Career Hub · Resource
Write a tech CV that passes the 30-second test
career-toolkit
Checklist
- Write a 3–4 sentence summary with target role and key differentiator
- Group technical skills by category, not as a flat list
- List portfolio projects with GitHub links before non-tech work experience
- Quantify at least three bullet points in work experience
- Verify CV is two pages maximum
- Check that all tool names mirror the job description exactly
- Have someone read it for 30 seconds and describe it back to you
A CV for a junior tech role has one job: get you an interview. It needs to pass an automated filter, survive a 30-second human scan, and communicate that you can do this job even without a long work history.
The structure that works
Summary (3–4 sentences): State your target role, your key technical specialism, and the most relevant differentiator from your background. Example: "Junior cloud engineer with a background in IT support and six months of hands-on AWS and Terraform practice. Built multi-tier infrastructure projects using GitHub Actions for CI/CD. Moving into platform engineering from a systems administration background."
Technical skills (grouped, not listed randomly): Group by category. Cloud: AWS (EC2, VPC, S3, RDS, IAM), Terraform. Containers: Docker, Kubernetes (basics). CI/CD: GitHub Actions. Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana. Languages: Python, Bash. Do not list tools you cannot explain in an interview.
Projects (before employment for career changers): List projects before work experience if your work experience is not tech-related. For each project: name, one-line description, tech stack, and one concrete outcome or learning. Link to GitHub.
Work experience: Even non-tech experience shows reliability, communication, and professional behaviour. Frame transferable skills: "Maintained documentation" → "Produced technical documentation for 40 systems accessed by a 12-person team." Specificity signals accuracy.
Education: Degree if relevant, bootcamp or training if recent and relevant. Certifications if recognised (CompTIA, AWS, ISTQB).
Common formatting mistakes
CV longer than two pages for an entry-level role. Inconsistent formatting (mixed fonts, irregular spacing). Photos (not standard in UK tech). Jargon-heavy bullet points that cannot be explained aloud. No quantification of impact anywhere.
ATS optimisation
Include the exact job title from the job description in your summary. Mirror the tool names exactly as written in the JD (AWS not Amazon Web Services, unless both appear). Use standard section headings (Experience, Skills, Education). Avoid tables and columns in the main CV body as they break some ATS parsers.
How to validate your CV before submitting
Ask someone with hiring experience to read it for 30 seconds and tell you what role they think you are applying for and what your strongest asset is. If the answer does not match your intention, the CV is not working.