This guide features everything from general instructions on how to write a flawless IT resume that will get you the job to some expert tips!
You can think in code, speak in numbers, maintain the systems, and keep the information engine running. What you need is an astonishing IT resume worthy of your skills and experience to show to recruiters to help you land the job of your dreams.
It’s not easy being an IT specialist, but that doesn’t mean there’s no competition. That’s why you want to get ahead of it by crafting a captivating document that can convince any recruiter that you’re the best person for the job.
This article is going to teach you how to create a top-tier IT resume, so let’s get started!
Let’s start with the basics and figure out how you’re going to organize the information on your IT resume.
In general, the chronological format works best for the vast majority of IT professionals. It's a common resume format that puts your most recent work and academic accomplishments at the top, followed by the rest in reverse-chronological order. Such an orderly arrangement makes it popular with recruiters and good at passing ATS scans.
However, if you lack professional experience, you should check out the functional resume format. This one makes your skills the focal point of your resume, offsetting the lack of work history.
On the flip side, seasoned IT specialists could also benefit from the combination or hybrid resume format. As the name suggests, it combines the chronological and functional formats into one, emphasizing your valuable skills while supporting them with relevant work achievements.
Now that we've figured out the configuration of your IT resume, let’s optimize it visually. Here are guidelines that you can follow to make an attention-grabbing resume layout:
By utilizing these guidelines, you’ll be able to keep your resume to an optimal one-page size.
Every IT resume should have these sections:
If there’s room left after you’ve added those, you can add some of these optional sections:
Now, before we take apart and analyze each of these sections, we should mention our resume-building tool. If you’re into outsourcing and automation, you’ll appreciate the ability of our software to do the heavy lifting for you and help you create a professional IT resume in minutes.
Our resume builder comes with presets and features that allow you to adjust everything from resume font to layout easily. You add your information by filling in the blanks, meaning there’s no need to create anything from scratch or bother with minor details!
To introduce you to the possibilities our resume builder offers, here's a sharp IT resume template made with it:
Similarly to the contents of your IT resume, there are mandatory and optional details that go into your contact information section as well. Here they are:
Here’s an example:
Matthew Scales
The location details used to be a staple in resumes back in the day, but they are nowadays considered an outdated practice only used when applying for a job abroad.
The main purpose of this section is to give clear, professional information. That means that your title should match the one in the job ad, your email address shouldn’t be campy, and you should avoid adding any irrelevant social media accounts.
In today’s fast-moving world, you often need something special to grab someone’s attention. In the case of your resume, that special something is your objective and summary. Their goal is to get recruiters interested enough in your IT resume to look at the rest of it.
Both the objective and summary are two- to four-sentence paragraphs that serve as openings for your resume. Depending on your circumstances, you’ll use one or the other. Here’s the difference between them:
When you’re writing an IT resume objective as an entry-level candidate, you should talk about specific skills needed for the position you’re applying to. Also, it helps to mention any type of relevant experience.
Here’s a good example:
“Motivated and flexible IT technician seeking an entry-level position at [your company]. Relevant skills include extensive knowledge of SQL and network infrastructure. As an intern, worked with senior IT specialists on SQL queries and scripts to boost efficiency by 15%.”
What you don’t want to do is write a resume objective that’s all about you, like in the following example:
“Recent computer science graduate looking for the position of an IT specialist to get real-world experience and perfect my knowledge.”
The key to writing a compelling resume summary is in the numbers. They serve to quantify achievements and convey a lot of useful information as briefly as possible.
Here’s a proper example:
“Adept IT specialist with 7+ years of experience conceptualizing solutions for software in the financial sphere of business. Notable achievements include updating software deployment and maintenance workflows to increase efficiency by up to 37% and productivity by 48%. Seeking a senior role at [your company] where I can leverage my skills in a competent team to tackle large-scale projects.”
For comparison, the following example is rather bland, as it lacks any substantial information or results achieved by the candidate:
“Accomplished IT engineer with years of practice. Able to work alone and in teams. Looking for a position of an IT director.”
In most cases, recruiters will spend the majority of their time examining your work experience section. Here’s how to get the most out of it.
Here’s the optimal structure to follow when listing your previous jobs:
Now is the time to take advantage of those bullet lists that we talked about. You should include 3–5 points that emphasize your responsibilities and achievements for each previous job that you list.
You should focus more on accomplishments than everyday tasks. Make sure to emphasize the exceptional results you obtained. These guidelines will help you do that:
If you’re light on professional work and you’re writing an IT resume with no experience, consider leveraging other relevant endeavors instead. Anything from an internship to volunteer work, school projects, freelancing, and similar activities will do the trick.
