Learn new skills, hone your techno-savvy, and you get ahead, right? Keeping up to date is a contractor's stock in trade. So why are so many IT professionals using a resume that's anything but cutting edge?

"The biggest mistake consultants make in preparing a resume is writing it for themselves," says Gord Stein, former IT contractor and now vice president at CNC Global, a Toronto-based IT consulting firm with offices in the United States and Canada.

"They want it to tell everything there is to know about themselves without any thought to the client," he says. "But if it doesn't show a clear understanding of the client and its needs, a resume will do more to unsell than to sell a candidate."

Phase One: Know the Client

"Writing a resume is a two-phase process. In phase one, you get to know the prospective client," Stein says. He recommends exploring three key areas.

First, who are the client's end-user groups, both internally and externally? What services or products does the client provide? What are the characteristics of the market in which it operates, and how is that market changing over time?

Second, what is the unique competitive advantage of the client's organization?

Third, does IT form a critical component in its success? "If it does," says Stein, "then that company will value you and the work you do, and you have potential there. The reason this research is important is that you can't begin to see yourself in that organization unless you know who they are and how they operate."

Tracy Bumpus, who specializes in writing resumes for IT and engineering professionals, suggests also looking at leadership, turnover, team spirit, and other less tangible issues. She asks her clients to list 20 companies they might want to work for and then learn about them.

"It takes some time, but it's not that hard and it pays off," she says. "As you gather information, you'll cross some companies off your list and add others--just like buying a car, but unfortunately, people put more research into buying a car than deciding whom they might want to work for." Bumpus is certified by the Professional Association of Resume Writers and serves on that organization's executive board.

Web searches are the quickest way to gather information, but you can also check trade journals, consult the reference desk at your local library, or request an annual report and other print materials from the company itself. Networking is another useful tool; do you know someone in the organization who might answer a few questions?

Phase Two: Take a Hard Look at Yourself

"A good resume maps out two things: what an organization is after and what you bring to the table," says Stein. "Phase two is doing an inventory on yourself."

But taking a hard look at yourself and your skills is no easy task. "Resume writing is tedious, hair-pulling work," concedes Bumpus. "That's why you need to have a career portfolio, and it needs to be in a safe deposit box or wherever you keep your important papers."

Think of it as a professional scrapbook. The first items will be college transcripts, articles or papers you've written, presentations you've prepared, details of professional training. Next comes job-related information: a list of assignments and dates, project outlines, quantifiable achievements, performance evaluations. Finally, include anything that says something important about you: a complimentary memo, a handwritten note, a formal award.

Put these items in page protectors in a ring binder and review them periodically, tossing out what no longer seems relevant to your career. Do this and you'll have at your fingertips everything you need to know about yourself to write or update a good resume.

But how do you pull the data into a coherent document that clearly shows your value, direction, and intent in the few seconds that a recruiter or client will spend screening it?

The most common choices are the reverse chronological resume, which presents a progression of jobs (most recent first) and the skills gained in them, and the functional resume, which highlights skills and downplays job progression.

Arnold Zimmerman, senior partner with California-based Hollander Horizon International, an executive search firm specializing in senior-level placements, recommends the chronological. "When I see a resume with skills and accomplishments followed by the chronology, it doesn't tell me much," says Zimmerman, who also serves as president of the National Association of Executive Recruiters."I want to know where those skills came from, how the candidate learned them, and how fast he or she is moving. When a functional resume comes across my desk, I wonder what the candidate is trying to hide.

"I want to spot the superstar," he adds, "and I need to see a job progression to do that."

The Keys to an IT Resume

Recruiters look for several key sections in an IT resume: objective, skills, professional experience, education and training, and interests. The objective comes first, the interests last; where the other components appear depends on what you want to emphasize.

Objective. "You need to be very specific about what kind of job you're looking for and the skills you want to use," says Bumpus. "I like to see one or two specific and related positions in the objective--say, network administrator and systems administrator. This can also be a good place to mention whether you're willing to relocate."

