example of a good CV: here’s how to optimize your CV for EPAM Anywhere

You never get a second chance to make first impression. To make a good impression on a company, you need to compose a well-written, concise, and compelling CV.

How to prepare an impressive CV? Is it the one that makes you shine or the one that perfectly correlates with the available position and shows how you fit in? As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle. In this article, we'll explain how to write a CV that presents you as a qualified professional that is a perfect fit for your desired position and how to make your CV stand out from the competition.

Note that all CVs for EPAM Anywhere must be written in English. Since our hiring process involves not only HR managers from our team, but also our clients and technical advisors, we've created a unified CV submission process. So, polish your English and get your CV prepared according to our rules!

A summary is a brief and concise overview of your core qualifications, strongest skills, and other competitive advantages. The perfect length of a summary is 7-10 sentences. You can present the information in the form of a bulleted list for better readability and to facilitate skimming.

At EPAM Anywhere, the summary is one of the vital blocks on your CV. When it is done well, it helps you immediately make a connection and use key terms that match the position description. When recruiters scan your CV, they want to find the skills, qualifications, and experience that the position requires. A carefully crafted summary helps you create an "aha" moment for the reader and clearly indicates why you're applying for the job.

A summary also demonstrates your efforts to create a tailored CV and your motivation to get the job.

Here's the summary structure you can follow in your CV:

• List your strongest soft and hard skills
• Include your major areas of expertise; if you possess any professional certification – list it here
  
• Mention business domains you have the most experience with
• Describe your responsibility level (supervising others? leading the team? managing the project? mentoring less experienced colleagues? conducting interviews?, etc.)

Summary example:

• Oracle DB Administrator with more than 12 years of IT experience (DB administration, data modelling, triggers and stored procedures development);
• Proven practical experience with Oracle Development (forms, reports);
• Successful experience in business application support (Enterprise-level of high availability systems);
• Key business domains: Telecommunication; Software Development; Production and Retail; E-commerce;
• Worked effectively in a multicultural environment; and
• Hands-on experience developing and implementing global disaster recovery strategy for enterprise-level customers.

Finally, consider these do's and don'ts when composing the summary section:

Do: create long-lasting positive impressions by using strong verbs and describing goals and the results achieved.

Don't: include personal information, such as your marital status or work experience that is irrelevant to the vacancy you're applying to.

When it comes to skills and qualifications, the right presentation is key. An effective CV is scannable and readable, so make sure your skills section stands out. Again, a bulleted list can be useful to present your skills.

Let's see how to write a successful CV specifically for EPAM Anywhere. Here's a short checklist to follow when describing your technical qualifications:

• Programming languages (ex., Java, Groovy, JavaScript, etc.)
• Technologies and frameworks (ex., Spring Framework, Hibernate, AngularJS, jQuery, Ajax, etc.)
• Tools (ex., Maven, Ant, Gradle, etc.)
• Operating systems (ex., Windows, Linux, macOS, etc.)
• Databases (ex., MS SQL Server, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.)
• Version control systems (ex., Git, SVN, etc.)
• Integrated development environments (ex., Eclipse, Visual Studio, etc.)
• Web/Application servers (ex., Tomcat, GlassFish, etc.)
• Methodologies (Agile (Scrum, Kanban), Waterfall, ITIL for Software Developers; PRINCE, PMBoK, or similar for Project Managers; ISTQB for Quality Assurance Engineers, and so on)

Also, specify your knowledge of foreign languages like English and include your level according to a CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) standard: A1, A2, B1, B2, and so on.

Next, let's review how to write a successful CV section concerning your working experience. This section is a place where you'll back up what you've said in your summary.

What format is best to present your working experience? Recruiters look for the following:

• Dates of employment
• Job title
• Name of company
• Location
• List of projects you worked on and your responsibilities

Don't necessarily describe all of the companies you've worked for. Four or five past companies with relevant experience and job responsibilities are enough. You should include the essential information like employment dates, positions, and company names, and then describe, in detail, all of your tasks and responsibilities for each company featured on your CV. Organize the information in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent project or company and working backward from there.

