Writing an Effective Technical Resume
Out of that high-tech, high pay job? Bummer! So how do you, as a
technical person, convince employers that they should hire you for positions
they have—and increase your pay to boot? The first step is to locate employers
seeking applicants for technical jobs for which you qualify. Advertised jobs
that seem to fit your exact qualifications may not match because the
advertisement has often been reviewed and rewritten by several people before
being published. The manager with the position may not be able to write an
advertisement that accurately describes the person who is the best candidate
for the job. This just means that you must apply for many, many positions in
order to find a match. Never get discouraged when job interview requests do not
magically appear, even after you respond to many job advertisements.
After locating
employers that need applicants for jobs for which you qualify, the next step in
the process is to create and send an effective resume. The problem with
technical resumes is that they often contain too much information. Many times,
the information in the resume narrows the applicant's capabilities so they do
not fit the position that the prospective employer wants to fill. A resume I
recently received illustrates this. A section of the resume appeared as
follows:
SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES
Provide training
(classroom or one-on-one environment), technical and help-desk support, and
production skills in the following:
OPERATING SYSTEMS
DOS
Macintosh
Windows 3.1
Windows
95/98/ME/2000/NT
SOFTWARE
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe FrameMaker
Adobe GoLive
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe PageMaker
Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe Premiere
Macromedia ColdFusion
Macromedia Director
Macromedia
Dreamweaver
Macromedia Fireworks
Macromedia
Flash/ActionScript
Macromedia FreeHand
Macromedia Homesite
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft FrontPage
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft VisualBasic
Microsoft Word
ASP
CGI/PERL
CorelDraw
HTML/DHTML
JavaScript
Painter 3D
RayDream Studio
XML
HARDWARE CAPABILITIES
Installing,
configuring, optimizing, operating and troubleshooting the following:
CD ROM Drives/Burners
Digitizers
FAX/Modems
Hard Drives
Laser Printers
Memory Modules
Microphones
Motherboards
Network Cables
Network Cards
Optical Disk Drives
Plotters
Scanners
SCSI Cards and
Devices
Slide Recorders
Sound Cards
Sound Mixers
Speakers
Video Cameras
Video Cards
Video Monitors
What kind of problems has this applicant
solved? What kind of problems can this applicant solve? If I were to interview
this candidate for a training position, he or she would likely not be capable
of teaching PC and telecommunications technology seminars.
Following is a listing of the certifications
from another resume:
CERTIFICATIONS:
Cisco Security
Specialist 1
Cisco Certified
Networking Associate
Microsoft Certified
Systems Engineer on Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Certified
Professional plus Internet
TECHNICAL TRAINING:
Cisco Secure Pix
Firewalls Advanced course
Cisco Secure Pix
Firewalls Basic course
Managing Cisco
Network Security course
Certified Information
Systems Auditor review course
Symantec Intruder
Alert intrusion detection system
course
3Com Netbuilder II
Router course
Microsoft Exchange
Server 5.0 course
Supporting Microsoft
Windows NT 4.0 course
Administering
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 course
PROFESSIONAL EXAMS
PASSED:
Cisco Intrusion
Detection System and Policy Manager exam
Cisco Secure Virtual
Private Network exam
Cisco Secure Pix
Firewall Advanced exam
Managing Cisco
Network Security exam
Microsoft Windows
2000 Accelerated exam
Microsoft Internet
Information Server 3.0 exam
Networking Essentials
exam
Microsoft TCP/IP on
Windows NT 4.0 exam
Microsoft Windows NT
Server 4.0 in the Enterprise exam
Microsoft Windows NT
Server 4.0 exam
Microsoft Windows NT
Workstation 4.0 exam
The certifications indicate that the
candidate passed the certification exams, but do they demonstrate the systems
thinking needed to solve networking problems? Not necessarily. The ability to
solve network problems depends little on the certification knowledge a
candidate possesses and more on the ability to look at a whole network picture
while asking dumb questions. Certifications do not convey this ability.
