CV

Resume vs CV

Use resume for: tech companies, startups, corporate jobs, when posting says "resume" Use CV for: academic positions, research roles, EU/UK applications, grants and fellowships

Structure

Order for experienced professionals:

1. Contact Info
2. Professional Summary
3. Work Experience
4. Skills
5. Education

Order for recent graduates:

1. Contact Info
2. Professional Summary
3. Education
4. Skills
5. Projects/Internships

Never include: Photo (US jobs), birth date, marital status, religion, full address (city + state only), "References available upon request"

Professional Summary

Formula:

[Title] with [X years] of [domain] experience. 
[Key achievement with metrics]. 
Skilled in [top 3 relevant skills]. Seeking to [goal] at [company type].

Example:

Senior Software Engineer with 7 years of backend experience. 
Reduced API latency by 40% serving 2M daily users at scale. 
Expert in Python, AWS, and distributed systems. 
Seeking to lead platform engineering at a growth-stage fintech.

Avoid objective statements ("Seeking a position where I can grow...")—they're outdated and self-focused.

Experience Bullets

CAR Formula: Action Verb + Task + Result with Metrics

❌ Responsible for managing the engineering team
✅ Led 8-person engineering team, delivering 3 major features 2 weeks ahead of schedule

❌ Helped improve sales
✅ Increased enterprise sales by $2.3M (34% YoY) through automated lead scoring

❌ Worked on the checkout system
✅ Reduced checkout abandonment from 68% to 41% by redesigning 3-step flow

Action verbs by category:

Limit 3-5 bullets per role. Start with strongest achievement.

Quantification

Every bullet should have numbers when possible:

Types of metrics: revenue ($), percentage (%), time saved, team size, users/customers, scale (requests/sec), satisfaction scores

ATS Optimization

75% of resumes never reach human eyes due to ATS filtering.

Do:

• Standard section headers: "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills"
• Both acronym AND full version: "AWS (Amazon Web Services)"
• Keywords from job description, naturally integrated
• Standard fonts: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman (10pt minimum)
• PDF with selectable text (not scanned image)

Don't:

• Tables, columns, or text boxes—ATS can't parse them
• Headers/footers with important info—ATS may skip them
• Images, logos, or graphics
• Creative headers: "My Journey" → "Experience"
• Special symbols (✓, ➤)—use standard bullets (•, -)
• Keyword stuffing—triggers spam filters

Tech Industry

Must include:

• GitHub profile URL
• Technical skills categorized (Languages, Frameworks, Cloud, Tools)
• Projects with live links
• Scale metrics (users, requests/sec, data volume)

Skills format:

Languages: Python, TypeScript, Go
Frameworks: React, FastAPI, Django
Cloud: AWS (EC2, Lambda, S3), GCP
Tools: Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, GitHub Actions

Avoid: Obsolete tech (jQuery, Flash), "Proficient in Microsoft Office", vague titles ("Code Ninja")

Design Industry

Must include:

• Portfolio link (prominent, first line after name)
• Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe CC
• Process: user research, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing
• Impact metrics: conversion rates, user satisfaction scores

Avoid: Resume without portfolio link (instant rejection), listing only tools without methodology

Length Guidelines

For senior roles, condense early-career positions to 1-2 lines.

Common Mistakes

• Listing responsibilities instead of achievements—shows what you did, not impact
• Starting bullets with "Responsible for..."—passive voice, no impact
• No metrics—impossible to gauge value delivered
• Same resume for every job—ATS matches keywords to job description
• Typos and grammar errors—instant rejection at many companies
• Unprofessional email (cooldude99@...)—use firstname.lastname@
• Including photo in US applications—bias concerns, often auto-rejected
• PDF from image/scan—ATS can't extract text
• More than 2 pages—recruiters spend 6-7 seconds on first scan
• First-person pronouns ("I managed...")—remove, start with verbs

Pre-Submit Checklist

□ Professional email address
□ Summary tailored to target role
□ 70%+ of bullets include metrics
□ Skills match job description keywords
□ Acronyms + full versions (SEO + Search Engine Optimization)
□ Consistent formatting throughout
□ 1-2 pages maximum
□ Text-selectable PDF
□ Filename: FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf
□ LinkedIn matches resume content
□ No tables, columns, or text boxes
□ No typos (use spell check + human review)