Why is this IT pro's resume producing no calls?

by Molly Joss | Aug 27, 2003 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Recruitment & Selection, information technology, Molly Joss, job, management job

Takeaway: A soon-to-be-laid-off tech pro is looking for an IT management position, but he's getting no response to his resume. Career writer Molly Joss offers her insights on what the problem could be.

Question: Why is my resume being passed over for management positions?

I am about to get laid off in the very near future, and, knowing this, I've been looking for a new job for almost two months. I have been in the IT arena for more than 18 years and am seeking an IT manager role, though I've never held that specific title. Could you review my resume and tell me why I am possibly being passed over? [See member's resume in Figures A, B, and C.]




Answer: You don't have the right kind of experience and your resume has some technical problems.

The short answer to your question is that it's tough to get a job as an IT manager when you've never held the title. According to your resume, you've been in coordination and support roles for your entire career. You did say you'd managed a team here or there, but the experience was short-lived and not recent.

If you are applying for IT management jobs, I am not surprised you've had only a few responses. If you had not told me in your question that you want a management job, I would have assumed from your resume that you are interested in another support job. I bet that's how most hiring managers would react to your resume.

Gain the right experience
Getting yourself ready for a management job is a fixable problem, but it's going to take some time. If you weren't about to be laid off from your current job, you could have asked for some assignments in which you headed up a team of people. Since you are about to lose your job, your best bet is to look for a job that is similar to the one you have now. After you have settled into your new job, you can start building your management resume by asking to head up a committee or a work team. Keep building your people management skills and look for management jobs within the new company.

Your lack of a college degree—or even a high school degree—is a liability you must act quickly to remove. According to your resume, you've taken some classes but you don't say how long ago. Start working on at least a two-year degree in business management. Such a degree will help you realize your goal of becoming an IT manager.

Stick with one job
The fact that you've had three jobs in the last seven years is another liability. Job hopping without a really good explanation makes any hiring manager nervous. Make sure that in your cover letter you explain why you left those jobs—although even a thorough clarification might not be enough to overcome the qualms. Your best fix for this situation is to keep your next job more than three years—five or more would be best.

Hire an editor
Before you send out your resume again, hire an editor or proofreader to review it. There are some punctuation and grammar errors that need to be fixed. For example, you capitalized some nouns and verbs that should be lowercase, and there are many commas and other punctuation marks in the resume that aren't necessary.

Have the person review your sentence structure and choice of words with you, as well. We are so accustomed to trying to put action words into a resume that it's easy to get carried away. I am always put off when I read words such as "stellar" and "excellent" in resumes. I like a person's accomplishments to speak for themselves. I suggest getting rid of the superlatives in your resume.

Also, I spotted a few places where the words you've selected hamper or confuse your message. For example, in your summary you say: "Harnessed with excellent, [this comma not needed] leadership, organizational, analytical, and intercommunication skills." The word harnessed means under control in some way, so it doesn't fit here.

In addition, you switch verb tenses from present to past and back again within the same section of your resume. Use the present tense to indicate current responsibilities and use the past tense to indicate past achievements.

A good editor will help you correct many of these errors and problems in your resume. You might have to spend $100 or more for the service, but it will be well worth the money. These are the kinds of corrections you won't be able to make on your own.

Don't say too much
Here are a couple of additional recommendations. First, limit your resume to one page. Your resume is three pages long, and two is the most I would recommend for anyone. You may think you have to have the space to put your best foot forward, but I know IT managers who routinely toss any resume that's more than one page long. They figure that unless you're looking for a CIO job, one page should do it.

To boil the details down, present your work history first, then the details of your education and certifications. I would drop the information about the volunteer activities and medals. They aren't part of your work experience, so you can leave them out to gain some space. If you have room left, you could add two or three achievements at the end.

Second, have no more than five highlights for your current job and two or three for past positions. Make sure that the highlights all relate to the kind of job you want to get, which should be project management and coordination for now and management later.

Don't say too little
Finally, you should substantiate, briefly, some of your accomplishments, because a few sound as though they were too big for one person to make happen. I wonder, for example, how you personally reduced unscheduled network outages by 30 percent. If you were part of a team that did this, say so. Managers know that it takes a team to get the big jobs done.

Working with an editor, you should be able to put together a powerful resume that briefly describes the highlights and accomplishments of your IT career. Remember, more is not better when it comes to resumes. Stick to a one-page traditional format and make the most of the space. Make your resume a compelling, constrained synopsis of your capabilities and experience.

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Military Errors AV8Orr | 08/28/03

Communication Skills Flyers70 | 08/29/03

Resume steve_whitaker@... | 09/03/03

Keys to resume success IntegraTec | 09/03/03

Resume Wording eddie2go | 09/04/03

Lack of Experience and Training D.Hart | 08/28/03

But remember to sell yourself julianb | 08/28/03

Summary ChuckK | 08/28/03

Too Long!!!! and the headings RealMe | 08/28/03

Military Experience deepsix | 08/29/03

Speaking of no degree acerx | 08/29/03

null deepsix | 09/02/03

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Give it a try. lucio01 | 09/02/03

Don't try to re-invent the wheel... dpittsford@... | 09/03/03

Stand out from the crowd... ISGirl | 09/03/03

Cover Letters waltonob | 09/04/03

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