Here at Dynamic we’ve seen thousands of IT CVs. And we see the same CV mistakes again and again. We offer all the candidates we work with advice on what to include in their CV, how to include it, and exactly what hiring managers want to see.
The way in which recruitment and hiring work has changed in recent years. And if you don’t keep up to date with hiring practices, your carefully written, experience filled CV won’t ever see the light of day. Because while there are more open job vacancies than ever before, with how easy it is to apply, there’s a huge amount of competition. According to research by Zippia, online job vacancies receive 250+ applications on average. But for IT jobs, that rises to 386.
So it’s never been more important that your CV stands out from the rest.
6 CV Tips To Make Your IT CV Stand Out From the Competition
It’s a great time to be looking for your next job, with record high job vacancies here in the UK. But you’re not the only one who’s realised, and there are almost 10 million people in the UK looking for their next job at any one time!
So here’s our 6 top tips that will make your CV stand above the rest and help you take the next step in your career.
1. Identify ‘Keywords’ And Include Them In Your CV
In recent years there has been a rise in the use of automation and screening tools that businesses use to screen applicants’ CVs. These tools save businesses time and money by searching applicants’ CVs for certain ‘keywords’. If these keywords aren’t present, it’s likely that your CV will never actually reach a real person.
This is all done with the aim of only showing hiring managers the CVs that are most relevant for the role. Of course, these aren’t foolproof. While you may have the skills and experience required, you need to be aware of which keywords to include in your CV on your resume.
Below is an example of potential keywords that you would should include in your CV when applying for this role:
Now not all of these will be keywords, it can be difficult to decipher which are and which aren’t. And not every company uses automation tools to screen CVs. But this will still help you tailor your CV to match the job description. Which is something you should aim to do anyway!
2. Career Summary
The average hiring manager takes 6 – 7 seconds to decide whether your CV is one that is worth their time. So you’ve got less than 10 seconds to convince a hiring manager that you’re right for the job. So how do you do this? A good career summary is a great place to start.
A good career summary is one that captures your experience, your personality and what makes you unique. In short, why should the business want you? Something like, the example below.
3. Your Key Skills For This Role
Having a list of your skills, certifications, and the technologies you have experience with near the top of the CV is a great way to convey to hiring managers that you can do the job. The nearer the top the better, as you want to immediately convey to the hiring manager that you possess the skills and experience to do the job.
If you’ve been working for a number of years, you’ll likely have a wide range of skills, some of which the job you’re applying for doesn’t need.
So similar to the keywords, look at the experience and qualifications that the job description is looking for. Structure your skills and certifications to have the skills that are most relevant to your new role at the top, and avoid including skills you might have that just aren’t applicable.
4. Your Experience: Responsibilities vs. Achievements
A common mistake we see the people we work with is listing what the responsibilities were in their previous roles, not what their accomplishments were.
Were you:
“Responsible for automating new client deployments”?
Or did you:
“Automate new client deployments, utilising device APIs and Python to cut down employment times by 80%”?
Both of these are true. But the latter highlights not just what they did, but what they achieved. It included technologies and coding languages used, and backed up their claims with statistics which showed the impact they had and their value to the business.
5. Hybrid/ Remote/ Working From Home Experience
In recent years we’ve seen a huge shift in the way we work. Employees are demanding more hybrid and flexible working. This has consistently been one of the most important factors to IT Professionals that we work with.
So it’s well worth specifying if you have any experience in hybrid or remote working. It shows that you work well without direct supervision, and that you’re flexible and adaptable.
Additionally, we’re seeing greater shifts towards remote and hybrid working. While a lot of roles in Network and Infrastructure require being in the office or on client sites, more and more employers are meeting the demand to offer hybrid working when available. Or, risk losing out to the competition that will.
6. Work With an Expert
The absolute best tip we can give you to improve your IT CV and help you secure an interview for your next job, is to work with a recruiter in your industry.
Here at Dynamic Search Solutions, we are uniquely positioned to give job applicants inside knowledge of what hiring managers are looking for on a CV. We coach the candidates we work with exactly what to include on their CV, which skills they hiring managers want to see, and how they can make themselves stand out.
We also work with clients to learn what has been wrong with any other applicants that the hiring managers have seen, and discarded.
So if you’re looking for a new role in the Network, Infrastructure and Cyber Security space, you can reach out to us here to discuss how we can help you find your next role. But if you work in a different area of IT, we would still recommend reaching out to a relevant recruitment consultant in your industry.
IT CV Example: Good Quality IT CV
Here we have an example of a quality IT CV, that highlights all the points we’ve discussed.
- Lead with a career summary that provides a snapshot of some of your experience, skills and technologies. If you know what core skills a position is looking for, highlight those in your career summary to grab attention.
- While your format doesn’t need to be overly complicated, it does need to give the reader the information they need as quickly as possible. These are the technical skills that you need to do the job, or certifications you need to possess.
- The ‘Work Experience’ section provides more in-depth and technical information for the more recent and relevant job experience. And while it lists the responsibilities of the role, it also details what was achieved in each position.
- This CV also removes any irrelevant previous work experience. A hiring manager is less likely to be concerned with the skills you learned in your first role as a 1st line Network Engineer. Instead, that space on your CV is better used to discuss the projects you’ve designed or implemented in your most recent role.
Now that you’ve applied all of the above to your IT CV, you’re ready to go secure your new job. If you’re working in the Network, Infrastructure and Cyber Security industry, have a look at our open roles here.