5 IT CV Guerrilla Tactics & a Template

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An IT CV is a different ‘animal’. The usual CV formats don’t apply. And they’re boring!

Usually the IT CVs I see are just a clumsy adaption of the regular style CV. Don’t people expect more from an IT guy? More energy. More cutting edge. Something fresh?

So here … you’ll find:

  1. My 5 top ideas for writing your IT CV – guerrilla style! And …
  2. An IT CV template and sample

Just a quick IT CV warning here – there are many disciplines in IT, y’know, from strategy, to management, to project management, to the more technical stuff, development, integration, infrastructure, networks, hardware, software, support, etc … so you’ll have to adapt what you learn here to your own IT CV situation.

IT CV Guerrilla Idea 1

First, ask yourself: what job do I want? You have to first define your target. And then you can “fire” away, creating a promotional document that’ll help you hit that target.

So … what’s the job you want? Answer it. Then present yourself as that.

Want a Java Developer job … present yourself as one! The employer that wants a Java Developer is looking through IT CVs for Java Developers. Be one.

IT CV Guerrilla Idea 2

Don’t start your IT CV with “Personal Details” and then a second page of “Schooling and Education”! Don’t be average! Apply “Idea 1” – present yourself quick and fast for the position. Use a ‘front up’ approach, perhaps like this:

IT Manager, Group IT Manager, IT Operations Manager

Offering >10 years in IT Management, currently Group IT Manager, reporting to the CEO at the 2nd largest steel co. in SA, Tata Steel; highly skilled across the IT spectrum – Technical, Budgets, Strategy, Planning, Cost Savings, Business Alignment and ROI

That carries more punch, right?

So start your CV like that. Then move straight to your experience and record of positions held. That’s the real meat of your IT CV. When scanning your CV people look at a few things as a priority, and they’re influence their decision making big time:

 1) Your job titles – “has this guy actually done the work?”

2) Companies you’ve worked for – is it mickey mouse or is it a big strong brand? It helps when it’s bigger.

So get there immediately.

[Quick note: if you haven’t got much experience, if you don’t have big or high profile, impressive companies on your list, all is not lost. You have to make the best of what you do have, even it it’s your passion for IT. Keep reading.]

IT CV Guerrilla Idea 3

When you give your experience, don’t ramble. Give a 2 or 3 line quick overview of what you were responsible for. Give figures if you can. Maybe like this:

Heading IT for the company – incorporating 15 sites and 550 users – with full Strategic, Operational, Technical and Budgetary responsibilities.

Or …

 Developing applications end-to-end as a member of a 3 man elite team, for clients such as MTN, CellC and Discovery; with ‘world-class’ quality standards and coding practices.

And then support that strong overview with a few supporting ‘bullets’ – try to break it down into the simplest compartments – for example a developer will perhaps have the following compartments: analysis, coding, testing, implementation, troubleshooting, customization, support and training.

So don’t write the ‘book’. Just give quick snippets of information that satisfy the scanning reader of your IT CV that you generally meet their requirements.

[Note – at some point you may decide that you’re fiddling around too much with your “IT CV” – you’re getting frustrated and wasting time. You should then perhaps enlist my help in getting your CV to where it should be. Go to www.wowcv.net/professional-cv-writing for more or just e-mail me on gerard [at] jobsearching.co.za.]

IT CV Guerrilla Idea 4

Focus on projects and achievements. This is really where your IT CV comes alive – what did you achieve, what did your projects achieve, how did your contribution add to the business? How did it solve problems? How did it make the business better? What was your unique contribution?

Spell it out clearly in your IT CV. Make it concise. And again, give figures if possible.

Have developed a reputation for hard work – averaging 40 – 60 hours overtime every month, being available to work weekends, ‘all nighters,’ etc;

Recommended a new back up strategy. When implemented, it resulted in reducing client data lost in the event of a crash from 1 day to 30 seconds.

Or …

Delivered a new server room, ramping up performance by 65%, reliability from 89% up-time to 99.5%, and coming in 15% under budget and 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

IT CV Guerrilla Idea 5

  • Use IT CV attention getters – yes, use the following ideas to create an impact, differentiate yourself and a much more powerful first impression:
  • Use logos of products, companies, certifications and employers – embed them in the CV. Having Microsoft, Sun, Cisco, Novell logos creates an impression of professionalism. You ride on the back of those big brands. Make them small, put them in a sidebar or footer perhaps. Don’t make them the central focus. But have them there.

