8 Steps to Make Your CV Sparkle

As we find ourselves in the technological age, it’s a candidate’s market, especially in the software engineering industry. Opportunities abound across diverse, exciting sectors. While saving time and effort on job applications is tempting, it’s crucial to remember the competition — your CV is your first impression for your potential dream job.

Having reviewed thousands of CVs and hired countless software engineers over the past decade, I hope you find these eight simple steps helpful in making your CV stand out.

Creating an impactful CV is challenging. It’s not part of our everyday routine. We need to channel creativity, articulation, and persuasive writing to catch the reviewer’s attention and present ourselves in the best light.

Conversely, it’s quite easy to construct an ineffective CV. A hurriedly assembled collection of generic statements, project descriptions, team interactions, processes, and a laundry list of every technology you’ve used can quickly become an indigestible waffle, especially for the reviewer with 20 more CVs to evaluate that day.

1. Keep your CV concise and clear

The best CVs convey their key points in a clear and succinct manner. Aim for a two-page limit.

Avoid cramming too much into these two pages. A simple structure that works includes:

• A brief introduction about you
• Key skills
• Recent roles first, highlighting five key achievements
• For older roles, a line or two about significant achievements
• A succinct overview of your education
• Lastly, interests outside work… is there something about you worth sharing?

2. Include something memorable in your CV

What will make your CV stand out?

There are CVs with clever touches that leave a lasting impression. Here are a few examples:

• Fascinating hobbies or facts about you “outside your career”
• A compelling opening statement exhibiting a touch of humour
• A splash of colour
• The CV format does not need to be a PDF or DOC. How about a “.py” file for a Python developer or a “.cs” file for a C# developer position?

3. Tailor your CV for the role you’re applying for

CVs that have been slightly customised for the role stand out.

No need to rewrite your CV for each role. From a solid foundation, create a few variations of your CV. Highlight the top 5 or 6 requirements and skills from the job specification, and make sure your CV addresses these points.

4. Craft a compelling cover note

A cover note is an excellent opportunity to show your enthusiasm for the company.

• What excites you about the company’s mission?
• What inspires you about the role?
• Why should you be considered above all other candidates?

Avoid a generic cover note. Personalize it to show your understanding of the role and the company.

5. Express your passion for your craft

“The WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us.” — Simon Sinek

Nothing starts a CV off better than describing your “Why”.

For software engineers, our craft extends beyond writing code. We build something valuable and useful for customers.

• What are your principles for writing code that keeps your customers satisfied?
• What practices do you adopt to ensure your code remains maintainable, efficient, and easy to deploy?

6. Highlight your key skills

It’s tempting to list all the technologies you’ve used in your career but resist that urge.

Instead, list your top five skills — these could be technologies, programming languages, or techniques. More important than the programming languages is demonstrating continuous learning. What are you doing to grow and share your knowledge within the company and the broader community?

7. Showcase your achievements

Focus on the outcomes, not just tasks.

Consider the following questions:

• What measurable value did your projects deliver?
• What challenges did you overcome in your work?
• How did you improve non-functional requirements (like stability, scalability, and security)?
• What feedback did you or your team receive?
• What were your failures, and what lessons did you learn from them?

8. What are your hobbies and interests?

One of my former managers told me, “To truly understand a person, look at the last few lines of their CV”. It’s fascinating to see who people truly are.

In conclusion, to make your CV shine…

• Keep it concise
• Highlight your achievements
• Emphasize your principles
• Show a glimpse of your personal side

Your efforts will pay off.