How To Write A Great Software Engineer CV

CONTEXT

  • Your CV is a ticket to an interview. It's not an autobiography. It's a highlight reel.

  • Its purpose is to provide stimulus for a deeper conversation around the value you can bring to a company and its customers/users.

  • The theme throughout should be linking the micro (your core responsibilities) to the macro (quantifiable business outcomes).

START

  • Choose a clean template. Try Resume.io's 'Sydney' or 'Moscow'.

  • Minimise bias - there’s no need for a photo.

  • Write with your eraser. Aim for 1 page. Keep to 2 pages max.

PROFILE

  • A few sentences describing you. Avoid clichés. Inject some personality.

    👎 "An experienced, self-motivated, hard-working, team-player. "

    👍 "An ops-minded software engineer who loves building robust products. I get satisfaction from error-free logs, green dashboards, and happy customers. I have 5 years experience working with AWS and Node.js, building distributed products at scale."

EMPLOYMENT

  • Use bullets. Focus on business achievements. Validate with data.

    👎 "Implemented A/B tests"

    👍 "Implemented A/B tests that saw a 100% uplift in conversions to premium subscriptions"

    👎 "Lead delivery of new video publication tool"

    👍 "Lead delivery of new video publication tool, which decreased time spent to publish a video from 45m to <5m"

    👎 "Introduced new design system"

    👍 "Introduced new multi-brand design system (React, CSS, Storybook) for a major UK bank, which saved them £5m over 2 years"

  • No need for a Skills section - they lack context. Factor tech in to your role instead.

    👎 Skills: React, TypeScript, Node.js, AWS

    👍 "Developed new server-side rendered articles for mobile apps, which reduced average deployment time from 1 week to 10 minutes (React, TypeScript, Node.js, AWS)"

EDUCATION

  • Simply state your highest qualification(s), what institution(s) you studied at, plus any other academic details you're proud of.

    👍 Bachelor's degree in Computer Science (1st Class), University of Reading, 2015. Awarded scholarship for academic excellence. Chair of CS diversity committee.

    👍 Makers Academy, 2015. Intensive 12-week coding bootcamp focused on the fundamentals of OOP (JavaScript, Ruby), TDD, pairing, and agile methods. Subsequently, an alumni helper.

OTHER

  • Share the side projects, hobbies, talks, courses, and interests you’d feel comfortable talking about in greater depth if brought up in an interview.

  • Add your GitHub, Stack Overflow, Medium etc only if you have stuff to showcase.

FINALLY

  • Hyperlink wherever possible. This saves words and prompts reader engagement.

  • Save in PDF. Title "First Name Last Name (CV)".

  • Have someone review. Welcome honest, constructive critique. Iterate.

AN OK CV LOOKS LIKE THIS

😐 Jon's OK CV.pdf 😐

A GREAT CV LOOKS LIKE THIS

🤩 Jon's Great CV.pdf 🤩

HAPPY WRITING

Check out my good friend Maria’s brilliant resume advice for deeper context on why this all matters.

Also, thanks to Bruno for lending me his fantastic Profile example.

workonomics, jonJon Salterworkonomics, jon