Bonus IT CV Guerrilla Idea 6

On most IT CVs I see, there’s usually a 2 page IT Skills Matrix. And it frequently goes back to skills/knowledge such as Windows ’95. Aw, c’mon! Here’s what to do rather.

Make a shorter list by filtering out only the most relevant and up-to-date skills, technologies and methodologies you work with. And create a one page addendum to the CV with this stuff on it. OR what I like to do is to create a sidebar in the CV where you can have a heading such as “Advanced IT Skills” with a 3 or 4 point list of items divided up perhaps like this: “Programming” “Networks” “Software” “Hardware” “Security”, etc. And under each of these you list your knowledge of apps, etc.

IT CV Template

Okay, so now to an IT CV template or sample – please note: every CV is different, you are unique, so use the template/format/sample here wisely. Learn from the principles.

Or if you get stuck, contact me directly to write your CV for you. See www.wowcv.net/professional-cv-writing.

Here’s a link to the template – click and it’ll download.

 

One Page CV or Resume – Why is it a Good Idea, How to Write it (an Exercise)

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A “one page CV, what? Are you nuts??!!”

Have you ever been confounded by this employer request?

“Please send a 1 page CV.”

You may think that one-page CV is just not long enough to do you justice. How can you possibly describe where you’ve been and what you’ve done in one page? So, when you’re asked for a one page CV what do you do? Is it worth the hassle and the time it’ll take to put it together?

Good Reasons for a One Page CV

Yes it is, and for good reasons.

  1. One, that’s what the employer or the recruiter as asked for. give it to them.
  2. But secondly, writing a 1 page CV is a good exercise for you.
  3. And thirdly, it’s short, sharp and very persuasive as a sales tool.

It’s good because it will force you to think about who you are and what you do. And it’ll force you to put it in the simplest and most concise terms. It’ll force you to make it easy to understand. It’ll force you to define it in your own mind – it’ll make clear. It’ll also force you to put all your best achievements front and centre.

And all of that is good for you. In a crowded job market, where few have a sharp, simple, hard hitting message of benefit to an employer, you will stand out! You’ll be fresh. You won’t be weighed down by detail.

In my experience as a CV writer and recruiter, very few people ever do this. Yes they can go on for 10 pages about what they do and where, but can they be concise and clear, definite about what they do and the benefit they bring to a company? Not very often.

And it’s the reason recruiters and employers HR people ask for one or one or two page CV. It doesn’t take them 10 pages to figure out whether you should be called in for an interview or not. It takes just one or two. They want relevant information short, sharp and concise.

How Does a One Page CV Help You?

But there’s another benefit alluded to in point 3 above. And it is this: a one-page CV creates a great first impression. In what way?

A 1 page CV exudes confidence, youth, energy, focus.

There is an energy about it. The opposite is the 45 or 60 year old person with a 20 page CV and he’s uncertain, and he’s lost confidence, and perhaps he feels he’s no longer relevant in the job market. But that’s not necessarily true. It’s maybe that he’s just presenting himself badly. He’d bogged down by the details of his curriculum vitae (“life course”). He’s forgotten that the reason he gets hired are really pretty simple and quick to outline.

My 1 Page CV Challenge to You, NOW

So, I challenge you: take all that you’ve learnt, take all your skills, take all your qualifications, and all your experience and distill it down to one page.

Show clearly and concisely what benefits you have brought to your previous employers; highlight your biggest achievement; even include a quote or two from a performance appraisal or a testimonial. Make this one page CV your marketing showcase.

Here are some other one page CV writing tips:

  • Focus on your most recent experience.
  • Focus on your most relevant qualifications
  • Focus on your most relevant and recent achievements.
  • Summarise older experience.
  • And lastly write a short three or mostly at most four line opening paragraph explaining what you do, that you do it well, how long you’ve been doing it, for and how you are qualified to do it.
Even if you never use the one-pager CV, you’ll feel more confident, more prepared marketer of “you”.
[IFyou need help – perhaps your current CV is long and you feel also, “boring” and perhaps it’s having no impact in the job market for you … THEN contact me. I’ve done 20 000 hours of CV writing and am on a constant mission to make my client’s CVs more exciting, more powerful, more ‘interview landing’.
And I’ve developed unique ways of doing this so that the CV ends up twisting the arm of an employer, practically forcing them to contact you. I’m at gerard [at] jobsearching.co.za – e-mail me and I’ll send you some free info.]

