Your CV is the first thing your potential employer will see when considering you for their position. Your CV should summarise your experience, qualifications and skills and should highlight why you’re the best candidate for the role. We sat down with Caroline Williamson, Skills Manager at Sunderland Software City, for advice on representing yourself best in your CV.

Whether you’re looking for your first entry-level position or shifting to a different industry, your CV should fit the job description when possible. For example, your experience will stay relatively similar for each application, but you should take every opportunity to customise your CV to reflect what the recruiter is looking for. Caroline said, “Think of the job description as a checklist and read through the advert and your CV before sending it to make sure your CV has ‘ticked’ as many boxes as possible.” This can be done by taking the time to retype your key skills section to highlight the skills being asked for in the role are at the top of the list. After this, it is recommended that you retype your personal statement or summary to ensure it reflects the specific skills, experience and values, required for the role.

Caroline recommends “If you don’t have any formal, paid work experience in the sector you’re applying for then focusing on your skills, qualifications and experience you have will help your CV stand out.” If you have a degree, then invest some time to highlight the modules you completed and any projects you completed during your time at the university you think would best reflect the skills you gained during your time there. If you don’t have a degree or any previous experience, then consider any of the informal experience such as entrepreneurial skills, voluntary work or training where you might have gained employability skills. “Make sure to spend time explaining not only the type of work you did during these but also the skills you gained” added Caroline.

Your CV needs to reflect you in your own words; CV’s that have been AI-generated are always easy to spot and are rejected swiftly by most recruiters. Remember this is your first impression and not taking the time to explain yourself doesn’t give a good example. Use this opportunity to introduce yourself and the skills and experience you have. Caroline added, “Take the time to explain your goals, the type of organisations you’re looking to work for and most importantly; what you can bring to the organisation that no one else will” When applying for a creative or visual job, Caroline suggests, “Avoid a white sheet of paper at all costs, as this will not demonstrate your skillset or suitability for the job.” “Make sure to spend time making a CV that is a real reflection of your creative skills.”

Starting anything from the beginning is always the most difficult part. When you start to write a CV for a job position have a look for any resources available that may help in building the skeleton of your CV. “I’d start by picking a template, filling all the details in as needed "said Caroline, as this can help you start thinking about if what you’re writing matches the job description and your skills. She added, “I would then spend some time customising the look, feel, and text so that it’s a real reflection of you”. Caroline emphasised “Avoid using AI to generate your text as this can be spotted a mile away and is almost always frowned upon. Another key tip is to "triple check your spelling and grammar” as AI generated CV’s and those with spelling and grammatical errors will always be the first sifted out. If you struggle with spelling or writing, getting someone to read over your CV can be a great assistance.

Tailoring your CV to the skills that the role requires is a great approach, but you are not required to tick every box. If you lack the relevant experience for the job title, focus on reading through what the role requires and how you can align your skills and experience to this. Caroline recommends “Try to make sure you have explained through your CV and how you meet the requirements as much as possible.” In the tech industry, we have real challenges around adopting a common language and ensuring we all call jobs by the same title. It can be difficult to know if your experience that matches one recruiter’s role will match another. Part of Caroline’s role as Skills Manager is to work on the Tech Talent Engine, which helps employers advertise their jobs in an accessible manner. One approach to this is having clearly defined career families for each position so that people will know if a role they are interested in is a position they would be suitable for.

Whether you’re new to employment or looking to change to a tech career, taking our Skills Quiz can help you figure out which career family you would be most suitable for. If you’re uncertain about how to get started in tech then reach out to us. We have several Tech Talent programmes designed to help you gain the relevant skills and experience to launch your career.