Creating the Best Tech Resume: Guide With Tips and Examples

The good news? Tech professionals are in high demand. But with so much talent competing for the best jobs, a standard resume won’t cut it. So what are recruiters looking for in a tech resume, and what’s the best way to highlight your skills?

A tech resume should be more than a document listing your skills and experience in bullet points. With hundreds of applications to wade through, recruiters often only have a few minutes to get a sense of your personality, creativity, and ability. 

For tech-newcomers who have recently graduated from a tech bootcamp, your resume is also a chance to show off your transferable skills—and demonstrate how you’ll apply them in your new role. 

If you’re staring at a blank page, unsure of where to start, you’re not alone. So we’re here with tips, tricks, and examples to help you get your foot through your dream company’s door.

Here’s what we’ll cover: 

  • Tech resume dos and don’ts 
  • Building and formatting a tech resume
  • How to highlight tech skills on your resume
  • Tech resume examples
  • Final thoughts

Let’s get into it!

1. Tech resume dos and don’ts

Creating a tech resume can be a nerve-racking endeavor, especially for career changers . In the absence of years of experience in the field, your resume is often your one shot to convince recruiters you’re the right fit for their company. 

It can be challenging to showcase everything you have to offer in a one-page document, but a tech resume doesn’t have to be all-singing, all-dancing. It simply has to quickly and efficiently communicate what you bring to the table. 

It’s also important to note your resume often won’t even be seen by a human first. With the high amount of resumes being uploaded to job application sites, many companies rely on automatic AI software to filter the resumes before they go to hiring managers or recruiters.

If your resume doesn’t include keywords, isn’t readable, or isn’t formatted correctly —the hiring managers may never see it. It’s a harsh reality, but it’s important to know what you’re up against before you start firing resumes off. 

To help get your application seen by the right people, let’s go through some quick-fire dos and don’ts: 

  • Tailor it to specific companies. When recruiters scan a tech resume, they look for the specific keywords listed in the job description. To boost your chances of standing out, tweak your resume for each application and make sure these keywords are highlighted. 
  • Talk about tools. In today’s remote-first tech landscape, proficiency with certain tools is a distinct advantage. You’ll want to highlight your stack on your resume, and your proficiency with more common remote working tools like Jira, Hubspot, Asana, and so on.
  • Get friends, family, and colleagues to proofread it. Nothing says sloppy more than a typo or grammatical error. Get a second, a third, or even a fourth pair of eyes on it before you start sending it to companies. 
  • Have big blocks of text. Your resume needs to be scannable, with a highlights reel of your key experiences, skills, and the tools you work with. Stick to bullet points and lists—you can elaborate in your tech cover letter . 
  • Make it longer than one page. Likewise, anything longer than two pages is at risk of being disregarded for another’s.
  • Make it too design-heavy. For new designers especially, it’s tempting to want the design of the document the star of the show. While a tech resume can certainly include creative elements, above all else it should be easy and quick to read—by both humans and AI software. 

Remember: If you get through to the interview stage, the hiring manager will use your resume as a reference point for the questions they ask. It’s crucial to highlight skills and experience that you’d be comfortable expanding on in a conversation. 

To find out more, check out our guide to the recruiter phone screen . 

2. Building and formatting a tech resume 

Now that we know what not to do, we can move on to actually compiling your resume. 

To make things as clear as possible, we’ll break this section up into two parts: What to include in your tech resume, and how to format a tech resume. 

What to include in your tech resume

Your resume should include eight key sections: 

  • Name and contact information. You don’t need to include an address unless the role you’re applying for is location-specific.  
  • Personal summary. This is 1–2 sentences summarizing who you are as a tech professional. This can include your title, the sector you’re currently working in (or are looking to work in), key skills and credentials, and an overview of your experience. 
  • Relevant links. Here’s where you link out to your website, portfolio, and any professional networking profiles. 
  • Relevant education. Emphasis on the relevant—no one needs to know where you went to elementary school! Stick to highlighting your university education, bootcamp programs, or relevant courses and classes.
  • Tools. As mentioned earlier, highlighting your proficiency in the tools used by the team or company you’re applying for is a great way to boost your chances of getting noticed. If you’re a whiz in Figma or a GitHub guru—highlight it.
  • Skills. This is arguably the most crucial part of your resume, and what recruiters want to know about in particular. We’ll talk a little more about this in the next section. 
  • Work experience. Don’t have any? No problem: If you’re a bootcamp graduate, emphasize the skills you learned on the projects you worked on for your portfolio. You can also highlight work experience in your previous career if it’s relevant for the role.
  • Other cool things about you. Your tech resume doesn’t need to be devoid of your personality; it’s a good chance to tell your potential employers some cool (but relevant) facts. Do you speak other languages, run a blog, or own a business? Include any noteworthy features that make you stand out from the competition.

We know what you’re thinking: All that on just one page?

Not necessarily. Depending on the role you’re applying for, you can sacrifice one section to place emphasis on another. What’s most important is relevancy.

How to format a tech resume

Get the format right. A tech resume is more likely to be well-received if it’s a word document or PDF, but whichever you prefer, make sure it’s presented in the document type required by the uploading tool. Be sure to double-check the job description too, as this often lists a preferred format.

Embellish elsewhere. Already noted, but it can’t be overstated: When it comes to tech resume design formats, the simpler and clearer the better. The creativity, storytelling, and design can shine through in your cover letter and portfolio. 

The differences between them can help shape your approach for each:

A tech cover letter is a longer-form document than your resume (but still no longer than a few paragraphs) that introduces yourself as a candidate, expands on your relevant experience, and details your motivations for applying to a specific role. 

A tech portfolio showcases your skills in action. It’s a collection of the real-world projects you’ve worked on that demonstrate your competency in your chosen field. Portfolios are usually embellished with videos, images, additional files, and so on. 

Both of these should be linked to in your resume, and vice versa.

Use tools and software to spice it up. There are plenty of tools and software out there that can help you design and format a beautiful tech resume, like Canva , resume.io , and CakeResume .

But keep in mind that over-designed resumes will sometimes be automatically rejected by candidate-tracking AI software. Vibrant colors and branding are great, but don’t get carried away: a UX/UI design resume in particular needs to be simple, clear, and quickly scannable .

We know—it’s tricky to toe the line between a creative resume that showcases your unique personality, and a clear resume that cuts through the fluff to quickly communicate your value.

But once you see how it’s done, your life will be a lot simpler: you’ll find some great examples to help you further on.

3. How to highlight tech skills on your resume

Emphasizing your tech skills on your resume is vital. Ultimately, it’s these that recruiters are most interested in. 

There’s definitely a right and wrong way to showcase these. More than simple bullet points suggesting you’re proficient in X skill, recruiters want the proof in the pudding. Provide evidence of how you’ve put said skills into practice. 

There are also two different types of skills to highlight, hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills refer to the technical skills you need to actually perform the role’s basic duties. For a UI designer , this might be wireframing or animation. For a web developer , this might be documentation or specific coding languages. For a digital marketer , this might be tracking and reporting campaign metrics using a CMS. 

Soft skills refer to the interpersonal skills that make someone a great employee, such as effective communication, project management, leadership skills, and so on. While the word “soft” might suggest these skills are not as important to tech recruiters—many of these soft skills are actually in incredibly high demand. Your ability to be a great team player or manager could be the difference between getting an interview and being overlooked. 

So you’ll want to highlight both your hard and soft skills—especially if you’re a career changer on the hunt for your first tech role. The transferable skills  you’ve picked up from your previous careers will help you stand out among more experienced candidates. 

Here are a few best practices for highlighting tech skills on your resume: 

  • Quality over quantity. An endless laundry list of everything you can do isn’t going to get you noticed. It’s better to focus on a few key skills that are directly relevant to the role you’re applying for. 
  • Use the right language . Mirror the language used in the job description. Where possible avoid repetition of generic terms like “experience with” or “proficient in”.
  • Provide relevant examples . It’s one thing to say you’re good at something, but employers want to know how you’ve put it into practice. Definite bonus points for real-world projects! 

4. Tech resume examples 

Now that we know the elements that form an awesome tech resume, we’ll take a look at some people who got it right. 

Here are tech resume examples for five of the most popular tech jobs: 

Data analyst resume example

Via Beamjobs

What works? 

  • A clear, simple overview of everything a recruiter needs to know, in grayscale—meaning it’s far more likely to be accepted by resume-scanning AI.
  • A career progression, which gives us some insight into Derek’s career goals and motivations as an entry-level data analyst.
  • Specific projects that showcase Derek’s skills in action, with metrics demonstrating the impact of the work he did. 

To learn more, check out our guide to writing a great data analyst resume. 

Web developer resume example

Via ResumeKraft

What works?  

  • A creative way to display key skills and competencies, with bars and dots to break up the text.  
  • Richard chose a bullet-pointed summary for added scannability—a great move.
  • The theme is bright and colorful, while still being clear and simple. The best of both worlds.

UX designer resume example

Via Coursera  

  • Winona has struck the perfect balance between information and personality. There’s a pop of color and a unique logo that showcases creative flair, but it doesn’t take away from the key pieces of information. 
  • Winona’s personality shines through in the “ask me about” section, but Winona has prioritized information—so it doesn’t sit above skills, tools, or education. 

UI designer resume example

Via Mockplus  

  • This sleek, professional tech resume by Michelle Flacks is simple enough to pass through any AI software, but the effort that’s gone into the design is still clear. A bespoke logo and slanted lines make it unique, without distracting from the words themselves. 
  • Michelle has kept it simple with three key sections which, in this case, is more than enough. 

Digital marketing manager resume example 

Via VisualCV

  • A more in-depth look into each skill, with a scannable graphic that quickly lets the recruiter know the competency level—with the option to learn more. 
  • A clean, sleek feel overall, with an enjoyable but subtle contrast between the two colors.
  • A succinct personal summary that touches on qualifications, skills, and experience. 

Learn more with our digital marketing resume guide.

5. Final thoughts

The best way to make sure your tech resume is up to scratch? Get eyes on it.

More specifically, eyes from someone well established in your field. That way, they can guide you on whether or not your resume would make the cut in their teams—and you can make the necessary changes before it lands on the desk of a prospective employer. 

So there we have it: Your ultimate guide to writing a stand-out tech resume.

With so much to include, it’s all too easy to overthink it to the point of paralysis. But as long as you follow the industry-standard tech resume best practices, you’ll have an interview for your first tech role in no time. Of course, be sure to be sure to craft the best career change cover letter to accompany any application and get ready for the interview with the most common interview questions.

To learn more, we recommend giving these articles a read: 

  • Ten big signs it’s time for a career change—which applies to you?
  • How to successfully change careers in 2024: Your step-by-step guide
  • How to get a UX design job with no industry experience

Technical Resume Example for 2024 [W/ Template & Step-by-Step Guide!]

Background Image

So, you’re looking for your next big gig in the tech industry. 

You have the work experience, tech skills, qualifications, and the right education to go after any opportunity you see fit, but your resume-writing skills are not the best. 

And, like it or not, it does take an exceptional technical resume to stand out in such a competitive industry.  

Well, there’s actually no reason to worry. With the right guidance, you can leverage all your experience, skills, and other qualifications to effectively create a memorable tech resume that will get recruiters hooked!

This is exactly what this article is here to help you with, including: 

  • Technical Resume Example

How is a Technical Resume Different?

8 steps to ace your technical resume.

  • 58 In-Demand Tech Skills

And much more! Let’s dive in! 

Technical Resume Example Done Well

First thing’s first - you’re probably wondering what an effective technical resume looks like, right?

Here’s a rock-solid tech resume crafted with the Novorésumé resume builder :

technical resume

Here are all the things this tech resume does right:

  • Relevant information section. In addition to the essential information, like their email, phone number, and location, the applicant has added their GitHub profile and personal website on their tech resume.
  • Memorable resume summary . The profile summary in the tech resume above is short but effectively highlights the applicant’s experience and relevance for the role.
  • Reverse-chronological order. This format allows recruiters to see a candidate’s most recent and relevant work experience first.
  • Achievement-focused work experience . The applicant has focused their work experience section around their achievements instead of their responsibilities, which he’s also backed up with numbers and hard data. This is something most tech resumes don’t do, so definitely something that can help you stand out.
  • Brief education section. With so many relevant skills and work experience to show, the applicant has kept their education section short and sweet, with only their Bachelor’s Degree listed.
  • In-demand tech skills. The applicant has only included tech skills that are relevant to the position and in-demand within the industry.
  • Valuable optional sections. By adding optional sections such as awards, certifications, and languages, the applicant has a better chance of standing out from other applicants with the same work experience and education.
  • Optimal resume length . The tech resume above fits perfectly on one page, which is the gold standard in terms of resume length.

Want more tailored tips for building a specific type of technical resume? Check out some of our more niche guides below:

  • Computer Science Resume
  • Data Scientist Resume
  • DevOps Engineer Resume
  • Engineering Resume
  • Java Developer Resume
  • Web Developer Resume

Click here for a complete list of all our resume examples .

Tech positions are quite different than normal jobs, as they require plenty of hard skills and expertise, so it’s only normal for your tech resume to be different too. 

Specifically, here are the most important differences between conventional resumes and tech resumes that you should know about: 

  • To highlight your tech experience from the get-go, include your GitHub profile in your contact information section and maybe even Stack Overflow if you’re an active contributor.
  • Focus more on your hard skills instead of soft skills. The employer will assess your soft skills during the interview after they’ve made sure you have the right set of hard skills for the job.
  • If you have any certifications, including them will definitely be helpful, especially if you’re applying for a corporate job.
  • Do you code in your free time? That’s definitely something that will work in your favor. Hiring managers see this as a sign that you’re actually passionate about coding, and aren’t just in it for the money. So, include a “Personal Projects” section in your resume to stand out from the competition.
  • If you’re new to coding, (e.g. a recent graduate), you can make your tech resume pop either by including information/links to the projects you’ve worked on during university, at a Bootcamp, or even in your spare time. 

You’ve seen what the end product should look like. 

Now let’s go through the steps you need to follow to write the perfect tech resume fast and easy!

#1. Choose the Appropriate Format

Your tech resume’s format is just as important as its contents. 

If you do it wrong, your resume risks looking messy and completely unreadable at worst, which can mess up your chances of getting hired. 

So, the first thing you should pay attention to is choosing the right format for your tech resume. Here are the three most popular options out there: 

  • Reverse-chronological resume format. As the name suggests, this format lists your work experience and skills in reverse chronological order, from the most to least recent ones. 
  • Functional resume format . This resume format focuses on skills over work experience and is the perfect choice for recent graduates or entry-level applicants who don’t have a lot of experience to add to their resume. 
  • Combination resume format . As a combination of the reverse-chronological and functional resume formats, this format aims to showcase both your experience and skills. 

While all three formats are beneficial in their way, we recommend that you choose the reverse-chronological format for your tech resume. It’s recruiters’ favorite resume format and that’s for good reasons: 

  • It’s easy to skim through. 
  • It draws attention to your most recent professional experience. 

Here’s what the reverse-chronological format looks like: 

reverse-chronological format

Once you get the formatting out of the way, you can start focusing on your tech resume’s design and layout. 

Here are the most essential resume layout tips to keep in mind: 

  • Set the right margins. To make your tech resume visually appealing and easy to read, provide ample white space by setting the margins at 1 pt on all sides. 
  • Choose a professional font. It goes without saying that a font like Comic Sans shouldn’t even cross your mind when picking a font for your tech resume. We recommend going for something catchy and professional, such as Ubuntu, Roboto, or Overpass. 
  • Take advantage of bullet points. Bullet points are another great way to save some space and organize the information on your resume in a reader-friendly way. 
  • Keep your resume under one page. As we already mentioned, it’s important that your resume is one-page long (or around 475-600 words). Recruiters are busy people who probably won’t be too excited if they have to go through a 3-page long autobiography of your life.  
  • Choose the right file format. Unless you’re asked otherwise, save your tech resume as a PDF file . This ensures an impeccable design no matter the device or OS the recruiter uses to open it. 

Want to Avoid the Hassle? Use a Tech Template Instead

If you’re in the tech industry, chances are your design and writing skills aren’t your strongest point.

Not to mention, you probably have more important projects to spend your time on than wasting hours tinkering with the resume design and layout, only to end up with a result you’re not particularly fond of. 

Well, what if we told you there’s a way to avoid this part altogether? 

