Technical Resume Writing: Tips for Your Technical Skills Section

A candidate's technical resume requires a technical skills section. An IT position absolutely requires a mastered set of technical skills and experiences. Build up your technical resume by using categories and headings. Using such an outline allows a potential employer to follow your resume without confusion. A clear outline allows employers to pick the most relevant skills that they require in a candidate, as well as what relates to the company's environment.

Do online research on the company that will be reviewing your resume. See what skills they are looking for and include if it relates to you. Do not forget MS SQL Server, Active Directory or Lotus Notes, if the employer has such a requirement on a job listing. Of course, be honest and never lie about your skills. It is better to be honest with your employer and ask for training in a particular IT field than it is to lie on a job application.

Technical Certifications
Potential employers desire technical certifications. Certified individuals receive better pay, as they have education and technical qualifications that justify a higher salary.

IT certificates, depending on the type, are subject to expiration. I would not recommend listing expired certificates on a technical resume. You do not want a potential employer to assume your skills are outdated. Do list all active certifications and their years, especially if you have attended follow up courses or training sessions.

Should you list all of your technical certifications? My resume tip would be to list all certifications, even if they do not directly relate to the position you are considering. A company may consider switching to a new platform or migrating to different software in the future. You may be just the candidate they will need and has training in such a field.

Systems and Platforms
My tip would be to include all systems or platforms that you are qualified to support. Some employers run on a Windows system only, however they consider Linux to be a harder to acquire skill. Linux may not directly relate to your future position, but it will help your employer recognize that you are an individual with mind and abilities to understand two completely different environments. Understanding Linux also shows that you have command line knowledge, which is also useful in Windows.

My other tip would be to break down operating systems. Linux is becoming a broad term. Include a list of Linux operating systems that you are familiar with, such as Fedora, CentOS and Ubuntu. Do the same with Windows operating systems. Include newer versions such as Windows 7, as that shows your ability to keep up with the fast pace of operating system releases.

Hardware
Hardware makes up an interesting section of a technical resume. Depending on your qualifications and training, you may be comfortable supporting desktops and laptops but have no knowledge of routers and hubs. Try to be specific in the hardware section, even if you are only able to support personal computers. Provide detailed skills such as troubleshooting wireless routers, network adapters or hardware upgrades.

Advanced skills such as server and switch support should highlight types of servers you are qualified to support. This list of skills should include web servers, ftp servers, application servers, database servers, name servers, mail servers.

Software
Your software skills should include relevant program such as MS Office Suite or Lotus Notes. Be specific to the position. Avoid fluff such as Windows Mail or Internet Explorer. Do not forget relevant software, such as Adobe Photoshop, especially if you are applying for a web development position.

Networking
I would recommend avoiding the network section unless it is relevant to the job position. Networking skills such as TCP/IP, DNS, and DHCP are relevant to technical support, server administrators and network engineers. The same set of skills is not critical for software developers. Save the space for a list of skills relevant to your software development job, such as a list of applications or programming languages.

Building Subcategories and Sections
Be reasonable when building subcategories and skill sections. Do not include three pages of software and applications, as that is excessive and no employer will have the patience to sift through the information. Include no more than 10 subcategories of the most relevant skills. Use good judgment when listing software. Most of the time you will not need to list software versions. However, I would recommend including version information only if a newer version were drastically different from previous.

Newer Technology
Keep up with the times when building your technical resume. Include the latest applications and gadgets that you have received training to support. Do not forget to display your knowledge of Blackberries, iPhones and iPads.

Source:
Personal Experience