It’s no secret that jobs in tech are high paying with top-notch benefits at companies that are solving some of the most challenging problems of our time. It’s no wonder that tech jobs are highly sought after. How can you get your foot in the door and land an interview at one of these companies?

First things first, you need to convince the hiring manager that you deserve an interview with your resume. This guide is built to do just that. We’ll go through each section of your resume to help you showcase your skills and land a coveted job in tech.

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Tech Resume Examples & Tips

When you’re creating your resume, nothing is more intimidating than staring at a blank page. To that end we’ll walk you step-by-step to help you put your best foot forward in your resume and land your dream tech job.

In short, here’s what you need to do to ensure you resume will help you land interviews with tech companies:

To get the creative juices flowing, let’s start with an example of an effective tech resume.

Source: BeamJobs Software Engineer Resume Examples

Why this resume works:

Formatting Your Tech Resume

Recruiters spend 6 seconds on average reviewing a given resume. This means you have to very quickly make your case that you deserve an interview for the tech role you’re applying to. Before anything else, a recruiter will see the layout of your resume. In light of this, it’s your job to make your resume as consumable as possible. Here’s how to do that:

All of these tips are in service of a singular goal: make the recruiter’s job as easy as humanly possible. No matter what bullet point they read, they should come away convinced that they are missing out if they don’t interview you for the role.

Quantify Your Impact

You’re a (soon-to-be) tech professional, so you know that the best way to make your case in any discussion is through numbers. Numbers speak louder than words and this is especially true in a tech resume. To make it clear why, let’s look at an example.

The following bullet points describe the work experience for the same data analyst. Which do you think is more convincing to a hiring manager?

Work experience with measurable impact:

Chegg

August 2016 - May 2018, New York NY

Data Analyst

Work experience without measurable impact:

Chegg

August 2016 - May 2018, New York NY

Data Analyst

Source: BeamJobs Data Analyst Resume Examples

Remember, the hiring manager or recruiter tasked with reviewing your resume will only be doing so for about six seconds. This means they’ll be skimming what you wrote. The most effective way to draw their attention is through quantifiable metrics. It’s easy to say that you had a big impact in a past role, but it’s much more convincing if you can quantify the size of that impact.

“When I look for a technical hire I want to interview candidates who will have a measurable impact on my business” says Neal Taparia, the founder of Imagine Easy Solutions and Solitaired. “The quickest way to make that determination is by assessing whether they’ve had a measurable impact in their past roles or projects.”

Highlight Your Technical Skills

When it comes to landing a job in tech, technical skills aren’t everything. But they are a crucial aspect of  your resume. Keep in mind that there are generally two review stages that your resume undergoes before getting an interview:

  1. Companies use an automated filter called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that filters resumes based on whether they contain certain keywords.
  2. Either the recruiter or hiring manager in charge of the role will review your resume.

To appease the automated ATS filters, you need to include relevant skills from the job description. Conversely, to satisfy the hiring manager, you should avoid having a laundry list of skills. Instead, demonstrate your expertise in a handful of skills, languages, and frameworks.

How can you walk this fine line with your tech resume? As a rule of thumb, only include skills on your resume that you would be comfortable talking about in an interview. The only sure-fire way to get blacklisted from working at a tech company is by lying on your resume. It’s just not worth it. You deserve to find a job that you love and are qualified for.

What kind of skills should you actually include in your resume? That depends on the kind of role you’re applying for:

Tips for Entry Level Technical Resumes

Quantifying your work experience is straightforward if you have a relevant background. But if you’re an entry level data scientist or UI designer looking to break into the tech industry for the first time, you might need to get creative.

Center your resume around your projects. You’ll want to demonstrate a few characteristics to a potential employer:

  1. You’re passionate about the role you’re applying for
  2. You understand what is required of the role
  3. You have the required skills necessary to succeed in that role

Let’s walk through a sample project for a prospective entry level data analyst. Data analysts are tasked with turning messy data into actionable insights for their company. In 2020, data is everywhere. So to build a project for a data analyst resume, all you have to do is ask questions that you’ve always wanted to answer. Here are a few sample questions that an entry level data analyst might answer in a self-directed project:

Once you have a question in mind, you can creatively go about gathering the data necessary to answer that question. Finally, you can put together a write-up with your conclusions. Link to this write-up in your resume and there you have it: a project demonstrating your ability as a data analyst.

This kind of scrappy can-do attitude can be applied to any tech role you can imagine. If you’re a designer, you can build a UI for an app you’ve always envisioned. As a web developer, build a web app to solve a nagging problem you’ve always had. Data scientists can build predictive models to answer their burning questions.

If you need to level up your skills before applying for a job in tech, browse our range of full-time and part-time courses. All of our tech tracks are project-based, helping you build a portfolio and get hired. You’ll learn side by side with mentors, technical experts, and experienced instructors who all support your end goal: a lasting career.

Employers in tech value job candidates who are innately curious, ask questions, and find the resources to answer those questions. Demonstrate this ability in your projects as an entry level candidate and you should have no trouble getting interviews.

Optimizing Your Tech Resume

Breaking into tech can seem like an insurmountable mountain to climb, but we know you can land a job you love, even with no previous experience. The first step is building a resume that catches the attention of the hiring manager. This guide was designed to help you do just that.

Before you know it, it’ll be time to start preparing for job interviews. Applying to jobs can be overwhelming at times, so congrats on  taking a big first step and completing your tech resume.

This article was written by Stephen Greet, Co-Founder of Beam Jobs.

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