By using one of our resume templates , you’re going to skip this entire process altogether - all YOU have to do is fill in your resume contents.

And the best part? All our resume templates are:

  • Created in collaboration with the very best recruitment professionals 
  • Applicant Tracking System-friendly
  • Aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching

novoresume vs traditional resume

Want to speed up your resume creation process? Pick a template and start writing your resume as you read!

#2. Add Your Personal Information 

The contact information is one of the easiest sections to write, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook its importance. 

After all, what’s the point of putting in the hours to create the perfect tech resume, only to never get an interview callback because of a small typo in your phone number or email?

As such, double and triple-check to make sure this section is completely error-free.

As for what to include in this section, here are the essentials for a technical resume:

  • Professional title
  • Phone number
  • Social profiles such as LinkedIn, GitHub, etc. (optional) 
  • Link to personal website (optional)

And here’s an example of a tech resume’s contact information section done right:

Thomas Shelby

123-123-4444

[email protected]

Birmingham, UK

github.com/th.shelby 

Make sure your email address is professional (e.g. [email protected]) and not your childhood email address, such as [email protected]. An unprofessional email address just makes it seem like you’re not serious about the job.

#3. Write a Captivating Resume Summary/Objective

According to an eye-tracking study , recruiters only spend 6 seconds reviewing a resume during the initial screening. 

This means you have very limited time to grab the recruiter’s attention and get them to take a deeper look at your resume.

The most effective way to do that? Write a captivating resume summary or objective. 

These are short (2 or 3-sentence-long paragraphs) that go at the top of your resume, just under your contact information, and their main goal is to give the hiring manager a quick introduction to you as a candidate. 

  • A resume summary is a 2-to-4-sentences-long summary of your professional experience, including the years you’ve worked in the industry, your professional title, and your most noteworthy accomplishments and relevant skills. 
  • A resume objective is a snapshot of your career aspirations and goals. Perfect for entry-level professionals or recent graduates, the resume objective can also highlight academic achievements and skills acquired through other activities, such as internships and volunteer work. 

Here’s an example of what a tech summary should look like: 

  • Experienced IT Manager with 8+ years of experience in providing impeccable technical support to our clients and effectively managing in-house IT teams. Skilled in using my analytical skills to prioritize tasks, identify technical and managerial issues, and lead my team to provide timely and effective solutions to internal and external problems. Great communication and leadership skills as well as wide expertise in complex problem solving and hardware and software support. 

And here’s an example of a captivating tech resume objective: 

  • Hard-working Computer Science graduate seeking to work as a junior IT analyst. Passionate about building software that perfectly meets the needs of end-users and revolutionizes the industry. Skilled in databases, system security, and troubleshooting, with an analytical mindset. Looking to apply my newly acquired knowledge and passion in practice and help your company carry out in-depth evaluations of system capabilities. 

#4. List Relevant Work Experience

Your work experience can make or break your resume . 

First thing’s first, you need to start with the formatting. To list your work experience section in your tech resume, do this:

  • Start with your most recent/current position and go backward in time from there. 
  • Add your title, the company name, its location, and the years you’ve worked there. 
  • Include 3-5 bullet points with your achievements and responsibilities under each work entry (with fewer bullet points for older/less relevant positions). 

Simply listing your work experiences, though, is not enough. You also need to make them compelling and achievement-oriented.

See, the hiring manager knows your responsibilities for the role. After all, they’re the ones hiring for it!

Instead, they want to know how you stand out from the rest of your peers, and the best way to show that is by including achievements instead of responsibilities.

Compare these 2 examples:

  • Improved client websites on a weekly basis.
  • Improve 100+ client website speed by a range of 25% to 60%.

The first example is too vague - the hiring manager does not know what “improve” means, nor do they know whether you improved the site speed by 10% or 60%.

The second, on the other hand, is way more achievement-oriented and helps the hiring manager really understand the impact of your work.

That makes sense, right? Now let’s review what a work experience section would look like on a technical resume:

IT Specialist 

03/2018 - 02/2022

  • Increased UX scores by 40% by improving applications so that they deliver an overall better user experience. 
  • Decreased website load time by 42%, effectively improving SEO results and increasing the number of monthly website visitors by 15%. 
  • Monitored installation, integration, configuration, and maintenance of the IT system for minimal downtime. 
  • Trained over 30 staff members in internal website functions.

What If You Don’t Have Work Experience?

If you’re a Computer Science graduate looking for work after college or if you’re going for a career change , chances are you don’t have a lot of relevant work experience to put on your resume. 

Nonetheless, recruiters will need to see some proof that you can actually do the job, be it through your coding skills, or your portfolio. 

The good news? There are plenty of ways to build a tech portfolio, even without work experience. Here are the top ways to do it: 

  • Get freelance gigs through websites like Upwork
  • Mention projects you’ve coded in the university
  • List personal projects you’ve worked on in your free time
  • List the tech coursework you’ve attended at the university

#5. Don’t Forget Your Education

Including some details about your education is an essential part of a well-done tech resume. 

That said, you don’t need to go to lengths for a good education section. On the contrary, you’re better off keeping it brief and to the point in order not to take up too much space for other, more valuable sections, such as your hard skills and your achievements. 

So, to nail this section, simply list the following elements: 

  • Your degree name
  • The institution’s name and its location
  • Your years of attendance
  • Relevant academic achievements and coursework (optional, in case you don’t have a lot of work experience) 

Here’s an example of what the education section of a tech resume should look like: 

B.A. in Computer Science 

University of Birmingham, UK

08/2009 - 05/2013

For a job in the tech industry, you only need to mention your most recent (and higher) degree. That means you can leave out your high-school degree and even your Bachelor’s if you hold a Master’s degree or a Ph.D. in the field. 

#6. Add Technical Skills

Industry-related skills on your resume can improve your chances of standing out by as much as 59% . This fact alone makes the skills section one of the most essential sections of any resume. 

When it comes to the tech industry, however, your skill-set - with emphasis on your hard skills - is all the more important and can be a deciding factor on whether you’ll get called for an interview or not.

You may be a software engineer with 10+ years of experience in Python and still get instantly disqualified if the job needs someone who knows how to code in Java. 

This doesn’t mean, though, that soft skills aren’t important in a tech resume; it only means recruiters are more likely to assess your soft skills during the interview and focus more on your hard skills when they’re reviewing your resume. 

To figure out what hard skills are required for the position, simply check the job description. For most tech jobs, the employer will provide a comprehensive list of all the necessary hard skills to make sure only relevant candidates apply. 

So, when creating your Skills section, do this:

  • First, include the essential skills mentioned in the job description.
  • Second, list skills that aren’t listed in the job description, but that you think would help you perform well in the role you’re applying for.
  • Finally, if you still have space on your resume, you can use it to include your soft skills.

Not sure what technical skills to include in your resume? Here’s a list of the 58 most in-demand tech skills this year!

Hard Skills for Tech Resume

  • Lean manufacturing
  • Multivariate analysis
  • Linear regression
  • Prototyping
  • Workflow development
  • STEM skills
  • Payment processing 
  • Automated Billing Systems
  • CRM Platforms
  • Troubleshooting
  • Computer Hardware/Software Knowledge
  • Internet Applications
  • Operating Systems
  • Internet Security
  • Data Privacy
  • Programming Languages
  • Agile Development
  • Database Administration
  • Front-End & Back-End Development
  • Cloud Management
  • Data Synchronization
  • Social Media Experience
  • Project Management
  • Technical Writing
  • Network Architecture
  • Quality Assurance
  • Technical Support
  • Software Installation
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Maintaining servers, routers, and PCs
  • Configuring, managing, and maintaining networks
  • Backup management
  • LAN technology

Soft Skills for Tech Resume

  • Attention to Detail
  • Problem Solving
  • Communication
  • Multitasking
  • Customer service
  • Organization
  • Decision Making
  • Working under pressure
  • Time Management
  • Analytical Skills

#7. Take Advantage of Additional Sections

So, you’re done with all essential resume sections . If you’ve already hit the one-page mark, then you’re ready to start applying for jobs with your tech resume.

If, on the other hand, you still have some extra space that you’d like to fill up, we’ve got you covered. 

Here are some optional resume sections you could leverage to get rid of the extra white space and stand out from other applicants even more effectively: 

  • Awards and certifications. Have you won an award that showcases your talents or completed any courses to hone your skills? That’s definitely something to mention on your resume! (E.g. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or Certified Cloud Technology Professional (CCTP)).
  • Languages . If you’re multilingual, make sure to add your languages to your resume. They’re very useful for technical support roles, and they’re always a nice-to-have addition for other types of IT roles. 
  • Interests and hobbies . Your hobbies and interests reveal a more personal aspect of your character and can help you connect with your interviewer on a more personal level. Sure, they’re looking for a highly-skilled tech guy, but the hiring manager is a lot more likely to pick a candidate with that they have more in common than someone who’s all about work-work-work. 
  • Publications. The tech industry isn’t all about practical work. If you’ve done any theoretical or research work that got published, you’re bound to impress recruiters by adding your publications to your resume. 

Here’s what these sections should look like on a tech resume: 

Certifications 

  • Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE)
  • CompTIA A+ Technician

English - Native

Spanish - Full Professional Proficiency 

French - Full professional proficiency 

  • Solving crossword puzzles

#8. Include a Cover Letter

Last but not least, don’t forget to add a cover letter to your tech job application.

In case you were wondering, the cover letter is a must for any industry. Not only do recruiters expect to receive one, but they might not consider you altogether if you fail to submit one. 

So, dedicate some time to writing a cover letter that will give recruiters more detailed insight into who you are and what you can offer the company.

Not to mention, you can use the extra space to explain anything you didn’t have space to explain on your resume, such as a career gap or how you achieved a particularly noteworthy accomplishment. 

Here is the best structure to follow to create an effective tech cover letter: 

  • Header - Add your full and correct contact details, as well as the name and contact information of the hiring professional the cover letter is addressed to.   
  • Greeting - If possible, try to greet the recruiter by their name to show you went the extra mile researching the company and the people doing the hiring. The recruiter will usually be the head of the department you are applying to and you can almost always find their name listed on the company website or the company’s social media platforms. 
  • Opening paragraph - Use your cover letter’s opening paragraph to grab the recruiter’s attention by listing some of your biggest achievements or most relevant skills. 
  • The second paragraph - This is where you should let recruiters know what skills or experience you can bring to the table and why you’re more qualified than other applicants. 
  • Third paragraph - Here you can mention why you’ll fit in well with the company and why you’re passionate to work there. 
  • Closing - The closing of your cover letter is the last thing the recruiter will read and will probably be what stays with them the longest. So, you want to leave a memorable impression and give them a reason to call you back. 

Check out our guides on cover letter tips and common cover letter mistakes to take your cover letter to the next level. 

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap! You should now be ready to write a killer technical resume from scratch or build one in the blink of an eye using our fast-and-easy resume builder. 

Before you go on to do that, here are the main points we covered in this article: 

  • Choose the reverse-chronological format to build your tech resume. It effectively highlights your most recent experiences and it is also recruiters’ favorite worldwide. 
  • Make sure your contact information has no errors or typos, and that you add relevant details like your personal website or GitHub profile. 
  • To stand out from the crowd, make your work experience as achievement-focused as possible and back up those accomplishments with hard data whenever it’s possible. 
  • Keep the education section of your tech resume short and to the point, and only list your higher and most recent degrees. 
  • Focus on your hard skills instead of your soft skills on your technical resume. 
  • Don’t overlook the importance of the cover letter for a successful job application. 

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  • • Led the development of a React-based SPA, improving the application's load time by 40% through code optimization and lazy loading.
  • • Implemented a CI/CD pipeline for front-end deployments, reducing deployment time by 50% and increasing deployment frequency by 100%.
  • • Collaborated with the UX/UI team to redesign the application interface, resulting in a 30% increase in user satisfaction.
  • • Developed and integrated high-quality WebGL shaders for product visualizations, enhancing visual fidelity and user engagement.
  • • Pioneered the use of Unity for interactive 3D product demos, increasing customer engagement by 25%.
  • • Mentored junior developers in modern JavaScript frameworks and best practices, improving team productivity by 20%.
  • • Developed a cross-platform mobile app using React Native, increasing market reach by targeting both iOS and Android users.
  • • Integrated .NET services with front-end components, enhancing data processing efficiency and reducing server response times by 35%.
  • • Optimized website performance for a major retail client, achieving a 90% score on Google PageSpeed Insights.
  • • Led a project to refactor legacy CSS code into modular SCSS, improving code maintainability and reducing style-related bugs by 50%.
  • • Enhanced user interface and experience for an e-commerce platform, resulting in a 25% increase in conversion rate.
  • • Reduced page reload times and improved user engagement by implementing AJAX for dynamic content updates.
  • • Collaborated with back-end developers to integrate RESTful APIs, streamlining data exchange and application functionality.
  • • Assisted in the deployment of website updates, ensuring smooth rollouts with minimal downtime.

5 Tech Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

When crafting your tech resume, focus on the specific technologies relevant to the job you're applying for. Display proficiency in programming languages and tools that the employer values. Connect your experience with outcomes; it's essential to demonstrate how your skills have contributed to project success. Your tech resume must paint a clear picture of your expertise and its practical applications.

All resume examples in this guide

how to make a good tech resume

Traditional

how to make a good tech resume

Resume Guide

Resume format

Resume experience section

Hard & soft skills

Education & certifications

Resume summary/Objective

Additional sections for a tech resume

Key takeaways

Tech resume example

You find this tech job and start reading the description. Software development? Check. Team culture fit? Check. Benefits? Check. Next dream job? Check.

With all the tech skills you have on your resume, you think how qualified (and even overqualified) you are for this job. You’ll run through the test assignment with the same speed as  Usain Bolt had before he started playing soccer.

But no assignment is coming your way. No callback. Not even an email. All you get is an auto-reply message from a job board.

The sad reality is, that even the brightest software engineers and web developers can’t land job interviews simply because their tech resumes are not making the cut.

Even worse is that your resume often has to make the rounds among several non-technical recruiters long before anyone who knows the difference between an  IDE and an  API gets their hands on it.

Today,  we put an end to this.

This tech resume guide will give you expert tips on:

  • How to write a technical resume that recruiters will read from start to finish and even non-tech people will understand.
  • What to include and what to skip when deciding on the resume sections.
  • How to quantify your impact with concrete numbers.
  • Which tech resume template to use for maximum engagement and job interview invites.

We’ll show you how to write a tech resume that will turn all these recruiters and gatekeepers into your advocates.

Here’s how.

Senior Front End Developer | React Expert | Unity Enthusiast resume example

Here are a few  more good reads on the topic.

  • IT Resume Resume Example
  • IT Project Manager Resume Example
  • Full Stack Developer Resume Example
  • Front End Developer Resume Example
  • Computer Science Resume Example

How to format a job-winning tech resume

A strong resume is smooth and coherent, with each part following the next in a logical order like a good algorithm. Begin by deciding on the structure.

Applicants with extensive experience go with the reverse chronological order  as it showcases their most recent responsibilities and previous employers prominently.

If you’re among those versatile professionals who want to give proper credit to their strengths and not just work history, you might want to use the hybrid format . It's a less traditional approach than the reverse chronological and suits individuals with diverse backgrounds well .

Unsure which format to use? You can choose from our range of customizable templates  and start building your resume in no time.

For those who are eager to write their tech resume from scratch, here are our best formatting tips:

  • Craft a top-notch resume header . This is the place to put your name, address, and contact details so that recruiters can reach out to you later. It’s very common to include your social media handles but remember: for technical roles, link your Github to showcase your work quality; for IT manager roles, insert  your LinkedIn to highlight your networking skills .
  • Stick to 2 pages max  and only if you have more than 5 years of experience in the industry. If not, a one-pager is recruiters’ favorite, as it’s much easier to scan through. The key to both is to only provide details that are relevant to the specific job you’re trying for.
  • Use a readable font, size 10-12 pt . Most tech professionals will go for modern, sans serif fonts like Lato, Rubik, Bitter, and Arial. They are all ATS-friendly.
  • Set margins to 1’’. This is the standard and anything less will massively worsen the readability. By the way, yes, our resume builder has it all covered for you.

Before you check  all the boxes, remember to save your file as a  PDF  to make sure it reads on all devices and systems.

