Showcase ROI on Your Technology Resume

Showcase ROI on Your Technology Resume Showcase ROI on Your Technology ResumeForget your skills. Forget your certifications. Forget your degrees. Just for a minute, forget all those things you believe qualify you for a technology job.Instead, think about this How can you describe your value to a prospective employer in terms of return on investment (ROI)?Todays hiring decisions are made based on factors other than the number of acronyms crammed on your resume, so technology professionals need to start thinking in terms of ROI. What matters to employers -- and what should matter to you -- is how you could help an organization achieve its goals. To demonstrate that, you need to redirect your job search, from resume to interview, to quantifying the value you bring to a company.Numbers are king on resumes right now, says Jeff Markham, metro market manager for staffing firm Robert Half Technology in the San Francisco Bay area.Thinking in terms of ROI can be a challenge, especially for ski lls-obsessed techies. Follow these guidelines to recast your experience in terms that specify the value you can offerDont sell features, sell benefits. Thats a time-tested rule for ausverkauf, and techies can learn something from it, says Jason Berkowitz, chief operating officer of Hunter Recruitment Advisors. A resume, after all, is a sales tool. Consider the benefits you can bring to a company, rather than what specific features -- i.e., your skills -- you have to offer.Use quantitative data to make your case, says Markham. Youve got to be super-descriptive, he elendes, as employers want a sense of what you do for the companys bottom line. You cant just list your skills, says Markham. They want to know how you made your company money with Java? How did you save your company money with Java? Its got to be quantifiable.Emphasize your achievements, not just what you do in your job, urges Bob Senatore, executive vice president of staffing firm Comforce Information Technologies. To do this, candidates may want to include several bullet points after each job or project in a resume, citing specific achievements.Bringing an ROI perspective to your resume -- and your interview answers -- doesnt simply mean you need to know how much money you saved a company on a project. With a lot of technology, the cost savings arent going to be seen for 36 months, notes Markham. You can usually see immediate operational effects.Here are several examples of the types of data you might consider adding to your resumeProject scheduled for 45 days completed in 29 days.Software enhancements cut the time required to process a purchase order by 38 percent.Among top 5 percent of help desk in terms of both calls handled and cases resolved.Revisions to billing software allowed a head-count reduction of 12 in a 108-person department.Company CEO cited database overhaul as essential to the companys increase of Q2 profits.Consider this example of a revamped resumeBeforeSenior ProgrammerUsed Java and JSP to design, develop and deploy enhancements to existing components of a ordnungsprinzip for the companys marketing department. System runs on a UNIX mainframe (IBM), connecting to a DB2 database.AfterSenior ProgrammerDesigned, developed and deployed enhancements to a system serving as backbone of companys 205-member marketing staff. Used Java and JSP on an IBM-flavored UNIX mainframe connected to a DB2 database.Team cited by CIO for completing six-month project three weeks ahead of schedule.Success rate of marketing calls increased by 27 percent.Such changes not only highlight the candidates achievements, but also signal to employers that the candidate is motivated to serve business goals. Your pitch, after all, isnt just to other techies.Technology people should understand they need to appeal to people who dont understand the details of the technology, says Berkowitz. But remember, the people doing the hiring do understand the impact technology has on the business.Learn mor e about technology careers.