When it comes to impressing your boss, timing is crucial and you only have a brief span of five to six seconds to make an impact. Therefore, your technical curriculum vitae plays a vital role in the job application process. A current, well-structured and inclusive CV is pivotal in making a strong first impression and ultimately landing the position.
In the process of recruitment, the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) plays a key role in sourcing, screening, hiring and overseeing employees. However, it also has the capability to filter out a significant number of resumes that do not meet the employer’s standards of interest or relevance, thereby preventing them from ever reaching their intended recipient.
Being an adept and skilled software developer, you have the ability to create a visually appealing and Applicant Tracking System (ATS) optimized resume. Designing a resume that accurately showcases your qualifications to employers requires diligence, which is nothing short of an artistic skill. To optimize your credentials and make your resume visible to potential employers, it’s crucial to ensure that it’s tailored as per the standards of ATS.
This blog post will guide you through some of the most effective techniques to create compelling technical resumes, enabling you to distinguish yourself from the competition.
Ensuring the Inclusion of Relevant Keywords in Your Technical Resume is Crucial
The ability to process resumes is one of the most valuable aspects of an ATS, which is why many recruiters rely on it.
By matching the content of technical resumes against the job description criteria, the applicant tracking system (ATS) helps employers to efficiently sort and evaluate potential candidates. Failure to use the same technical terms as those listed in the job description may lead to an inaccurate evaluation of the resume, drastically decreasing the chance of an employer recognizing the applicant’s qualifications.
Pro tip: Add relevant keywords or phrases from the job description to your resume. Proper usage of keywords is crucial to surpass the ATS filters.
While applying for the position of a back-end developer, it’s imperative to thoroughly read the job description and acquaint oneself with the company’s technology stack. For instance, even if you have substantial knowledge of Python-based back-end development, it’s crucial to mention any other specific skills listed by the company such as CherryPy and TurboGears in your resume, to be qualified for the job.
Highlighting Responsibilities, Skills and Achievements is Vital in Your Technical CV
Employers are inundated with a plethora of resumes and often do not have the luxury of time to scrutinize each applicant’s profile in detail. Therefore, it’s crucial to craft a visually appealing and factual resume that highlights your skills and experiences. Including insignificant and irrelevant information can prove counterproductive and is not an effective way to demonstrate your worth.
Summarizing your achievements accurately is an added advantage. But how can you ensure your technical resume is concise?
Follow the Task Action Result protocol:
- Specify your prior project’s duties and responsibilities in detail.
- Enumerate the precise steps you took to resolve the issue.
- Illustrate the results of your endeavours as well as the project as a whole.
- Incorporate precise details and other pertinent insights.
Instead of just enumerating your duties, showcase the significance you brought to the project, and how your endeavours impacted the final outcome. To support your argument, include tangible evidence like numerical statistics and other relevant details. This approach will make a compelling case for your achievements.
Before including any point, evaluate if it effectively emphasizes your responsibilities, skills, and accomplishments, in a way that is most likely to grab the reader’s attention.
Read our related article: Nine Smart Questions Remote Software Developers Should Ask Recruiters
Effective vocabulary and numerical statistics are a cost-effective addition, especially in technical resumes
Crafting a technical resume that is comprehensive yet concise can be daunting. To ensure that your resume is both detailed and succinct, use action verbs such as “designed,” “developed,” “computed,” “collaborated,” “improved,” “analysed,” “devised,” and “delegated” at the beginning of each bullet point, to effectively showcase your skills and achievements. This will grab the reader’s attention and provide a clear understanding of your capabilities.
As an example, one of your resume’s bullet points could be:
- As the Project Lead, I optimised an e-commerce platform and tripled the revenue in 2021.
Choosing the right words is crucial as it allows you to convey the main point directly, without unnecessary filler words.
Professional tip: Avoid excessive use of rows and columns in your resume.
Strive for a resume that is both informative and straightforward
Your resume should be well-organised and brief, aimed at highlighting the most essential information about your qualifications and experiences in a single page, for recruiters to quickly grasp. Dedicate some time to evaluate and structure your resume to candidly reflect your value proposition, in a succinct and lucid way.
The role of a recruiter requires reviewing a large number of resumes within a short period. To streamline this process and ensure that the most crucial details are being assessed, avoid including irrelevant information. Instead, concentrate on providing relevant and significant information that aligns with the position you are applying for. It’s essential to include your basic contact details such as an email address, phone number, and LinkedIn profile on your resume, facilitating easy communication with recruiters.
Avoid incorporating high school achievements, headers, footers, present or permanent address in your resume.
Incorporate a link to your portfolio or Git repository on your technical resume to provide the employer with easy access to view your most significant works, saving them time and improving your chances of securing your desired job.
Displaying your past achievements indicates that you possess a positive and self-assured approach towards your abilities. While not mandatory, submitting a well-structured and brief resume is an excellent way to demonstrate your consideration and awareness of the reader’s time.
Final thoughts
Considering the paramount role of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in recruitment procedures, developers must be cognizant of employers’ viewpoints to enhance their chances of getting hired. While highlighting one’s accomplishments is crucial, it’s equally important to keep the job description in mind while crafting your resume.
For technology-related roles, it’s important to understand that a generic resume won’t cut it. You must dedicate time to make any requisite changes or upgrades in accordance with the specific job posting. This will reveal your commitment to the position and willingness to meet the employer’s expectations.
Possessing a robust technical CV is a crucial aspect of landing your dream job. However, solely having an impressive CV won’t aid you in advancing through the recruitment process. To gain deeper insights into the intricate hiring landscape, it’s advantageous to be a part of a burgeoning developer network. Being a part of such a community of professionals facilitates building connections, increasing knowledge and ultimately propelling your career forward.
At Works, our goal is to provide software engineers with an exceptional job-hunting experience. We acknowledge the significance of identifying the right job for software engineers, which is why we offer an array of services to streamline this process. From assessing skillsets to creating professional profiles and generating ATS-friendly tech resumes, we are committed to matching skilled software engineers with leading organisations. By leveraging our expertise, engineers can embark on a path towards a rewarding career in their field of choice.
Head over to the Works Jobs webpage to begin your journey towards your dream profession.