As an employer, I have reviewed hundreds of
resumes that have listed gobs of detail on a person's background. Further,
certifications are growing by leaps and bounds. There are certifications in
almost every conceivable hardware and software discipline. Employers are
inundated with this information and have little time to review it. Of course,
they need to balance general information with detailed information on specific
technical knowledge and skills when determining whether a candidate has the
technical background for a specific job. However, people are hired to solve
problems. People are not hired to be skilled at passing certification tests.
When it was fashionable to be a Novell CNE,
I passed all the requisite CNE tests within about two weeks and became one. Was
I a better network support person after I passed the tests? No. Could I solve
network problems any better after passing the tests? No. If I failed the tests,
could I still solve network problems better than someone who had passed the CNE
tests? Yes—because when I started solving a network problem, I did not quit
until it was solved. The number one rule of troubleshooting is "I will win!",
and passing certifications tests doesn't change that attitude.
What is the correct technical background? A
candidate should have just enough technical knowledge to get started, blended
with an extra large dose of enthusiasm for the work so that the applicant
solves the employer's problem. Candidates should not be over-trained so they
can't adapt to the technical environment and systems that the employer has.
Candidates must also be enthusiastic and quick learners so they can quickly
come up-to-speed and solve technical problems for potential employers. Listing
certifications and technical capabilities does not do this.
So, the approach to creating an effective
resume is to not list every piece of software or every computer on which an
applicant has worked, but to demonstrate the ability to learn technologies and
to use that knowledge to solve technical problems. It is much better to stress
general areas of technical knowledge and demonstrated work accomplishments in
those areas that illustrate what an effective problem solver and employee the
job applicant is. Certifications should be provided as ancillary information.
Another important resume component can be a
technical demonstration of the skills and knowledge of the applicant. This
should not be an overblown demonstration, but rather a low-key demonstration of
using technology to get a job. It can also include a Web page reference that is
easily searchable by anyone for the detailed information omitted from the
printed resume submitted. An effective resume should be a multifaceted document
that sells the problem-solving accomplishments and skills of the job applicant.
Now, let's look at
the essential elements of any resume. First of all, there should be no
misspellings in the resume anywhere. How can you contribute to an enterprise if
you do not use good spelling? With today's desktop publishing programs, there
is no excuse to be a poor speller. The resume starts with how you are
contacted.
|
Name: |
Pete
Moulton |
|
Address: |
7000
Rivers Edge Road |
|
Telephone: |
410-555-4141 |
|
Fax: |
410-555-212 |
|
Web
site: |
http://www.moultonco.com |
The essential
information includes the name, address, and telephone number. A fax number and
Web site URL make it easy to find more detailed information and to exchange
information (when required). This need not be fancy. Always remember that a
resume informs, but should not be overblown to impress someone. A good manager
reviews all resumes received. Some fancy resumes can stand out from the others,
but fanciness does not guarantee an interview. Factual information that is
well-presented is just as likely to open the interview door as is a standout
resume. If you need to stand out, use colored paper.
Position Sought:
CEO of a multimillion dollar technology enterprise
The key here is to
put down a general enough statement of what it is that you really want to do.
The position sought should be general enough to fit into several industries. It
also should fit with your general career goals. In some cases, this may not be
a move up the ladder, but rather a comfortable retirement job. Notice that this
is a single phrase—not a long paragraph. Goals should be succinctly stated.
Employment History
The Moulton Company
1980 to present
Position: CEO-Course Develop/Trainer-Consultant-PC/Network Support-Janitor
Okay, so I did
everything including sweep the floors. Here, it is important to have a
consistent chronological employment history for the last five to seven years.
If the money you seek is important, then list your starting and ending salary
for each position. There is no stigma if your salary moves up and down over
your employment history because technical salaries vary, depending upon the
technical employment market. Employers fear that someone wanting a high salary
may focus on that and leave their position for a higher-paying job before
contributing to the organization hiring them. Putting in compensation figures
may limit you to jobs that pay the same or more than your past positions.
