Matthew Botos

I critiqued a resume for a friend of a friend today and it made me realize how we as technical people always slant our resumes. We write them as exhaustive specifications, with perfect chronology and humble detail of our roles, occasionally indulging our egos by describing a really cool project or solution. The managers and recruiters who read them, though, are looking for something a little different.

Sure, they want to see that your experience and qualification that fits the position, but more so they want an overall sense that you’ve got the right personality and technical mindset to join their group. And since most of them write job descriptions as a bit of a wish list, they want to see some skills in tangential areas and in a pay grade above the one they’re actually offering.

The solution? Succinctly emphasize your general technical strengths, cover your bases with a keyword-loaded technology list, and round it out with some management-friendly language that shows you have the “extra” skills to make you the perfect candidate.