Your CV and a Can of Baked Beans

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It’s an analogy I use often. What?? Yep …

Your CV is your ‘label’. Just like a can of baked beans has one. You have one.

And it does a similar job. It brands you, positions you, it – in one glance – provides the reader with an impression of what they’re gonna get.

Here’s the job it must do:

1) It must get attention

2) It must convey the impression of quality

3) It must convey the impression of organization and being ‘together’

4) It must provide some backup detail to support the ‘impression’

5) And it must do it all really fast.

Although consumers don’t buy purely on the strength of the label, it does go some way in ‘twisting their arm’.

Your CV needs to do the same as the 4 points above.

Writing an “Instant Hit” CV

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Ever wanted your CV to be an instant hit with a recruiter / HR person / or an employer?

Here are 6 questions that run through their mind, this is how they think. Once we understand it, we can start looking for ways to capitalize (or just plain, give them what they want.)

So imagine, a CV appears in the inbox – “ping” – they open it – “clickity click”.

1st they scan the body of the e-mail.

They’re looking for a clue as to what it’s about. It’s subconcious. What pops up at them? Anything? Nothing?

Thus far they’re driven by a few things. Curiosity, maybe. Genuine interest, unlikely. Hope that you can solve a problem for them, maybe. Duty, perhaps. Boredom, quite possibly (any distraction is better than what they may be busy with.) Excitement, only if they’re new.

Cynical maybe (of me), but always no matter who they are there’s usually the knowledge that your application could be important for them.

So you have a few seconds of their attention. And if you make use of a short, sharp, to the point, bulleted list of reasons that’ll show – with hard relevant facts (VS soft, fluffy, or meaningless claims of being “hard working” and a “broad based specialist”) –  that you have something for them, something relevant (used again on purpose!), something credible, then perhaps they’ll move on to your attached CV with a positive feeling (always good).

Then they open the CV. And what are they thinking?

  • What does this guy do? (They want to understand where you may fit into the ‘machine’ that is their business / their clients’ business.)
  • Does he have what I value (it could be experience in a certain position, a certain qualification, a certain title, a certain achievement, or they may be looking for a certain personality – all of which solves a certain problem he’s got)?
  • What does he want to do and where? (Would this guy actually want to do what I have in mind? Or is he off on some other track?)
  • What’s special about him? (Remember “average” may actually be “special” – consistent, reliable, predictable, trustworthy.)
  • What was his most recent job and what did he achieve? (Is this person any good at what they do? What did they achieve?)
  • On a personal level is there any special? (People are curious and intrigued by people who do things – it may be you ran the Comrades, you help out at a hospice, you collect antique cars, you paid for your own university courses, etc)

These are the questions that run through their mind. And they are clues to a good CV.

Do we ever give the reader what they want? Or do we hide all these things away on page 4 and in a sub heading on page 9. Or not include them at all. Or never bring them to the fore. Or hope that the reader will join the dots and figure these things out for themselves.

If we can give them answers, if we can make it clear what’s special about us, what benefits we offer, what makes us credible, then we get attention. If we don’t, we risk being lost in the crowd.

Take a minute. Look at your CV. Imagine YOU’re the employer. Ask the questions.

What changes should you make? Make them.

[Or contact me at gerard [at] jobsearching.co.za for my personal help.

Why Not Start a Cover Letter Like This …

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Just writing a CV and the client – no names – has started one of her cover letters by declaring:

“Firstly, I would like to sate that I have no criminal record …”

[Note spelling mistake was included.]

C’mon! She’s qualified, very experienced, has great references, excellent skills, she’s a great person. Why would she start out a letter to a prospective employer with that??!!

It’s just ‘off’. Don’t do it.

