How to Write a Software Developer CV

As experienced jobseekers will have discovered, the most important step on the road to landing a job is to write that killer CV that gets you noticed in the first place. However, in a competitive industry like software development that prioritises specialised technical knowledge, some of the traditional rules for CVs do not work very well. Here are some tips to help you adjust your CV to the software development market.

Firstly, limit your CV to one page. Due to the competitive nature of the software development industry, a recruiter will review hundreds of candidates for a single position. A concise CV can help to make a great first impression. Anything longer than a page can give the impression of a candidate who lacks focus. Furthermore, customise your CV depending on the job you are applying for. A tailormade CV avoids the ‘lowest common denominator’ accusation.

Traditional resume formats often include information that is not necessary for a recruiter in software development. These include the summary. There is no way of providing an overview of your experience in software engineering that is both accurate and shorter than the CV itself. A concise description of project experience and skills will place you in a better position. As software developer and entrepreneur Elliot Loh writes, “Your future co-workers are trying to imagine you filling an open spot on their team. Provide narratives that illustrate what that would be like. Since most companies divide work into projects, describe some that have been meaningful to you”.

Pay attention to formatting. In particular, stick to common typefaces such as Calibri or Helvetica. Publishing your CV in multiple formats also helps, as you will want to forward your CV to many recruiters. Microsoft Word and PDF are standard, but you might also consider an online TXT version as well. The idea is to be open to as many potential recruiters as possible. A CV that is too dense is off-putting, and this can be an issue when you are trying to squeeze as much information as possible about yourself in as few pages as possible. It is something to be aware of.

Finally, make sure to get across your love of programming, and play up your hobbies. If you have contributed to open source projects, include them.Following these basic steps will put you in a better position to get that dream job in programming.

Adam Watson

Source:  https://www.quora.com
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