any decision you make. Applied to resumes: every single thing that's on your resume is a chance that somebody will miss something else. Because of this, it's best to concentrate on the most impressive parts of your experience, and leave off the less impressive parts. I'd rather see a brief but impressive resume than a 7 page resume listing every inane thing a person has ever done.
Remember, your resume is like a sales brochure for you - when you build it, make sure you concentrate on the best parts.
Remember, your resume is like a sales brochure for you - when you build it, make sure you concentrate on the best parts.
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