Technology plays an important in role in the workplace, and it doesn’t look like the demand for tech professionals will be reducing any time soon. If you’re looking to land a top tech role, competition can be high, so it pays to have a CV that makes you stand out from the crowd and clearly demonstrates the value you can add to an employer’s business.
In your tech CV, it’s your responsibly not only to display your technical abilities, but to show how you apply them effectively in the workplace, and describe the positive changes you drive.
1. Start with a logical structure
Many tech candidates make the mistake of turning their CV into a list of all the software, tools and programming languages they have ever used – this doesn’t make for easy reading, and doesn’t give readers a clear picture of your impact.
Use a simple clean font, clearly divide the sections of your CV and write in plain English so that all non-technical staff and recruiters can understand your message.
To create a CV that is easy for readers to digest and pick out key information, the following structure will work best:
- An introductory profile at the top to grab recruiters’ attention and highlight in-demand skills.
- A bullet-pointed core skills section under the profile to provide a snapshot of technical knowledge and skills.
- Roles structured with short sharp bullet points to provide a quick and easy reading experience.
2. Sell yourself with an impactful intro
Head your CV up with a short punchy introductory profile that gives a high-level overview of your skills, experience, knowledge, and what they key benefits you deliver to employers are. For example, if you are web designer, you need to outline your design skills and tools that you use, and explain how those skills help your employer to improve their customer experience and generate more sales.
Before writing your CV, you should do some thorough research to identify the most sought-after attributes in your field, and then ensure you reflect them in your profile. This will create the perfect first impression when your CV is opened by recruiters or hiring managers.
3. Keep technologies updated
As a tech professional, it stands to reason that your CV should contain much evidence of your technical know-how. However, you need to regularly review your CV and ensure that you’re including the most up-to-date and popular technologies if you want it to show up in recruiter searches and get past ATS scanning systems.
You should also keep your technical skills relevant, and only include those that are important to the roles you are applying for – extensive lists of your entire technical skill set can dilute your message and force your CV to become too long.
4. Demonstrate your non-IT skills
Being a technical expert is great, but you need a whole host of non-technical skills to contribute to an employer effectively. For example, you may need to secure funding for an essential IT upgrade, or you may need to report on the benefits of a new database implementation. Give plenty of examples of your wider skills such as communication, stakeholder management and leadership in your CV this will prove that you have the ability to make a wider impact outside of the IT department. Understanding how technology impacts business, and being able to drive positive change through IT, is a powerful selling point for your tech CV
5. Include metrics
Many candidates make bold claims of their technical abilities, but very few back them up with proof. Use facts and figures to provide clear-cut evidence of the impact you have made in your previous technology roles. Use metrics throughout your CV, such as the following:
- Leading a £10m public sector project and a team of 25 staff.
- Relocating 200 desktops and upgrading 2 internal database systems.
- Supporting 5,000 users and responding to requests with 1 hour.
Including numbers with widely recognisable scales, such as monetary figures and timescales, gives recruiters an easy way to understand your level of seniority, and benchmark you against other candidates.