Ready for a Bold Approach, Tired of “NO Reply at All”

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Took this from my Jobsearching.co.za site:

Got a mail from a client who wants to return to SA, but is having a tough time. She’s getting no response to perfect positions for her, there are delays, long bureaucratic processes, etc. (she’s in the public and NGO sector as a highly qualified Lawyer).

Heres my reply:

Thanks for the update. Job hunting can be strange. Frequently it’s a process that ‘has to be followed’ by employers even when they actually already know who they’ll be appointing. An unfortunate truth. Ads are also placed erroneously. Hiring decisions are changed midstream.

And it all adds up to chaos for the job hunter, who can get disillusioned, confused and even start to think it’s actually them that there’s something wrong with.

Add to that a plethora of agencies vying for the same business and the picture gets even worse. On top of that add the ‘stories’ they tell you if you don’t get the job – anything but the truth, just to get you off their back – and you end up really confused.

Here’s what I suggested instead:

I’d suggest taking a more direct approach. Make it a project, over the next month, to research ‘cool’ organisations that do the stuff you want to be involved in. Find out about them. Find out about the people working there.

Define what it is that you could offer them in terms of skills/expertise – value. Find out who the decision makers are. And send them a personal letter (NO CV at this stage).

When you think about it it’s a logical common sense approach, yes? You effectively pre-empt. You get in on things way ahead of the game. Not many do it properly (they just send a CV and hope). They’re scared.

What do you think?

I say, take back control, take back the power. Be bold. Ask for what you want. Target it. Be smart. Get it.

By the way, the entire spirit of my coaching and learning programme Career & Success INNER CIRCLE is like what you’re reading here. And it provides step by step, practical methods for you to take this bolder, more proactive approach.

Go here for more: www.careerandsuccess.info

CV Writing Services

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Have you considered having your CV written by someone? Be careful.

They say that it takes 10 000 hours to become an expert at something. And last week I had confirmed how true this is.

I got a call from “J”. He’d had his CV written by firm who call themselves the “career engineers”. I’m sure they’re great at something. Writing a CV is not that thing. I’m not going to run down their services (thus I haven’t given their name), variety is the spice of business.

However …

  • What “J” wanted was his successes/achievements included. They hadn’t been?!?
  • They’d also added their logo and advert to every page of his CV. (After he paid R800+)
  • The CV was 13 pages long, c’mon! we’re in the 21st century here!
  • There was no focus, no strategy, no careful thinking out of what the CV should achieve and what information was going to be best to include. It was just page after page of often irrelevant detail
  • And it started out like this: “J is a broad based specialist …” What is a “broad based specialist?” Isn’t that a contradiction in terms, for one thing? And secondly, what is it? How does it help an employer? Why should anyone care?

I’m not the best CV writer. I make some spelling mistakes. I leave out a full stop. But what’s critical for me is …

  • To get the strategy of the CV right – what’s it’s purpose, what’s the target?
  • To figure what detail will impress and influence an employer
  • To ask what will get immediate attention
  • To use fresh, strong words  to pep the reading up, add energy
  • To ask how can I format it or lay it out for maximum exposure and effect
  • And to uncover the real person behind the facts

Those are the big issues. A full stop can always be added. But these big issues take time and experience (10 000 hours!)  to resolve.

So be judicious. I can’t possibly write everyone’s CV and there are a few other good CV writers out there. But feel free to run something past me if you’re uncertain. Just contact me directly on gerard [at] jobsearching.co.za.

[By the way, I’m well into my 2nd 10 000 hours.]

Are You Making This CV Mistake?

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It’s just happened again. A CV writing client has been merrily sending out her CV. And she’s wondering why no-one’s getting back to her.

Well I can give her one reason.

She has no contact details on her CV. Nothing. No address. No cell. No phone. No e-mail.

“But it’s on my cover letter!” Yeah, maybe. BUT here’s how it works in real life:  it’s almost certain that your cover letter and CV will get separated at an early stage of the hiring process.

And are you so hot that they’re going to scramble and search for your cover letter? Probably not. They probably have a pile of other applicant CVs just waiting to take your place.

And will anyone tell you that it’s missing? Does anyone care? Yes. Me. And maybe your mom.

There are also other reasons “Jess” isn’t getting response. That’s why she’s come to me, and I’m going to fix it.