Founded and built a
profitable training company that trained more than 1,700 Digital Field Service
personnel, hundreds of EDS personnel, and government personnel in a variety of
agencies; developed and delivered a variety of direct-mail advertised seminars
for the Edison Institute, The Advanced Institute for Technology (AIT) Two
Rivers Technologies, and other direct-mail marketing companies on PCs.
Networking, Telecommunications, and other technical topics in the computer and
communications fields that made such public seminar direct mail marketing
companies several million dollars over a 5–10-year period. In the past three
years, Mr. Moulton authored three books (A+ Certification and PC Repair Guide,
The Telecommunications Survival Guide, and Small Office Home Office Networking,
published by Prentice-Hall) to promote his company's technical capabilities.
For fun, Mr. Moulton developed and produced the Technically Correct TV show on
ABC Channel 2, as well as the Dial-A-Nerd Radio show on WJFK and WCBM in
Baltimore.
The job statement is
most critical. Although the one above is not the absolute best, it should
convey that I created and ran a successful, profitable seminar developing and
training company for more than 20 years. The key information conveyed includes
my business and financial knowledge, as well as technical skills.
Mr. Moulton's
experience includes positions at General Electric Information Services Company
and the United States Senate.
If you are applying
for a corporate position, you should have some corporate experience listed.
Education
M.S. in Industrial
Management from Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University), 1968
B.S. in Mathematics from Clarkson, 1966
Formal education
should be succinctly listed at the end of the resume. This resume easily fits
into one page with lots of white space. Greater detail can be found at the Web
site if the person reviewing the resume is interested. Just like they say in
advertising, white space sells. This resume is designed to give just enough
information for someone to feel that the applicant can quickly contribute to
running his enterprise.
To broaden this
resume, I could add information on international experience by inserting the
following sentence:
Mr. Moulton presented
technology seminars in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Because business is
increasingly global, this may help open up some opportunities.
The key focus of a
technology resume should be to demonstrate how the job applicant can solve
technology problems for the perspective employer, not the technology that the
applicant has worked on or on which the applicant has passed certification
exams.
An effective resume
emphasizes the applicant's contribution to past employers. Because my business
is technology training, people seeking training positions send resumes all the
time. This is particularly true when the both the technology and the training
business is as slow as it is now. These resumes emphasize technical knowledge
of telecommunications, which is what we teach, but virtually no training
skills, no training experience or desire to become a trainer. When I interview
these people as perspective trainers, I find someone who wants a nice fat
paycheck, but who lacks the ability to successfully teach a seminar. They
cannot teach because they often have very narrow and specific
telecommunications knowledge—they lack the broader perspective and knowledge
needed to successfully teach a seminar. Because they need the broader technical
knowledge, they get easily intimidated by the seminar audience. Finally, they
are unwilling to put in the study and seminar preparation time needed to become
successful teaching seminars. A successful trainer must enjoy training (and the
traveling that comes with training).
My best candidates
are people who have done some training. I need to know that they have some
technical knowledge and, more importantly, that they have successfully taught
and enjoy teaching technology seminars. A resume listing technical skills does
little to convey their ability to be a successful trainer. Evaluations from
seminars they have taught and a strong statement that they want to become or
remain a technical trainer would provide considerably more confidence in their
ability to successfully teach seminars.
The bottom line is
that an effective resume conveys the ability to contribute by solving problems
as well as blending that with the technical knowledge to start the job. The
technical knowledge should not be too narrowly focused because that limits
opportunities. After all, in technology-based enterprises, there is constant
learning.
Finally, I have used
myself as an example here because I do not want to reveal any personal
information about someone else. I am not seeking a job, but rather using my
background to illustrate effective resume-writing concepts. Hope this article
helps you in these lean times.