IT Specialist CV example

How to write a CV for an IT specialist

Once you’ve selected the best template for you, it’s time to add content. The sections that follow will outline in detail how to write a CV for an IT specialist. We’ll break down each of the steps for you, so you know what to include and how to include it.

Next up is:

• What contact details should I include in my IT specialist CV?
• How to write a personal statement for your IT specialist CV
• Adding an experience section to your IT specialist CV
• Top skills for your IT specialist CV
• Outlining education on an IT specialist CV

What contact details should I include in my IT specialist CV?

Let’s get started on your CV with a contact details section. This is the first step – letting the employer know where you’re based and how they can contact you. This section consists of your name, followed by some important contact information.

Make sure your name is in a significantly larger font than the rest of your document. As referenced before, always use a classical font such as Times New Roman or Arial. After this, you’ll need to place all your relevant contact details.

The most important parts to include are:

• Your address
• A professional email address
• Your phone number

Example of contact section for IT specialist CV

How to write a personal statement for your IT specialist CV

Your personal statement acts as a short note to introduce you to your employer. It’s important to swiftly introduce yourself to the reader and give a quick indication of your professional profile. The statement needs to be brief, and you won’t have that many words to work with. Because of this, it’s a good idea to follow a specific formula that covers everything you’ll need to include. Consider the following…

Sentence one is all about introducing yourself by defining your experience and career focus. After that, you can move on to discuss some of your achievements in sentence two. Ensure any claims made are backed up with facts or figures to lend authority to your writing. You can then write sentences three and four, which should explain any unique skills or specialisms you have. For example, you may have experience in a specific form of code.

What do we mean when we say ‘backed up with facts or figures?’ In short, these are any stats or achievements you can say that prove your achievements. For example, you may have helped to organise a company’s IT systems, decreasing time spent searching through databases by 50%. This shows you have experience and that you’ve already succeeded in a previous role.

What else is important to add for your personal statement? Take a look at the following:

• Always write in the third person as this is more professional.
• Don’t exceed 100 words
• Keep the tone friendly but professional
• Always try to hit on the important skills outlined in the job advertisement
• Don’t delve into your overarching career ambitions just yet – that comes later!

Example of personal statement for IT specialist CV

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Adding experience section to your IT specialist CV

One of the most vital parts of your CV is your work experience section. In many cases, this is what your employer will value the most. This is the moment where you explain your work history and how it makes you the best candidate. Some of our top advice for this section includes using the job advert to lead your writing. All of the information you add should echo the company’s job requirements.

So how do you format this section? First, begin from your current or most recent role, noting up to six responsibilities for each. You’ll need to add more detail for positions that have a lot of cross-over with the position you’re applying for. The more you can do this, the stronger you will appear as a candidate.

Always include the following:

• Job title
• Employment start and end dates
• Company name
• Company location
• List of key responsibilities
• Relevant achievements

Like with your personal statement, we recommend adding evidence and stats to prop-up your experience. Don’t write “helped automate systems” but “automated a range of company systems to cut costs by 25%”. This will always be stronger to an employer and gives you a great talking point if you’re lucky enough to be offered an interview.

Another thing you’ll want to make sure is that you don’t waste time repeating yourself or covering boring tasks that don’t strengthen your application. For example, “answering emails” isn’t something worth talking about as this is a standard thing many professionals do within their jobs. Define more specific skills such as “coding” or “system optimisation”.

Finally, make sure that you always try to keep the reader engaged with strong language choices. Use dynamic verbs and positive adjectives. Dynamic verbs include words like “advised”, “led”, or “coordinated”. Positive adjectives are anything that helps to define you as a candidate, for example you might be “organised” or “hard-working”.

Example of work experience for an IT specialist CV

Top skills for your IT specialist CV

It’s not just IT qualifications and certifications that make an IT specialist good at their job. The role requires several technical skills and personal qualities, which your CV will need to highlight. Your IT specialist CV skills will cover the systems and the processes you use in your day to day role, the technology stacks you’ve used, and any code language fluency.

You’ll want to try and break your skills up between hard and soft skills. We’d recommend going for 12 overall. Hard skills are anything technical that you have learned while on the job or through qualifications. For example, “software experience” or “coding languages”.

Soft skills are more to do with your character. These are your positive and important character traits that paint a picture of you as a positive candidate.

A balance of both of these is a good idea if you want to attract a hiring manager’s attention. Companies need people who have both hands-on experience but also those who have a good quality of character. If you touch upon both in plain language, you’ll appear as a strong candidate.

Here are some examples of both hard and soft skills:

Outlining education on an IT specialist CV

Education on your CV is your chance to outline your qualifications. This is an important part of your CV that shows you have the educational background to back up your skills and experience. You need to outline any relevant school, college, or university courses you have completed. More than this, you should include relevant professional training courses you have completed.

There are a few things to keep in mind for this section. First of all, ensure not to draw attention to incomplete courses or any poor grades you may have. Also ensure you only highlight qualifications that add to your application. Don’t discuss courses you’ve taken that are irrelevant to the job role you’re applying for. If you have much higher qualifications than GCSEs, these also might not be worth adding.

So, what will you need to be an IT specialist? Generally, you will want to include your most relevant qualifications. This could be a higher education degree in a relevant subject.

When taking note of your education, it’s important to include:

• The name of the academic institution
• Start and end dates of study
• The title of the subject you studied
• Your qualification level
• Your result

Example of education for IT specialist CV