Your Tech CV — What are employers looking for?

Updating your tech CV? Make it easy for recruiters to see that you meet the basic requirements of the role you are applying for, advises Eolas Recruitment

When applying for IT roles, candidates sometimes get conflicting advice about what to include on their tech CV. Usually, employers look for a blend of relevant qualifications, technical skills and experience. The challenge for candidates is working how best to present their CV so as to show a recruiter or employer that they are the best person for the role in question.

Your Tech CV — Making a good first impression

“Your CV is the first thing a prospective employer will see when you apply for a role so it’s important to make a good first impression,” says Eolas Recruitment’s Peter Kirby. “

Obviously, there are basic elements that should always be included. These are discussed in an Eolas Recruitment article on the essential elements to include in your CV when applying for IT jobs. Briefly, they are:

• Up to date contact details
• A short profile paragraph that describes what kind of person you are, your skills and experience, and why you are the best person for the role in question.
• A summary of your work experience with a bit more detail of your most recent two or three roles, highlighting experience relevant to the role you are applying for.
• A description of your skills and achievements.
• A list of your academic qualifications and details of any relevant professional or technical certifications you have obtained.

Often, multiple candidates have broadly similar qualifications and experience so you also need to think about other qualities that can help your CV stand out from the crowd.

“Candidates should write a fresh CV for each role they apply for and it goes without saying that this is essential when applying for senior roles,” advises Eolas Recruitment’s Stephen Daly.

“One of the biggest mistakes we see is that instead of writing a new CV, applicants just update one they used earlier, adding on information about their current role but failing to take into account how their CV will come across to a prospective employer. It’s really important to think about how your qualifications and experience match the role and present that in a way that is easy for recruiters and employers to understand.”

“Try to focus on story telling,” adds Stephen.

“Remember that your CV is competing with others so don’t just add your most recent work experience to a pre-existing CV as this is unlikely to help you secure the job you want.

“One tip that we often share with candidates applying for technical roles in areas like DevOps is to include a skills matrix. Eolas Recruitment can advise you on how to draft this and what to include.”

A basic example of a technical skills matrix is set out below.

Example: Technical Skills Matrix

Lifelong learning

“IT is constantly changing,” says Peter, adding that employers tend to favour candidates who are willing to adapt and whose CV shows commitment to continuous education.  He says accreditations  can be useful in this regard.

“We always advise candidates to list relevant industry accreditations on their CV as well as their academic and post-grad qualifications. Take IT project management, for example,  employers increasingly look for PRINCE 2, PMP, CAPM or equivalent accreditations for these roles. We see similar trends elsewhere —accreditations in areas like cloud and cybersecurity and employers looking for certifications like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Kubernetes.”

Get advice on your Tech CV

“An advantage of working with Eolas Recruitment is that as a specialist IT recruiter, we understand the technical requirements of IT roles and know what employers are looking for. This is a major benefit when it comes to advice on drafting Tech CVs. You can see from our online reviews that candidates value our experience and advice,” says Stephen.

What employers are looking for

Asked what employers are looking for at present, Peter and Stephen say that candidates with 2/3 years experience are highly sought after and there are good opportunities in many sectors. At the time of writing, Eolas Recruitment has more than 100 open roles for software engineers and games developers listed online, along with multiple IT roles in other areas. Check out these job listings for details.

For entry level roles, the recruitment process is different as larger employers and multinationals tend to hire at milk rounds and/or invite applications from graduates. When applying for these roles, your CV should list only relevant skills and experience. Avoid waffle. If you don’t have suitable work experience to include, consider whether you have other relevant experience from university or voluntary work — e.g. experience of teamwork or managing people.

How Eolas Recruitment works with you

When you contact Eolas Recruitment, our recruiters will listen to your career development plan and provide practical support at every stage of your job search — from tailoring your CV, to securing an interview, providing feedback and negotiating salary and conditions if your application is successful.

This year, we are celebrating 20 years ’ in business. Our company is proud of its strong track record and client list which includes many of Ireland’s best known companies in sectors like financial services, fintech, consultancy, medical, manufacturing, utilities and technology.

So, if you are struggling with your tech CV, why not get in touch and let our specialist recruiters help you? We’ll make it our business to help you land your ideal role.