Here’s how one candidate used their work as a university research study assistant to write a great professional experience section of an IT resume for freshers:
Work Experience
Research Study Assistant
DePaul University Computer Science Dept. Chicago, IL
A senior IT specialist’s work experience section is all about quantifiable data. Give recruiters plenty of impressive, easily verifiable information about your outstanding achievements, and you’ll be called for an interview in no time.
Another thing to keep in mind is not to lower the quality of this part of your resume by including every single accomplishment you can remember. Focus only on the remarkable results that underscore your abilities and problem-solving skills.
Let’s see that in an example:
Work Experience
Senior IT Support Engineer
ABC FinTech San Francisco, CA
Brevity is the name of the game when it comes to the education section. You can put a bit more emphasis on it if you lack professional experience, but your work history should generally be the centerpiece of your IT resume.
Here’s what information should be included in this section:
This is what that looks like when put into practice:
Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
In addition to a high GPA (3.5 and higher), you can also include relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, exchange programs, and so on.
You should add your degree even if you haven’t obtained it yet. To do that, either write “current” instead of a graduation date or add “expected” next to it.
Here’s an example of that:
Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Generally, you should only list your highest diploma, though you could add more in reverse-chronological order. However, you should omit your high school diploma unless it’s your highest one.
At the end of the day, the purpose of your IT resume is to show that you have the right skills for the job. That makes the skill section of your IT resume crucial to winning over recruiters and convincing them you’re the right person for the job.
Since the field of information technology is vast and encompasses all kinds of skills, your best bet is to research the jobposition and learn which skills recruiters want to see. Match those to the ones you have, and you’ll end up with the list you should add to your resume.
Then, you should list technical, job-specific hard skills separately from transferable, interpersonal soft skills since they are quite different in nature.
But why stop there? You can further illustrate your abilities through examples and make them more concrete in the eyes of recruiters.
To achieve that, you should mention some of your vital skills in your resume summary or objective and your work experience section. Attach them to relevant accomplishments for maximum effect, and you’ll demonstrate your prowess in the best way possible.
Some of the most common hard skills candidates can put on their IT resumes are:
Recruiters are always looking for some of these soft skills on IT resumes:
You can use optional sections to personalize your IT resume and include additional valuable information that could help you sway recruiters.
Portfolios are pretty much a staple for certain IT positions. For example, if you’re a UI designer or a front-end developer, recruiters will likely want to see your work in addition to reading about it in your resume.
We already mentioned how your contact information could feature a link to your portfolio. You should use it to put your best work on display and further add trustworthiness to your skills.
If you attended a couple of relevant courses as a part of your academic career, you can add them to your education section. Otherwise, they’ll look good in a section of their own, listed in order of importance and relevance to the position that you’re applying for.
Awards show that you’re a high-achieving individual recognized by peers for your excellence. That’s why you want to highlight this part, especially if the awards came from a high-authority body and could add a lot of credibility to your skills.
Volunteer experience is one of the best optional sections for entry-level candidates. It allows you to show that you have real-world practice while also portraying you as a driven and passionate individual.
Any type of volunteering warrants a spot on your resume, but it’s all the more important if the work you did was relevant to the position you’re applying for. For example, you could’ve helped a local food shelter or animal rescue movement with their databases, network issues, technical infrastructure, and so on.
More and more IT companies are becoming international. That means a lot of IT positions might require you to communicate with foreign colleagues or clients. All of that makes a language section highly valuable on any IT resume.
If a job ad makes language proficiency mandatory, you could even put this section higher on your resume. In any case, you want to create a short list, arranging languages you speak based on skill levels.
Tell recruiters who you really are by talking about your hobbies and interests. You should keep this section brief and simply list a couple of activities you’re particularly fond of. However, don’t overlook its importance and ability to make recruiters remember you.
Submitting a cover letter doesn’t just show dedication and a willingness to go the extra mile; it also allows you to expand on your skills and achievements.
To get the most out of your IT cover letter, you should personally address the recruiter and make it 3–5 concise paragraphs long. Use the body of the letter to talk about position-relevant accomplishments, and finish it by inviting them to contact you for further discussion.
Let’s wrap up this thorough review with a couple of final expert tips:
When you combine everything that we've learned so far, you'll get a professional IT resume similar to the one in our example.
How about that? You’re not just an IT specialist anymore; you’re also a resume-crafting expert.
The offer to use our resume builder still stands if you want to streamline the process and speed things up. Then again, you’re more than capable of creating an impeccable IT resume from scratch, so get out there and land that dream job!
Kervin Peterson Career CoachWhether you need help preparing for an interview, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, or creating a resume, you can rest assured that our dear Kervin Peterson can help! Kervin is a man who can turn obstacles into experience with his eyes closed, always striving to bring the most to the table. Other than being a career coach, he’s a new dad and loves nothing more than hitting the gym and spending time with his family!
