Believe it or not, resumes are still read by real-live humans. Yes, applicant tracker systems and readers are widely used by recruiters and hiring managers. But here at Open Systems, Inc. (OSI), we use a hybrid approach of technology and human review.
Luckily that allows us to see some truly interesting resumes, some of which should never have seen the light of day. Here are five things to avoid on your IT resume.
Seriously? That’s your email?
Information technology professionals are smart people. But it always surprises me when I see what should be a private email address being used for career-search purposes. Seriously, keep the 6packabs@gmail.com address restricted to personal endeavors.
An even more terrifying email example is when candidates use their employers email address. For so many reasons – that cannot fit in this article – it’s an immediate ‘no.’
Dates. Yes, you need them.
Not including employment start and end dates, certification dates and educational time frames is a serious warning sign the candidate is either hiding something or not organized. Either way, they are an immediate ‘no.’
TMI! Too Much Information
It’s okay to add a short section about personal interests or accomplishments. However, it is not okay to share too much personal information. Employers really don’t want to know your age, your relationship status, health issues, what your pet’s names are, or your personal goal to bike across the country.
Acronym Insanity
The tech industry loves acronyms and jargon. It’s a secret language designed to efficiently and accurately communicate to technology peers. A resume loaded with acronyms and tech jargon shows the candidate’s limited communication abilities. And those applicant tracking readers can’t read the resumes either.
Mistakes, errors and bad formatting
Imagine a coder submitting a resume with spelling errors. Or user interface specialist sending a resume with bad formatting. Errors are inexcusable. IT professionals have an exact role where everything needs to be error free to seamlessly work. Even one error on a resume is a reason to disqualify the candidate.
Wake up and stop the nightmares!
Avoid the resume nightmare. If you are an IT professional seeking your next career move, reach out to the team at OSI. Our experienced recruiters will review your resume, interviewing skills and help you showcase your best self. Contact the IT recruiters at OSI today!