"Your objective," adds Stein, "should relate directly back to the client's needs. A good objective will clearly answer the question, 'What does this person want from an assignment with our company?' While the rest of the resume tells where you've been, the objective tells where you're headed."

Skill set. Bumpus likes to put skills in a block near the top of the resume. She divides them into four categories: programming, systems or platforms, networking or client/server, and applications. "It gives the reader an immediate idea of what you can do," she says. "If you've got the right skills and you have them right up front, your resume will get read. Every single hiring manager I've worked with says a skills set up front makes their job easier."

As you review your skills, scrap any that don't underscore your objective. Then cross out any that don't relate to the job you're after. "This means you're likely to need more than one resume," says Stein, "but the key reason for doing it is that when a client is reading a resume, if there are a lot of skills they're not looking for, they will assume less of the desired skill. IT people in particular often have multiple technical personae--business analysis, systems analysis, technical writing--and it's essential they set up a custom resume for each of them."

Professional experience. This section will include: company name, unless there is an understanding of confidentiality, and a one-line profile: dates (month and year); city; the role you played, such as team leader, project manager, or program developer; and a description of the job, with a heavy emphasis on results.

"Your results should be business-oriented, not IT-oriented," urges Stein. "This part of your resume answers two questions: Can you hit the ground running and bring this project home on time and on budget?" Bumpus suggests using a technique she calls CARS. "Tell me the challenge you faced, the action you took, the result you got, and the satisfaction the client got from having you on the job," she says. "And use quantitative data when you talk about results."

"The two things I care about," adds Zimmerman, "are responsibilities and accomplishments. I want to know what role you played and how you did. If you saved ABC Division $86 million over 12 months with XYZ developments, tell me."

The best way to make facts jump off the page is to bullet them within each job listing.

Education and professional development. This is the easiest piece of a resume to pull together, especially if you've kept notes in your portfolio. First, list college and post-college degrees (never high school), then other professional training. If you have a long list of training credentials, you might want to list them on a separate page as an addendum. As with skills, screen out training that doesn't support your objective.

Interests. Opinion varies on whether to include interests. Bumpus finds it a waste of space, but Stein argues for listing those interests that demonstrate mental agility, determination, ability to be a team player or perhaps a leader, and similar qualities. "Telling me what you do in your spare time gives me a window into your personal character," he says.

Zimmerman recalls a resume that listed running, photography, golf, and orienteering, with a note that the candidate was the U.S. relay champion in 1996. "From that list, I can make some reasonable assumptions about this guy," he says. "He's got some energy, he thinks about how he looks at the world, he's reasonably social, and he's competitive. You get a person like that in front of the right job and it's usually a go, 1-2-3."

This section can also be headed "Interests and Accomplishments" and can include awards, published technical papers, and the like. The key is to list only items that clearly underscore your professional fitness for the job you're after. If you prefer, accomplishments can be included on a separate page as an addendum.

What Should Never Go on a Resume

Your resume should never include marital status, age, health status, or other personal information. It should not reveal your hobby of visiting amusement parks. Do not include professional information that doesn't underscore your objective, nor anything that doesn't pointedly address what you want that resume to do for you.

A tightly focused resume will speak volumes about your professional status. "When a good resume comes across my desk," says Zimmerman, "one of the first questions I ask myself is, can we afford this person? I'm usually able to tell, by the style and professionalism of the resume, where the candidate stands financially. There are very few wasted words on a high-powered resume. You know the phrase, 'Just the facts, ma'am'? Well, a good resume has just the facts. They're solid, they're important, and they're big."

A good resume will last five years if it is updated annually. It's a good idea to rethink the format and key information every few years, depending on where your career is headed and what changes you see in the industry.

"When you've finished writing a solid resume," says Bumpus, "you've undergone a rigorous process that's taught you everything you need to know about yourself and the market you choose to work in. When you're done, you're fully prepared to present yourself confidently in any interview and to make wise choices about your career goals and how you get there."

Molly Rose Teuke is a frequent contributor to CP. Her article on Internet2 appeared in the January/February 1999 issue.
Contract Professional/CPUniverse, Dec. 21, 2000.