Starting a Computer Science resume from scratch is an intimidating task. However if you have a method to work through it may make your life just that tiny bit easier.

All the excitement of applying for a great job new job is soon forgotten when you realise you need to update your resume.

If you stick to a process you’ll find it a bit easier to get started. In this article I’m going to cover four main things you need to do to create a Computer Science resume. Are you ready, let’s get cracking!

A Brainstorming Session

The fastest way to start writing a resume is think about all the places you’ve worked and jobs you’ve done. At this early time in the process you can just go nuts randomly writing down ideas as they come to you, the important thing is that you don't stop if you're on a roll. Here are some ideas of things to write about:

-Size of the projects, systems, tools, products you’ve managed or worked on

-Amount of money you’ve handled

-Any major wins or accomplishments

You can make this process easier by grabbing a note pad writing a one line on the page and ripping it off. Either way, when you’re done your left with a pile of ideas.

Ordering The Mess

A modern resume lists your work experience in reverse order, that is, it starts with your most recent job and works backwards. Now its a simple matter of organising all the random stuff you created in brainstorming. Simply start ordering everything in chronological order. If you used the note pad method you can simply order the pages into career order.

If you have worked for many years consider covering the last 7 years only.

Tweaking The Content

Now that you’ve “brainstormed” and “ordered” your resume content you can tweak. You should now have a list of all your work experience in reverse order. Now it’s time to make it shine. Here are a few tweaks you can make:

-Use Computer Science Keywords - Be sure to throw industry keywords into your resume

-Start each work experience section with Company and Role

-Use clear section divisions to break up the text.

-Make sure each line is easily readable

Presenting The Gold

Cut through all the pain of correcting formatting, bullet styles and text formatting. A big secret to getting your resume submitted quickly is to use a modern resume template. A template ensures you’re submitting in a format that’s current, saves you time and ensures your resume will looks its best. One tip however would be to make certain you get a resume template from somebody who has got employment recently and not in 1997.

By following the brainstorming, ordering, tweaking and presenting methodology you find its easier to start or update your resume which get' s you applying for jobs quicker.

Author's Bio: 

Justin is a former KPMG Manager, advisor to the Australian Department of Defence and Hewlett Packard consultant. As a manager and employer Justin can help you jump ahead of the pack with your computer science resume visit http://computerscienceresume.net/ to see suggestions for resume templates, tips and tricks