Profile section explained

A profile section says who you are now, a quick summary of your skills and experience (1-2 sentences), and what you want to do next in your career. It needs to use action verbs and describe the job you’re applying to. Change this section depending on the advert you apply to, copying the phrases used in the advert. Don’t write “I am” (1st person) or “Nick is” (3rd person). Aim for a 3rd person impersonal tone:

I amAn experienced front end web developer who takes pride in creating accessible sites using a variety of tools. I have Experience of working in a dynamic project environment using agile methodologies and tools including Adobe studio and React. I am Now looking for a new challenging position in a young dynamic organisation to build and consolidate skills.

In the example above, removing the “I am / I have” makes it sound a little less boastful and more factual. This way, you can say more about yourself. It’s easy to write “I am / I have” in the first draft, then delete them later.

Change the job title in the first line to match the job you are applying for. If the job you are applying for is a Front End Web Designer, then write you are a front end web designer even if your last job was widget sales. Nothing turns off a recruiter faster than if the first line of the CV says you are something they are not looking for! Mirror the job advert language here—if they call a developer a designer, then write designer.

Next, if the advert asks for certain tools and you have that experience then mention them here. Bring out the most relevant bits of your CV experience in the next couple of sentences. Finally, the last sentence is what you want to do next in your career—what sort of role in what sort of organisation. Again, mirror the language of the job advert. If they say they are a young dynamic agency then write you would like your next role to be in a young dynamic organisation. Mirroring the language helps your application. If you are writing a general CV, write it using industry standard language and terms.

Employment section explained

Everything you have delivered in a role can be explained as an achievement. Each achievement is an example of completed work. Ideally, it should have a quantitative element. Each job needs 2-3 achievements. The layout can be something like:

Jan 2018 – Sept 2019

Front End Web Developer, Acme Web Ltd

Acme are an award winning developer based in Glasgow, with a design team of 30 and clients across the UK. Working as part of a wide team and along-side clients, I develop unique web front ends with UI and mobile accessibility in mind. Working with Jira, PHP and Adobe tools.

Achievements:

• Simplified a web site for a client in 2 months, increasing the traffic on the website by 15%, and with very positive feedback from the client and their customers.
• Created a custom Wordpress site for a charity. Handover included 6 hours of posting and maintenance training and 24 pages of documentation allowing them to become self-sufficient. With this, they have reduced their monthly cost by 23% and can update their content within 10 minutes.

Add the most recent experience first. The most recent or most important information appears above the older or less important information. If education is more important than experience for this job advert, then put the education section above experience. Focus on the experience that is relevant to the job you want.

If have an older unrelated career, de-focus its importance by writing less about it. However, you can extract and use the important aspects that are transferable. For example, if your previous experience was working in a pub then only write one line about it with no achievements, but you can include transferable skills such as working as part of a team and supporting colleagues.