A well-formatted resume leaves a good first impression on the recruiter, especially when you are applying for an engineering or software developer position in the IT industry. The competition in this field is pretty fierce. An IT resume is your best bet to get noticed by the recruiter and increase your chances of getting selected for the vacancy. 

In this post, we will walk you through a few effective ways to format your resume in such a way that it catches the attention of the recruiter. So, if you are applying for an IT industry, here’s the list of tips to consider when formatting your resume.

Choose a template based on the job description

The ready-made resume templates come in handy for software developers, IT managers, cybersecurity experts, and other professionals in the Informational Technology field. Pick a template based on the position you are applying for. 

You can find the resume templates for java developers, software developers, IT specialists, video editors, data scientists, data analysts, project managers, web developers, and more. Some websites offer templates customized to the roles. 

You don’t have to worry about the margins and writing part, as you get everything in the template. All you have to do is select the resume format you like the most and change the text. However, you can make a few notable changes to the formatting to make your resume look professional. 

Choose the right font

You could be applying for a web designer position, but that doesn’t mean you have to go overboard with the designing part when writing your resume. Keep it simple, especially the font. It must be large enough to make the content readable to the recruiters. 

Besides, the font should look professional. Avoid light, stylish, and thin fonts. The last thing you want is your application getting rejected just because the employer found it too difficult to read your resume. Although that rarely happens, it’s better to choose large and bold fonts. Helvetica, Georgia, Cambria, and Calibri are your best options for resume fonts.

Start with your personal information

Most templates of resumes have the “about” and “contact” section listed on the top of the page. This tip is really important for a java developer, software designer, web developer, and IT professional. You need to ensure that your recruiter can contact you for the interview or next stages of screening if they like your job profile. Mention your full name (in bold), email address, phone number, and other personal details on the top.

Mention your experience

Experience is a necessity for an IT specialist. You may have studied computer science in your college, but that alone cannot guarantee you a job at a top IT organization. You need to mention your work history, the companies you have worked with, the volunteer work, internship programs, freelancing experience, and other IT-related tasks. 

The recruiter is likely to spend 2-3 seconds reading the header, so that’s where you need to focus the most. Keep it short and relevant to the position. Mention numbers where possible. The recruiter needs to know the date you joined the company, where you worked, and your experience as an IT specialist.

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Education and skills

Give information about your academic background - the schools and universities you have attended, your degrees, internships, and other programs relevant to the IT position. Your skills tell the employer what you are capable of, the languages you know, your programming skills, etc. 

A few examples of the skills needed for the role are IoT, experience in programming languages, cloud computing, debugging, artificial intelligence, and object-oriented programming. 

The qualifications the recruiter is looking for are mentioned in the job description. The recruiter will most likely hire a candidate with a master’s and computer’s degree. Note that the objective of the skills column is to show that you can do what the job entails. So, it is absolutely unnecessary to list anything that’s irrelevant to the job. 

List your soft skills

The recruiter also wants to know your soft skills. You will most likely be working on a team, so it is important that you are capable of working with your colleagues. A few crucial soft skills you should add to your resume are time management, problem-solving skills, leadership, business intelligence, creative thinking, and teamwork. 

Conclusion

The formatting of your IT resume depends on the job you are applying for and the requirements of the company. The best part about the built-in resume templates is that you don’t have to make any major changes to the format, as almost everything is already designed in a professional way. All you have to do is pick a resume template, download it on your computer, and change the text. Your IT resume is ready. Follow the above tips for proper formatting and you are good to go!