Getting a job in the tech industry is not rocket science, especially when you have the skills for your dream position. However, having the skills is not enough; you must convince the hiring manager that you are the best. And your tech resume is your best bet to prove your worth.

Recruiters first assess candidates via their resumes before interviewing a selected few. Similarly, you need a compelling resume to stand a chance to get to the interview stage and possibly onboarding. This guide provides tech resume writing tips and a sample to help you get started.

1. Provide Accurate Contact Information

Your contact information is an indispensable part of your tech resume, located at the header. Even with a robust skill-set and commendable experience, you cannot go far if recruiters cannot contact you because you missed a digit in your phone number or an alphabet in your email.

Endeavor to spell your original name (not nickname) correctly, beginning with your surname, other names, and initials. Add a professional email address and an active phone number. Then include your location—state and country. You can also add your LinkedIn or GitHub URL.

2. Summarize Your Career Objectives

A summary of your career objective sheds light on your expertise over time. You want to pique the interest of recruiters at a glance, so two to three sentences describing the most intriguing highlights of your career should be enough.

Begin with your current employment status—self-employed, volunteer, etc. Proceed to mention the position you're vying for and the company's name. Look through the job description to identify a primary pain point and address it, stating how your experience and skills make you the best applicant for the role.

There are several hard and soft skills to include on your resume. However, for your tech resume, you only need to outline key competencies relevant to the position you want to occupy. Besides, your list should contain a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 items.

It's great to possess a variety of skills and talents, but when applying for a tech role, select the ones mentioned in the job ad.

4. Show Career Trajectory

Two white papers close to a Laptop on a wooden surface.

Showing your career trajectory involves explaining your employment history. This section helps the recruiter better understand your experience level. Using the reverse-chronological order, give an overview of your previous positions and responsibilities, especially ones that correspond with the position you are applying for.

Start with the most recent position, followed by roles occupied within the last five years. Most importantly, use action words—in past tense—and numbers to describe your impact. However, do not exaggerate the figures and ensure you can defend them when necessary.

5. List Educational Qualifications and Other Certifications

The tech industry may be all about your skills and what you can do, but formal education is seldom relegated during recruitment for tech roles. Plus, having the necessary skills, degrees, and certifications increases your chances of getting the job. So, if you have all that, flaunt them!

Begin with your highest qualification, school name, and study duration. Then add relevant tech certifications and licenses; two to three are perfect.

6. Add Relevant Projects and Accomplishments

Adding projects and accomplishments to your resume is a great way to quantify your success in the industry. They also boost your credibility and help you stand out during recruitment. However, ensure your projects and accomplishments are connected to the role you are applying for.

For example, including that you volunteered for a charity event isn't necessarily relevant to your ReactJS Developer application, yet it is commendable. Instead, talk about projects you completed during an internship or a hackathon. It could be an individual or a team project, remote or on-site.

7. Customize Your Resume for Every Role

A generic resume puts recruiters off. To avoid that, take time to understand what the role requires alongside the company goals, and tailor your resume accordingly. Since most companies use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to sort, filter, and select candidates, optimizing your resume using keywords from the job ad from start to finish is also important.

Ensure your career objective, key competencies, work experience, and other details are in sync. This helps your resume content rank high during vetting and shows the recruiter that you know your onion. You can also add hobbies and interests relevant to the role.

8. Ensure Professional Format and Layout

To ensure your resume is intuitive and easy on the eyes, endeavor to use a professional format—acceptable font, font size, colors, and layout. If you want to make your resume in Google Docs or any other word processor, begin by setting your document to portrait orientation and letter size, and adjust margins to ½ –1 on all sides.

Use Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, or Georgia font. For colors, keep your texts in black and use a white background. You can highlight specific headings with solid colors like dark blue, maroon, or dark gray. Moreover, the standard font size for a tech resume is 12pt for normal text and 14pt to emphasize important information like your name.

9. Be Clear and Concise

Recruiters spend less than a minute reviewing one resume. Anything that exceeds that duration will likely be tossed in the recycle bin. So, to avoid that, keep your resume short, clear, and simple.

Whether you want to use a one-page or two-page resume, focus on the necessities, sell yourself, and avoid any form of storytelling. Most importantly, do not use acronyms. Spell them out for clarity if you must. Plus, refrain from using slang.

10. Proofread Your Resume

One mistake can ruin your efforts and limit your chances of employment. Therefore, before you send that resume, check for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and cohesion. Read through it several times, and ensure there are no errors.

You can also give it to a friend or relative to review without prejudice. Afterward, use an AI-enabled platform like Grammarly to attain 100 percent accuracy.

Two ladies, sitting on a gray couch, conversing

Tech Resume Sample

You're a Resume Away From Your Dream Job

Now that you have followed through with these tips to the end, it is time to create that irresistible tech resume to get your dream job. You can use the sample above as an inspiration, but do not copy it verbatim.

In addition, do not attach your photo; include your date of birth or marital status to your resume. These details can affect your screening process, as recruiters may become biased even before giving you a chance to prove yourself. On the other hand, you can check for legit websites to post your resume online to accelerate your job search journey.