Top 10 expert CV writing tips for IT contractors

The importance of a well-written CV cannot be understated. Given that the attention span of recruiters and clients is notoriously short, we asked an expert for ten concise tips on how to craft the perfect contracting CV.

Matt Craven is the Founder and MD of The CV & Interview Advisors.

1) Professional Summary

Include a Profile or Summary at the start of the CV.

This should explain who you are, your value proposition, and the top four strengths that your clients are most interested in.

When you write the key strengths, describe the strength followed by the benefit this strength will bring to your client’s business.

The profile is your five seconds to get the reader’s attention, and it will put the rest of your CV into context.

Avoid clichés such as “working in a team” and “excellent communication skills”.

2) Focus on achievements!

Clients want to see evidence that you are good at your job.

An achievement is an outcome, not a task, so consider the business benefits you have delivered and provide statistical evidence that you succeeded.

For example, delivering a global SAP implementation isn’t an achievement! Delivering it three months early and driving efficiency savings of £3M annually is.

3) Don’t get hung up on CV length

Within reason, don’t get too hung up on sticking to a certain number of pages. Up to three pages is fine for a typical contractor, and up to four pages for a senior-level contractor with many years of experience.

Often, contractors produce an overly short CV that fails to sell them because they are more worried about the length of their CV than they are about including their key selling points. Find out more about the 2-page CV myth.

4) Choose strong statements

Use powerful words and statements backed up with evidence rather than passive terminology.

For example: “Through effective Issues Management, reduced a backlog of critical issues from 289 queries to minimal levels within only two months.” How much more powerful is that than “Responsible for reducing an issues backlog”?

5) Write in ‘implied first person’

There’s often a debate about writing in the ‘first person’ or ‘third person’, but neither is correct. A CV should be written in ‘implied first person’, which is ‘first person’ with no pronouns.

In layman’s terms, avoid using the word “I”. This will prevent you from sounding self-appreciating or boastful.

When crafted this way, a CV allows for a more powerful articulation of your achievements and abilities.

This approach exudes a certain sophistication, contrasting with a purely first-person narrative’s often less mature tone.

6) Don’t be shy

Don’t be too modest! A CV is a sales document and should be written in such a way.

When writing your CV, view yourself as a product/service and consider your CV to be your glossy sales brochure that you will give to your customers.

If you do this, you are more likely to include all your key selling points that will appeal to your potential clients.

A CV with just a list of jobs and half a dozen bullet points describing the role isn’t going to communicate if you are good, bad or average at your job.

7) Case studies

Storytelling is a tried and tested technique for communicating a message.

Think about Aesop and the Greek fabulists – they were masters of this technique, and marketing teams still use stories to sell products and services today.

So, how do we use stories in CVs? I recommend using case studies to present your most significant achievements on page one so your CV is front-loaded with your biggest, best and most relevant projects/achievements.

Write these achievements using the STAR model – an acronym for Situation, Task, Actions and Result.

8) Go easy on the personal details

Don’t put half a page of personal details on page one. By all means, have a mobile telephone number and your email address on page one, but the rest of your personal details should sit in a personal details section towards the end of your CV.

After your name, the Profile should be the first thing people read, not that you live on Moorfield Avenue in Chalfont St Roger.

9) Adapt your CV to each role

Change your CV for each role so that the most important skills and experience feature more prominently.

Having multiple Profiles and a broad portfolio of case studies (focused on different types of projects) allows you to do this within minutes rather than hours.

You should also adjust the Key Skills section to match the contract brief. This will optimise your CV for ATS and help recruiters identify how you meet the role’s requirements.

10) CV keyword optimisation

Following on from point number 9, optimise your CV for keyword searches and think about CV SEO.

Somebody somewhere will be doing keyword matching on a job board or recruitment database, or your CV may be scrutinised by an applicant tracking system or another type of recruitment software.

If your CV isn’t keyword-rich and mentions all the skills expected of someone in your profession, then you may not get past the ‘machine side’ of recruitment in order to have your CV reviewed by a human.

Work a read – useful tips to boost your IT contractor LinkedIn profile.

Would you like a free CV appraisal?

If you would like Matt’s company, The CV & Interview Advisors, to evaluate your CV (or LinkedIn profile) then please submit a free and confidential 1-2-1 CV or LinkedIn appraisal here.

The company has written over 30,000 CVs, many of them for contractors, and works closely with companies such as IPSE, Contractor UK, and, of course, IT Contracting.