Get the Interview and the Job with Specific Technical Skills and Responsibilities on Your Resume

My experience interviewing for jobs in Information Technology taught me a lot about how to create a resume that will catch a business manager's attention. I was quite surprised at how jaded many of the managers were about Information Technology personnel. Few believed that the skills you presented on your resume meant you really could do the job. I applied for a job where they wanted someone to comment the code their programmer had written. The two managers really worried that they would get someone like the programmer they already had-a programmer that ensured his position by maintaining an aura of magic as the only one who could do the work. They asked me at least three times if I knew how to program, despite a Computer Science degree, despite having built several systems, the reference from my manager, and having supported the systems. How do you as an applicant get past their worry and doubt?

Technical Work Resume Basics

Your resume needs to be a complete history of your work experience and your school experience including colleges, degrees and the durations. Keep these portions of your resume consistent. Make the dates easy to scan. Also, if you changed jobs frequently, even within the same company, make sure that any move reads like a promotion or upgrade in duties or responsibilities. Make sure that what you write is validated by your performance reviews with your current or former employer.

Do not leave open time slots, especially if you were unemployed or just out goofing off. Put a positive spin on any time spans where you were not working or going to school, i.e. by having alternatives like freelance work, volunteer work, online certification or purposeful sabbatical to account for the time.

Technical Work Resume Specific Details - Reason for Application

This field should be written to address the position to which you are applying not in general. Some people put it on their resume. My preference was to put this information in the cover letter and was always prepared to discuss it during the interview(s).

Bottom line message-I would like this position because it will fit a specific defect in my knowledge base that would make my skills much more valuable in general while filling this specific manager's needs.

Anti-bottom line message for those with a lot of experience-I want to do this job to help this manager; do not convey the message that you could replace this manager.

Technical Work Resume Specific Details-Job responsibilities

Business managers want to solve problems. They have work that needs to be accomplished and want to hire someone to do it, preferably the most nearly perfect person. To build a business manager's confidence in your abilities, explain your job responsibilities using active verbs. Make your job duties increase in responsibility. Be specific about accomplishments i.e. I wrote 5 cost accounting modules or I wrote data validation utilities for 90 programs to upgrade systems. Do not use acronyms or in house specific program names, especially when applying to jobs outside your existing company since they will be meaningless information. Instead, provide the information based on the process that was used i.e. using two examples of systems I worked with: FOGM is Fiber Optic Guided Missile and BOECOM is FAA required, worldwide problem reporting system.

Technical Work Resume Specific Details-Business Operation Experience

If you've worked in a knowledge specific area and are applying for a similar position, using the business operation areas will increase a business manager's confidence that you are the correct person for the job. Examples of business operations include : finance and accounting, engineering, customer support.

Technical Work Resume Specific Details-Methods and Tools

This area is especially important for those graduating from college that have little work experience, however, I keep these on my resume because business managers don't know what the job entails except for a list of skills-you either have them or you don't. If you do not put them on your resume, they assume that you do not have them.

Include these:

Operating Systems-Unix, Windows, MAC, etc. and the specific releases. List specific skills that you have i.e. setting file protections, writing concurrent code, macros script writing etc.

Programming Systems-COBOL, FORTRAN, C, C++, Powerbuilder, Access etc. including the versions

Web Development Systems-Dreamweaver, MS, HTML, XML etc. including the versions

Graphics Packages and Photography Manipulation

Databases -Sybase, Oracle, Access, DB2 and skills using like Table Creation, Data validation

Office Management Tools-MS Office Packages-list what you use

Hardware-PC, Server, Microprocessors, Printers including Brands and Models if special use.

For Scientists--Skills related to specific test and measurement equipment, math libraries etc. and specific processes used for prepping work.

Methods--any standardized methodology used by the industry at large i.e. process modeling, database modeling.

Keep this information as specific as possible and say it in as little space as possible.

My first manager told me that when she saw DI3000 on my application that she knew she wanted to call me in for an interview because all of the work in her organization used this Industry-wide 2D FORTRAN calleable graphics package. Specifics can be the reason your resume is pulled from the pile--many managers deal with hundreds of resumes in answer to one job.

Technical Work Resume Validation-Performance Reviews

Once you've held a job for a year, most companies have you fill out a statement of your duties. Everything listed in this article about specific duties and specific skills needs to be matched in your performance reviews. Many companies do not want their managers put at risk of law suit in order to provide a personal recommendation. The Human Resource offices will mail your file with all your performance reviews to other managers inside the company and to the Human Resource departments of companies who would like to hire you. These pieces of paper are the only thing that will validate your resume. If you write a non-specific performance review, writing a specific resume will help but might be met with skepticism.

Good luck with finding a job, and remember, keep your performance review and the technical work details of your resume up to date and technically specific and brief-no more than one page, two if absolutely necessary.