When it comes to looking for your next job your CV is critical. It is your first impression, so it is important to make sure it is a good one. Every CV is different, but it is beneficial to tailor yours to the sector you are looking to work in and stand out from the crowd.
Frontier Technology has a combined experience of over 15 years in the Tech industry and is here to help you create a top CV perfect for landing your next role in Tech or IT.
1. Start with the good stuff
A well-known statistic states that a person who's reviewing your CV will only spend 7-10 seconds reading it before making up their mind. It is incredibly important to start with the good stuff first. Your CV is your personal marketing document, and you need to sell yourself to secure an interview. Use the job description as a guide of things to include in your summary. It needs to highlight your main experiences, skills and tech-related certificates and qualifications.
In your summary include your highest technical qualifications, your greatest strengths, which accompany the technical job you will be applying for, your years’ experience and an overview of this experience, and your most impressive tech-related achievements.
A good structural guide for your CV is as follows:
- Personal summary
- Work experience including achievements in the role
- Key skills & competencies
- Academic qualifications and certificates
Use a clear, clean CV design and include clear headings on your CV for the potential employer to easily skim and pick out relevant information which they are looking for.
2. Do not neglect your other abilities
Whilst you are applying for a technical or IT-based role, it is important to not neglect your other abilities. One main ability should be attention to detail with your grammar and punctuation. This demonstrates to an employer that you can communicate well, which is important at all levels and areas of business. Your CV needs to focus on your technical skills but with IT being crucial in the wider business operations, it is critical to be able to simplify and explain processes and terms to get your point across to non-tech professionals within the company. Show you can do this by having an error-free, well-communicated CV. Programmes like Grammarly can help with spelling and grammar checks on your CV.
It is also beneficial to include other personal skills on your CV. Look at the responsibilities on the job description you are applying for. You can then use this as a guide. Include the generic skills like time management, reliability, and interpersonal skills as these skills are very much desired in the tech industry.
3. Include a technical summary
An effective way of highlighting your technical ability is to include a technical summary in your CV. This will be the part the employer looks at the most, so make sure you spend time getting it right. Only include the skills you plan on using in your next role and list your key technologies at the top.
Many people make the mistake of just listing their work experience instead of focusing on the direct role that they have had in the company and the key achievements they have had working there. Talk about your projects, whether it be at university, voluntary work, or employment and the impact that these had.
Things you expect to see in a technical summary:
Technical certificates
Technical qualifications
Operation systems
Programming and other languages
Hardware
Networking
Web applications
If you have extensive experience or knowledge to discuss in this summary, try and trim it down and break it down into sections for easier reading. Be sure to include your number of years of experience and level of competency at the beginning of this section.
4. Mention training and courses
Your personal development is incredibly important. Not only does it show you know, but the passion and motivation to use your time to develop your skills. If you are looking for a job in tech and lack the experience, training and courses that can make you stand out.
With the current tech skills shortage, employers are now more open than ever to investing in training for employees. If they already see you have an interest in training and developing your skills this may allow you to gain an advantage over the other candidates. List your training and courses starting with the most recent and work your way back but ensure they remain relevant to the industry you are applying for.
5. Tailor your CV
It can be tempting to use the same generic CV for all jobs when searching for a role. Although this is far less time consuming it is not the most successful method. Read and understand the job specification before then using the requirements, skills and experience needed from the specification, to tailor your CV. Avoid lying on your CV but showcase the skills that you may have the company is looking for.
If the company is looking for key technologies, explain your achievements gained from using these. The job market will always be competitive, and recruiters and companies can receive, on average, up to 50 applications per role. Tailoring your CV is worth the effort.
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