An example of a good description of your past projects is the following:

• Customer. Describe their business domain, global or local reach, and major milestones, if possible.
• Project. Briefly describe the project scope, business value, and its challenges.
• Project roles. Mention all the project roles you performed and note if you performed several roles on a single project, for example, Project Manager and Scrum Master.
• Team. Describe the team roster without including names, for example, 1 Project Coordinator, 2 Quality Assurance Specialists, 3 Ruby/Ruby on Rails Developers.
• Your responsibilities. This is one of the most critical parts of your CV. In this section, focus on things like your project responsibilities, your contributions to the project, your day-to-day activities, the methodology adopted, and communications at which you were involved. As you might have already guessed, your duties and responsibilities are the most significant part of this section. Include at least five detailed responsibilities you've had at your past job to make your CV look sufficiently substantial.

Pro tip: when describing your past working responsibilities, use strong verbs and avoid passive voice.

Example:

• Participated in discussions about application functionality with power users from Customer side. Conducted technical meetings at the start of every sprint to identify the most efficient solution. Presented and delivered demos for the Customer.
• Organized and managed operational troubleshooting and performance optimization processes; developed and reviewed disaster recovery procedures; created and implemented Support Desk processes optimization.
• …

Environment. List all of the technologies you've successfully used on the project (Java, Spring, Hibernate, Maven, MySQL, Scrum…)

Try to avoid unnecessary jargon like acronyms, abbreviations, or any other concepts and terms that are not widely accepted in the industry, and might only be familiar to your former colleagues.

In this section, identify the universities you graduated from and the degrees or certifications (if any) that you received. Here, too, the information should be organized in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent experience, and working backward from there.

Keep the education section organized. Our simple rules are the following:

• Translate your educational institution into English: "Railway Institute" instead of "Zheleznodorozhnyi Institute",
• Maintain a consistent order of information:
• Name of the education establishment
• Faculty (college)
• Degree (diploma)
• Specialty
• Training or courses
• Certificates (include widely acknowledged certifications like TOEFL, ISTQB for QA, etc., rather than local certifications and workshops that are not widely accepted or known to a global audience)
• Do not use abbreviations. Provide the full name of your institution instead.

Next, some final thoughts on how to make an impressive CV. If you have some achievements like certificates, and learning accomplishments, it makes sense to include them on your CV. But don't rush to add them all. Here's what recruiters expect to see in a recognitions section:

• Information about your award. While industry professionals may be familiar with award names, a recruiter might not be aware of them. Include the name of an award, the date it was issued and by whom, and a brief description of the award.
• Relevant awards and recognitions. Think twice before including every single award in the section. On the one hand, they indicate that you are a hard worker and proactive, and, on the other hand, employers may not be interested in finding out you're the chess player of the year in your local community.
• The impact you've made. Maybe you've raised a significant amount of money when volunteering or helped resolve a serious social issue? Explain the positive impact you've made and emphasize the results of your achievement.

To prove you've been growing professionally despite the employment gap, consider adding information about the experiences you've had during that time. Maybe you acted as a consultant, volunteered to help local businesses, or received additional training? Anything that shows that you've been developing your skills just like other job seekers can help you explain a gap in your employment history.

And stay focused on the positive no matter what. Frame any challenges on your CV as opportunities and lessons you've learned, rather than problems you couldn't handle. Employers are looking for creative people with a positive attitude who can admit their mistakes and move forward after difficulties.

After reading this blog post, have you found the gaps that prevent you from your most effective CV? Here is a short recap from us:

• Create concise, to-the-point, statements that describe your skills and the reasons you are applying for a particular job.
• Do your research so you describe your skills and working experience properly, using language common in the industry, and make sure they match the job description and tell a recruiter how you'll fill in the position.
• Turn your employment gaps into opportunities for development, not failures.
• The perfect size for a CV is 3-4 pages of well-formatted, concise, and organized information. Save details for an interview and personal communications.

Here’s a downloadable template of an ideal CV that will help you be well-prepared when applying for a job with EPAM Anywhere :)

Happy CV writing!