IT managers are responsible for controlling the entire electronic framework in a company. While the role of an IT manager may vary from company to company, the general skills that one should possesses are similar. Employers nowadays look for the demonstration of both soft and hard skills. An effective resume that demonstrates these skills is key to proving yourself to be a leading candidate. Although this is not easy, do not worry- in this article, we have compiled a list of tips and advice for you to write a clear and succinct resume that will land you your dream job.
It is important to remember that your resume should demonstrate why you are fit for an IT manager- and not any other profession. So, you should only include the information that demonstrates your suitability for this particular role. The experiences you write have to be tailored to the job description, as well as the soft and hard skills you convey. All IT managers should have similar educational backgrounds. However, each company may have a different job description. For instance, one role may be related to computer programming, while another may be geared towards database administration. So, you will need to tailor your resume accordingly. Even so, there are a few general rules that are important for all IT manager resumes you write.
Apart from contact information, you only need to include your motivation, achievements and relevant work experience. Identify the key requirements mentioned in the job description, and present your experiences to match these requirements. Focus on past IT experience, but any include any other experiences that demonstrate you have the required skills.
Focus on what recruiters want to see on your resume. Recruiters don’t want to see you mentioning irrelevant work experience, strange hobbies and … bad grammar.
There are two main formats - chronological and functional. If you have an extensive list of relevant work experience, the chronological format is perfect for you. Use the following order for this format:
If you are an entry-level engineer or are changing careers, you may find the functional format to be more suitable. The sections go as follows:
This format allows you to list your skills and provide achievements to verify them.
Get creative by adding extra sections if they help you demonstrate your competencies (e.g. Awards, Publications).
Be overly creative with naming those sections. Online scanners look for particular words and may not recognize a section named ‘Relevant Background’. It is better to use a more conventional heading like, ‘Work Experience’.
Double-check your grammar and ask somebody to proofread your resume.
Use a simple resume template. Stick to a professional looking font such as Arial, Calibri, Verdana or Times New Roman and keep the font size within 9-12 points.
Take a look at our examples of the resumes that landed jobs for their owners.
An excellent example of an IT Executive resume.
IT project manager resume sample
IT program manager resume
Senior IT project manager resume
IT operations manager resume
IT security manager resume
IT service manager resume
IT infrastructure manager resume
Your journey to becoming an IT manager has, without a doubt, had both its good and tough times. Translating all of your experiences on a resume is not an easy task. On the one hand, you want to demonstrate your key skills and abilities, while on the other hand, your resume has to be kept short and succinct. To ensure that this no longer hinders you in your career search, we have compiled a list of tips that will easily help you fill out our resume template and highlight your most notable achievements.
This is the first thing recruiters will see on your resume. The wording of this section is extremely important, because it has to demonstrate that you have the key skills and experience required to be an IT manager.
Your summary needs to include your years of experience, most recent achievements, specific capabilities as an IT manager, and your skills- soft and hard. Keep your summary statement short, not more than 5-6 lines but compelling and engaging. Don’t hesitate to use specific engineering jargon.
Take a look at a few of our examples:
Highly experienced Senior Information Technology Officer with a proven record of 15+y of experience managing technical teams in both corporate and start-up settings. An inquisitive professional with expertise in hiring, training, and mentoring personnel. Background includes a degree in IT and launching, building, and sustaining new internet retail technology, technology infrastructures (staff, hardware, software, and outsourcing). Possesses strong knowledge of budgeting, analytics, IT policies and methodologies, flexibility and high level of customer services.
Senior Information Technology Officer with 15+yrs of experience.
Here is another great example:
Versatile IT professional with vast knowledge of enterprise project and process tracking methodologies. Software development expert with strong background in project performance evaluation. Excels in business intelligence. Experience includes analysis of processes efficiency and their improvement, as well as KPIs development and reporting on the organization’s success. A dedicated leader able to manage complex IT projects and large cross-functional teams of IT professionals.
IT professional excelling in software development, performance evaluation, business intelligence, KPI development.
If you are submitting your education resume online, it will most likely be scanned by an applicant tracking system. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a robot that scans your resume and looks for necessary keywords, work experience and additional requirements if there are any. However, it is still important to use professional terminology and jargon when sending a resume directly to a recruiter, despite it not being relevant to ATS. Using professional vocabulary will demonstrate that you are familiar with this field.
Include a fair number of IT keywords, such as “software development,”, “systems design”, “technology alignment”.
Overuse keywords which serve no purpose in your sentences.
In the “Work Experience” section, you can use some action words that are popular among scanning software programs.
Use relevant action words, such as: analyze, calculate, communicate, collaborate create, design, develop, enhance, ensure, execute, implement, lead, plan, perform, prepare, restructure, solve, streamline, test, upgrade, etc.
It is also important that you present your skills in the best wording possible. For instance:
Use your academic credentials as evidence of your achievements and experience. Academic prowess is what any employer notices on your resume.
The minimum educational requirements to become an IT manager is a Bachelors in Computer Science, or in a related field. Check this with your employer however, as requirements can vary. Nevertheless, academic credentials that are above what is needed can only strengthen your application, so include them. Include any experience using other IT software and programs, even if they are not in the job description.
Drop your technical experience. Even if they are not required, your experience may carry transferrable skills. Also, they demonstrate to your employer that you are able to learn and apply new ideas easily.
Here is an extract of an IT Manager resume:
Another example of a Chief Technology Officer resume:
Some tips for writing about achievements.
It is good as an IT manager to carry specific and measurable achievements, to make you stand out from the crowd. Also, your roles in your previous experiences can be evidenced by such numbers. For example:
Reduced the data warehouse load time by 50% by tuning the code to streamline the ETL process.
Please use the following skills to your resume in order to make it more compelling and effective. Applicant Tracking Systems are looking for the specific words and skills so you are interested in mentioning each skill that you have on your resume.
|
Compliance |
leadership |
security |
|
network management |
network administration |
system integration |
|
software development |
open source technology |
server |
|
database management |
conflict resolution | strategic planning |
Approximately 33% of projects fail as a result of poor involvement from senior management.
Technology literacy is indispensable nowadays. In order to perform their duties Project Managers have to be tech-savvy and stay up to date with modern technologies. First of all, you will need to use task management software synchronizing multiple documents, tasks, calendars, revisions in a central location. For example:
File sharing services for efficient teamwork:
IT Managers are responsible for the infrastructure and sometimes remote offices. Hence, familiarity with the virtual environment (e.g. XenServer, Hyper V) is highly recommended.
You have to be familiar with the following infrastructure:
If an IT Manager intends to stand out enrollment into Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification is the right strategy.
