Resume Tips For Technical Grads
Resume Tips for Technical Grads
-Know your skills, know your value, and be proud
-Never include an entire list of positions you've held in the past or highlights from each position. Come up with a list of companies that you've worked with and what they called you to do. Offer specific examples of how your work impacted the company's success.
-Adopt a personal tone and demonstrate current relevance instead of just being skillful at something.
-Make sure your resume is tech-free.
Applicant tracking systems may pick up the keywords from your resume and not your cover letter! So when you go to apply for a job, do not put in skills from the job description and entry level jobs that you have held. Instead state what you are doing now (if anything) and be specific about what you can do for a company.
-Let's use Energy as an example - Petroleum Engineer, Electrician, Construction Project Manager, Petroleum Engineer etc.. Most people tend to use their entire work experience on their resumes which include entry level positions. It's ok to include entry level work but you need to show the industry (and future companies) what you've done with your career. You can do this through accomplishments, projects you worked on or professional organizations that you are active in.
-What did the company call you to do? Did they call you an Engineer? Did they call your a Mechanical Engineer because the majority of your work was mechanical? Did they call you a Structural Engineer because of your Level 1 certification in structural engineering, etc.. This can be important if all three cover letters are being read by the same HR person or hiring manager. It can also help you demonstrate what you really want to do at the company is related to your current position and/or your career interests.
-So if you were a Petroleum Engineer, what were some of the projects / jobs that made you proud? Do not just say "I worked on a giant engineering project, we helped our client make millions and I made 4 figures". Show how your work was meaningful by stating specific examples where a project was not going well or had issues and how you were able to make the client understand the issue and how it could be fixed. You can do this by showing specific examples of how you were able to communicate with clients, vendors, consultants and/or engineers to resolve issues.
-Don't use your entire work history on one resume. If you have three years of experience as a Petroleum Engineer, then it's perfectly fine to put up your previous work experience and all of the projects you did with each company on one resume. However, if the company that calls you out is looking for a Petroleum Engineer - they will not get any relevant information.
-Most people think that their resume needs to be a complete history of their work experience. I strongly disagree with this. Most companies really want to know what you are qualified to do at the company and how you can add value to the company's bottom line (arguably). Don't make it difficult for the hiring manager or HR person at your interview.
-Don't use all caps, don't use all lower case, don't use all uppercase, do not have a font that is huge and blocky. First of all this will make the HR person go back and ask "What is this?" Secondly it will read awful on paper and thirdly it might get overlooked if you are in a rush (at an interview).
-Leave off the company name in your cover letter - I usually don't type my cover letter out in all caps, I just highlight it first and then copy it. From this point on, I use it exactly as it was sent to me, exactly.
-Be professional, don't talk about your uncle's trade school that you quit after the second year because you wanted to go to college and do what you love.
-Let's go back to being a Petroleum Engineer for a minute... It's ok for a person who has over 10 years of experience as a Petroleum Engineer to also be able to write code. You might not need a degree but you might need the skills to be able to do your job. You can simply state on your resume and cover letter that you are a good programmer.
-The number one thing I look for on a resume is related work experience and professional certifications or training. The last thing the hiring manager or HR person is looking for are "Didn't like this job so I quit" stories
-If you've held multiple jobs, don't repeat them all on your resume - they will just think you have no drive in your previous jobs and they will most likely skip over your qualifications.
-The last thing that I want to go over is networking. Don't think of networking as "I'm going to ask someone for a job". Networking is about meeting new people, building relationships and finding out who needs what. If you know what people need and how you can help them, you might end up getting a job that you didn't apply for!
7 tips for writing an effective resume: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-tips-writing-effective-resume-saysmaan
Tailor your resume to each position: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tailor-resume-each-position-saysmaan
6 reasons why someone might not call you for an interview: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-reasons-why-someone-might-not-call-you-interview
7 tips to help you apply for a job when you don't know the hiring manager or HR person's email address: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7tipshelpyouapplyjobwhenyoudontknowhiringmanagersharma
How to prepare for your first interview: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-prepare-first-interview-saysmaan
7 tips for a great first impression: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-tips-greatfirstimpression-saysmaan
The top 5 things you need to prep before your first interview: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top5thingsyouneedprepbeforefirstinterview
5 ways to break the ice during your first interview: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5waysbreakiceinterview6tipsformaccesstodirectory
How to prepare for a phone interview: https://www.linkedin.
Conclusion:
A good resume is more than a list of jobs and education. It is a self-portrait of yourself. A good resume will showcase the achievements, skills and qualifications that you've gained throughout your career.
Don't be afraid to put your best foot forward, don't try to hide anything and avoid submitting a generic resume if you know that it's not tailored to the job. You may think that it is ok because you have been applying for jobs for over 6 months and have been getting no callbacks... but if you're not putting all of your relevant work experience in front of them on the first place then why do you expect them to call?
Don't be desperate, be patient.