I Hope You Don't Have To Write a CV. But if You Do, Follow These Tips

07 Oct 2024 #interview #career

CVs are so last century.

I hope I don’t have to write a CV anymore. I hope you don’t either.

A personal brand is the new CV and portfolio.

But since you’re reading this one, probably you still need to write a CV. I wish it won’t end up in the dumpsters behind a company careers page. I’ve tried that route with zero results.

More than once, some friend or ex-coworker has asked me to take a look at his CV. I’ve asked them too.

I realized I had already given (and received) the same tips about CVs. These are five tips I always give to write better CVs as software engineers.

1. Keep Your CV to Only One Page

These days of endless scrolling on TikTok, nobody has time and attention to read more than that.

Make it easy for people to review your CV. More than two pages are too long.

Imagine your CV is a business card in a A4 page. You only have one or two minutes to introduce yourself in a business card. Do the same in a CV.

Keep font size, spaces, and borders consistent.

2. Don’t Include a Photo, Marital Status, National ID, or Other Personal Information

Only add your professional email and LinkedIn profile, or any other social media profile to showcase your expertise. GitHub, Medium, dev.to handles work too.

I even skip phone numbers. You don’t want strangers calling or texting you in the middle of the night for a “life changing opportunity at a well-know company in the tech sector.”

You will be asked for personal information once you’re hired, not before.

And only include your city and country if you’re applying for a position that requires being in a particular location. Don’t put your home address either.

3. Don’t Add Every Single Experience Since You Started Working

Use your most recent experience. The last five years, for example.

And, include only the experience relevant to the job you’re applying for. Don’t add the unrelated part-time job you had in your first year at university.

4. Don’t Include a Cloud of Keywords, Languages, or Library Names

Stars or years working with a language don’t mean expertise.

Probably, you’re riding a bike since you’re 4 or 5, but it doesn’t give you a place in the Tour de France. It’s the same with years of experience with a language or tool. What does five years with XML mean?

Instead, describe what you did and what accomplishments you made in your previous jobs. Use numbers in your job descriptions.

For example, “I wrote an order processing component that scaled up to X orders per month by…“ instead of “C#/ASP.NET Core/SQL Server.” Somebody reading your CV would wonder what you did with those tools.

A bunch of names by themselves mean nothing.

5. Skip Fancy Lines Like “Honest, Hard-Working, Team Player”

Everybody uses the same buzzwords.

“Team player,” “detail-oriented,” and “enthusiast” only take extra space in your single-page CV. Do you still remember tip 1, right? And guess what? Everybody desperate for a job is a detail-oriented enthusiast team player who like to work under pressure in their CV.

Instead of fancy lines, describe in a paragraph what you do and how you can help your next employer.

Voilà! Five tips as promised. Remember recruiters, technical managers, and CTOs will read your CV looking for different information, not only a cloud of languages and libraries.

A CV is to start an interview process. Keep it short and to the point. Be clear. “If you confuse, you lose.”

If you’re interested in more interview preparation material, check these interview types and tips, three interviewing lessons after applying at a FAANG, and follow these ten tips to solve your next take-home coding exercises.

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Happy coding!