An attractive programmer cv should be understandable for any type of reader. An important goal while writing a cv of an IT expert is that a non-technical professional understand it. In every selection process, many professionals very different from each other will evaluate your cv: a HR specialist, a business unit manager, and maybe even an IT expert specialized in your role tasks. This is why we must pay attention to both: presenting and organizing the information.

Programmers are nowadays one of the most demanded profiles, but they manage a lot of information that can be hard to organize in a two pages document. In the case of a programmer’s cv there are 3 elements that must be included: the technologies mastered, the finished projects, and the role developed in every project.

ECB Engineering firm, a recruitment company specialized in the technology sector, gathers in this post some remarkable tips than can be used to improve a programmer’s cv, taking into account that the final goal of a cv is always getting an appealing job interview.

If you are not a fan of reading, there is an infographic at the end of the post with the 12 things every programmer cv should have

1.Technologies in a Programmer Cv

One of the most common mistakes is to create a section where all the technologies are stack one after another in an infinite line. This doesn’t allow an IT recruiter to understand your level in any of them. The point many programmer’s cv share in common is the list of technologies. For the reader not to lose interest in yours, add further information after every technology.

2.Organizing Technologies

We recommend to include the technologies in the projects you have developed, don’t abandon them without the rest of the information that could be crucial for a new job: the module and what you used it for. In this case, a section with the technologies you master makes sense, because every technology will be followed by a description and it is part of a specific project. Don’t worry if some technologies are repeated in different projects because that shows your experience.

State-of-the-art technologies are highly valued by recruiters because they indicates that you remain up to date. Complementary technologies are also important because they show how your professional profiles is evolving.

3.Include those you master

There are too many technologies out there in the market: software programming technologies, apps programming technologies, web programming technologies… it is an endless list.  Prioritize those you master according to its extended use, durability or because they are the latest one.

The usual languages: Java, Ruby, Phyton, C#.Net

Apple & Google: Mobility – objective-C y Swift (iOS) and JAVA-Android SDK (Android)

Web: AngularJS (Javascript), HTML5, CSS3…

Database: SQL server, oracle and MySQL remain in the top. The new ones are MongoDB or HBase

Big Data: Ecosystems such as Hadoop and Spark

4.Projects

The chronological order continues to be the most functional one because it shows the professional evolution of a candidate. It also facilitates the reader to understand your career. We recommend to add a short description of the projects you have developed in every company you have worked for.

An important information every IT recruiter misses in a programmer cv is: the phase of the project. There is a huge difference between a complete new project and one that is in a maintenance phase. A very good thing to do is to include a link to the project, but this is as good as difficult to do.

5.Working Team

Being part of a work team, the role you play on it or the skill to manage a team is a remarkable information to add in a programmer cv because it says a lot about you. Remember to add how many people were part of every project you include in your cv, your responsibility within the team, and the geographical location, if they were sit next to you or if they work in an office in the other part of the planet. Feel free to write if you were the only programming in a project, it means that you are quite responsible and organized.

6.Achievements

The goals you achieved in your previous professional experience help the reader to visualize your future potential. Time and cost are two important elements to take into account when talking about objectives. Quantitative data related to time and money are easy facts to measure the objectives you’ve met during your career.

7.Portfolio

Few are the professions with the advantage of including a short link that can describe your work so easily. IT professionals have the chance to show their work in detail, increasing their probabilities to be hired. Don’t miss that chance, include in your cv a link to your work and show the world how good you are!

8.Personal Projects and Online Communities

The time spent in personal projects related to your professional career are the best way to show your passion for technology, your curiosity and self-learning. These projects, as well as your participation in online communities, say more about your experience than any other project you’ve developed. Both of them are valuable features, so don’t be afraid to write all that work you’ve been doing in your free time.

9.Skills

A good way to present your personal skills is complementing them with an example, because a long list of skills such as “proactive”, “responsible” or “leader” don’t add any value by themselves. We recommend to choose your 3 best skills and give them some support with a goal achieved thanks to them.

10.Extract

A 4 or 5 lines summary of your career allows the reader to understand your professional profile before reading the whole document. Include a short description of your position and your most relevant experience. The last part should be focused on what you’d like to do in your next position.

11.Social Media

If you use social media to promote your work, obviously there must be a link to them in your cv. On the contrary, if your Linkedin, Instagram or Twitter is full of your personal life pictures or opinions, it is better not to include them in your cv.

12.Telecommuting

In the software programming world it is very common to find professionals who are not interested at working in a company where their presence in the office is required every day. If you are only interested in telecommuting, this is an important information that should be listed in your résumé.