Details of my CV writing service here.

What Certainty is There in an Uncertain Job Hunting World?

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In getting into shape – enough is enough after all – and doing it this way: click here for the program I’m using (5kgs and 8cm off my waist, feeling strong, fit and pretty ooh, ah) – reminds me of a job hunting lesson that’s pretty critical to understand. Here it is:

“Nothing guarantees success” (in job hunting at least).

You can try getting 5 degrees (busy writing a CV right now for someone who has an LLB, LLM, PGDip, MComm, MBA and is now in the process of getting a PhD). But you may still have job market challenges. You can try clever tricks (which sometimes work … and sometimes don’t).  But, again, there’s no guarantee of success short term. No magic bullet, y’know:

“If you do THIS, you will succeed. Guaranteed.”

Because it’s not true with fitness for example. If you do 20 mins of push ups, squats, hill sprints and sit ups daily; and you eat more veggies and less sugar and mashed potatoes or pap and gravy, you’re pretty much 100% guaranteed to lose weight and get strong and fit.

And it’s not true with life in general. If you plan well, if you are diligent, generally things work out pretty well. With job hunting however it seems there are too many uncontrollable factors at work:

  • Ill informed recruiters. HR people with tick-box mentality
  • Line managers who want a blond
  • MD’s who have a niece for the job
  • Personal power plays, where the hirer needs a lamb, not a tiger
  • Interviewers who woke up on the wrong side of the bed
  • Personnel agents who want to see your  salary slip otherwise: “the interview’s off!” – leaving you in a weakened negotiating position.

Is there any certainty to be had?

  • Yes. It’s in the persistence. Persisting with doing the right things. Over and over and over again.
  • Yes. It’s in being willing to try new ways of doing things.
  • Yes. It’s in applying advice.
  • Yes. It’s in realising that you can get a job without the help of a recruiter, agent or job ad website.
  • And it’s sometimes realising that you have to make some personal adjustments to attitude.

It’s not a straight line. It’s an obstacle course. But if you persist you can win. Go for it. Keep at it.

Here’s something free to help you along the right job hunting roads: “12 Job Search Secrets – End your frustrating and stalled job hunt now” – just send an e-mail to 12jss@getresponse.com

Is This What’s Stopping You From Chasing Your Dreams?

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Maybe you’re thinking: “I have no time … to learn a new skill … to follow my passion … to develop a passion … to build my dream … to dabble in a new sideline business (that I can grow into my retirement empire!”

No time. Too busy. This piece then is for you. Also have just written CVs for several very high earning Executives and am amazed at how much they pack into their days and months. Astonishing. They’re focussed alright. Maybe that’s a key. First knowing what we want. Then going for it.

I’m rambling. Read this rather. Thought provoking piece from Seth Godin.

But it’s better than TV

At the local health food store lunch buffet, they offer stir fried tempeh.
I never get it. Not because I don’t like it, but because there are always so many other things on the buffet that I prefer.

That’s why I don’t watch TV. At all. There are so many other things I’d rather do in that moment.

Broadcast TV was a great choice when a> there weren’t a lot of other options and b> when everyone else was watching the same thing, so you needed to see it to be educated.

Now, though, you could:

  • Run a little store on eBay
  • Write a daily blog
  • Write a novel
  • Start an online community about your favorite passion
  • Go to meetups in your town
  • Volunteer to tutor a kid, in person or online
  • Learn a new language, verbal or programming
  • Write hand written thank you notes each evening to people who helped you out or did a good job
  • Produce small films and publish them online
  • Listen to the one thousand most important operas
  • Read a book or two every evening
  • Play a game of Scrabble with your family

None of them are perfect. Each of them are better than TV.

Clay Shirky has noticed the trend of talented people putting five or six hours an evening to work instead of to waste. Add that up across a million or ten million people and the output is astonishing. He calls it cognitive surplus and it’s one of the underappreciated world-changing stories of our time.

[http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/03/but-its-better-than-tv.html]

Oh and remember – if you’re not sure what you want, if you feel directionless and a bit lost – go to “Life’s Greatest Question” here: it’ll guide through the exact steps you need to get the focus and passion high achievers always seem to have naturally. The link is safe. Go there now.

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