Once you’re ready with the structure, we can build a resume that no one can say no to. Here are the most crucial sections of your technical resume that we’ll discuss in today’s guide.

Top sections to feature on a tech resume

  • Technical skills : Showcase your coding and software proficiency.
  • Projects and portfolio :  Demonstrate real-world application of skills.
  • Working experience :  Highlight relevant job roles and achievements.
  • Education and certifications :  Validate your formal training and expertise.
  • Professional summary : Offer a snapshot of your capabilities and goals.

These sections should flow naturally in a way that quickly shows recruiters what they are seeking in a tech professional.

What recruiters want to see on a tech resume

  • Relevant technical skills  and programming languages that are e ssential for performing job-specific tasks.
  • Project experience,  showing  practical application of technical skills.
  • Problem-solving abilities — critical for overcoming technical challenges.
  • Adaptability  to new technologies, indicating a willingness to learn and evolve.
  • Team collaboration , demonstrating the  ability to work effectively in team settings.

Finally, whichever layout you’ve chosen for your resume, you’re most likely to start building your experience section first.  Let us show you the right way to do it.

How to write the  e xperience section on a tech resume

The experience section of your technical resume is where the majority of your research will pay off.

Have you explored the latest features the target company added to their product? Are they pivoting, expanding, or re-architecting? Are they trying to make their product more stable, or are they in hot water, pushing as many new features as they can before the funding dries up?

Whatever you learn, you can rearrange your previous working experience and demonstrate that you will be a part of the solution.

The next step after you’ve done the research is to create a convincing narrative of your impact. Keep in mind the following:

  • A good experience description  follows this formula: Accomplished [A] as measured in [B] by doing [C]. For instance,   “ as a part of a 3-engineer unit developed X messaging platform optimized for 10M+ daily active users”.
  • Any tech job description features both buzzwords and keywords that are industry-relevant . It’s important to mention both in your resume for two reasons: First, to pass applicant tracking systems that automatically filter out non-tech resumes, and second, to gain a competitive advantage over candidates who didn’t do due research.
  • Don’t lie if you don’t have experience  with a certain technology and don’t overdo buzzwords to avoid sounding unnatural.
  • Be strategic. If, during your research, you’ve found that a company uses a new  technology and mentions this in the job description, by all means, find a way to weave it into your resume narrative. This will show hiring managers that you understood the assignment and went the extra mile to show you’re the right fit.

Now let’s look at the difference between one experience entry that will end up in the rejection pile and one that’s done right.

  • • Designed error analysis solution.
  • • Created a mobile messaging platform.
  • • Created a web portal for managing customer commissions.

This is just a dry list of generic responsibilities. It says nothing about the candidate’s successes. Entries like this one won’t even make the ATS filters.

Below is the revised version.

  • • Led a team of 9 engineers to design and implement an error analysis solution that reduced the development to production time for the mobile department by 35%.
  • • As a part of a 3-engineer unit, developed Kowat messaging platform optimized for 10M+ daily active users 24/7.
  • • Designed and developed web-based portal for processing customer commissions, which resulted in a 13% indirect sales uptick within the first 3 months.
  • • Technology used daily: Docker, Python, Django, Java, Microservices, and PostgreSQL.

Notice the use of action verbs  such as led , developed , and designed . Although the first person singular is implied, the choice of verbs demonstrates the candidate's agency, management skills, and creative talent.

A significant strength of this experience section is its use of specific metrics to illustrate success , such as reducing production time by 35%, optimizing a platform for over 10 million users, and achieving a 13% increase in sales. These details not only highlight the candidate's impactful contributions but also their ability to quantify their achievements.

Additionally, the section includes a concise yet persuasive list of technologies used  within the organization. This highlights the candidate's proficiency in essential programming languages, and also removes the need for a separate hard skills section, thus saving space.

For more ideas on how to create an actionable resume experience section, check out our article on “ How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience .” Meanwhile, we'll explore detailed strategies for quantifying success in your resume.

How to quantify impact on a tech resume

As mentioned above, prospective employers will need proof that you can do the job. It's essential to fill your resume with numbers that illustrate the outcomes of your work . Below is a list of examples:

  • Include the percentage increase in website traffic due to your optimization efforts, demonstrating your ability to boost online presence.
  • Mention the amount of money saved through efficient code refactoring , showcasing your contribution to cost reduction.
  • Highlight the  reduction in load times  you achieved for applications to illustrate your skills in enhancing user experience.
  • Detail the number of users added  after launching a new feature, showing your impact on user growth.
  • Specify the revenue growth  achieved from a project you led to indicate your direct contribution to the company's financial success.
  • Report the decrease in bug reports  after you improved software quality.
  • Note the number of automated tests  you implemented to highlight your role in ensuring software stability.
  • Describe the scale of data you managed or analyzed , emphasizing your capability in data-driven projects.

How to write an entry-level tech resume

The tech industry is hungry for candidates, so starting out as a junior developer should be a breeze, right?

Not really. The demand is so high that the job market gets inundated with people just like yourself. Even those with up to 2 years of experience, spend months sending out job applications.

So how do you make it?

You need to absolutely nail your tech resume . Below are the three major qualities you should showcase.

Show that you’re a continuous learner . New tools and technologies are popping up every day. Do your best to stay updated on the latest technologies and sign up for every training course you can afford to gain that full-stack expertise. This can be put in the certifications section of your resume, or even better—in the hard skills section. When choosing what to do, consider matching the respective certificate  with the job requirements.

Next, to build a tech resume with no experience, you must compensate with versatility . It’s vital to focus on skills you’ve gained through personal interactions . Now’s the time to remember that project you worked on in college when you divided tasks between team members and mediated conflicts. Or maybe you resolved a customer support issue at your part-time job. Each of these can add to the assets you bring to the table.

The third most important factor for a junior tech resume is the portfolio . The less exciting news, however, is that you may have to do freelance work for a low fee to gather enough projects to be able to create a portfolio. Doing this will not only teach you valuable  new technical skills, it will also make you more marketable. Hiring managers will see you as someone with drive, ambition, and a lifelong desire to learn.

Make sure you state your projects or tech portfolio  prominently on your resume. We’ll show you how in the sections that follow.

Technical resume skills section: do’s and don'ts

Having a balanced skills section is crucial for IT resumes because it helps recruiters understand whether or not you can perform the job.

But no one wants to read a list of 50+ skills that you've acquired over your career.

Here are some tips to make your skills section more engaging and impactful:

  • Put the tech that the company uses higher on your list.
  • Group your tech skills for better readability, e.g.  “Programming languages”, “Platforms”, “Services”.
  • List only the most recent and relevant technology. Outdated technology may leave a poor impression.
  • Mention methodologies on par with frameworks—the ability to work with teams that follow Agile or DevOps workflows is as important as the hard skills you have.
  • Add some buzzwords  you weren’t able to include with the experience section: DataOps, DevOps, VR/AR. But add only relevant ones; don’t overdo it.
  • If you’re going for a leadership position, emphasize the soft skills section.

Here are some of the most sought-after hard skills to put on your tech resume:

Top hard skills to feature in a tech resume

  • Programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, JavaScript)
  • Database management (e.g., SQL, MongoDB)
  • Cloud computing (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
  • DevOps tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins)
  • Web development (e.g., HTML, CSS, React, Node.js)
  • Mobile app development (e.g., Swift, Kotlin)
  • Machine learning/AI (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)
  • Cybersecurity (e.g., Firewalls, Encryption, Penetration Testing)
  • Network Administration (e.g., TCP/IP, DNS, VPN)
  • Data Analysis (e.g., Excel, R, Tableau)
  • Software Testing (e.g., Selenium, JUnit)
  • System Administration (e.g., Linux, Windows Server)
  • Version Control Systems (e.g., Git, SVN)
  • Big Data Technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark)
  • Blockchain (e.g., Ethereum, Smart Contracts)
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Robotics (e.g., ROS)
  • User Interface / User Experience Design (UI/UX)
  • Agile Methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban)
  • Project Management Tools (e.g., JIRA, Asana)

Now onto the soft skills section.

Recruiters won’t buy any generic “communication” or “problem solver” entries in this section either. However, here you have a great opportunity to transform something that is a liability into an opportunity.

Learn more about the company you’re applying to and you’ll see which soft skills you should double down on. This filters out irrelevant skills and leaves more space on your resume for the really important stuff.

Frame your soft skills section as your “ Achievements. ” Did you win a blockchain hackathon in 2021? Great way to demonstrate your quick thinking and creativity. Spotted an error in a corporate BI reporting system? That’s attention to detail. Launched an MVP with a small team of undergrads? Teamwork and resource management.

This section is also great for demonstrating your ability to work well within Agile teams, corporate cultures, or remote startups.

Here are some of the soft skills that matter the most when applying for a job in information technology.

Best soft skills for your tech resume

  • Communication
  • Problem-solving
  • Continuous learning
  • Time management
  • Critical thinking
  • Attention to detail
  • Conflict resolution
  • Negotiation
  • Organization
  • Decision making
  • Emotional intelligence

Are you still not sure what skills will win recruiters over? Check out our guide “ How to Create A Resume Skills Section To Impress Recruiters (+10 Examples You Need to See) .”

How to put certifications on a technical resume

There are many certifications in the IT field , but there’s no reason to mention every one of them on your tech resume. As with every other bit of information, add only certificates that are highly relevant to the job or that are hard to achieve  (such as Cisco Certified  Internetwork Expert or Project Management Professional).

Best certifications that will amplify a tech resume

  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Google Cloud Certified – Professional Cloud Architect
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

If you hold multiple certifications, list them in a dedicated section. Here are the things to include in the entries:

  • Put the name of the certificate on top.
  • Add the name of the issuing organization.
  • Insert the year obtained and the expiration date, if applicable.

Keep this section nice and clean so that hiring managers can quickly spot your most recent certificates.

How to write your tech resume summary or objective

You know what’s the difference between the tech skills of someone who’s spent 10 years in front-end development and someone who’s just finished a Coursera web-dev course?

None. Their “React.js”, “Angular”, “HTML”,  and “Front End Development” may look identical.

The same goes for back-end developers, system administrators, and software engineers.

With the abundance of online courses, everyone can quickly learn the next hot framework or stack and even have some experience with it.

To write a job-winning tech resume  that passes all ATS and human filters with flying colors, you need to account for one critical thing: context . That’s what your resume summary should have and it’s through the summary that you can make all the difference.

You need to demonstrate the impact of your work. Not just that you can do the work, but also that this work drives results. Use these 3-5 sentences to really grab the reader and make them want to read the rest of your resume.

The following example is a bad one—avoid sounding so vague and unengaged.

While it looks very well done, this summary doesn’t say anything about the candidate. It’s so generic, that the same can be put on any other software engineer’s resume. We don’t get anything about the applicant’s level of experience, any job-specific skills, certifications, or professional goals.

Let’s change that.

This summary packs a punch with its authority and trustworthiness. Here's a quick breakdown:

  • Quantified impact : It highlights a solid achievement (boosting operational efficiency by 40% across 100+ client companies), showcasing the candidate's proven track record.
  • Tech expertise:  It drops names of specific technologies (think Python, JavaScript, React, AWS, Azure) the candidate is proficient in, making it easy for hiring managers to see the fit with job needs.
  • Career ambitions : It outlines a crisp professional goal (aiming to use technical leadership and fresh engineering approaches to fuel the company's growth and success), signaling ambition and the drive to make an impact.
  • Choice of words : The smart sprinkle of buzzwords and keywords  like senior , leading , successful , and passionate ,  refer to their improvement and leverage. Alongside continuous learning, this paints a full picture of the candidate's persona and professional depth.

If you’re looking for some more tech resume inspiration, try our resume builder  which offers 10,000 content suggestions. You’ll thank us later.

For those at the starting gate of their tech careers, writing a resume objective  is the way to go. Objective statements are perfect for merging your goals with what the company seeks, especially for newbies or career switchers. Within 3 sentences, you need to spotlight how you aim to grow and contribute right from the get-go.

Tailoring your tech resume can vary widely based on the company, your seniority level, and location. You might consider adding extra sections, such as language skills , hobbies , or projects.

However, pause and consider if this additional section will sway recruiters in your favor. It should spotlight skills or qualifications directly relevant to the job.

For tech people, a projects section  makes the most sense. Let’s see how it’s done.

How to include projects in a tech resume

Why should tech pros spotlight their side projects on their resumes? It's simple—these additions boost your appeal by demonstrating your ongoing engagement and eagerness for professional development.

There are various ways to feature projects on a tech resume. You might highlight a standout project in your summary or weave it into your experience descriptions.

For the well-versed tech veteran with numerous side projects, dedicating a separate section is the way to go. Here's how:

  • Start by writing the name of the project.
  • Mark the dates of duration.
  • Give 1 sentence about your role in the project.
  • List in bullet points your contributions and project outcomes.
  • • Developed and deployed a cloud-based platform on AWS to streamline operations, reducing operational costs by 25%.
  • • Implemented a data analytics suite using Python and Tableau, enhancing data-driven decision-making and increasing project impact visibility by 40%.
  • • Spearheaded the migration of legacy systems to scalable, modern technologies, improving system reliability and user satisfaction.

Key takeaways: make a tech resume that stands out

In the ever-competitive field of tech, where everyone's trying to be the next big disruptor, a great resume could be your ticket to the big leagues. Let’s re-cap everything you need to know about crafting that game-changing tech resume:

  • Weave a compelling narrative that does more than just flaunt your tech skills—it tells the story of a problem solver who's ready to tackle the next big challenge.
  • Stand out from your competition by demonstrating the impact of your professional work.
  • Use clever formatting to guide recruiters’ attention and make your technical resume engaging and easy to read .
  • Provide real-world contexts for your skills, proving you're not just throwing around buzzwords like "blockchain" or "machine learning" but actually know your stuff.
  • D ive deep into your target companies—understand their tech stack, their culture, and what keeps their CTO up at night—and craft your resume accordingly .

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Click here to directly go to the complete Technical Resume Sample.

How do you convince the recruiter that you've got what they are looking for in a potential candidate?

Your technical resume is definitely one sure shot way to prove your potential.

To write the best technical resume, you need to make sure that the following points are clear to you:

  • Why do you need a technical resume and how to write one?
  • How to choose the right resume format for technical resume?
  • How to list work experience in technical resume to highlight your career trajectory?
  • What are the skills required for technical resume?
  • How to add certifications, internships, and training in a technical reusme?
  • How to compose a resume summary or objective to get the recruiters' attention?

Additionally, the technicall resume samples provided in this blog will give you more clarity at each step of your technical resume writing process.

  • Technical Project Manager Resume
  • Technical Product Manager Resume
  • IT Manager Resume
  • IT Specialist Resume

What Is a Technical Resume?

Technology is a very rapidly evolving industry with diverse areas of specialization.

Searching for a job in these technical fields will require a different set of interests and skills. But all of the recruiters will have one thing in common: they will want to see a powerful tech resume.

To build a strong technical resume, check out our pre-existing technical resume templates on our professional resume builder.

Your technical resume will vary widely, based on your experience level, your certifications, and your long-term professional goals.**

This blog post on technical resume samples can help you understand the following:

  • The kind of information your employers will be looking for
  • How should your technical resume be formatted on the page
  • Some special tips for writing various sections in your technical resume.

And all kinds of details that will help you stand out.

There is no right way to create a tech resume for a technical position. However, there are certain details that almost every employer wants to see.

These can be put into distinct subheadings as follows:

  • Technical Resume Summary
  • Education Section
  • Work Experience Section
  • Skills Section

Why Do You Need a Technical Resume?

Any technical resume:

  • Grabs the recruiter's attention
  • Reflects your strongest skills and accomplishments
  • Conveys how you are the perfect match for a position or project
  • Gets you the job interview

Further, a tech resume exemplifies:

  • What are the skills you have learned/exercised across your career
  • How these skills can be exercised in your subsequent jobs
  • What was the impact of exercising these skills before
  • How you may deploy innovative tools or methods to overcome challenges

Your tech resume therefore stands as a testimony for why you should be working for your target company.

How to Write a Technical Resume?

There are several technicalities that go behind drafting your tech resume - from writing the Master CV to tailoring your technical resume - according to your target job description.

The following guide will enable you to create a final draft that looks like the wonderful technical resume examples given below.

Technical Resume Template

How to Choose the Right Resume Format for Technical Resume?

