By J.M. Auron ACRW. Expert IT Resume Writer—Providing Professional IT Resume Writing Services for More than 15 Years.
First published December 2011 / updated December 2025
Technical Competencies: Strategies for Tech Leaders and Tech Executives
December 2025 Update:
When I first wrote this article, I advocated including technical competencies in IT leadership resumes and IT executive resumes pretty frequently.
I don’t do that now—and haven’t for some time. There are a number of reasons for that; below are some of the most critical:
IT leadership has become significantly more strategic, significantly more business focused, than a decade and a half ago—so it’s more likely that technical competencies will be a distraction rather than a benefit.
IT leaders and IT executives are far less hands-on than they were a decade ago—so the technical competencies just aren’t as relevant.
When 3-page resumes were common, there was space to include tools (even if those were the tools used by a team). Now that 2-page resumes are standard, there’s less room to maneuver, and space can be better used (in most cases), by other things than a list of technical competencies.
With that said, I thought it worth posting a revised version of the original blog for two reasons:
First, there are times when an IT leader or IT executive does need to include technical competencies, so I wanted to expand on current best practice. In my opinion, if the job is in a very new, emerging technology or if the role is as a very technical CTO at a start-up? Then technical skills really can make a difference and need to be included.
Second, there are also IT leaders who still include technologies and tools when they’re unnecessary.This is pretty common. IT leaders who have been using versions of the same resume for a long time may keep the skills section when it’s no longer needed. Others may “default” to technical skills because they’re less confident in business skills. In either case, it’s probably better to leave the technical competencies out of your IT leadership resume or IT executive resume.
If you are one of the (increasingly rare) IT leaders who does need technical competencies in your resume, I hope you’ll find this helpful. If, on the other hand, you’ve been holding on to the skills sections for too long, it may be time to consider omitting it.
In my previous blog, I discussed 4 effective strategies to present—and leverage—technical competencies individual contributors seeking a hands-on technical role. In this follow-up article, I'd like to address strategies to communicate your technical competencies in you IT leadership resume or IT executive resume.
Technical expertise remains important at a more senior level - but technical expertise needs to play a supporting—not a primary—role in your IT leadership resume or IT executive resume.
All IT resumes—from developer to CTO—need to focus on CAR / Challenge / Action / Results. Duties and responsibilities remain relatively similar for similar jobs at the same career level, so it’s your achievements that make you stand out.
But when you move into a leadership role, the need to demonstrate results grows exponentially—so technology no longer takes the center stage on your IT leadership or IT executive resume.
Here are a few thoughts on the most effective approaches to integrate technical competencies into your IT leadership resume.
1) Don't lead with your Technical Competencies:
As an IT Manager, IT Director, VP of IT, or CIO / CTO / CISO, your value proposition revolves around the strategies you use to effectively integrate technology with strategic business objectives. Metrics—increased efficiency, reduced cost, and streamlined operation—are primary. So focus your career summary on the ways you deliver business value. The go straight into your IT leadership or IT executive experience. A technical competencies sections on an IT leadership or IT executive resume is out of place, shows too much focus on tools and not enough on results—and makes you look much lower level than you actually are.
2) Position Technologies at the End of the Document
When a technical skills are needed in an IT leadership resume or IT executive resume, they’re supporting information. So if the information needs to be available, it’s critical that technologies and tools not distract from crucial achievements so the end of page 2 is often the best fit. That enables you to present the technical competencies that really matter, that are clear differentiators, without distracting from the main flow of the resume.
3) Streamline Technical Core Competencies:
While a Developer would be well served to include a comprehensive list of tools and technologies, at a more senior level, it's better to cut back to the essentials. Organize the Technologies clearly, include the most critical in today's market, and keep the technical competencies to a few lines.
Please do get in touch to discuss how I craft the best IT resumes in the business—and how I can help you take the next step in your IT career.