The Chief Technology Officer, or CTO, of an organization must be able to oversee the development, implementation, and support of all aspects of the technologies within the organization, from providing effective technical solutions to ensuring clients’ requirements are met in all deliverables.
It’s a position with a lot of responsibility – the IT Department depends on the Chief Technology Officer to ensure that projects, and by extension, all operations, run smoothly and remain productive. As such, a qualified resume can be difficult to craft.
But you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find out how to write an interview-winning Chief Technology Officer resume, including some tips and tricks, and even an example CTO resume, to get you ready for business!
How to write a resume
Several factors go into a resume that land in the hands of a hiring manager and, from there, wows them. First, your resume has to pass those frustrating employer applicant tracking systems, otherwise known as an ATS, which means it needs to be ATS-friendly. Once your resume gets past the ATS, it then needs to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.
Here are some tips to help you tackle these tasks.
Write with an ATS in mind
Most employers use an applicant tracking system to screen candidates and build efficiencies into their hiring practices. If your resume can’t be read by an ATS, or the ATS doesn’t believe it’s relevant, then it will likely be rejected.
What does that mean?
It means that, even if you’re qualified, your resume won’t be seen by a human reader, and you don’t want that!
Here are some considerations for creating an ATS-friendly resume:
Use a reverse chronological format in most instances, since it’s the format most easily read by an ATS. The bonus here is that most hiring managers also prefer it.
Don’t include information in the header or footer or your resume. An ATS can’t read these areas.
Use plenty of keywords throughout your resume based on your experience and skills that align with the job description.
Use standard naming conventions for section headings. You might confuse the ATS if you try to be creative.
Avoid including graphs, images, and tables as applicant tracking systems can’t parse these correctly.
Only use acronyms that you’re confident are typical for your industry. In most instances, it’s best to use the acronym and also spell out the abbreviation to ensure the ATS picks it up in at least one of those instances.
Run your resume through a free ATS resume checker.
Select the best format
There are three resume formats commonly used for US resumes:
Reverse chronological
Functional
Hybrid
You’ll want to select the best format for your circumstances. In most instances, your safest bet will be to go with the reverse chronological format. As mentioned previously, it’s the most easily read by ATS software and the version most liked by recruiters and hiring managers.
Another benefit of the reverse chronological version is that your most recent experience is listed first, which is considered the most relevant to hiring managers. In other words, hiring managers will see what they’re most interested in at the top.
Incorporate a strong resume summary
Your resume summary follows your contact information at the top of your Chief Technology Officer resume. The goal of a summary is to capture the attention of the reader so they can learn more about you and what you can bring to the table for their team. You want your summary to pack a punch by incorporating the most important elements from your resume in terms of experience, knowledge, and skills.
Include relevant competencies
Following your resume summary, include a list of 10 to 15 core competencies that show you have the knowledge to get the job done. The Core Competencies section generally includes the hard skills you possess.
Be sure to include all of the core competencies you have that are outlined in the job description. This will stand out to the hiring managers and also show that you have the relevant skills necessary during ATS scans.
Adhere to standard margins, spacing, and fonts
You want your Chief Technology Officer resume to look coherent and consistent throughout. Choose standard margins and line spacing that adhere to what resume readers are accustomed to seeing.
Also, use a resume-friendly font type and size. Your font size should be 10 to 14, based on the type of font you select. Some resume-friendly font types include:
Verdana
Trebuchet
Times New Roman
Tahoma
Helvetica
Garamond
Calibri
Arial
Use standard naming conventions
When you use unconventional section headings in your resume, you might confuse an ATS. Also, if you want hiring managers to quickly find the information that shows you have what it takes to succeed on the job, it's best to go with what's standard vs. trying to be creative. That means using the following naming conventions for your resume sections:
Work Experience or Relevant Work Experience
Education
Certification
Technical Skills
Awards
Publications
You’ll definitely include a Work Experience and Education section following your contact information and resume summary sections. The additional sections listed above can be included based on your unique circumstances.
Chief Technology Officer Resume Example
How confident do you feel about your resume? If you need more help, you can always refer to the following Chief Technology Officer resume sample for a position.