When it comes to the layout of your techn resume, you will have two different options:

Chronological Layout for Technical Resume

You will have an opportunity to boast about the work you have done in the past, and the projects you have completed.

  • Start by listing each of your past jobs in reverse order
  • Put your most recent position first.
  • For each job title, provide the employer, employment year, and the basic requirements of each job.
  • Add a list of your achievements while you held that role, including the awards you won and challenges you overcame.
  • Try and make your accomplishments quantifiable. Provide performance figures wherever possible.

Functional Layout for Technical Resume

This layout focuses more on what will be able to do for your job. It focuses on your future career.

  • Open this technical resume section by listing your “core competencies” or special areas of experience and talent.
  • Follow up with a short summary of past job titles.
  • You do not necessarily have to follow up with employment dates and too much detail about responsibilities and accomplishments.
Also Read: How to choose the best resume layout

An ideal Technical Resume example looks like the following:

Resume Example

How to Write Personal Information in Technical Resume?

Following information must be included in a tech resume:

  • Updated Phone Number
  • Professional Email Address
  • Present location

Contact Information Sample for Technical Resume

Contact Number: +1 234 189 2625
Email Address: tony@xyz [dot] com
Location SF, CA
LinkedIn: www.linkedin [dot] com/tony
GitHub: www.github [dot] com/tony

You can also add your LinkedIn account, Twitter handle or other social media addresses to your technical resume. Do it only if you think it'll bolster your overall application.

How to Create an Impeccable Summary for Technical Resume?

A technical resume summary is also called by various other names such as career summary, resume summary statement, resume profile summary, resume summary of qualifications, qualifications summary, etc.

Before writing the summary, ponder over the following points to make sure you do not miss out anything:

  • What are the core skills the interviewer is looking for?
  • What are the soft skills the job requires?
  • What are the strict NOs mentioned in the job description?

Your technical summary should provide the following information:

  • Most important credentials/ key skills
  • Quick overview of the information that appears in the rest of your profile
  • Your major achievements according to the job profile

Have a look at the summary sample given below:

4+ years experienced software engineer skilled in software development, testing, documentation, etc. across the complete development life cycle of a product. Adept at end to end software design & development including requirement gathering, documentation, infrastructure setup, coding and unit & integration testing. Gained proficiency in a wide-variety of programming languages & developed in-depth knowledge of the latest technologies as a result of working on numerous complex projects. Handles complex project management & coordination work very efficiently to deliver results. Looking forward to applying the acquired gamut of skills to a challenging software development role.

Also Read: How to craft an impeccable resume summary.

How to Present Skills in Tech Resume?

Technical resume skills.

One of the most important sections on your technical resume is the key skills section. The ATS quickly scans you on the basis of the key skills .

Hence, it is important that rather than listing a dozen odd skills relevant to the job, you demonstrate them.

Instead of adding skills relentlessly like a robot, elaborate them. Show how you exhibited that certain trait, resolved bugs, handled mid-project crisis and inner team dynamics.

Quantify Your Skills:

If you can, because it is going to give you 10x more attention than merely adding the appropriate keyword.

Any good tech resume will contain a healthy mix of both hard skills and soft skills, with emphasis on the former. Hard skills demonstrate how you are fit for the job, while soft skills prove how well of a team member you are.

An example for key skills for technical resume could be:

Engineering Design & Analysis
Technical Documentation
Design Formulation & Optimization
Prototype Development
Machine Layouts and Assembly
Equipment and Fixture Design
Conveying Systems/Jigs & Fixtures
Machining & Heat Treatment
Forgings & Welding
Pneumatics & Hydraulics
Costing & Estimation
R&D and Innovation

Any special skills related to:

  • Problem Solving
  • Negotiation
  • Customer Service
  • Interpersonal Relationship Management may also be included to throw light on specific parts of your tech resume.

If you have a special skill or interest and you are not sure whether it will leave a lasting impact through your tech resume, put yourself in the position of your hiring manager.

If you would find this skill interesting in a candidate, write it down .

Technical Skills

For a technical resume, a special requirement is of technical skills section . Create a special tech resume section dedicated to these skill sets. These skills must include:

  • A direct relevance to your target position
  • Skill sets that are not directly relevant but may elevate your profile potentially

These technical resume skills can include:

  • Software Skills
  • Leadership and Management Skills
  • Presentation Skills
  • Foreign Language Skills
  • Design Skills

Look at this sample technical skills section :


Languages
Python, Java, Node.js, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Frameworks
Codeigniter, YII, Drupal, Spring, Flask
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux
Software
Apache, Nginx
DatabaseMySQL, MongoDB, Neo4J
Also Read: The best way to list skills on resume.

How to Write Professional Experience in Tech resume

A professional experience section should always contain the following elements describes below:

STAR Format

Grouping & Highlighting

  • Action Verbs

The star format refers to the Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

  • Situation is the difficulty you found yourself in
  • Task that was assigned to you as part of the job profile
  • Action that was undertaken to perform the assigned task efficiently
  • Result is the outcome of your contribution in terms of catapulting business growth

Technical Writer Resume Example With STAR Format

  • Liaising with product managers and engineers to produce 5+ documents daily, including User Guides, Integration Guides, and API Developer Guides, etc.

In the example, we can easily identify that the applicant is coordinating with cross-functional teams to product documents.

Likewise, you need to make sure that you describe your action and its result by implementing STAR format.

STAR format helps you establish a concrete cause and effect relationship by just not mentioning what you did but also why you did to make the recruiters recognize your potential.

Make sure there are no paragraphs in your technical resume except a summary.

Framing one-liner bullet points to write your professional experience improves the readability experience, giving it a clean look.

Also, try to draw a cause-effect relationship in all one-liner points to give a better perspective to the recruiter about the impact of your contributions in your previous organization.

Tech Resume Example in Paragraph Form

Tech Resume Example in One-Liners

  • Translating technical information and complex concepts to non-technical audience ensuring 100% user understandability

Technical Resume Examples Analysis

Both the examples are conveying the same message but it is clear that example 1 is using unncessary connecting words and is unclear.

Writing a one-liner will help you focus on describing the nature of the task assigned to you and what you did to achieve positive results.

Hence, a one-liner is always the right way to describe your technicalresponsibilities in a resume.

For all your professional experience, wherever the total number of points is more than 3, you can group similar points and create subheadings for the same. Grouping similar points together allow you to showcase your broad-level skills.

Further, highlight key achievements and important words, phrases, and numbers throughout your professional experience in your technical resume.

Let's look at a bullet point with a grouping and highlighting approach and the same without and analyze which one is better.

AVERAGE IMPACT:

Tech Resume Example 1

  • Collaborated with 5+ departments including development, QA, product management to draft and finalize product description
  • Planned, researched, wrote, and revised printed and online documentation, including general overviews, tutorials, installation & configuration instructions, and API documents
  • Oversaw peer editing and production to provide an in-depth review to ensure high quality

HIGH IMPACT:

Tech Resume Example 2:

Team Collaboration & Quality Assurance

  • Planned, researched, wrote, and revised printed and online documentation , including general overviews, tutorials, installation & configuration instructions, and API documents

Tech Resume Example Analysis:

Both the tech resume examples says the same thing but example 2 creates a higher impact. Grouping helps the recruiter recognize your broad level skills and highlighting important words/numbers ensure that the recruiter doesn't miss out any important information due to lack of time.

Action Verbs and Powerful Words

To write a technical resume that creates an impact, use action verbs and powerful words. The best power verbs to use in your technical resume are:

  • Tech Resume words for 'Planning' or 'Strategic Planning': Administered, Brainstormed, Strategized
  • Tech Resume words for 'Managing': Steered, Directed, Led
  • Tech Resume words for 'Organizing': Acquired, Designated, Activated
  • Tech Resume words for 'Supervising' or 'Leadership': Chaired, Authorized, Spearheaded
  • Tech Resume words for 'Executing' or 'Worked on' or 'Handled': Arranged, Compiled, Composed
  • Tech Resume words for 'Communication': Advocated, Authored, Clarified, Conveyed
  • Tech Resume words for 'Helping': Aided, Bolstered, Assisted
  • Tech Resume words for 'Creativity' or 'Problem Solving': Altered, Drafted, Overhauled
  • Tech Resume words for 'Responsible for' or 'Getting Results': Accomplished, Operated, Targeted
Also Read: List of power verbs for your Technical Resume.

Technical-Resume_Professional-Experience_Tips

Tips for Writing an Impeccable Professional Experience Section

The work experience section of your technical resume is the most important section. And it is most frequently done incorrectly .

Before writing down this section, go through the following points:

  • Follow the format Role | Company | Location | Time Period to design your professional experience.
  • Write one liner bullet points for each position highlighting your responsibilities and achievements
  • Quantify your experiences to back up your achievements.
  • Do not list too many responsibilities without any tangible achievements.
  • Highlight important keywords that instantly catch the eye of the hiring manager.
  • Write suitable Subheadings for different types of work you did. Ex: product management, client management.
  • If you are a fresher, list volunteer or unpaid experiences that qualify as work experiences.
  • In case of an extensive list, you can create a new section for activities, associations, and volunteer work.
  • If your experience runs deep, do not include details about positions held 15 to 20 years ago.
  • You can insert this section beneath or above your education credentials.
  • Choose to opt for the layout that suits your experience well: traditional chronological layout, the functional layout, or a hybrid of these two styles.

How Should You Include Education in Technical Resume?

Your education and GPA will provide essential background information to your potential employers.

It is a very important part of your technical resume, especially for the freshers.

  • List your degree/academic credentials in reverse chronological order
  • Follow up with the name of your institution
  • Add the time period across the entire education section
  • List your GPA , if you choose to

Following is an education section example from tech resume template:

  • B.E. Computer Science
  • UC Berkeley | Berkeley, US | May '13
  • The University of California, Berkeley is the top public university in the United States
  • Top 15 percentile of the class
Also Read: Tips & tricks of creating a flawless education section.

Add Projects in Your Technical Resume

Adding relevant projects in your technical resume is crucial to help the recruiter evaluate your expertise amd recognize your advanced skills.

All you need to do is create a separate section on your resume and give it an appropriate title i.e PROJECTS

The following tips can help you list the details of your projects in a process engineer resume:

  • Begin with the Project Description in one line followed by the ‘Tech stack/environment’.
  • Next write the Problem Statement/Objective in one line
  • After this, write the Solution sub-section, include all the measures you took in bullet points, with each point beginning with a power verb.
  • The last sub-section would be Key Achievements where all your points with quantifiable impact/performance figures will go.

Technical-Resume_Projects

How to Add Training, Certifications, and Internships in Technical Resume?

Your technical certifications, trainings and internships can help you grab even more attention. They are considered even more relevant to your potential employer than your academic degrees.

In order to keep your certifications, trainings and internships from going unnoticed, be sure to :

  • Place this information in a separate section.
  • Emphasize credentials that are recent and the ones that are of special relevance.

For all your certifications/Training, follow the format mentioned below Certification/Training | Certifying/Training Authority | Time Period

Take a look at this technical resume samples for your training and certifications:

  • Certified MongoDB developer | MongoDB. Inc. | ‘17
  • Certified Developer Associate Level | AWS | ‘16
  • Certified Java Developer Professional |Oracle | ‘15
  • Certified JBoss Developer | Red Hat | ‘14
  • Attended the ‘National workshop for Python Developers’ | MIT | ’12
Also Read: How to list certifications on resume.

Take a look at this technical resume sample for your internships:

Stark Tech LLC Summer Intern | New York, US | May '12 Worked as a Web Developer & Mobile Application Intern to develop web pages by using scripting languages

Are References Required for Technical Resume?

Before signing an official offer, almost all employers follow a code for the review process:

  • They contact you for a personal interview
  • They want to see a list of professional references

BUT usually, these steps do not happen until after a thorough technical resume review. So we recommend that:

  • You should have your references ready.
  • They must be in a separate document.
  • Do not include this information into the text of your tech resume.

Since your technical resume should be short and concise (one or two pages at the most), it occupies unnecessary space .

If your employer has specifically requested a list of references, you should:

  • Submit the names, phone numbers and email addresses of at least three professional contacts or former employers
  • They must be the ones who can vouch for your skills and accomplishments
  • Be sure to contact these people first
  • They must know beforehand that their names have been added as your references
  • Choose the people who can speak on your behalf
Also Read: When to add references to your resume?

Why Should You Build an Online Portfolio for Technical Resume?

An online portfolio can immediately boost your technical resume. Bring out your geeky animal out! Let the hiring manager reach beyond your technical resume.

  • After building your super cool tech resume, link your portfolio to it.
  • If you can not fill your portfolio, sign up for some small projects or freelance jobs. You can also do a little fun work for yourself.

Keep looking out for some of the common mistakes in technical resumes:

  • Missing details : The employers may be most interested in a certain certification. They may want an experience with a very specific technical skill. Do not let any details go unnoticed. Mention all your experiences explicitly.
  • Non-specificity : General skills and abilities are great. However, read the post carefully and tailor your tech resume to your job profile.
  • Overstatements : Do not claim skills and abilities that will be difficult for you to prove. Indicate your level of expertise and years of experience with the platforms carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it important to write technical resume summary?

Yes, it is important to write technical resume summary in your resume. It gives an overview of your career to the recruiter.

2. How to write technical resume skills?

Create two separate sections for you technical resume skills, one should be titles key skills and the other as technical skills.

3. How to add technical skills to the resume?

Create different sub heads for the technical skills and group them under them.

Technical Resume Sample

Here's a sample technical resume for a Technical Architect.

  • Virtualization Platforms : ESX/ESXi 4.x, ESXi 5.x, ESXi 6, Microsoft Hyper-V 2008 & 2012
  • Cloud Platform : vCloud Air, VMware vCloud Director 8.1, 5.5 & 5.1
  • Server Infrastructure : Microsoft Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008
  • Hardware Platforms : HP ProLiant Servers, Fujitsu Servers, IBM System X Servers, Sun Fire Servers, SunMicro Servers
  • Scripting Tools : PowerShell, vSphere PowerCLI
  • Ticketing Tools : Remedy, Service Center, HP SM7 & HP SM9, BMC Footprints
  • Hardware Platform : Hp DL Series Server. IBM X Series Server Installation & Configuration
  • Backup Tool : Installation, Configuration & Administration of Symantec/VERITAS
  • Monitoring Tools : IBM Director, HP SIM, HP Open View, HP BAC Monitor, HP Site Scope, VMTURBO
  • Team Management & Leadership
  • VMware & vCloud
  • Resource Management
  • Virtualization & Design Storage
  • Cloud Infrastructure
  • Issue Resolution
  • Implementation
  • Process Optimization
  • Client Servicing
  • Installation, Configuration & Troubleshooting
  • Training/Mentoring
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Project Execution & Delivery
  • VMware Certified Implementation Expert | Apr '18
  • VCAP6 - Datacenter Design & Deployment | Apr '18
  • VMware Certified Professional (VCP 6.5 - DCV) | Jan '18
  • Redhat Certfified Engineer (RHCE) | May '17
  • Microsoft® Certified Technology Specialist | Jul '11
  • Creating, configuring & deploying new virtual private cloud to execute project deliverables via automation tools like Puppet & Razor , etc.
  • Conducting extensive analysis of client requirements and integrating cloud computing services like IAAS , DRAAS , ANS , etc
  • Setting up DR to vCloud Air by effectively utilizing vSphere Replication
  • Superintending new infrastructure environment for vCloud Air by OVH & optimizing Health , through Hyperic and Log Insight
  • Evaluating performance of SAN-backed VMware ESX infrastructure to direct resource allocation
  • Implementing New Cloud Infrastructure for commercial entities, government clients and corporate enterprises
  • Installing & configuring VMware vSphere 5 & 6 environments with vCloud Director 8 , DRS, HA, DPM & vMotion
  • Providing client support by utilizing best practices for availability , reliability , computing performance, network & storage
  • Enabling the clients to manage Edge gateways, Firewalls & segmented network by installing and configuring VCNS & NSX
  • Forming Public/Private catalogs for successfully uploading and publishing templates
  • Rendering backup and restore services by deploying VMware Data Protection and EMC Avamar
  • Achieved optimum virtualization ratios while effectively maintaining SLAs & surpassing disaster recovery RTOs/RPOs
  • Played a critical role in a team of 5 and interfaced closely with the Manager to effectively execute the project
  • Demonstrated enhanced infrastructure to amplify customer acquisition spanning availability , manageability & revenue
  • Ensured an error-free cloud instance & achieved full integration with all services & components
  • Designed & deployed custom configuration cloud & assessed the infrastructure & automation requirements of the client
  • Boosted cloud infrastructure for clients like Pfizer , Kohl ’ s , MIT , Harley Davidson , Tesla, etc.

