3 ways to highlight your STEM experience on a resume

How to make your STEM experience stand out

You've only got six seconds to make an impression when your resume reaches a recruiter's desk. But, how can you stand out from the competition as a STEM professional? The simple answer—highlight your STEM experience effectively. Time and time again, candidates ineffectively communicate their experience, skills and potential in resumes. If you want to land a STEM job successfully, it's critical to ensure your knowledge and professional background stand out. Check out these three simple tips to learn how to effectively highlight your STEM experience on your resume:

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1. Focus on hard (technical) skills

Often, job seekers think of resumes as a chronology of their job experiences. However, a resume is the opposite—it's a written, formatted elevator pitch that describes why you are the perfect person for a job. Your STEM resume should be a tailored document showcasing your skills for a specific position. Recruiters must quickly decide whether you're the candidate they need. For STEM roles, you should especially focus on your technological proficiencies or certifications that are relevant to your position. When showcasing your technical skills, consider the following: Distinguish different skill areas in a simple list. Remember less is more. When noting your qualifications, include skills you are highly knowledgeable in, especially those that are relevant to the role. Avoid listing the expected skills required of you. This is a common taboo. With limited space for listing your skill set, don't waste time listing basic proficiencies like Microsoft Office, Windows, Mac, Linux and more. Instead, focus on your technical specializations that set you apart from the competition. Illustrate your proficiency by using keywords strategically. Give employers a clear idea of your proficiencies. Use language like master, expert, proficient or experienced alongside your skill sets to show your knowledge. However, be sure to avoid chart visualizations. Your resume should have a simple layout to reduce issues when submitting your STEM resume through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

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2. Detail your experiences

In the hiring world, skills mean nothing without context. It is vital to provide supplemental information in the experience or employment section of your STEM resume to show your skills in action. Emphasize any technologies you have utilized in your past roles and show how you have used them. Be detailed in the types of projects you took part in, whether it was a civil engineering project in land development or a science group project in college. When providing details about your job experience for STEM, provide proof that you know the skill sets needed for the job. If you are applying for an information security analyst role, it would be preferable to describe related projects you have worked on and highlight the achievements you have made in previous positions with quantifiable data.

Alongside providing details about your experience, it is equally as advantageous to show your work by providing links to relevant resources such as a professional website, your LinkedIn profile or an online portfolio.

Identified emergent vulnerabilities and evaluated risks/threats

Information Security Analyst, Kforce, Inc. 2020 - 2022

WORK EXPERIENCE

3. Show cross-functional capabilities

In today's world, the disciplines of STEM are constantly blurring due to technology advancements and innovation. The gap between science, technology, engineering and math are shrinking, and the job market reflects that. Today, positions often don't just focus on one aspect of STEM; they combine multiple aspects. Because of this, it is important to highlight two or more STEM concepts on your resume. For instance, fintech recently took the financial world by storm with the emergence of mobile banking, blockchain, bitcoin and robot advisors. Now, more than ever, the finance industry desires STEM professionals to help integrate technology to make financial services efficient and accessible. Proficiencies in these areas focus not only on math, but also the application of technology. When highlighting your STEM experience on your resume, be sure to emphasize your familiarity with various disciplines together when applicable. If you are an app developer applying for a blockchain developer role, for example, show your knowledge of ledger accounting technologies and databasing together with programming.

Skills JAVA, Microsoft Office Suite, Java Performance Tuning, Git, SQL, Subversion, Spring Boot, Microservices, RESTful, SOAP, MAC, Windows, Linux

Skills Master: Spring Boot, Microservices, RESTful, SOAP Experienced: Java Performance Tuning, Git, SQL, Subversion

It is also important to note that you should only list skills you can speak to with experience during an interview. The last thing you want is an employer asking you about your familiarity with a skill set listed on your resume that you have only actually dabbled in once or twice.

Monitored events and responded to incidents with 95% resolution rate

Network Security Specialist, ABC Company 2016 - 2020

examples of quantifiable data

Designed company's mobile application to support bitcoin and Ethereum payments

Mobile App Developer, ABC Company June 2021 - August 2022

examples of cross knowledge

WORK EXPERIENCE

Undeniably, resume writing requires work and tremendous effort. STEM job seekers who want their resume noticed by hiring managers should take the necessary precautions to highlight their potential. Doing so will make all the difference in illustrating how you will add value to a prospective employer, ultimately setting you apart from other applicants.

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Designed network vulnerability scan program to mitigate risks by 40%

Improved user experience by 35% through debugging and optimizing applications

Ensured compliance with corporate security policies and adherence to best practices

Assisted in the company-wide initiative to develop formal security programs and policies

Performed analyses of network infrastructure and reported findings with recommendations

Developed backend platform to pull transactions from a cloud database

Improved user experience by 35% through debugging and optimizing applications

Ensured smooth deployment of product release and updates

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