Tech Scene: 3 Tips to Update Your Resume

With many jobs outside of the technology sector expected to shrink or disappear in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown, some techies—and non-techies too—are dressing up their resumes and preparing to start a job search, either due to layoffs or because they want to take advantage of the boom in tech jobs some are predicting. Here are my top three tips for those hoping to land a job in the tech field in what is bound to be a more crowded marketplace.

Tip 1: Use keywords
Make sure your resume has optimized keywords. A lot of companies will have a stack of hundreds of resumes to go through after posting a job, and the majority will be from people totally unqualified. So they’ll thin the heard by using software to trash any resume that doesn’t hit the keywords they’re looking for, according to Matthew Warzel, a Certified Professional Resume Writer and President of MJW Careers, a recruitment and career coaching firm based in Wilmington, North Carolina.

So, if the job ad says they want someone with experience in WordPress, but you don’t have the term “WordPress” in your resume, it doesn’t matter that you say you can code the LAMP stack and are proficient in all the most commonly used Content Management Systems on the market.
You didn’t have “WordPress” in there, so you go straight to the trash.

“The key to stand out among the competition is to ensure you set the tone in the first top half of the resume with what you want and what you offer, any key buzzwords that speak to your abilities to transition into those new roles seamlessly, and any transferable skills and accomplishments that directly relate to this new role,” Warzel said.

Tip 2: Include quantifiable content
Make sure your accomplishments are quantifiable, even if you don’t have metrics to prove it, Warzel said. In other words, don’t include subjective claims. Say, web traffic increased during your time and content manager, not, “people liked the website much more,” during your stint.

“Think quantifiable content and write it pragmatically. Also, stick to brevity while making those bottom-line accomplishments shine,” Warzel said. “As long as you aren’t crinkling the readers’ foreheads when they’re reviewing your resume, you’ve done your job.”

Tip 3: Emphasize results, not duties
Emphasize your accomplishments, not the things that your bosses made you do, Warzel said. “Make sure to not write your experience as task-based, but rather quantifiable and bottom-line driven,” he said. “This will make sure you are letting the employers know that you are concerned with what they are concerned with—either making them money or saving them money.”

In other words, instead of saying that you were an SEO manager tasked with monitoring web traffic and site performance, think back to some compliments your boss may have given you. If he or she said you did a good job driving traffic to their new landing page, write, “Increased traffic to new landing page,” rather than, “Tasked with promoting new landing page.”

What if you’re not in tech already?
This advice works well for those already in tech, but what if you’re not? “My best advice is to identify (your existing skill set's) relevance in terms of value to a prospective employer, internalize on what their passions are and some transferable skills and accomplishments to relay to hiring managers, a solid resume and some email communication templates (or cover letter) and have a lot of patience and willpower, Warzel said.

“A good rule of thumb for any job hunter seeking a new role in a new industry is to identify your transferable skills and portray those first on your LinkedIn profile and resume. (Emphasis) your ability to transfer seamlessly into the new role based off your previous experience and education,” he said. “Try to keep it relevant though without too much fluff,hiring manager and recruiters are sharp and can see through a lot of the fluff.”

Make sure to emphasis transferable skills—that is, skills that relate at least indirectly to the new job. “Think of these skills in terms of what you are currently doing at your job that can relate to what you would be doing in the new role,” Warzel said.

For example, you’re applying for a front-end developer position and have some graphic design experience. Though the ad doesn’t mention it needs someone with experience working with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, your potential employer may see that and think, “Well, that might save time if we don’t have to send a photo to the graphic design team every time we need an image resized.” It could be a benefit, so if it’s even tangentially related, include it.

But beware of the line in the gray area: If a skill is not transferable at all, it can bog down your resume and take attention away from your more relevant skills, Warzel said. “They could potentially bog down the reader’s flow when reviewing your resume.”

Also, employers value applicants who are continuously taking advantage of educational opportunities, Warzel said. So, never stop learning, and promote your certificates and certifications on your resume, especially if they’re relevant. If you don’t have much applicable work experience, promote your educational achievements more strongly.

“Seek out academic programs that can help train and prepare you for your new role. Find some new career job openings and the minimal qualifications in each, identify the possible credentials you may need to better position yourself in this new role, and find institutions that you can acquire these credentials, (enroll in their programs) and list them onto your resume,” Warzel said.