We bring you the best technical resume guide for 2022. We made sure to include the newest trends for writing the tricky parts of your technical resume.

Be it the technical summary or the technical work section, we have included all the tips and tricks in one place.

To make it easier for you, the professionals at Hiration have built a super cool resume builder. With 25+ customized resume templates to match your job profile, you can build your tech resume instantly. Check it out here .

You can also check out our blog on:

Key Takeaways

Be sure to use this checklist for your technical resume:

  • Read the job offer carefully to identify the set of skills required for the job position
  • Highlight important words/numbers to grab the recruiter's attention immediately
  • Use one-liner bullet points instead of paragraphs for easy readability
  • Quantify your achievements with performance figures wherever possible to showcase the depth of your contribution in the previous organizations
  • Use power words and action verbs to begin all your points

Not sure about how to write this technical resume? Think of your technical resume as an opportunity to stand out!*

Go to Hiration career platform which has 24/7 chat support and get professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries. You can also write to us at [email protected] and we will make sure to reach out to you as soon as possible.

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Tech Resume Writing Tips, Examples, and Templates for 2024

how to make a good tech resume

In today’s fast-paced world, having a well-crafted and compelling resume is essential to securing a job, especially in tech industries. A tech resume is a marketing tool that represents an individual’s skills and professional experience. Its purpose is to highlight a candidate’s qualifications and persuade recruiters or hiring managers to consider them for an open position.

Importance of Tech Resume Writing

Tech industries are unique and continuously evolving, and therefore require specific skills and experience to succeed. Hiring managers in the tech industry receive a large volume of resumes and are often looking for specific traits, skills, or experience that match their job requirements. A well-crafted tech resume can set a candidate apart from the competition and increase their chances of getting hired. It is essential to showcase technical expertise and achievements, such as proficiency in programming languages, project management, development tools, and troubleshooting. In the tech industry, recruiters and hiring managers often use resume screening software or an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter resumes based on keywords related to the job description. A tech resume should, therefore, be tailored to a specific job posting and contain industry-specific keywords for the ATS to recognize.

A well-crafted tech resume is vital to a candidate’s success in the tech industry. It is a marketing tool that showcases technical expertise and achievements, tailored specifically to a job posting, and containing industry-specific keywords that match the recruiters or hiring manager’s requirements. With this in mind, the following article will provide tips, examples, and templates to help candidates create a compelling tech resume.

Understanding Tech Resume Writing

In a highly competitive tech job market, it is essential to create a resume that stands out from the crowd. A well-written tech resume can make a significant difference in landing your dream job.

Key Components of a Tech Resume

A tech resume should include the following key components:

how to make a good tech resume

  • Contact Information : Include your name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile.
  • Professional Summary/Objective : A brief summary of your relevant skills and experience.
  • Skills : A list of the technical skills you possess.
  • Education : List your education, including any relevant coursework or certifications.
  • Experience : List your relevant work experience, including the company name, job title, and years of employment.
  • Projects : Highlight any relevant projects you have worked on, as they demonstrate your technical abilities.

How to Tailor Your Resume for Tech Jobs

Tailoring your resume for each tech job you apply to is crucial. Here are some tips on how to do it:

  • Study the job description : Read the job description carefully and highlight the required skills and knowledge.
  • Focus on relevant experience : Emphasize your relevant work experience, matching the job requirements.
  • Include technical skills : Add a list of technical skills required for the job.
  • Highlight your achievements : Share your achievements in your previous roles, demonstrating how you added value in past positions.
  • Be concise and clear : Use simple language, avoid jargon, and be as concise as possible.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Tech Resume Writing

Avoid these common mistakes when crafting your tech resume:

  • Including irrelevant information : It’s important to keep your resume concise and focused on job-specific qualifications.
  • Failing to quantify your achievements : Use numbers to demonstrate your accomplishments, such as how many lines of code you wrote, how much revenue or cost you saved, or how many people used your application.
  • Using inconsistent formatting : Use a consistent format and font throughout your document.
  • Leaving gaps in your employment history : Be transparent about any gaps in your employment history, and explain them briefly.
  • Not including industry-specific keywords : Get noticed by including keywords in your resume that match the job description.

Creating a compelling tech resume requires paying attention to the key components, tailoring it to specific job descriptions, and avoiding common mistakes. Use these tips to create a winning resume that impresses potential employers and helps you land your dream job.

Tips for Writing a Tech Resume

For most job seekers, writing a resume is a daunting task. However, it becomes even more challenging if you’re in the technology sector. If you want to land your dream job, you need to create a resume that stands out among other applicants.

Here are some tips on how to create a winning tech resume:

The Importance of Strong Action Words and Keywords

Using strong action words and industry-specific keywords is essential to make your resume stand out. Recruiters use software to filter resumes, and having the right keywords increases your chances of getting noticed.

Be sure to include words such as “project management,” “software development,” “data analysis,” or any other relevant industry terms. Use action verbs like “created,” “collaborated,” “implemented,” or “designed” to describe your achievements.

How to Quantify Your Achievements

Numbers speak volumes, particularly in the tech industry. Be sure to quantify your achievements in your resume. Provide specific examples of how you’ve increased sales, reduced production time, or improved user experience.

It’s not enough to say you’re a skilled developer or network administrator; you need to show recruiters how your work has made a measurable difference.

Formatting and Layout Tips for a Tech Resume

When it comes to a tech resume, formatting and layout are crucial. Use bullet points to keep your information organized and easy to read. Choose a clean, modern font, and avoid using graphics or images that may not translate well across different devices.

You want your resume to be visually appealing, but also easy to read and skim by recruiters who are likely reviewing dozens of applicant resumes at once.

Tips for Writing a Summary Statement

Finally, crafting a strong summary statement can help set the tone for the rest of your resume.

how to make a good tech resume

Use your summary statement to showcase your successful experiences, describe your areas of expertise, and communicate your unique value proposition.

By following these tips, you can create a tech resume that stands out and gets you noticed by potential employers.

Examples of Successful Tech Resumes

Are you looking for inspiration to revamp your tech resume? Look no further! Here are three examples of successful tech resumes that can give you an idea of what works:

Example Resume 1: Entry-Level Developer

Name: John Smith

Objective: To obtain an entry-level developer position that allows me to apply my programming skills and passion for creating innovative solutions.

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, XYZ University
  • Relevant Courses: Object-Oriented Programming, Data Structures & Algorithms, Web Development
  • Proficient in Java, Python, C++, JavaScript, and SQL
  • Experience with software development tools such as Git, Jira, and Visual Studio Code
  • Familiarity with Agile methodologies and test-driven development
  • Created a web-based social media platform for hobbyists using Python, Flask, and PostgreSQL
  • Developed a mobile application for tracking gym progress using Java and Android Studio
  • Participated in a group project that involved writing a chatbot using natural language processing

Experience:

  • Interned as a software developer at ABC Company, where I helped develop a machine learning-based recommendation system for their online marketplace
  • Completed a programming course online and collaborated with peers to build a web application for booking sports facilities

Example Resume 2: Senior Software Engineer

Name: Jane Doe

Objective: To leverage my extensive experience in software engineering to lead and mentor a team of developers while delivering high-quality software products.

  • Master’s Degree in Computer Science, XYZ University
  • Relevant Courses: Software Architecture, Cloud Computing, Information Retrieval
  • Expertise in Java, C#, Python, and JavaScript
  • Experience with AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform
  • Strong knowledge of design patterns, scalable architectures, and microservices
  • Designed and implemented a distributed system for automated stock trading using C# and .NET Core
  • Created a recommendation engine for a fashion e-commerce platform using Python, TensorFlow, and Spark
  • Led the development of a REST API architecture that enabled seamless integration between multiple legacy systems
  • Worked for five years as a software engineer at DEF Company, where I contributed to the development of their flagship website and mobile applications
  • Promoted to lead software engineer, responsible for a team of six developers in designing and implementing solutions for large-scale projects
  • Currently, the senior software engineer at GHI Company, focused on developing cloud-native applications using AWS and Kubernetes.

Example Resume 3: Technical Project Manager

Name: Alex Nguyen

Objective: To leverage my expertise in project management, technical expertise, and leadership skills to drive successful project outcomes and exceed client expectations.

Templates for Tech Resumes

Using a resume template can be a great way to make sure your resume stands out in the highly competitive tech industry. Here are three recommended templates for tech resumes:

Template 1: Entry-Level Developer

As an entry-level developer, it’s important to highlight your technical skills, education, and any relevant experience you have. Use this template to showcase your abilities and stand out from other applicants.

  • Phone number
  • Objective statement
  • Skills summary
  • University or college name
  • Graduation date

Technical Skills

  • Relevant programming languages or tools
  • Proficiency level in each
  • Work or project experience
  • Responsibilities or accomplishments

Template 2: Mid-Level Software Engineer

As a mid-level software engineer, you have more experience and expertise than an entry-level developer. Use this template to showcase your technical skills, leadership abilities, and success in past projects.

  • Leadership or management experience
  • Management or leadership experience

Template 3: Senior Technical Project Manager

As a senior technical project manager, you need to show that you can lead teams, prioritize tasks, and manage budgets. Use this template to highlight your leadership abilities and experience.

  • Leadership and management experience
  • Technical expertise
  • Management and leadership experience
  • Budget and resource management

Using these templates can help ensure that your tech resume contains all the necessary information and is presented in a professional and appealing form. Select the one that best suits your level of experience and showcase your skills and expertise as a tech professional.

Preparing for the Job Search

So, you’ve worked on creating an impressive tech resume, what’s next? Preparing for your job search! The job search process can be daunting, but with the right approach, it can be relatively easy. Here are some helpful tips and tricks to help you prepare for your tech job search:

Where to Look for Tech Job Listings

The first step in the job search process is to look for job listings. There are many job search websites and platforms that list tech job vacancies. Some of the most popular ones include Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Dice. These platforms allow you to filter your search based on your skills, experience, location, etc. You can also sign up to receive alerts when new jobs that match your criteria become available.

Preparing for the Tech Job Interview

Preparing for a tech job interview is crucial as it can be the deciding factor between getting your dream job or not. Here are some things you should keep in mind while preparing for your tech job interview:

Understand the Company Culture

With a little research, you can gain a better understanding of the company culture of the organization you are interviewing with. This can help you understand the values, work environment, and expectations of your potential future employer.

Brush Up on Your Technical Skills

Be ready to answer technical questions related to the position you are applying for. You may also be given a technical challenge to complete or asked to code during the interview. So, make sure that your technical skills are up to scratch.

Show Your Passion for the Industry

Tech companies often look for individuals who are passionate about technology and enjoy working in tech. So, be prepared to explain why you are interested in the industry and how you stay updated with the latest tech trends.

Common Interview Questions in the Tech Industry

Here are some common interview questions that you may come across when interviewing for tech jobs:

  • Can you explain a complex technical concept to a non-technical person?
  • What is your experience with [a specific technology/tool]?
  • Can you tell us about a time when you faced a challenging problem in your previous role? How did you solve it?
  • How do you keep yourself updated with the latest tech trends and developments?

How to Follow Up After the Job Interview

After your tech job interview, it’s essential to follow up. The goal is to remind the hiring manager that you are still interested in the position and to express your gratitude for the opportunity. Here are some tips to help you follow up after the job interview:

Send a Thank You Email

Send a thank-you email within a day or two after the interview. Express your gratitude for the opportunity and reiterate your interest in the position. This email can also be an opportunity to provide additional information that you may have missed during the interview.

Stay in Touch

Stay connected with the interviewer and the company via LinkedIn or other professional networks.

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  • Customer Service Representative Interview Questions in 2023
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Guide to Technical Resumes: Tips, Tricks, and Templates

No matter where you’re at in your career, one of the most important tools you can use to land technical interviews and get hired is your technical resume. But with all the conflicting advice on how to format a tech resume and what technical skills to put on a resume, it can be a real challenge to find the best advice.

That’s why Career Karma has compiled this ultimate guide to technical resumes. Here, you’ll find all the information and tips you need to create a tech resume that will help you break into one of the best tech jobs . We’ll share tips on the best technical skills for resumes, what not to include on your resume, and how to use numbers to describe your experience.

Writing the Perfect Technical Resume

The perfect technical resume highlights your technical skills and catches the interest of a hiring manager at a tech company. The key to good technical resume writing is knowing what to include and what to leave off. In the next section, we’ll cover the building blocks you need to write a good technical resume.

What to Include in Your Technical Skills List

There are four major categories of technical skills for a resume: programming skills, hard skills, soft skills, and special skills. Listing technical skills on your resume in these categories helps the hiring manager make sense of your skillset and get a better picture of you as a well-rounded candidate. 

Programming Skills

Coding is a technical skill that looks great on any tech resume. A background in programming languages is an asset in many job roles, not just for software developers. A lot of large companies use applications designed specifically for that company, and learning to code shows that you’ll be able to troubleshoot buggy applications better than the average employee.

If you are applying for web development or software engineering jobs where programming is an essential skill, list all programming languages you are comfortable working in. You should also link to projects in your coding portfolio to show the kinds of products you can deliver in each language.

Hard Skills

To figure out what hard skills are relevant for your technical resume beyond coding, look at some job postings for roles you are interested in. Review your list, and see what skills you are missing. You don’t need to have every skill that hiring managers are looking for, but the more information technology skills you have the better. You can always learn more IT skills to boost your resume .

Data analysis is an important hard skill for your technical resume that you can develop on your own. There are all sorts of free education options where you can learn data analysis, data visualization, and data mining. Big Data is another great skill to list on your resume. These days big data is vital to helping companies decide what direction to move in next.

If you’ve taken any technical courses or other kinds of educational programs related to the job you’re applying for, list those skills on your tech resume. Listing these kinds of programs not only shows that you have additional skills, it also shows that you take your career seriously and are committed to learning new techniques.

Soft Skills

Tech experience isn’t the only thing hiring managers are looking for in your technical resume. Soft skills like leadership, communication, project management, and conflict resolution are extremely important to building a high-functioning team. Most employers, regardless of the industry, are seeking workers who possess these crucial soft skills.

To list your soft skills, give an example of a problem you solved or a project you managed. Include quantitative details such as the number of people you led, the amount of time you saved on a project, or scores on performance reviews. Include any soft skills workshops or classes you attended, especially if you earned a certification or certificate .

Social media skills are valuable communication skills for your technical resume. A good social media presence is essential, and not all organizations have a dedicated social media communications specialist. If you can show that you are comfortable representing a company on social media, you’ll stand out to hiring managers who are looking for someone who can fill multiple roles.

Special Skills

You should also include some skills or abilities that don’t necessarily fit within the technical skills category. For instance, maybe you have a passion for design or are a certified white water rafting guide. These are great ways to set yourself apart from other applicants who probably share many of your technical skills, especially if your special skills show your leadership or passion.

Top Items to Leave Off Your Technical Resume

Almost as important as the things you should include on your technical resume are the following items that you should never include. Avoid these common technical resume pitfalls to ensure your prospective employer gets the right idea of what you can offer the company.

Inappropriate Contact Info

Your resume is your only chance to make a good impression on the hiring manager. Your resume will get an initial 15-second scan by the hiring staff if you’re lucky. You don’t want them to spend that precious time wondering about a piece of unprofessional contact information.

Don’t include an address, phone number, or email from a current employer as your contact info, unless you are both a student and an employee of a college or university. Use an inconspicuous email address like [email protected]

Irrelevant Work Experience

When you apply for tech jobs, you need to load up your resume with relevant work experience that applies directly to the role. Prospective employers don’t have time to wade through unnecessary details in your job history. You need to make it easy for them to see the ways your experience matches the job description. Customize your resume with the relevant work history for each new job you apply to.

That said, don’t be afraid to include unrelated work experience if you feel it demonstrates a quality that applies to the role. Make sure it is clear in the first sentence or bullet point describing the experience why the hiring manager should know about it.

