How to Write an IT Director Resume in 8 Steps (With Example)

Updated June 9, 2023

IT directors use specialized technical and business skills to oversee operations and lead an IT department. If you want a job as an IT director, consider preparing a professional resume. Learning how to draft a compelling resume for an IT director job application can increase your chances of success and potentially getting your desired job quickly. In this article, we discuss why writing an IT director resume is important, describe how to draft one, provide a resume template, and share a helpful example of an IT director's resume.

Why write an IT director resume?

Writing an IT director resume can help you outline the skills, qualifications, and experience that make you an excellent fit for the role. IT directors often make technology-related policy decisions, increase the IT department's functionality, advise and counsel clients, implement new technologies, and collaborate with managers from other departments. It's a leadership role that requires specific technical skills and qualifications. Hiring managers typically seek experienced candidates with a solid professional background in the technology field for this role. You can impress hiring managers by writing a resume that effectively showcases your skills, education, and experience needed for the position.

How to draft an IT director resume

Here's a list of steps you can follow in drafting a compelling resume for an IT director application:

1. Review the job description

Consider reviewing the specific IT director job description before drafting your resume. Doing this can help you better understand a prospective employer's expectations for an ideal candidate. Note the keywords in the job description and use them to demonstrate your proficiency throughout your resume. This approach helps you tailor your resume to the specific requirements, showing hiring managers what makes you ideal for the position.

2. Choose a format

Next, you can choose a format to write your resume. Choosing a resume format before you start writing can help guide your writing. It also allows you to showcase your professional strengths effectively to attract a hiring manager's attention. The most effective resume format for a director position is a reverse-chronological resume. This format is helpful for candidates with several years of professional experience and prioritizes work history over other credentials. Here you can list your most recent role at the top, highlighting how you've progressed in your career.

3. Create a header

You can start your resume by creating a header that lists your contact information. List your full name, phone number, e-mail address, city, and province or territory. These details are essential to ensure hiring managers can quickly contact you to schedule an interview or give updates regarding your application status. Consider making your name more noticeable by making it bold or using a font larger than the rest of your resume content. This ensures hiring managers identify and remember your name better, as they may review multiple resumes for the job listing.

4. Write a professional summary

You can write a two to four-sentence professional summary to give an overview of your years of experience, relevant skills and education, notable achievements, and career aspirations. You can include your technology management background and highlights of previous work experience as an IT director. Depending on your work history and career stage, you can use different formats to convey your career highlights.

For example, a summary of qualifications highlights your career accomplishments, awards, and milestones. You can write this introduction to demonstrate your years of industry experience, impressive qualifications, and career development as an IT professional. A professional summary emphasizes your industry-related competencies and technical abilities. This can be helpful if you have experience in various tech fields, as it allows you to focus on how you used your skills to contribute to company goals in your past roles.

5. Describe your relevant work experience

Next, you can list your previous work history. Consider listing two to three of your past roles that directly relate to the IT director role you're seeking. For example, you can mention jobs completed in IT areas, such as systems development or computer programming. Include the job titles, company names, dates worked, and location for each experience you list. You can also use bullet points and action verbs to describe your duties, responsibilities, or accomplishments in each role.

6. Outline your education and training

Outline your academic background, including any degrees earned or training programs completed. Many IT directors have at least a bachelor's degree and advanced degrees, such as a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Consider listing your educational experiences in detail to enable hiring managers to assess your qualifications. This section of the resume shows the potential employer your expertise level and how much training you received before entering the industry.

7. Include your technical and soft skills

Add a list of the technical skills you use in your career as an IT director. Because IT jobs require specialized technological expertise, it's essential to include industry-specific skills to demonstrate your competence to prospective employers. You can feature various IT skills in your resume, but consider limiting them to those directly relevant to the IT director position or listed on the job posting.

Aside from your technical abilities, employers may also want to know the soft skills you used in this leadership role. Consider including soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills, to show potential employers you can collaborate with and lead a team to achieve company goals.

8. Feature an additional section

While this is optional, you can include an additional section in the resume to support your application. This section can list your certifications or industry-related awards. When adding this detail, write the name of the certificate, the issuing organization, and the dates earned. Including this section can help hiring managers understand your interests and qualifications better.

Resume template for an IT director

You can use this template to create a resume for an IT director:

[First name] [Last name], [Degree or certification if applicable] [Phone number] | [E-mail address] | [City], [Province or territory]

Professional Summary
[Two to three sentences that highlight years of experience, relevant skills, education, or certifications and achievements as a professional.]

Experience
(For the most recent role, list five experience items. For previous roles, list three.)
[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [Province or territory]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome, or quantified results.
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [Province or territory]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome, or quantified results.
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

Education
[Degree and major], [Name of school or university]
[City], [Province or territory]

Optional
[Certification name], [Host organization] - [Year completed or expiration date]

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Example of a resume for an IT director

Here's a sample resume for an experienced IT director:

Tyler Park
123-456-7890 | tylerpark@email.com | Toronto, Ontario

Professional Summary

Data-driven director of information technology with over eight years of experience in delivering IT solutions to increase the revenue and performance of organizations. Proven track record of achieving organizational goals by directing multi-million dollar projects and implementing robust solutions.

Work Experience

IT director | March 2018–Current
Capital Systems Consulting | Toronto, Ontario

supervise a team of 22 front-end developers, back-end developers, software testers, and IT support employees
generate over $5 million in initiating projects for the company by providing support and leadership while developing sales opportunities
deliver architectural review, project oversight, and Q&A evaluations of design, development, and blueprint for 10 EPM projects
achieve a 20% ROI on a project by optimizing resources at remote sites and reducing vendors' credits and downtimes
minimize resource bench time by organizing cross-training programs to expand consultants' technology skills, strengthening the company's skill network

IT director, September 2014– March 2018
Golden Tech Company | Toronto, Ontario

designed scorecards to monitor the process of loading files into the data warehouse, improving the company's product turnaround time by 45%
led a cross-functional team of 15 developers to provide data management, mining, analytics, reporting, and business intelligence services
collaborated with the operations team to direct technical development and IT projects to accomplish company goals

Skills
IT project management | Cybersecurity planning | Budget administration | Infrastructure development | Strategic thinking and planning

Education
MSc in Information Technology, University of Colospot Toronto, Ontario
BSc in Computer Science, Dever University Toronto, Ottawa