IT Resume Makeover: Transitioning from IT pro to IT leader

Once you reach the senior level of your career, the time comes where you need to change how you approach the resume writing process. As a seasoned professional in a leadership role, you need to focus less on your technical skills and more on defining your value proposition.

This month’s IT Resume Makeover candidate, John Crichton (name changed for this article) has worked his way up the corporate ladder to the role of senior IT director. But after years in the industry, he says it was difficult to transform “a long, successful career — currently detailed in four to five pages — into a structured, brief and comprehensive two-page resume.”

J.M. Auron, a global IT careers expert, resume writer and owner of Quantum Tech Resumes, took on the task of helping Crichton streamline his resume. His main objective quickly became highlighting Crichton’s accomplishments and shortening the length of the document.

[ Download original resume ]

Ditch your narrative

One of the biggest issues Auron found with Crichton’s resume is that it was written as a narrative. Auron says that this narrative style can be seen in “I did” phrases, which can come off as “unprofessional,” and add unnecessary length to your resume.

Instead, build a story around a central focus. In this case, the focus became including “active language” and using a “challenge, action and results” strategy, says Auron. He achieved this by digging into Crichton’s career history to move past a “procedural” approach of listing skills and work experience to highlighting proven accomplishments.

“When we spoke, I focused strongly on helping him clarify his value proposition and accomplishments,” says Auron.

When applying for any job, there’s a good chance every qualified candidate will list the same laundry list of skills. Listing challenges you’ve faced in the workplace, and how your skills and expertise directly impacted those challenges in a positive way, will go further than a list of your skills.

[ Related story: IT Resume Makeover Homepage ]

Define your value proposition

After speaking with Crichton to learn more about his background and what kind of growth he wanted to see in his career, Auron began defining his “value proposition.”

Your value proposition is found in solid results — anytime you take initiative at work, complete a project, go above and beyond your job description, solve a problem or streamline an inefficiency. That is what will grab the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager, giving them insight into what you might bring to the company.

Auron decided to create a focus for Crichton’s resume by establishing specific situations where his leadership and expertise resulted in positive changes for the company.

“At first it was a bit difficult to focus but JM made it easy by asking the right questions. [He asked] what was the business challenge, what was deliverable and how did it satisfy?” says Crichton.

Defining your own value proposition can be difficult. Most people find it a challenge to be objective about their accomplishments, or they might feel like they are bragging. But if there’s anywhere you should be comfortable bragging — even just a little bit – it’s your resume.

[ Related story: Tech resume resources: Before and after examples, expert advice and more ]

The end result

Auron calls the final resume “a completely different document.” He says that by removing “overly technical language,” he was able to deliver Crichton a resume that tells a better more coherent story about his career.

The final document clearly highlight’s Crichton’s numerous accomplishments, skills and expertise — all within two concise pages.

[ Download the finalized IT technology resume ]

Crichton also found the process beneficial, noting that Auron helped him take an overwhelming amount of information and pull out the most important details.

“I was excited to participate in the process. It was painless. I never had this kind of help before so I’m very appreciative of being a part of the Resume Makeover,” he says.