Incorrect Information

You should never include incorrect information on your resume. All the skills, work experience, and education you list need to be true. If the hiring manager finds that you are misrepresenting yourself, they will likely disqualify you from the current job opening and any future job openings at that company.

Top Tips for Your Technical Resume

An illustration of large, single-digit numbers in a pile. Numbers deeper in the pile are more blue, and numbers at the top are more white.

Now you know what skills to put on your technical resume, here’s some advice on how to create the perfect resume for any job in tech. You should go through this process for each job you apply to and tailor your tech resume to reflect the specific position you’re applying to, as well as the company.

Lead With Your Expertise 

The best way to write a technical resume is to showcase your expertise. Focus on work experience and education that shows your mastery of a topic or skill. Write about the kinds of projects you completed and led, and link to examples from a professional portfolio when possible.

Write a Personal Summary 

In two to three sentences, summarize your career up to this point and state your job goals. This is particularly important if you are changing careers or have a gap in your resume. A personal summary is your chance to give the hiring manager a framework for understanding your tech resume. Here’s an example personal summary for a person switching to a tech career from teaching: 

“After 12 years of teaching high school math, I decided it was time to enroll in coding bootcamp and work towards my goal of becoming a full stack developer . I look forward to bringing my new coding skills and prior knowledge of how to design curriculum to LearningApp’s web development team.”

Use Strong, Action-Oriented Words

If you’ve just finished a coding bootcamp , most of the items on your resume are going to be related to websites or apps you developed in the program. Maybe you have some internship experience too. No matter where you got your experience, use strong action words on your tech resume to describe your projects and accomplishments.

Here are some examples of strong resume sentence-starters using action verbs:

  • Led a team of…
  • Spearheaded design and development for…
  • Accomplished project goal of…
  • Established a new system by…

Quantify Your Impact

Make sure your statements are impact-oriented on your technical resume. Focus on what you achieved and how you did it. These statements should look something like, “Spearheaded X by implementing Y, which led to Z.” For example, “Spearheaded a Waze-like app for Pokemon Go players by implementing Ruby on Rails, which led to 40 percent time saved on finding Pokemon.”

To brainstorm the information you need to write an impact-oriented state, try answering these questions:

Venus profile photo

"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"

Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot

  • What was the scale?
  • How many devices did I serve?
  • How many scenarios/permutations/tests did I consider/handle?
  • How many different methodologies did I implement?
  • What results did I achieve?
  • How many users did I launch to or will I launch to?
  • How many users/groups used it?

Highlight Your Technical Skills

Prospective employers might look at your tech resume for less than one minute, or they might run it through an Automated Tracking System (ATS) to look for keyword matches. You need to do everything you can to make sure your resume and the language you use matches the job description exactly so that your technical skills stand out.

You can also format your tech resume to highlight your technical skills. Create a designated “Technical Skills” section, so that a recruiter glancing at your resume will see it immediately. It’s also a good idea to add a technical summary near the top of your resume. That way, your prospective employers can see each technical ability you possess at a glance.

Add Coding Bootcamp to Your Work Experience

When you graduate from a coding bootcamp and start your job search in earnest, you’ll be competing against programmers with prior work experience. Hiring managers need to know that you can handle actual coding work. If you completed any coding bootcamp projects with real-world data or actual clients, you can include that in your work experience.

You should still list your bootcamp training under your education section too, highlighting your class performance and any areas where you excelled. However, don’t overload your tech resume by including every project. Including too many small projects will dilute your resume and obscure your big accomplishments.

Some General Advice on Resumes

technical resumes

Your tech resume is often the first point of contact between you and a potential employer. It is your best opportunity to show the hiring manager your professionalism and highlight your credentials. These general tips on how to write a technical resume will help you make the most of this opportunity to make a good first impression.

  • Update your resume for each job you apply to: Your work isn’t done after you finish the first draft of your technical resume. You need to adjust your resume for each prospective job. Look at the job description for keywords, important skills, and required competencies. Adjust your resume to highlight what you find in the job description.
  • Stay professional: While some careers might require a bit of flair on your resume to stand out, most resumes benefit from looking professional. Use engaging language and action words to make your resume interesting, but avoid things like too much color and wacky fonts.
  • Don’t be bound to templates: Tech resume templates are a great way to get started when crafting a resume, but you need to be thoughtful about how you use them. Just because the resume template you’ve chosen includes a certain section doesn’t mean you have to include it in your resume. Only keep sections that are relevant to you, your skills, and your experiences.
  • Never lie: You should speak proudly about your achievements on your resume, but never exaggerate or lie. Your prospective employer will find out if your resume is dishonest. 
  • Proofread: This should go without saying, but you must thoroughly proofread your resume at least twice before you start sending it out. Ask multiple people to look for errors you might be missing. This will show prospective employers that you’re professional, meticulous, and taking the application seriously.
  • Consider Different Layouts: Many people limit their creativity when crafting a technical resume by presenting their education, and work history in chronological order. You can also try a functional format, where you present the skills and experience you want to highlight at the top.
  • Try to Stick to One to Two Pages: This can be tough if you have a lot of experience or a long work history, but hiring managers really don’t want to read more than a page or two. With some creative editing and formatting, you can fit a lot of information on a single page, and your prospective employers will appreciate the effort.
  • Highlight Any Transferable Skills: If you’re changing careers, there are always opportunities to show transferable skills you’ve acquired in unrelated positions. If you’re applying for a tech job but only have administrative experience, you can highlight your ability to work well in a team or to manage time wisely. 

Free Technical Resume Templates and Examples

While there are many tech resume templates out there, free technical resume templates range from overcomplicated to dull and forgettable. When looking for a good technical resume template, consider a few options before picking one. Look for a template that emphasizes technical skills.

The bottom line is that your resume is supposed to reflect your skills and what you can offer to your prospective employer. Look at technical resume examples and imagine what it would be like to read them as a hiring manager. Pick the tech resume template that most clearly showcases technical skills.

Top Free Technical Resume Templates

Here are our top picks for the most attractive, effective, and memorable technical resume templates that you can get for free. All of these templates are clean and simple and designed to draw your eye to technical skills.

Once you’ve picked your favorite, go back through this article and use these tips to make the content work for you. A high-quality resume design is very important for catching the eye of a hiring manager, but the content also needs to stand out to the ATS program picking the top resumes to send to the hiring manager.

Cultivated Culture 

technical resume template

Cultivated Culture offers a set of free resume templates that are perfect for tech workers in the job market. They provide a level of professionalism and class, while still allowing for a dash of color and style to let your personality shine through. This particular template gives you enough space for text to describe your skills and experience.

Rijo Abraham 

technical resume template

If you want to get noticed, you need to expand your template options beyond the usual Microsoft Word selections. Rijo Abraham’s free resume template is memorable without being too wild. You can modify or eliminate the top banner, and the education, job history, and skills sections are well-designed.

technical resume template

This spare, eye-catching free resume template from Zohn Habib is a great way to focus on relevant education and skills. This template is a good choice for a recent grad or an early career job seeker because it highlights training over work experience. It also gives you two sections for skills which you can categorize as technical skills and other skills.

A Final Word on the Technical Resume

Now that you know useful technical resume tips like what to include and what to avoid, you’re ready to start crafting your own tech resume. The most important things to remember are to highlight your skills and experience, use powerful language, and always be honest. If you follow these guidelines, you’re sure to land that technical interview you’ve been striving for.

Technical Resume FAQs

There isn’t a perfect formula for how to write a resume that gets you hired in tech. A technical resume is a good format for showcasing technical skills that are most relevant to tech jobs. However, sending out resumes to hiring managers you don’t know is less likely to get you hired no matter how good your resume is. You should also spend time growing your professional network.

Technical skills should be listed near the top of a technical resume, after your contact information and personal summary but before your work experience. This is especially important for people who have tech skills that they haven’t used in past jobs, such as recent bootcamp grads.

A technical resume should be one to two pages long. Keep your tech resume to one page long if you are a recent grad or have little work experience. It can be hard to balance keeping things brief while still showing off your tech skills. Remember you can always elaborate on an experience in your cover letter.

If you are a coding bootcamp grad, you will definitely put your bootcamp experience under education and all the tech skills you learned will go under the technical skills section. If you completed any real-world projects or internships, you can list that under work experience. You should provide a link to your bootcamp portfolio near the top of the resume.

About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication .

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How to Write a Tech Resume (With a Sample)

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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.

3. Outline Tech Skills Related to 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

Charles smith e..

Backend Developer

New York, United States of America

+1 (205) ******

[email protected]

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

A freelance Backend Developer with two years of working experience, hoping to work with Oceanside Technologies. Proficient in building mobile frameworks, API integration, website design, PHP, and more. Possess strong organizational and analytical skills and is committed to engineering remarkable growth in result-oriented organizations.

CORE COMPETENCIES

  • Time management
  • Excellent communication
  • Website development
  • Project analysis and execution
  • Critical thinking
  • Problem-solving

WORK EXPERIENCE

Starlight Ltd.

Minneapolis, MN

January 2022 – August 2022

Responsibilities

  • Led a five-person team of developers to build a stable digital framework for the company.
  • Built six mobile and web-based products for the company, using JavaScript, CSS, and a suite of other tools.
  • Established a technical response team to ensure software functionality and handle glitches and updates.

Junior Application Developer

Ladex Tech, Inc.

September 2020 - November 2021

  • Assisted senior developers in identifying technical problems.
  • Ensured website and mobile application responsiveness and reduced maintenance cost by 25%.
  • Managed the company's database system alongside the Chief Operations Officer.
  • School name

State/Country

Certification

Year of Study

(Repeat according to your qualifications)

1. Freestyle Coding

Duration: 100 Days

Technologies used: CSS, JavaScript, Python, and Ruby

  • Created a responsive fintech app for primary schools to aid payment of school fees without bank hassles.
  • Built a survey website for developers to get direct feedback from users on the type of products they need.

2. HotLab Hackathon

Duration: Seven Days

Technologies used: JQuery, MySQL, CSS, JavaScript

  • Worked with a team of three to build an eCommerce website that allows integration with several online stores.
  • Ensured a smooth workflow between team members.

Additional Certifications

  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer
  • AWS Certified Developer Associate

Coding and Reading

English and French

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.

  • Work & Career
  • Job Searching

Tech Resume Guide (+11 FAANG examples that worked)

Tech resume examples

Acceptance rates for jobs at the FAANG tech companies tend to be under 1% . As you can imagine, most candidates don’t get past the resume screening.

To increase your chances of getting to interview stage, use our step-by-step guide to writing a top technical resume/CV.

Get tips and expert insights from tech recruiters including 11 REAL EXAMPLES of tech resumes that earned candidates offers or interviews at FAANG companies such as Google and Meta .

Here’s an overview of what we’ll cover:

1. 7 golden rules for tech resumes (from FAANG recruiters) 2. 6 key skills for your tech resume 3. 11 examples of tech resumes that worked for Google, Meta, etc. 4. Tech resume template 5. How to write a tech resume that gets you into FAANG (section-by-section)

Let’s get into it.

Get expert feedback on your resume with tech ex-interviewers

1. 7 golden rules for tech resumes (from faang recruiters).

We asked Cody (top tech recruiter, ex-Google now at LinkedIn) and Candace (career and resume expert) what advice they'd give to someone writing a resume to get into FAANG or similar.

They've helped a LOT of people get into FAANG and they evaluate tech resumes every day, so they know what they're talking about. This is what they came up with:

Tip #1 Answer recruiters' questions immediately

There is one thing that all recruiters and hiring managers want to know immediateley: years of role-relevant experience. 

And if you're applying for a management role, they'll also want to see how many years of management experience you have.

So, make it easy for them.

" Us recruiters are lazy. Don't make us dig around for the key info, we want to see if you meet the job requirements in the first 10 seconds! " says Cody.

To do this, you could include some bullet points with this key information at the top of your resume. Which leads us to the next point...

Tip #2 Consider a non-traditional structure

The layout we recommend in section 4 is the traditional one, perhaps the safest. But it's not obligatory. 

Cody prefers using two bullet-point summaries at the top of your resume to pack in the key information and your most impressive career achievements.

" The top of the resume is the prime real estate. Put the shiny bits, your best achievements, up top. That way you've got a better chance of grabbing the recruiter's attention. "

This is what it looks like on page 1 of his resume:

non-traditional resume format

Click to watch Cody's full explanation of this non-traditional resume format.

Tip #3 Avoid using design features

Unless you’re a product designer, and so there really is no upside to using a fancy resume design. It won't impress recruiters and, in a worst-case scenario, could actually prevent your resume from being properly processed.

" Design features like pictures, columns, photos, etc. can prevent ATS systems from correctly scanning your resume " says Candace.

You should also avoid including your photo in your resume, as this goes against employment and discrimination laws in most countries, and is another potential problem for ATS systems.

Tip #4 Be explicit about the locations you’re open to working at / remote

So many people fail to do this. But if FAANG recruiters are going to approach you for roles, rather than the other way around, they'll need to know the locations you're available to work at.

If you're willing to relocate for the right role, make that clear in your resume. So, instead of putting "San Francisco" under your name next to your email, maybe you put "Locations: San Francisco| Remote| Hybrid within a 30-mile radius of Bay Area".

Tip #5 Cut out all waffle

Recruiters like Cody and Candace see so many personal statements or 'objective' sections at the top of resumes which take up valuable space without saying much at all.

" Everything on your resume needs to be specific ", says Cody. " Putting Experienced engineer passionate about making great products" doesn't tell me anything. It's wastes both space and seconds of the recruiters time. You've got to be more specific. How many years experience? What great products have you made? "

Tip #6 Numbers tell a better story

This is worth repeating again and again: quantify your achievements. All the most effective resumes are packed full of metrics and numbers that put achievements in context.

"Especially in engineering but honestly this advice is for many careers spanning many industries, we have to tell our story through data and numbers. Words can tell a story but numbers tell it way better" says Cody.

So, if you launched an app, say how many downloads it got. Or how many days ahead of schedule you launched. If you managed a team, say how many people were in it. Without numbers, your achievements are hard to evaluate.

Tip #7 Use a skills section to include keywords for your role

You don't want to jam your resume full of keywords, but with ATS systems increasingly used, it is important to make sure your resume mentions the necessary skills, tools and technologies. Candace says that a skills section can be a great place to list all these very efficiently.

"A "Skills" section can help recruiters quickly see if you fit their requirements, and is also a great way to get keywords into your resume. You could also consider a ‘technology snapshot’ type section if the jobs you’re applying for require experience in specific technologies."

2. Key skills for your technical resume ↑

The exact skills that you'll need to focus on in your resume will obviously depend on your role and the job description. But there are some key skills that are important in any tech resume:

1. Leadership skills, even if you're not applying for a leadership role. Recruiters and hiring managers want to see that you can have what it takes to become a leader if you're not one already.  If you haven’t got many strong examples from your work experience, try to find examples from personal projects or university (if recently graduated). 2. Communication skills are desirable even for very technical roles. Try to include experience of working with cross-functional teams. If you're applying to a management role, demonstrate that you have experience aligning different stakeholders.

3. Data analysis skills. If you're an engineer, you'll work with data when optimizing performance, debugging, enhancing user experience, and monitoring software applications. Meanwhile, if you're a product or program manager, you'll need to use data to make crucial decisions in line with business objectives. Make your resume data-driven by quantifying success on past projects in terms of key metrics.

4. Facilitation skills. If you're applying for a management role, you need to show you'll be able to help your team progress, removing obstacles and solving blockages. It’s not always easy to get into this kind of detail on a resume, but try to include an example that shows how you unblocked a project, took preemptive action to avoid a bottleneck, or improved a process. 5. System design skills are usually needed for engineering roles at FAANG. You'll need to be able to discuss engineering architecture and make decisions relating to efficiency, scalability, and performance. So if you have any experience in designing systems, or related experience, make sure it’s prominent on your resume.

6. Engineering skills.  This is obvious if you're an engineer, but can also apply to non-technical roles: companies such as Google expect product managers to have solid engineering chops: you’ll want to show that you can understand the sorts of problems that engineers face and are able to consider technical trade offs with them. Some companies will ask PMs for basic coding skills.

Demonstrating these skills on your resume should signal to recruiters and interviewers that you have the right capabilities they're looking for.

Right, let's see some example resumes.

3. Eleven examples of tech resumes that worked for Google, Meta, etc. ↑

Before we start guiding you on how to write your resume step-by-step, take a look at some real examples that got their owners interviews at FAANG and other top companies.

