How to Build a Winning CV in Tech
For a few years now tech industry has been occupying a leading position in terms of providing high-paying jobs. However, competition for IT jobs is as high as the pay grade. Many people are aware of that, and, thus, want to create a resume that would make them stand out among the rest.
A technical resume is often not the same as, say, a formal resume: it can differ in format structure, highlights, emphasis, etc. Therefore, if you want some insight on how to create an IT resume that will land you a job offer, keep reading.
What the standout IT resume is about
Here’s what you need into account: IT recruiters go through dozens of resumes daily, and most of them look alike, meaning that candidates might have similar qualifications, skill sets, and experience. The truth is that, resume-wise, the difference between the tech skills of someone who’s been in software engineering for years and someone, who’s just completed a Coursera course is minimal, as is the probability of impressing recruiters with your tech skills.
What will make your resume stand out is:
The achievements produced by your skills 🏆
The narrative or context around your skills 📚
The research on the position and the company 🔍
By identifying what you have achieved or how your skills helped you to do that, you show that not only can you do the work, but having you work for the company will pay off 💪.
The narrative around your hard skills is very important, as it portrays how you put your skills to work. This is how you can make your technical skills stand out. Plus, not all recruiters will be tech-savvy; the context for how your skills help to achieve results will make your resume engaging even if the person reading it doesn’t have in-depth technical knowledge.
Last, but not least, you have to research the position and the company to identify pain points and show that you can address them. It will make your resume as targeted as possible, making you stand out from the general template-like resumes of other candidates.
A “winning” resume layout
Not only the contents of your resume matter, but also how you structure it.
The most appealing layout for your resume can consist of the following sections:
Header 📌
Summary 📝
Experience 💡
Education and/or Certification 🎓
Skills 🔧
Projects and Achievements 🌟
You can additionally include Language proficiency, references, and volunteer work sections.
Header section
In the Header section, you should put your name, address, and contact information for recruiters to be able to reach out to you. Now, these are essential details to put in the header, but you can do even more.
Ninety percent of the time, recruiters will also “research” you, just like you research the company. And they often use social media profiles for this purpose. And instead of them stumbling across your private accounts, provide your professional media right away. It can be LinkedIn, GitHub, or anything of that sort. This way, you guide their research.
The header section usually starts with the position title. Make sure to customize it and make it as close to the position you’re applying for as possible.
Summary
The Summary section should include a brief representation of who you are as a professional.
It should represent the key characteristics of your qualification so that whoever is reading it gets the idea of who you are and what you’ve achieved right from the get-go.
Mention your professional title, your experience, and what you prioritize and focus on in your work.
Experience
The Experience section is the core of your technical resume. If you researched the company (i.e., are they adding new features to the product?), make sure you showcase experience that correlates with the current needs of the project or company.
In general, format your experience as: the title you had on the position + what you’ve achieved + how you did it (by doing what?).
Here, you should also research the keywords for the position you’re applying for and incorporate them into your resume, especially in the Experience section.
Education and/or certification
As for the Education section, it’s better to keep it short and clear like specifying the institution, degree, and field of research; the description of certification follows the same principle.
Skills
The Skills section should include in-demand skills for the position. However, they should be relevant to your experience and up-to-date. Make sure that you are ready to show your technical skills in action, and soft skills during your communication with a recruiter.
A little tip: mention the technology a company you’re applying for uses in the Skills section.
Projects and Achievements
The Projects and Achievements section is much more important than it seems. It can show that you enjoy what you do (since you participated in projects outside of your job), and give hints on your hobbies. Here, we encourage you to put every project you’ve participated in, even if it’s not entirely tech-related.
What they expect to see through your resume
Obviously, companies look for qualified specialists to fill open positions. In this sense, you should, in most cases, cover the basics of the role. Recruiters first want to see if you check the necessary boxes, and they use the following questions to guide them:
Do you have the right qualifications? - Some positions emphasize specific certifications one should have to proceed with the recruiting process. It means that there could be legal regulations regarding the qualifications companies follow to hire someone. It is true that in cases when a person doesn’t have verification or proof of their knowledge, the application might get dismissed. However, if it’s the case for you, don’t get discouraged just yet; apply for positions and try anyway. Employers often put the maximal scope of responsibilities that go with the position. In reality, they might not need them all if the right candidate for them comes along.
Do you have the necessary skills for the role? - This one is a bit less rigid because it is mostly based on your own discernment regarding your skills. Here, you should start with the job description and see whether you can potentially manage the needs the position is aimed to cover. Then recruiters want to make sure that your skills are up-to-date, and that they help you achieve results.
Do you have experience? - Here, everything isn’t black & white. In IT, there are Trainee, Intern, and Junior positions, where they don’t expect you to have years of experience. Plus, no matter the hierarchy, some companies offer in-house training to help a person navigate how things are done within a particular firm. The most important thing to realize is that, when it comes to the tech industry, the desire to learn is one of the most valuable specifications to have.
Achievements. Mostly self-explanatory. However, you should include any kind of achievements in your resume, including those you might deem small, not worthy of attention, or insignificant. It not only shows that you can put your skills to work, but also that you value your time and efforts, and aren’t going to dismiss even the smallest manifestations of your work.
With that said, let’s go further on what a recruiter or an HR specialist looks for in a resume. So how does an HR specialist discern which candidate to follow up with?
They look at how much the candidate wants the position, how driven the person is, how open they are to learning, and whether they are future-oriented.
“Rigidity” and “IT” are rather antonyms. The tech industry is evolving by a month, a week even, thus, a person who isn’t ready and open to learning is unlikely to become the company’s ideal candidate. You are unlikely to impress somebody with technical skills anymore; you need to embody a perspective you have for yourself and showcase the potential you can offer a company.
Dos and don’ts for IT resume
To ensure that your resume will be positively evaluated, consider our dos and don’ts for an IT resume.
Here’s what you don’t want to do ❌:
Copy a job description.
Make your resume long (a recruiter needs to grasp your resume in the shortest time).
Overbear it with graphical content (unless you apply for graphics technology positions - in such cases, choose another resume format).
Include your picture (companies don’t hire for looks).
Overdo keywords-wise (might look unnatural).
Use passive voice.
Here is what you want to do ✅:
Use a template (and the right format).
Tailor your resume to fit each position you’re applying for.
Highlight accomplishments.
Research ATS (Applicant Tracking System) principles.
Include volunteer experience.
Consider writing a cover letter.
Conclusion
A tech CV is a representation of you as a professional, that’s why you should give it your undivided attention 🧐. Carefully crafted resumes have helped many to land jobs with higher compensation, more benefits, and, most importantly, desired positions at reputable companies.
Hope our guide on how to build a winning IT resume came in handy.
And good luck on your job search journey! ❤️
