Tips to improve your tech resume

Developing a good resume can be a big challenge, we often don't know where to start or how to share our experiences. There are some structures and categories that CVs usually have, such as “Personal Data”, “Experiences” and “Training”, but you already know that. So let's go to some suggestions that can make a difference?

Identify which vacancy you are applying for

Customizing your resume according to each job you are applying for is a great strategy, as we can share our experiences in different ways. So, analyze what are the requirements of the vacancy, what is the company and its field of activity so that you can highlight your strengths for this position, and, consequently, increase your chances of being featured.

Tip: Have a standard template with all the possible information on your resume so you can easily edit it according to each opportunity.

Categories

Here there is not just one correct way to assemble your resume, you need to identify which categories can benefit you and that will contribute to exposing the knowledge you have. In addition to the classic “Experience” and “Training”, you can also include

Skills and Competencies :

Highlight important knowledge, such as tools that are relevant to the position you are applying for. You can even indicate your mastery level (basic, intermediate and/or advanced). In addition to technical knowledge, also known as hard skills, you can include some soft skills. To optimize the use of space, you can group the components of this section into columns and change the line spacing to take up less space.

Languages:

Here I suggest that, in addition to the language in which you have knowledge, also indicate your level of proficiency. Don't worry, it's not necessary to include only the languages ​​you are certified for! And remember that if it is an essential requirement for the position, they may ask you to take a test or presentation to verify your command of the language.

Other activities and achievements:

Other information that may be relevant in your career, such as awards, international experiences, academic highlights, awards, mention of successful projects and participation in events that can identify you as a distinguished candidate for the vacancy.

How to tell your experience

Keep in mind that the purpose of your resume is to show that you might be a potential candidate to fill that position. The report of your experiences is not to tell the job description of the vacancy you occupied. Therefore, when describing your experiences, try to highlight the deliveries and projects you have carried out, what your contributions and differential points were. Show how you grew during this period by telling the main challenges faced and achievements through facts and data.

Take care to be clear and objective in this description, so that your narrative is coherent and relevant to the intended position. In addition, you can replace running paragraphs with bulleted lists, as long texts can discourage reading.

Training

You can include all educational information and diplomas, such as technical education, undergraduate, various specializations such as postgraduate, MBA, master's and doctorate, as well as extensions and exchanges. It is important that you report these experiences in a complete way, in such a way that the necessary information is: name of the course, name of the educational institution, type of diploma and year of conclusion or period studied. If you are still studying, remember to indicate the expected year of training.

Also, organize the information in chronological order from newest to oldest. Depending on your goal and the intended position, you can create a field to highlight short-term courses, certifications and events.

For those in career transition

Your years of experience are not to be excluded at this point! The strategy is to showcase the experience you already have in a way that adds value to your new career. You can develop a brief summary paragraph indicating that you are in a career transition and what your goal is. Emphasize activities and projects that may be relevant, such as project management and problem solving. In addition, even if you do not yet have traditional experience in this new area, you can report on unpaid, voluntary or personal projects.

Finally, consider that one option is for you to direct the search for the opportunity you want in the same market niche that you worked previously, as this can bring you an advantage in your career transition, since you already have experience in this line of business.

Additional tips:

Your resume should be no more than two pages long. Opt for layouts that can help you optimize space, if need be, you can change font size and spacing to your benefit. But don't forget that it must be readable. In personal data put: name, contacts (email and phone), LinkedIn and link to portfolio or repository like Kaggle/Github. Before finalizing, ask someone else for support to review your CV and check for possible spelling errors or information that may be confusing. When finalizing the document, export it in PDF format so you don't risk losing formatting. If you are going to send it by e-mail, it is advisable to indicate in the title for which position you are applying, in addition to including in the body of the e-mail a brief presentation about yourself and the reason for sending the CV.