jsync | Java Staffing Specialist

Bare Essentials of a Technical Resume

07/27/2004

by Dave Fecak

Lately we have seen many resumes that do a good job of describing what type of application that the candidate built or designed (_e.g. “participated in the development of a healthcare portal…”_), but the technical details – languages, tools, databases, application servers – of the project are not sufficiently covered. In most circumstances, companies seeking to hire Java professionals are much more interested in the technical description of the application and the ‘accomplishments’ than they are in the functional detail or use. We would suggest that you include why and for whom the application was built as this can only help, but keep in mind that the technical details are what turns your resume into an interview. If you know a certain company will be interested in your functional knowledge, like in situations where you are sending your resume to a direct competitor or a company with similar business problems to those you’ve solved in the past, we’d suggest a bit more of the functional details.

When writing a description of a project on your resume, be sure to include the following details:

1. Technologies used on the project – including languages/API’s, tools (IDE’s, design tools), application servers, operating systems, databases, etc. Include version numbers when appropriate!
2. Your role and responsibility on the project. Were you involved in the development, design, architecture, prototyping, product evaluations, etc.? Were you given technical leadership or project management responsibilities? Were you in a client-facing position where you were involved with business analysis, uses cases, etc.? Were you involved in training or mentoring others?
3. The result/project’s success. Did this project save the company money or time? Was it on schedule and under budget? Did you receive any recognition for your role on the project.

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