Name
Title
City, State or Country if international
Phone | Email
LinkedIn URL
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER PROFESSIONAL
Solutions-orientated Chief Technology Officer highly regarded for more than 15 years of progressive experience developing, implementing and supporting complex infrastructures and technical solutions for leaders in the XXX industry. Superior expertise with development methodologies, developer supervision and client relations. Motivational and influential project manager, providing effective leadership in fast-paced, deadline driven environments. Track record of surpassing goals and expectations for quality, schedule and cost while implementing leading-edge IT solutions. Out-of-the-box thinker who thrives in collaborative environments, working across business and technical teams to increase profits and reduce costs through continuous improvements and strategic IT infrastructure planning.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Full Life Cycle Development
Budgetary Oversight/ P&L
Software Analysis & Design
Object Oriented Technology
Application Development
Program Management
E-commerce & Websites
Process Improvement
Training
Manager/ Leader Enterprise Wide Systems
Technical Solutions
Project Leadership
Six Sigma Methodology
Change Management
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Chief Technology Officer
PATTON CORPORATION | VENICE, FL | 2007 TO PRESENT
Responsibilities
Provide strong leadership and effective interdepartmental communication to effectively meet or exceed all project timelines and budgetary goals.
Serve as a liaison between operations and information technology (IT) to identify and drive implementation of solutions and resolve issues surrounding the complex deployment of international platforms.
Consistently implement programs that result in substantial cost savings while improving and modernizing technology infrastructure to better serve customer needs.
Provide hands-on project management and served as a key member of the technology strategy team specializing in framework architecture.
Define business process, application, and technology requirements for multiple applications across all business units.
Facilitate communications and negotiate with team members to build alignment between business and technology groups.
Understand core business processes and identified technologies to support and enhance operations.
Focused primarily on the development of tools for knowledge management, workflow, document & content management, search, and web-based collaboration.
Managed multiple projects and initiatives throughout the entire project life cycle; held full responsibility for project staffing, design/architecture, modeling, budgeting, and execution.
Spearheaded the development and enhancement of a secure communication portal.
Global leader in management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing dedicated to helping business and governmental clients maximize their performance.
Consulted directly with clients as a senior technical architect to design and implement new technologies.
Shared best practices and systems architecture knowledge with line consultants to improve project outcomes.
Performed technology audits to ensure clients took advantage of best methodologies and tools to meet business objectives.
Generated full budget and work plan for development and implementation of the technical infrastructure.
Partnered with business sponsors and technical groups to identify business functionality and processes for the site and determine best technologies to expand current capabilities.
Led a team of 5 technical architects to upgrade to an existing imaging system within a document management application.
Generated project plans and ensured that strict timelines and budgetary goals were successfully met.
Developed short- and long-term strategies to address client needs and unique market requirements.
Led a cross functional team of XX members, managing career development, training initiatives and mentoring toward advancement.
Coordinated with product managers and development teams to implement new features and product extensions.
Maximized efficiency in a constantly evolving environment where the process is fluid and creative solutions are the norm.
EDUCATION
Complete School Name, City, St/Country: List Graduation Years If Within the Last Ten Years
Complete Degree Name (Candidate) – Major (GPA: List if over 3.3)
Relevant Coursework: List coursework taken (even include those you are planning on taking)
Awards/Honors: List any awards, honors or big achievements
Clubs/Activities: List clubs and activities in which you participated
Relevant Projects: List 2-3 projects you have worked on
Key hard & soft skills for a Chief Technology Officer
Any standout Chief Technology Officer resume will include ample relevant skills for the job. Don't just showcase hard skills, but also incorporate the soft skills necessary to succeed. Of course, you only want to list the hard and soft skills you possess.
Below are lists of hard and soft skills you might find on a Chief Technology Officer resume.
Chief Technology Officer resume hard skills
Here are some of the hard skills you might find on a Chief Technology Officer resume:
Full Life Cycle Development
Budgetary Oversight/P&L
Software Analysis & Design
Object Oriented Technology
Application Development
Program Management
E-commerce & Websites
Process Improvement
Training
Manager/Leader Enterprise Wide Systems
Technical Solutions
Project Leadership
Six Sigma Methodology
Change Management
Infrastructure Development
Development Life Cycle
Quality Assurance
Process Improvement
Workflow Management
Budget Management
Imaging Systems
Chief Technology Officer resume soft skills
Soft skills might not be easily measurable like hard skills are, but an employer knows if you have them or not. The following soft skills are common skills highlighted – typically in the resume summary and work accomplishments areas – of a Chief Technology Officer resume.
Leadership
Interpersonal
Communication
Detail-oriented
Analytical
Time management
Organization
Problem-solving
Adaptability
Collaboration
Teamwork
Conflict Resolution
Summary & last words
Writing a resume to pass an ATS and land in the hands of a hiring manager takes a lot of effort. The next step of wowing the hiring team takes additional effort. Fortunately, it's not rocket science. You'll already be one step ahead of the competition by using the tips above and referring to the Chief Technology Officer resume example.
And if you still need support or don't have the time to write your own resume, you have the option of hiring a team of resume writers to help.
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