Are you applying every week to openings and still not landing jobs?
As an engineering, IT, or technical professional your resume is a hiring manager’s introduction to you and most of these managers pay attention to the details.
It’s important to catch a software engineer recruiter or prospective employer’s attention in the very first few lines of your resume.
Most of the common mistakes that many engineering & IT job seekers make are fixable. Wondering why your resume is not selected?. Why your resume is holding you back? The problem is hiding in the details. Make sure you know how to tailor your application to the specific job role – for starters, do this Different Types of CV quiz
Correct your CV or resume using these tips and increase your results. 1. You’re not using Google’s 3 Part formula, 2. Your resume is “too busy”, 3. You’re not tailoring your resume / CV to the specific job, 4. List more than basic info for each job, 5. Check for errors
1. You’re not using Google’s 3 Part formula for a successful resume or CV
According to former Google recruiters using the following simple formula: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]. This means to demonstrate how you made things happen using numbers showing what you accomplished, using a baseline for comparison.
Example:
What the resume says: Increased sales for company year after year
What the Googlers suggest: Was a key player in the research and development of a brand new product line that was able to increase sales by 6% ( 3.3M) in 2017, 15% (3.8M) in 2019, and 25% (4.75M) in 2019.
2. Your resume / CV is “too busy”
Too much information, strange fonts, or some odd clip art will only cause the hiring manager to quickly toss your resume. Keep your format as simple as possible, this includes your font type, and keep the color changes to a minimum.
It’s just as important to keep your resume clear and concise. Focus on your most relevant experience and put that on the first page including your most recent job, keeping less critical information on the second page.
Keep your listed work experience to the last 10-15 years.
Remove old and outdated experience as it just takes up important real estate and no one wants to read a 20-page resume or CV.
It’s a good idea to include a link to your Linkedin profile somewhere near the top of your resume.
These tips will help you when getting your resume in front of IT staffing agencies.
3. You’re not tailoring your resume / CV to the specific job
It’s important to stress the skills and experience the position is looking for, not just general skill sets. It’s acceptable to omit projects and other information not needed.
List the types of programming languages you used at each position.
Recruiters at engineering staffing agencies will appreciate you listing the languages you used at each position.
4. List more than basic info for each job
Don’t just list your daily duties; this is a common mistake that IT job seekers make.
Hiring managers want to know the type of value you brought to the job.
Show how your technical skills helped the company achieve its goals. List actionable achievements that helped the company’s bottom line.
5. Check for errors
Software developer recruiters and hiring managers want to see the attention to detail, especially from their IT professionals. Don’t let a grammatical error or spelling mistake disqualify you from the job.
Make sure to run spelling and grammar checks on your resume, but also let at least two other people look it over as well.
Start talking to various staffing agencies for engineers and ask the recruiters to look over your resume.
Use these tips and check over your resume before you send it out.
Need a place to start your job search? check our list of the 42 best job search websites.