My CV has evolved a bit over the years. But there have also been a few constants too. I’ve always tried to keep my CV under 2 pages, my most recent one is 1 page with embedded links, it’s more like a portfolio.
But here is how my CV has changed with the times
Sam Connelly Tester Profile 2014
I used this CV to apply for my role at Tyro, it was created using Word and it’s interesting to read over how I presented myself 4 years ago. This was my first attempt at putting the 5 c’s of testing on my profile.
Sam Connelly Tester Profile 2016
I started experimenting with the 1 page CV, using Canva (an online designer’s tool). I was told somewhere that dates didn’t matter as much as duration. I used this CV to get my role at EPAM Systems. I still have the 5 ‘c of testing but I’ve replaced crazy with coding.
Sam Connelly Tester Profile 2017
This is a 2 page CV that I used to help me get my role at Campaign Monitor. It went through a few iterations and I had a few other ideas in how to tweak/and experiment with it. I also wanted to experiment with a timeline representation;
I never submitted any CV’s with the timeline view but it was an interesting idea.
Bug Hunter Sam Connelly 2018 – 1 pager
Bug Hunter Sam Connelly 2018 – 2 pager
This is my latest iteration, I’m experimenting with a 1 pager vs a 2 pager. Created using Google Docs and with embedded links. I’ve dropped the 5c’s of testing idea. If I was to keep it, I would mention it but link out to a blog post about it. I’ve also adjusted the date I graduated from Uni. Because of my exchange year, changing course and bout of chronic depression my uni was all over the place. I had done most of my course by 2012 and was only doing 1 subject a semester in 2013, I was doing a full time testing contract at the time and had done a 6 month part time testing job before that.
I recently had someone reject my 2017 CV because the recruiter did this quick check; 2017 minus graduation year of 2013 only equals 4 years of experience = rejection, we are looking for 5+ years experience. So instead of trying to explain this I’ve just put 2012 as my graduation year.
The whole point of a CV is to make you seem like an interesting enough person to invite into for an interview. Think of it as a user interface with that whole purpose in mind. How can you simplify the data and layout to make it easier to read? How has your CV evolved over time?
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