You'll notice they follow different formats, and none fully follow the guidelines we set out below in section 5 . We think this shows two things:

  • there's many acceptable ways to write a resume
  • your resume doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it demonstrates your skills and achievements effectively.

Let's take a look.

3.1 Tech resume example 1 (Amazon SDE)

The candidate, let's call him Sunil, got interviews for a Senior Software Development Engineer role at Amazon with this resume.

Amazon software development engineer resume part 1

Here's our feedback on this resume:

  • Experience : We had to blank them out, but Sunil had worked for some really top tech companies. This is what makes the resume really strong. 
  • Quantifying impact: Sunil could perhaps enhance his resume by better quantifying his actions and demonstrating their impact. For example, he says he "Revised Telemetry dashboards to improve signal-noise ratio". How much did he improve it by? Including specific metrics more often would take this resume to the next level.
  • Key skills: Sunil lists key skills and tools that were likely listed as requirements in the job description. This makes a recruiter's life easier.

3.2 Tech resume example 2 (Amazon SDM)

The resume below is from "K". It got her interviews for an SDM role at Amazon.

engineering manager resume example - 1

  • Adapted for target company: K knew that her experience with AWS Cloud engineering would be important to Amazon and so she puts it right at the top.
  • Tools & technologies: K demonstrates experience with a vast number of engineering technologies.
  • Length : This is a 4-pager! She got the interview anyway, but K would have helped recruiters by cutting it to two pages.

3.3 Tech resume example 3 (Google SWE)

This is a great example of a strong fresher FAANG resume. It got "Ana" interviews at Google despite having almost no professional experience.

fresher software engineer resume example

Here's what Ana does well on this resume:

  • Education first: Ana doesn't have much work experience so she starts with Education, detailing specific topics in both her undergraduate and Masters courses.
  • Projects: As a fresher candidate, Ana does well to list some relevant Projects to fill the gap where more experienced candidates would list recent employment.

3.4 Tech resume example 4 (Meta EM)

The resume below successfully got Dario (not his real name) into Meta, after he worked with coaches on our platform to ace the Meta EM interviews .

engineering manager resume for Meta

  • Highlights only : Every bullet point is impressive. Dario no doubt had plenty more achievements he could have included, but he cherry-picks the most impactful and packs them all into one page.
  • Quantified impact : Dario uses numbers to clearly demonstrate the impact his actions had. He always uses at least one metric.
  • Skills : Without taking up much space, Dario lists key EM skills and tools that he's experienced with, for the benefit of both recruiters and Applicant tracking systems.
  • Action verbs : See how many of the top bullet points begin with "Launched". This helps Dario immediately convey that he played a key role in these big product launches. Elsewhere on the resume, he begins with other powerful verbs: "Grew", "Built", "Founded", "Reduced"."
  • Consistent formatting: Dario doesn't try to do anything clever with the resume's design, but he makes sure the formatting is 100% consistent. The layout is simple and easy to read, and the use of green for the role titles works well.

3.5 Tech resume example 5 (Twitter/X EM)

This is another real example from an engineering manager. The candidate used it to get an offer from Twitter, now "X.com".

Note that some details have been anonymized in order to protect the candidate's privacy.

Twitter EM resume example

The candidate communicates his work achievements in a way that is very clear to understand. He does this via:

Action verbs :  the candidate starts each sentence with a powerful action verb that reflects key EM responsibilities and skill areas

Quantifying achievements : he provides metrics to make his achievements measurable and specific.

Evolution of skills : he lists the skills he used in each position, to show how he has evolved and which skills he has used most recently

3.6 Resume example 6 (Walmart, Deliveroo EM)

This resume got Biswajit interviews at Deliveroo and AppSmith as an engineering manager. It also earned him interview invitations from Walmart and Veeva.

engineering manager resume example - deliveroo

Here's what stood out for us on Biswajit's resume:

  • Quantifying achievements: Biswajit is very detailed and specific in quantifying his achievements. For instance, he talks about building a "32-member team" with a "91% retention rate", which is more powerful than a "large team" with a "high retention rate".
  • Key skills for the role: Throughout the document, Biswajit demonstrates key engineering manager skills; developing a team, cross-functional collaboration with different stakeholders, setting goals, building roadmaps, etc.
  • Brevity: Biswajit does well to fit his resume onto 1.5 pages, despite having 16+ years of experience to talk about.

Click here to see more engineering manager resume examples and tips

3.7 Example resume 6 (Google TPM)

This candidate, let's call her Nadia, got a Technical Program Manager job at Google with this resume.

Google TPM resume example page 1

Nadia communicates her work achievements in a way that is very clear to understand. We've highlighted some of what she does well:

  • Explanation: her previous company may not be well-known to the recruiter, so she adds a brief explanation.
  • Action verbs: the candidate starts each sentence with a powerful action verb that reflects key TPM responsibilities and skill areas.
  • Quantifying achievements : she provides metrics to make her achievements measurable and specific.
  • Key skills for the role: Agile methodology was listed in the job description so the candidate made sure to include it near the top.

Click here to see more TPM resume examples and tips

3.8 Tech resume example 8 (Google front-end developer)

The resume below is from "Lana". It got her interviews for a front-end developer role at Google.

front end developer resume part 1

  • Skills: Lana lists her relevant hard skills in a way that's very easy for a recruiter to understand at a glance.
  • Languages : Don't make the mistake of thinking languages aren't relevant for a technical job. Lana's five languages signal that she's a strong communicator and helped her get an interview.
  • Impact : Lana doesn't include examples of impact and results that she's achieved at work. Doing so would have greatly improved this resume.

3.9 Tech resume example 9 (CrunchyRoll Android Developer)

This resume got Sam (not his real name) interviews at CrunchyRoll for a Senior Android Developer position.

software engineer example resume - sam p1

Here's what we liked about Sam's resume:

  • Structure : Sam lists his technical skills, including programming languages, at the top.
  • Impact : His work achievements are mostly well-quantified. E.g. 'increasing... downloads by 80% in 2 months."
  • Action verbs : He always starts the bullet point with powerful action verbs such as "Created", "Designed", "Fixed", etc.

3.10 SWE resume example 10 (Audible, iOS engineer)

The below resume belongs to Jerry, an iOS engineer who at the time of writing was interviewing at Audible.

iOS engineer resume example part 1

3.11 Amazon software development manager resume (expert)

The resume below is from an Amazon SDM who is also a interview and resume coach on our platform. It's not the resume that got him into Amazon, rather it's his current resume.

Amazon SDM resume example part 1

Here's what our coach, let's call him Amar, does well in this resume.

  • Quantified impact : He gives specific numbers and metrics to clearly state the impact of his achievements.
  • Clarity : Most of the bullet points are 1 line, maximum two. There is plenty of white space and it's extremely easy to read and understand.
  • Open-source contributions : It's great to include these on a resume as it shows you're passionate about engineering and suggests a collaborative mindset.

4. Tech resume template ↑

Unlike the examples listed above, this is not a real resume. Instead, it's an amalgamation of the many high quality resumes that candidates have shared with us before going on to work at Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.

It belongs to an imaginary mid-level software engineer called Karl, but you can follow the overall structure no matter what you're role is.

tech resume - swe example

Click here to download this tech resume template as a PDF

Click here to open this tech resume template as a google doc

Right, let’s take the first step in building a tech resume that's good in enough to get into FAANG.

5. How to write a tech resume that gets you into FAANG (section-by-section) ↑

Now that you’ve seen examples of what you should be aiming for, as well as some key tips, let’s go through the resume-building process, step-by-step.

5.1 Study the target company and job descriptions

Before you start writing or editing your tech resume, our tip is that you do some research.

Find a job specification for the sort of FAANG role you’re targeting, read it thoroughly, and use it to shape your resume in the following ways:

  • First of all, work out what type of tech profile is the job description is looking for. Which skills will be most crucial for the role? Prepare to adapt your resume’s content accordingly.
  • Zoom in on a few of the responsibilities in the job description that you think are most important. Search for specific examples from your past that demonstrate experience in doing the same thing or something very similar. Find the numbers to back it up where possible, so you’re ready to include this information in the work experience section later on.
  • Take note of the language used in the job description so you can, where appropriate, match specific verbs and phrases.
  • Research the company. For example, imagine you’re targeting a SWE role at Meta. Meta has 6 core values , so you’d want to make sure that your resume transmits these values too, or at least doesn’t contradict them. That could mean including a volunteering activity under Interests to show that you like to "build social value."  Follow the same logic if you’re applying for Google or Amazon.

Does all this mean you’ll need a different iteration of your resume for every tech job you target? 

Ideally yes, but there will be a lot of overlap, so usually you’ll only need to make a few strategic edits.

5.2 Choose a design

The design of your resume should have one objective: to convey as much information as possible in a way that is clear, easy to digest, and professional. Use our resume template as your template, and you’ve already achieved that!

Some people add a second objective: to demonstrate strong design skills to stand out from the crowd and impress the recruiter.

However, some recruiters might even be put off by a “creative” or unique design and, in a worst-case scenario, it could prevent your resume from being properly processed.

Keep it clean and simple. You should also avoid including your photo in your resume, as this goes against employment and discrimination laws in most countries, and is another potential problem for ATS systems.

5.3 Choose your sections

There are lots of ways to write a resume and the exact sections you include are up to you. We recommend using the following sections for a tech resume because we know this approach works for companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon, for both junior and experienced candidates.

  • Personal information
  • Work experience
  • Skills/Tools
  • Interests/Extracurricular

You may want to tweak the order. For example, if you’ve just graduated or have just a year or two of experience, Google recommends starting with your education section.

5.4 Start writing!

The good news is, you don’t have to get it perfect first time. A strong resume is usually one that is re-written and tweaked multiple times.

We’ve spoken to tech recruiters to get guidance on how to write up each section. Let’s take a look.

5.4.1 Personal information section

This section is not the place to try and impress. Just make sure you get your key details across as concisely as possible.

  • Use a bigger font for your name than for the rest of the section to make it stand out
  • Include your name, email address, phone number, city/county you live in
  • Ideally, include a link to your LinkedIn profile (or Github if you have an engineering background)

DON’T:

  • Title this section. It’s not necessary in this type of layout, so save the space
  • Include a street address, it’s unnecessary and unsafe
  • Include a photo, date of birth, or gender, unless specifically requested to do so
  • Label each piece of information e.g. “email:”, “tel:”, etc. It’s obvious what they are, so save the space

5.4.2 Work experience section

This is probably the most important part of your resume to get right, and the easiest to get wrong. Many candidates think that their work experience speaks for itself, and simply list their role and a few of their main responsibilities.

However, we recommend a much more powerful approach.

Instead of listing responsibilities, you need to talk about actions. This means starting each bullet point with an action verb. These verbs should relate to the key skills from section 1 that companies look for in tech resumes (Leadership, Communication, Facilitation, Data analysis, etc). "Executed," "Unblocked," "Led," and "Delivered" are some good examples of such verbs.

Choosing actions that are relevant to the essential tech skills will also mean that your resume contains the keywords that recruiters (and sometimes Applicant Tracking Systems) will be looking for.

You should also focus on the results of what you did and quantify them as much as possible to highlight the tangible contributions you have made. Ex-Google SVP Lazlo Bock talks about a common method for doing this that you might find helpful, called the “X, Y, Z” formula :

“Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]”.

For example, “Decreased server response time by 30% by implementing machine learning implementation”.

Finally, balance can be very important if your target role is multi-faceted, such as engineering manager, or TPM. If so, try and demonstrate a range of skills in the work experience section.

  • Use reverse chronological order, putting most recent employment at the top
  • Use present tense verbs (e.g. "Lead, Coordinate, Execute") in your current position (except for completed achievements), and past tense verbs for past positions  and completed achievements (e.g. "Led, Coordinated, Executed")
  • If you're an engineer, consider including the programming language you used for each project ( Google's recommendation )
  • Describe your actions and what they achieved
  • Include metrics to quantify what your actions achieved where possible
  • Study the language of the job description and where appropriate, match it
  • Make sure you’ve naturally included several relevant keywords
  • Demonstrate a balance of skills

DON’T

  • Be shy and humble. Now is not the time!
  • Just put your responsibilities
  • Go so overboard with numbers that it looks like a math problem. It still needs to be easy to read
  • Include lots of buzzwords just for the sake of it

5.4.3 Education section

This section should be extremely concise and clear. Hopefully your educational achievements can do the talking for you, as all you can really do here is present the necessary information with the right level of detail.

Note that if you have recently graduated and only have internship experiences instead of relevant work experience, this section should follow the Personal Information section, and you may want to go into a bit more detail. Otherwise, you can include it after work experience.

Follow the tips below to make sure you get it just right.

  • If you have multiple degrees (e.g. a BA and an MBA), you should write a subsection like the one above for each degree, starting with your highest level of education first (e.g. your MBA)
  • For each degree, include the name of the degree, university, and dates in the headline. If you’re a recent graduate, you can also list any subjects you have taken that are relevant to product management (e.g. design, coding, entrepreneurship, data analysis, etc.)
  • List your grades (e.g. GPA) as well as results of other standardized tests you have taken (e.g. SAT, GMAT, etc.) that demonstrate your intellect
  • Detail any awards and scholarships you received at university level and most importantly how competitive they were (e.g. two awards for 1,000 students)
  • If you don’t have much tech work experience you might want to include tech bootcamps (e.g. General Assembly) and link to your projects, or online courses (e.g. Udacity)
  • Panic if you don't have a degree. You don’t have to have gone to college to get into a FAANG company. Instead put your high school grades and any relevant educational qualifications you gained after school
  • Include high school experience if you've already graduated
  • Include your thesis / dissertation unless you're a fairly recent graduate, in which case you should summarize the topic in a way that's VERY easy to understand

5.4.4 Awards and Leadership section

We've labelled this section "Awards & Leadership" instead of "Extracurricular" section for two reasons:

1. Google uses it as its recommended resume template ( see here )

2. Extracurricular activities are less important for technical roles like software engineer.

The more experience you have, the easier it should be for you to find two or three strong bullet points that demonstrate leadership (outside your day-to-day work) or awards.

If you haven't won any awards or can't think of any strong leadership examples outside your day-to-day role, then consider leaving out this section entirely.

  • Put awards in context. E.g. "1st out of 22 applicants".
  • Consider leaving this section out if you're lacking content.
  • Use awards from school or university if you graduated more than ten years ago
  • Include weaker achievements (e.g "employee of the week") just to fill space

5.4.5 Additional Skills & Interests section

A technical resume needs to show that you're adept at using a wide range of tools, methodologies and technologies. Listing them here can make it easy for a recruiter to quickly check you meet their requirements.

  • If you need to save vertical space, list skills in sentences rather than  bullets
  • Include generic, uninteresting things that everyone likes doing, like “watching Netflix” or “hanging out with friends,” as interests
  • List basic skills that almost everyone has, such as "google docs" or "Ms word".

5.5 Proofreading and feedback

Don’t skip this step! Use a grammar checking tool and then proofread until it’s perfect. This is harder than it sounds because multiple reviews and tweaking after the initial proofread can easily create new hard-to-spot errors. The only solution is to proofread again after each tweak.

We recommend saving as a pdf file unless the job description says otherwise, and checking it opens properly (with the correct formatting) on a Mac or PC.

Receiving feedback is also important. Share it with a friend or partner, and they’ll be very likely to see mistakes that you haven’t noticed. Of course, if you can share it with an experienced tech recruiter / interviewer , that can give you a big advantage over other applicants.

  • Proofread from top to bottom and then read it in reverse to check spelling
  • If you’ve tweaked it, proofread again before sending
  • Check the file opens properly on Mac and PC
  • Get feedback on it before sending
  • Send it with typos. Your resume is your product!

6. Your tech resume checklist ↑

Almost ready to send your technical resume? Use this checklist to make sure you’re following the best practices we’ve recommended above.

If you can answer “Yes” to every question, then you’re ready to hit "Apply" or upload it to a popular technical jobs site.

  • Does your resume present you as the type of candidate the job description is looking for ?
  • Is it just one page? If not, do you have the experience to merit 2 pages?
  • Is the formatting 100% consistent and neat?
  • Is there enough white space to breathe?

Personal Information

  • Have you checked your contact details are correct?
  • If you're an engineer, have you listed your programming languages?

