We read thousands of tech CVs a year. The ones that get interviews aren't the longest or the most designed. They make it easy for a busy hiring manager to see, quickly, that you can do the job.
Start with a short profile
Two or three lines at the top: what you do, the technology you're strongest in and the kind of role you want next. For example: "Back-end engineer with six years building payment systems in Python and Go on AWS. Looking for a senior role in a product team."
Show impact, not just duties
"Responsible for the API" tells a reader very little. "Rebuilt the orders API, cutting response times by 40% and supporting a move to 2 million requests a day" tells them what you achieved and at what scale. Aim for one or two results like this for each recent role.
Put the stack in context
A long list of logos at the top of the page is hard to trust. Mention technologies where you used them, so a reader can see how recently and how deeply. Keep a short skills section too, grouped sensibly (languages, frameworks, cloud, tools), because recruiters and applicant tracking systems search for keywords.
Keep it to two pages
- Give your last five to seven years the most detail. Earlier roles can be a line each.
- Use a clean, single-column layout. Fancy templates often break when they're read by software.
- Save it as a PDF or Word document with a sensible file name, such as "Jane-Smith-CV.pdf".
Link to your work
A GitHub profile, portfolio, published app or technical blog can do a lot of the talking for you. Only link to things you're happy for a hiring manager to explore.
Tailor it, a little
You don't need a new CV for every role. A few minutes moving the most relevant projects and skills up the page for each application makes a real difference.
Want a second opinion?
Our consultants offer free CV reviews for the people we work with. Send us your CV and we'll tell you honestly how it reads to a hiring manager in your field.
