An IT manager leads the IT department of an organization or company. They are responsible for the company’s electronics, computer networks, and systems, including the quality of their performance, upkeep, and administration. If an IT manager is your career goal, you will find a great guide below to help you build an IT manager resume to help you get a job.
Let’s begin by looking at the three effective resume types, each created depending on the applicant’s experience.
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Job Duties of an IT Manager
Along with guiding the IT team and managing the company’s networks and information systems, the IT manager has other roles and responsibilities to fulfill including:
Conducting network and data security checks regularly.
Designing, developing, and implementing IT policies, best practices, and procedures conduct system audits regularly.
Creating operation system reports to ensure projects finish on time and within budget.
Recruiting, training, and coaching other II personnel, including software and hardware engineers.
Ensuring all IT team members understand their job expectations.
Reviewing IT team member performance.
Organizing training sessions, including workshops, seminars, or lightning talks, to advance their teams’ technical and soft skills.
Managing annual IT budgets, guaranteeing cost-effectiveness.
Troubleshooting internal network, hardware, and software issues.
Singling out problem areas and applying strategic solutions on time.
Communicating with vendors for IT-related products and services, establishing a strategic relationship.
IT Manager Median Salaries
IT managers can earn a salary of $88,768 annually, according to PayScale. The average salary of an IT manager at the entry level would be around $64,464. In contrast, senior-level IT managers with more than 20 years’ experience can usually earn around $100,567, on average.
Top Skills for IT Managers
To be a successful IT manager, you need to have a combination of technical and soft skills. Here are the top abilities IT managers should possess:
- Quality assurance: An IT manager must establish and conduct quality assurance practices to ensure products and services developed by the IT department are reliable and fit for use. Some of the responsibilities include creating a robust testing environment, forming a team for security and performance testing, fixing bugs, and replicating customer accounts in the production environment. Completing quality assurance certifications like CMMI level, Test Maturity Model, and ISO 9000 are usually helpful to get your skills up to speed.
- Infrastructure planning awareness: Infrastructure planning is essential because it helps companies improve their service quality and reduces operations costs. Part of the job in infrastructure includes evaluating software, hardware, data center management, support needs, and vital personnel leaves room for new opportunities and innovations, a common expectation in IT.
- Project management proficiency: Strong project management skills are crucial as an IT manager as you function as the leader of all the projects in an organization. From the beginning of the project to its completion, you have to take care of tasks such as managing the budget, assigning responsibilities to team members, and troubleshooting any issues. You must ensure that the project stays within the budget and finishes on time, without any errors. This is why an IT manager also requires leadership, communication skills, and time management skills.
- Cybersecurity framework expertise: An IT manager has to ensure that a robust cybersecurity framework is in place to protect the data and the system of the organization from unauthorized usage and other malicious activities. The cybersecurity framework also ensures that there are no network failure issues, thus enhancing productivity. IT managers should know about operating systems and basic programming concepts, like file and memory management, to develop and manage a robust cybersecurity framework. Certifications like Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) would also be an additional bonus.
- Technical troubleshooting management: Technical issues are part of the IT industry. It is imperative to address them to ensure that productivity is not impacted. The IT manager has to build a troubleshooting tool to deal with all kinds of technical problems while also customizing team drills in case troubleshooting issues occur. Apart from this, you also must screen and hire suitable candidates for the technical support team and provide them with the required training.
- Data management skills: Data is considered the backbone of modern businesses, and as an IT manager, you need to ensure that data management is done accurately and efficiently. You have to gather the relevant information and analyze the data to identify potential problems or trends. You also must report data to senior management. For data management, courses such as Executive PG Program in Data Science or a certification in Data Management and Analytics can be helpful.
Educational Requirements for IT Managers
Degree
IT managers should have a bachelor’s degree in information technology or computer science. You can tackle these programs at institutions like the University of Texas, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of California. During their studies, students of Information technology or computer sciences learn about the mathematical foundations of computing, introductory electronics, data structures and algorithms, electricity and magnetism, networking, cybersecurity, and database management systems. A bachelor’s degree in IT can give you the chance to work as a web computer analyst, computer programmer, and database administrator.
IT managers should also strive to earn a master’s degree in informational technology and computer science. A master’s program can help you gain a deep insight into core topics like information technology, computational finance, business intelligence, project management and leadership, and information security. It usually takes two years to complete a master’s degree.
As an IT manager works at the managerial level, a management degree would also be helpful to further your career. An MBA in Technology Management or a master’s in IT Management would help you to learn about marketing, operations management, human resources, business integration, planning, and finance, along with technology and innovation. Some of the good options to pursue these courses are Arizona State University and St. Ambrose University.Certifications
There are numerous certifications in the IT field, and each one can further your understanding in the field while also promoting you as a prepared candidate to any employer. These are some of the certifications you can acquire as an IT Manager:
Institutions:- Project Management Institution: If you want to earn a certification to enhance your leadership and business credentials, Project Management Professional (PMP) offers certification to improve your leadership and business credentials. This organization also provides the Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), which acknowledges your agile techniques.
- Scrum Alliance: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) offers courses and certification in scrum or agile and efficient work techniques.
- ISACA: Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) offers preparation for individuals interested in becoming IT advisors for enterprises. If you want a boost to your technical knowledge and skills, you can also try the Chief Information Security Manager (CISM).
- The Open Group: TOGAF 9 prepares those interested in the association’s principles for Enterprise Architecture.
- PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and The Open Group’s TOGAF 9.
IT Manager Resume-Writing Tips
Check out some essential resume-writing tips below that will help you to write a picture-perfect IT manager resume.
- Focus on your professional summary: A professional summary is a paragraph made up of only a few sentences summarizing your entire work history. As it is the first thing on your resume, you have to make sure it grabs people’s attention.
- Use action verbs that describe leadership skills like “achieved,” “motivated,” “planned,” and “supervised.”
- Scan through the job description and add the keywords in your resume from it. This ensures your resume is picked by the organization’s ATS or applicant tracking system.
- Quantify your achievements to create a more profound impression.
This is an example of a well-written resume summary:
“Experienced and focused IT manager with 7+ years experience in designing and implementing engineering solutions for organizations and guided my latest team in completing 200+ on-time projects successfully, ensuring 99% customer retention.” - Showcase your certifications: As educational qualifications are pretty crucial in the IT field, highlight them carefully in your resume. Apart from your degrees, you also have to mention all certifications you have earned. Remember that certifications add credibility to your claims of skill expertise to your resume.
- Format your resume: Your resume should be both visually attractive and professional. It is essential to choose a suitable layout and design. Do this by:
- Restricting its length to a page and keeping the design simple.
- Making it visually appealing, using a color other than black to highlight your name at the top.
- Sticking to one font, although you can use different font sizes to highlight the subheadings.
- Ensuring there is a good balance of white space compared to the text so that the resume does not look cluttered.
- Proofreading your resume thoroughly to eliminate errors.
FAQ
What is the job outlook for IT managers?
As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, IT manager jobs are likely to see a 10% increase between 2019 and 2029.
What are the working hours for IT managers?
IT managers typically work five days a week or 40 hours a week. But they often have to work overtime to complete projects or troubleshoot issues.
Are IT managers and IT project managers the same?
No. An IT manager is responsible for building, designing, and delivering the IT services of an organization. In contrast, the IT project manager is usually the head of a team within an organization and is responsible for ensuring on-time completion of projects.