What Hiring Managers and Recruiters Look For First
In tech hiring, a recruiter typically does an initial screen before a technical reviewer sees the CV. Both have different priorities:
- Recruiter: Does this candidate have the right technologies? Are they the right level? Does the CV make sense?
- Technical reviewer: What systems have they worked on? What is the scale? Do they understand software beyond just writing code?
Your CV needs to satisfy both. It needs to be scannable enough for the recruiter and specific enough for the technical reviewer.
Professional Summary for a Software Engineer
Your summary should lead with your level, your speciality, and the technologies you work with most. Do not start with "I am a passionate developer who loves coding."
Weak:
Passionate software developer with experience in various technologies and a desire to contribute to innovative teams.
Strong:
Backend engineer with 6 years of experience building distributed systems in Python and Go. Specialises in high-throughput APIs and microservices architecture. Experience across fintech and e-commerce at scale — most recently serving 2M+ daily active users.
The Technical Skills Section
Do not list skills alphabetically or randomly. Group them by category so a technical reviewer can scan in seconds:
Example structure:
- Languages: Python, TypeScript, Go, SQL
- Frameworks: FastAPI, Node.js, React, Django
- Cloud & DevOps: AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform
- Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB
- Tools: Git, JIRA, GitHub Actions, Datadog
Only list technologies you are genuinely comfortable being interviewed on. A senior engineer who lists Kubernetes but cannot answer basic questions about it in an interview will lose the offer.
How to Write Work Experience Bullets for Tech Roles
The biggest mistake engineers make is writing duty lists rather than impact statements. Hiring managers want to understand what you built, why it mattered, and what the result was.
Duty-style (weak):
- Responsible for developing backend services using Python
- Worked with the team on database optimisation
- Involved in code reviews and sprint planning
Impact-style (strong):
- Re-architected the payment processing service from a monolith to microservices, reducing average API response time from 800ms to 120ms
- Identified and resolved N+1 query bottleneck in the order service, reducing database load by 60% during peak traffic
- Led backend code review process across a team of 6 engineers, reducing production bug rate by 35% over two quarters
The formula: what you built or did + the technical approach + the measurable outcome. Not every bullet will have a number — but try to include at least two per role.
Should You Include a GitHub or Portfolio Link?
Yes — if it is current and reflects the quality of your work. A GitHub profile with active repositories, a README that explains each project, and visible commit history strengthens your application significantly.
Do not link to a GitHub with no activity, empty repositories, or projects from a bootcamp three years ago with no recent updates.
If you have a portfolio site showcasing projects — especially for frontend or full-stack roles — include that link too. Put both in your contact section at the top of the CV.
How to Describe Projects on a Software Engineer CV
Whether listing side projects, open-source contributions, or university work, use this structure for each:
- Name and one-line description — what the project does
- Technologies used
- Your specific role (if collaborative)
- Scale or outcomes — users, GitHub stars, performance metrics
Example:
PriceAlert — Real-time price tracking tool for e-commerce products. Built with Python (BeautifulSoup, Celery), Redis and PostgreSQL. Handles 5,000 monitored products with sub-minute update frequency. 400+ GitHub stars.
ATS Considerations for Tech CVs
Tech CVs often fail ATS screening for specific reasons:
- Technology names formatted incorrectly: Write "Node.js" not "NodeJS", "PostgreSQL" not "Postgres SQL". ATS systems match exact strings.
- Missing the job description's specific stack: If the job says "React" and your CV says "frontend frameworks", the ATS may not match. Be specific.
- Acronyms without expansion: Write "CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment)" the first time — some parsers look for the full term.
Length and Format
- Junior engineers (0–3 years): 1 page
- Mid-level (3–7 years): 1–2 pages
- Senior/lead (7+ years): 2 pages
- Single-column layout only — avoid multi-column even if it looks good
- No profile photos, icons, skill bars or graphics
What to Leave Out
- Technologies you used once three years ago and cannot confidently discuss
- Non-technical jobs that are not relevant to the role
- University module lists (unless they are directly relevant)
- "References available on request"
- Your date of birth or photo