10 Do’s and Don’ts of Writing The Best Data CV

Do put in your contact details

Always make sure the information is up to date, and that you include both a phone number and email address.

Don’t write a meaningless introduction.

“Enthusiastic, punctual and detail-oriented Data Analyst seeking their next Data role within a large organisation”.

This introduction doesn’t really tell us much about you, who you are and what you’re looking for.

INSTEAD

Write an intriguing and interesting bio.

Explain what you’re looking for, summarise your skills and what will make you the best candidate for the job you’re applying for. World number 1 in Kaggle? Put it down! Looking to relocate to London? Put it down! It’ll give employers a really good understanding of who you are and why you’re applying for their job opening.

Do include links

Working in data is unlike a lot of industries, and we know that you’re passionate about the work that you’re doing. Therefore, always include links to any personal projects, GitHub’s, or communities that you are part of or contribute to.

Also, include a link to your LinkedIn (and make sure it’s up to date!)

Don’t write a summary of tasks.

This makes the CV read like a job description. Employers not only want to know what you did in your role, but what effect it had on the business, and what you achieved. For example, instead of writing ‘worked with the Product and Leadership Teams’, explain why you worked with them, what projects you worked with them on and what your biggest achievements were. Employers are looking for this detail as it shows that you understand the business impact of the work you are doing.

Be proud and don’t be afraid to toot your own horn!

Do summarise your tech stack underneath the bio.

Working in data means that you’re working with a variety of different technologies which shift and change with you career. List the technologies you have worked with and the level you are at with those technologies. E.g. SQL Advanced, Python Intermediate, Microsoft Excel (Pivot Tables, VBA, Macros) Advanced.

Look through the job description and see what technologies they ask for – if you have these skills then make sure you’ve included them.

You must also repeat these technologies in each role where you have used them. This helps employers to understand how up to date your experience is and how relevant It is for the role you are applying for.

Don’t write too many pages

There isn’t a magic page number when writing a CV, you may have incredibly relevant experience over 15 contract jobs within the last 5 years which means your CV is likely to be longer, or this may be your first job and you can only write small amount of information. No matter what your experience, it’s best to keep your CV as succinct and concise as possible containing only valuable information. This can be done by:

• Any jobs older than 10 years can either be reduced to a company name and job title, or have a small amount of short bullet points
• Likewise, you can do the same for non-relevant jobs an only include the transferrable skills you’ve gained
• Make sure everything you are writing down is relevant for the role that you’re applying for
• Bullet point the summaries, achievements and duties of each role and make each point short, and impactful

Do ensure your CV is easy to read and formatted correctly.

Employers often don’t spend a long time looking through a CV and one with difficult formatting could turn the employer off. Make everything clear and easy to read and create a CV to be proud of! Remember the am of your CV is to sell you and your skills and is the first impression your potential new employer has of you.

Don’t send a standardised CV.

You must always tailor a CV for a job and include all relevant experience that fits with the role. Some employers use software that scans the CV for key words, others may not read the whole CV in depth and will be looking for key points. Do not be caught out!

Do explain any gaps in employment

Employers may be put off by huge and unexplained gaps in CVs. However, we all know that a career may not go as planned or you’ve been lucky enough to go travelling or complete a house renovation project and have some time out!

Employers understand, but only if the gap is explained. Likewise, if you’re returning to work after some time out of the workplace, they’ll want to know how you’ve kept up with current trends and kept your skills up to date. In this instance, we recommend free online courses such as Coursera, Kaggle competitions or completing some personal data-driven projects on GitHub.

Don’t send your CV without reading it first!

Spelling and grammar mistakes can really undermine someone’s CV especially if they claim to have ‘exceptional attention to detail’! Read through it yourself and get a friend or family member to do the same.

If it’s been some time since you last wrote a CV, it’s your first CV or you’re refreshing it and don’t know where to start then we hope the above Do’s and Don’ts have been valuable. If you need any further assistance in writing your CV then please get in touch and our Consultants will be able to provide advice along with market information and may even help you find that next opportunity!