Work Experience

  • Have you talked about your actions rather than your responsibilities?
  • Have you quantified the impact of your actions?
  • Have you demonstrated a range of relevant skills?

Awards & Leadership

  • If you graduated >10 years ago, are your examples post-university?

Skills & Interests

  • Have you listed all the programming languages and relevant tools you’re familiar with?
  • Do your interests make you stand out from the crowd in some way?

Proofreading and feedback

  • Have you proofread since you last edited it?
  • Have you received any feedback on your resume and updated it?
  • Have you saved it as a PDF to make sure it displays correctly on all devices?

Did you say “Yes” to every question? Well done! If you’ve used all the tips in this article, then your resume should be in good condition and will give you a fighting chance of getting that interview.

7. Is your resume good enough for FAANG? ↑

If you're going for one of the top tech jobs, having a resume that's "fine" may not be enough. To get your tech resume from "fine" to "outstanding" usually requires feedback from someone who really knows their stuff - as in an ex-recruiter or manager at one of the top companies.

We know it's hard to get access to those types of people. That's why we've created a resume review service, that allows you to get immediate feedback on your resume with a top recruiter/coach of your choosing. Take a look !

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Anna Muckerman

Technician resume examples & templates

Technician resume examples & templates

Since technicians work in a variety of fields solving problems of all sorts, your technician resume needs to clearly articulate what you do and why you're the right fit for the employer's job posting. You'll need to quantify your skills and experience to prove that you've got what it takes for the job at hand. Luckily, Resume.io is here to help. Our 300+ resume examples are designed for job seekers in all fields and at all stages of their careers. This guide, along with the corresponding technician resume example will show you how to:

Entry-level Technician Resume Example

  • Choose the correct format for a technician resume sample
  • Write each of the essential sections that make up a strong resume
  • Create a summary that captures the essence of what you do
  • Choose a design and layout that adds to your professionalism

What does a technician do?

Technicians are people who work to solve problems in the areas of development, manufacturing, sales, construction, inspection, and maintenance. Technicians utilize scientific, mathematical, and engineering principles to make advancements and improvements. In order to be considered a strong technician, you should possess strong communication and reading comprehension skills. Read more on how to write your impressive technician resume below.

In 2020, the median annual pay for mechanical engineering technicians was $58,230 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Many technicians can enter the field with relevant high school coursework or an associate's degree from a local community college.

Looking for more resume inspiration? Check out these other related engineering resume examples and get inspired: 

  • Facilities Engineer resume sample
  • Electrical Engineer resume sample
  • Engineering resume sample
  • CNC machinist resume sample
  • Agricultural Engineer resume sample
  • Health and Safety Engineer resume sample
  • Research Engineer resume sample
  • Process Engineer resume sample
  • Project Engineer resume sample
  • Structural engineer resume sample
  • Mechanical Engineer resume sample
  • Civil Engineer resume sample

How to write a technician resume

A technician resume should contain many of the sections found on most resume samples:

  • The resume header
  • The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
  • The employment history section
  • The resume skills section
  • The education section

A technician resume should highlight a candidate’s ability to assess processes, evaluate solutions, and problem-solving. You should be able to work well as part of a team and individually. Technicians need to be able to c ommunicate wel l and collaborate with engineers and scientists. An effective technician resume showcases your ability to handle complex issues, and offer solutions that enhance processes or devices. Your resume should focus on relevant work experiences, as well as expertise. Technicians should be able to properly diagnose issues and make changes to solve problems. 

The scrupulous eye of the hiring manager is likely not the first hurdle your technician resume sample will encounter. Many medium and large companies now use Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS to scan resumes and filter out candidates before their applications are even seen by human eyes. Luckily, you can take this into account when writing your resume by following these tips:

  • Read the job description carefully and look for any skills or duties that are particularly emphasized by the employer.
  • Place these "keywords" in the appropriate resume sections using the exact wording from the job description.
  • Make sure to use common section headings like "Education" or "Employment History" so that both human and robot readers can find what they're looking for.

While it might seem tempting to stuff your resume with all sorts of keywords regardless of if they're true for you, a hiring manager will likely be put off by this practice and will send your resume to the bin.

Choosing the best resume format for technicians

The best resume format for a technician will likely depend on the amount of experience you have and your area of expertise. If you've been working in the field for a number of years, you'll likely want to use the reverse chronological resume format. This structure begins with your current (or most recent) job title and works backwards to include all relevant experience in the last ten years. This is the best format for those with a linear career path who want to show the skills they've learned in other related positions.

If you're just starting out as a technician or have a highly-specialized skill set, you may want to consider the functional resume format. This option begins with an "Experience" or "Skills" section that outlines your strongest abilities without necessarily attributing them to an employer or position. You can also create a hybrid resume format which combines elements of the functional and reverse chronological structures.

You can find plenty more of engineering resume examples in our collection, including our facilities engineer resume example , civil engineer resume example and process engineer resume example .

Resume summary example

The resume summary offers an example of your skills, achievements and previous experience without being weighed down by all the details. These 3-5 sentences are a chance to show the employer why you're the best fit for their company and encourage them to keep reading the rest of your attributes. Make sure to offer concrete information like your number of years of experience, any relevant degrees or certifications or specialized knowledge that the employer mentions in the job description. 

The summary is also a chance to speak directly to the employer and capture your tone of voice in your resume while remaining professional at all times. Highlight your biggest accomplishments and attributes here. Remember to use as many powerful action verbs as you can. A desirable technician candidate is a strong analytical thinker with vast experience in problem-solving. Highlight your proudest career accomplishments and attributes here. See how this is done in the summary from our technician resume sample.

Experienced and dedicated technician with over six years of industry experience, assisting engineers and other professionals in improving machinery and processes. Adept at evaluating systems, identifying issues, and offering solutions to problems. Bringing forth a proven track record of performing preventative maintenance to ensure the safe and smooth running of electrical systems, I addition to working on diagnosed issues. Possesses a strong understanding of electrical codes and best practices and a commitment to teamwork and excellence.

Employment history sample

If you're using the reverse chronological format, the employment history sample is where you'll list your previous work experience. In addition to the job title, dates worked and location, you'll want to create bullet points that expand on your responsibilities and achievements. Look for examples of numbers and concrete details to help quantify your contribution to the company and show a potential employer what you could accomplish for them. Focus on the most relevant and impressive positions and accomplishments. Remember to use powerful action verbs and mention job specific roles. Check out our resume example below for more insight into the employment history section.

  • Worked as a leading Engineering Technician responsible for evaluating 100+ products.
  • Handled project launches and worked to solve manufacturing challenges.
  • Served as the main liaison between team units regarding technical consultation and production perspective.
  • Trained managers, team leaders, and technicians on the proper handling of equipment and initiating design changes.
  • Upheld the highest standards for safety compliance in the workplace.
  • Handled preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and problem-solving tasks

Technician resume education example

While technicians aren't required to have advanced degrees, an associate's or even a bachelor's degree in your resume education section can go a long way in showing your interest and commitment to the field. List the name of your degree, the school, location and dates attended here. You can also include an expected graduation date or GPA (if higher than a 3.0) if still a student. 

The education section is also a great place to mention certifications or awards related to the field. Any honors or distinctions should be noted here as well. If you hold a degree higher than a bachelor's, you may leave out your high school. Here's the education section from our technician resume sample:

  • 2001-2005 Detroit High School, High School Diploma Detroit, MI
  • 2005-2009 Northeastern University, Bachelor of Engineering Boston, MA

CV skills example

Skills are at the core of your work as a technician, so they should also be featured prominently on your CV. The CV skills section generally takes on a bullet-point format so it's the best place to add abilities and knowledge that can be summed up in a word or two. Make sure to review the job description and pick out any skills or technical knowledge that are particularly emphasized. Make sure to add these skills to your CV in order to help pass the ATS. Below, you'll find the skills section from our technician resume sample.

  • Knowledge of Electrical Codes
  • Blueprint Reading
  • Excellent Communication Skills
  • Knowledge of CAD/CAM Software

Resume layout and design

While deliberate writing is essential to any great resume, the layout should never take a back seat. Technicians may not need to use flashy colors or icons to convey their expertise but there are still a few rules of good design to create a resume sample that stands out.

One of the most important aspects of a great resume layout is an attractive header. This section at the top of the resume highlights your name, contact information and any other vital details so that a hiring manager can contact you if they'd like to schedule an interview. Check out the header on our resume example for an idea of how to format your own. A neutral color scheme and strong sense of organization are best for a technician resume, but that doesn't mean your design needs to be complicated. Check out our simple resume templates for an easy way to begin your own.

  • Add a visually attractive header to increase the chances of the hiring manager noticing your application
  • Use a 11 or 12 point font size.
  • Leave a strong balance of white space to text to avoid visual fatigue.
  • Use more than two different font styles on your resume
  • Create a resume longer than one page
  • Forget to proofread before submitting

Key takeaways

  • Your technician resume sample should specify the type of work that you do and show an employer how you would fit into their company.
  • The essential resume sections can help you make sure you haven't left off any vital pieces of information.
  • Reverse chronological is the best resume format for technicians with at least some level of experience.
  • Don't forget to add keywords from the job description to help you beat the ATS resume scanners.
  • A great resume design can go a long way. Use a template to help give you a head start.

Beautiful ready-to-use resume templates

IMAGES

  1. Tech Resume Examples, Template & Tips for 2021

    how to make a good tech resume

  2. 5 Tech Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

    how to make a good tech resume

  3. 5 Tech Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

    how to make a good tech resume

  4. Tech Resume Guide (+11 FAANG examples that worked)

    how to make a good tech resume

  5. Technical Resume: 15+ Examples, Template, & Writing Tips

    how to make a good tech resume

  6. 9 Amazing Computers & Technology Resume Examples

    how to make a good tech resume

COMMENTS

  1. Creating the Best Tech Resume: Guide With Tips and Examples

    Your resume needs to be scannable, with a highlights reel of your key experiences, skills, and the tools you work with. Stick to bullet points and lists—you can elaborate in your tech cover letter. Make it longer than one page. Likewise, anything longer than two pages is at risk of being disregarded for another's.

  2. Tech Resume Examples, Template & Full 2024 Guide

    Yes, half the hiring managers won't read technical cover letters. The other half won't read tech resumes without them. So, write a cover letter, but here's the trick: Don't make it a rehash of your resume. Make is short. Make it sweet. Make it personal. First, use the hiring manager's name. Don't know it? Find it out online, or call the company.

  3. 3 Technical Resume Examples & Writing Guide for 2024

    Our free tech resume samples for entry-level to senior positions are designed to show you how to create an effective resume for your experience level. When you're finished writing your resume, don't forget to pair your resume with a matching technical cover letter to complete your application. July 8, 2024. Build My Resume Now.

  4. Technical Resume Writing: Tips and Examples

    Here are several steps to consider when creating your technical resume: 1. Include your personal information. Start by including an informative header with details about yourself. These details should include your full name, phone number, physical location and email address.

  5. Technical Resume Example for 2024 [W/ Template & Step-by-Step Guide!]

    Here's an example of what the education section of a tech resume should look like: For a job in the tech industry, you only need to mention your most recent (and higher) degree. That means you can leave out your high-school degree and even your Bachelor's if you hold a Master's degree or a Ph.D. in the field. #6.

  6. 5 Tech Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

    But no one wants to read a list of 50+ skills that you've acquired over your career. Here are some tips to make your skills section more engaging and impactful: Put the tech that the company uses higher on your list. Group your tech skills for better readability, e.g. "Programming languages", "Platforms", "Services".

  7. How to Create a Stand-Out Tech Resume

    Start off with a personal summary that leaves an impression. Lead with your expertise. Study the job posting and adjust your resume accordingly. Pay attention to what tech employers are looking for. Back up your accomplishments with evidence. Add links to professional profiles. Always edit, and get a second set of eyes.

  8. 2022 Guide to Writing a Technical Resume with 10+ Examples

    To write a technical resume that creates an impact, use action verbs and powerful words. The best power verbs to use in your technical resume are: Tech Resume words for 'Planning' or 'Strategic Planning': Administered, Brainstormed, Strategized. Tech Resume words for 'Managing': Steered, Directed, Led.

  9. Tech Resume Writing Tips, Examples, and Templates for 2024

    Tailoring your resume for each tech job you apply to is crucial. Here are some tips on how to do it: Study the job description: Read the job description carefully and highlight the required skills and knowledge. Focus on relevant experience: Emphasize your relevant work experience, matching the job requirements.

  10. How to Write a Tech Resume

    Here is a technical resume template you can use as a guide while creating your resume: [Your full name] [City, province] [Phone number] [Email address] Objective statement. [Use one or two sentences to explain your experience, skills, career goals, and how the job role aligns with your experiences and goals.] Work experience.

  11. Technical Resume Guide

    The perfect technical resume highlights your technical skills and catches the interest of a hiring manager at a tech company. The key to good technical resume writing is knowing what to include and what to leave off. In the next section, we'll cover the building blocks you need to write a good technical resume.

  12. Crafting an Impressive Tech Resume

    Tips for Crafting an Impressive Tech Resume. The tech jobs market is packed with applicants. Your first introduction to a potential new employer is your cover letter and resume, so make these shine bright. Make sure both use the same base formatting. Use the same margins, layout scheme, font, and font size.

  13. How to Write an Irresistible Technical Resume

    6. Don't Forget Soft Skills. Familiarity with the right skills and tools is critical for technical roles, but soft skills like communication, leadership and collaboration are often equally important. But when it comes to including soft skills on your resume, it's best to be subtle about it.

  14. Technical Resume: 30+ Examples, Templates and Writing Tips

    Work with resume fonts like Georgia or Lato in 10-12pt. Use white space as a buffer, and 1-inch margins. Deliver a one-page resume to most technical job openings. Cover these resume sections: Header, Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, and "Additional.". Expert Hint: Save your technical skills resume as a PDF file.

  15. How to Create a Technical Resume in 2023: Tips & Examples

    Key Takeaways. Must-have sectionsfor a tech resume are the contact information, resume summary or objective, work experience, education, and skills sections. Optional sectionsinclude certifications, languages, hobbies and interests, and a portfolio. Use the reverse chronological orderwhen listing your previous jobs.

  16. How to Write a Tech Resume (With a Sample)

    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.

  17. Technical Skills for a Resume

    1. Project Management. Your project management skills show employers that you can handle leading a team. Some of the technical skills employers look for when hiring managers are: Scrum and Agile proficiency. Technical reporting. Work scheduling software. Information technology. Data analytics.

  18. Tech Resume Guide (+11 FAANG examples that worked)

    1. 7 golden rules for tech resumes (from FAANG recruiters) 2. 6 key skills for your tech resume. 3. 11 examples of tech resumes that worked for Google, Meta, etc. 4. Tech resume template. 5. How to write a tech resume that gets you into FAANG (section-by-section) Let's get into it. Get expert feedback on your resume with tech ex-interviewers.

  19. Technical Resume Samples

    Technology resumes are your ticket to nabbing the most sought-after tech jobs. No matter what level you're at in your career—entry, mid-level, or experienced—we have loads of free technology resume samples that can help guide you when you're writing or updating your resume. The technology resumes are broken down by specialization.

  20. IT Technician Resume Example & Guide for 2024

    Among the top skills frequently listed by IT technicians are technical support, information security, hardware and software repair, system administration, and network maintenance. IT technicians tend to create resumes spanning about 2.3 pages in length. Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple.

  21. Technician Resume Examples & Templates (2024) · Resume.io

    Technician Resume example Complete guide Create a Perfect Resume in 5 minutes using our Resume Examples & Templates. Resume Cover Letter Blog FAQ. ... Technicians may not need to use flashy colors or icons to convey their expertise but there are still a few rules of good design to create a resume sample that stands out.

  22. Technician Resume: Examples, Template, & Writing Guide

    Write a Technician Resume Profile; 3. Describe Your Technician Work Experience; 4. Make the Most of Your Education on a Technician Resume ... If you've completed any courses and are a certified repairman of <insert brand/appliance name>, this would be a good moment to mention that. Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple ...

  23. Technician Resume Examples: Guide and Writing Tips

    1 / 3. Technician must prove their attention to detail to hiring managers. Your cover letter is a better place to show your enthusiasm and personality than your resume alone. A cover letter gives you an entire page to explain a little about yourself and what motivates you to want to be a Technician.