If you’re looking for your personal marketing materials to be among the top CTO resumes, the right keywords can help you pass initial screening for a job announcement.
Hundreds of applicants submit their materials for an executive job announcement. And especially as the job market continues to heat up post-pandemic, you need every leg up on your competition.
The Struggle is Real
Have you ever known someone who said, “I applied for a job that I was perfect for but never heard back?” It could be that their resume was never actually seen by the employer. To beat the bots, their resume’s format could be the determining factor as to whether they move forward in the hiring process.
Like every industry, technology has revolutionized the recruitment process through the implementation of applicant tracking systems (ATS), which are systems used by recruiters and managers to orchestrate the hiring/recruiting process. At the heart of an ATS is a database that warehouses applicants and candidates which is easily searchable using both automated and manual searches.
Why are Keywords So Important for Top CTO Resumes?
As an applicant submitting your resume for new executive-level roles, it is critical that your information is accurately entered into the databases used by companies for screening applications. Parsers are the tool that scan resumes and “decide” where to store the resume’s information including contact, work history, and education.
In some cases, parsers aggregate and categorize skills including the duration the skill was used and how long ago it was last used. For example, a parser may find the skill ‘accounts receivable.’ More sophisticated parsers determine how long the applicant has worked in A/R and how long ago since they did so.
If a resume isn’t formatted in a manner that these digital parsers “understand,” then either important information will be omitted or stored incorrectly in the database and therefore may not appear in search results for consideration.
What is a Bot?
After a resume has been parsed and the information has been stored in the ATS’ database, then another tool (sometimes referred to as a bot) is used to evaluate the candidate’s information to determine if it meets the criteria, including necessary keywords established by a hiring manager or recruiter.
The process to parse, evaluate, and route an applicant is nearly instantaneous.
Parser Pitfalls
One of the major formatting errors that “confuse” parsers are nested job. Parsers choke on nested jobs (progressively promoted or otherwise). Every job needs a company, title, and date.
Nested jobs with aggregate tenure or people who have been promoted within one company. It will be interpreted as the date range of the first job. Working with an executive resume writing firm can be a great way to make sure your resume passes through these initial firewalls.
What the Research Shows
At Resume Footprint, we researched hundreds of Chief Technology Officer job postings and found a specific list of keywords most frequently used by employers when creating their vacancy announcements.
These high-demand skills are required after by recruiters and hiring managers. Although each technology position is different, top CTO resumes and LinkedIn profiles leverage this list of effective keywords to get noticed.
And Now…The List
Below is the list of keywords featured on the top CTO resumes. Spend some time with your resume and LinkedIn profile to make sure you’re incorporating them in a prioritized fashion. You can rest assured that your top competitors certainly are.
Agile Methodologies
Architecture
Budgeting
Business Process Improvement
Change Management
Cloud Computing
Consulting
CRM
Databases
Digital Transformation
Enterprise Architecture
Integrations
IT Operations
IT Strategy
Process Improvement
Product Development
Program Management
Project Management
Security
Software Development
Software Engineering
Solution Architecture
Strategy
Team Leadership