Experts are predicting that corporates will continue to beef up their hiring efforts in the tech sector in the next 12 months. Cybersecurity, AI/machine learning and full-stack development are topping the list of most in-demand candidates.
With over 261,000 tech jobs adding to the growing US tech sector in the last year, it’s now more important than ever to present an IT résumé that delivers precisely what hiring managers are looking for.
A wave of change is starting to spread across corporate America. Thousands of recruiters and hiring managers are waking up to the fact that technology can only take them so far when selecting the right candidates. Although AI has its place, recruiters still need to get a good ‘feel’ for a candidate, using emotion that we don’t yet see from even the most advanced ATS.
With one in five employers now using personality tests and one in nine using cultural assessments as an addition to the interview process, cultural fit and personality are becoming key components of hiring decisions.
So, how do you find the perfect balance between a humanized resumé and one that purely exists to beat the ATS machine?
Brand Yourself
Have you ever heard the expression “know thyself”? Coined by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, it’s a phrase that has come to mean many things to many people. In the context of your résumé, though, it’s crucial to know these five things before you put pen to paper:
- What is it that you do, specifically?
- What is your unique value proposition — what superpower do you bring to the table?
- Where do you want to be in your career in the next 3, 5 and 10 years?
- What are your values?
- What level of seniority are you pitching at?
Each of these things deserves another article in its own right. The point is, if you have a clear understanding of what you do, how you add value, where you see your career trajectory and what type of business you’d like work for, you can immediately start to humanize your résumé.
How? By branding yourself and remaining on-brand with every application you make.
Look at your opening sentence right now. Does it start with seasoned, savvy, or experienced IT professional? You can go ahead and hit the delete button.
Instead, open your résumé by telling the recruiter what you do and the unique value you bring.
Example: I am an expert [insert job title] who delivers [your core value] to companies in the [sector/industry/space in which you operate]. In the last [however many] years, I have [done/delivered what] that has resulted in substantial [uplift/improvements] to [what].
Show Them Your Human Side
There’s a reason that authenticity and sincerity have paved the way for the most significant and fundamental shifts in brand marketing in the last five years. More and more of us are buying into the person behind the product or the mission beyond the brand.
Take the soap company, Dove, as an example. Do you remember the Dove campaign for real beauty? It was (and still is) a much-celebrated campaign that showcased women as their beautiful authentic selves. Their real selves.
Not only did this campaign transform the company’s marketing power and send shockwaves throughout the beauty industry, but it also empowered the brand to step into its own values as a world-changing business.
The same principals can be applied when writing your résumé.
You are more than just your collection of skills and industry acronyms. Recruiters know what they want you to do, after all, they wrote the job spec. What they don’t yet know, and what they are desperate to find out, is why are you the best person for the job. What makes you the best fit? What unique nugget of information can you provide that will have them reaching for that phone to invite you in for an interview?
The best way to showcase this on your résumé is to add a hobbies and interests section. Yes, really. And, in that section, add everything you do that demonstrates who you are as a human being.
Love mountain climbing, trail running or team sports? Add it in.
Raise money for charity? Yes, that goes in there, too.
Spend your weekends at Sci-Fi conventions? Absolutely. Add it.
Don’t forget also to add any languages that you speak and the places you’ve travelled to.
Of course, the more you do in your free time that can relate directly back to your career, the better it is for you in the long run.
In her excellent LinkedIn article (every job seeker should read this), Ambra Benjamin, a global recruiting leader at Facebook, says: “I ask this in almost every phone interview I do. ‘What kind of stuff are you working on in your free time?’ I am always inspired by this.”
Write In a Language That’s Easy to Understand
Human beings are consuming data at an alarming rate of knots. In this Forbes article, Bernard Marr explains that every minute of every day:
- We send 16 million text messages and 156 million emails worldwide
- 15,000 gifs are sent via Facebook messenger
- We make 154,200 calls on Skype
- There are 990,000 Tinder swipes
Imagine how many résumés the average recruiter is filtering out on a daily basis.
Does your résumé look like it’s been written by a zombie or a machine? Or maybe even a zombie machine?
It’s okay; you’re not to blame. Years ago, this is how we were all taught to write résumés; as faceless corporate documents that were carbon copies of job specs and a huge list of skills. But that method doesn’t work anymore. Instead, go back to your dusty old résumé and start removing anything that sounds like it was written by the corporate machine. And then, replace it with your genuine value and the gifts that you can bring to the table.