Section 1: Contact Information — Maximum Value, Minimum Clutter

This block is the first thing a recruiter sees. Your goal: provide the most important information quickly and clearly, making them want to read on.

What Must Be Included:

• First and Last Name: Large and clear.
• Desired Position: Be specific, e.g., 'Frontend Developer', 'Python Developer', 'QA Engineer'. Important: Omit labels like 'Junior', 'Middle', 'Senior'. Let the company determine your level during the interview. You don't want to accidentally lower the bar, do you?
• Years of Experience: State the total number of years of relevant experience (e.g., 'Development Experience: 3 years'). This is one of the first filters for recruiters.
• Key Links:
  • LinkedIn: Your professional profile, must be up-to-date.
  • GitHub (for developers): Extremely important. Ensure the profile is active and showcases something (your projects, contributions). If your GitHub has been inactive for a couple of years, it's better not to include it.
  • Primary Job Site: Link to your profile on the key platform where you're job hunting (e.g., Djinni, DOU, Work.ua, or another relevant site for you).
  • (Optional) Portfolio: If you have a separate website with your work (relevant for designers, frontend developers) (or a link to your interactive/digital resume if you use that format).
• Contact Details:
  • Email: A professional address. Ideally - name.surname@gmail.com or similar. Avoid addresses like nagibator2000@... .
  • Phone: Increases trust and shows your availability.
  • City/Country (optional, but often needed): Although the source text advised omitting location to avoid regional salary bias and for remote work, in current realities (especially if not only seeking remote work), specifying the city (and country, if looking abroad) is often required or at least expected. Include it if you're open to relocation or seeking work in a specific location.

What NOT to Include (especially at the initial stage):

• Age: To avoid potential age discrimination.
• Salary Expectations: Especially for beginners. Don't undersell yourself. Discuss this during the interview or when the company asks. Experienced specialists might include it, but it's often better left for negotiation.
• Marital status, hobbies (unrelated to the job): This is unnecessary information for an initial introduction.
• Photo:
  • For many European countries, a photo is standard and often expected. Use a high-quality, professional portrait (face clearly visible, neutral background, neat appearance). No vacation photos, full-body shots, or informal settings.
  • For the US/Canada market, photos are usually omitted from resumes to avoid bias.

Example of a minimalist contact block:

Sophia Dubois

Frontend Developer | Experience: 2 years

Email: sophia.dubois@email.com | Phone: +320 XX XXX XX XX

Location: Brussels, Belgium (open to remote work)

LinkedIn: [link] | GitHub: [link] | Djinni: [link]

Section 2: About / Summary — Your Mini-Presentation

This block follows the contact information and often determines if the recruiter reads on. Here, in 1-2 short paragraphs, you need to convey the essentials about your experience, skills, and goals.

Goal:

To provide a quick overview of who you are, what you can do, and how you can benefit the company.

What to Write:

• Paragraph 1: Your Core Experience and Achievements.
  • Focus on specific actions and results. Ask yourself: What did I do? What problems did I solve? What was I responsible for?
  • Examples for a developer: 'Developed and implemented [Idea X], leading to [Result Y]', 'Optimized [Process Z], reducing time by N%', 'Participated in migration from [Technology A] to [Technology B]', 'Created a UI component library for...', 'Covered X% of the codebase with tests'.
  • Use strong verbs: developed, implemented, optimized, improved, led, mentored colleagues, shared knowledge and practical experience.
• Paragraph 2: Breadth of Knowledge (T-shaped) and Goals.
  • Show that you're interested in more than just your narrow specialization. Mention knowledge or experience in related areas (for a frontend developer, this could be backend, CI/CD, DevOps practices, working with Figma; for backend — frontend basics, cloud work, containerization).
  • This demonstrates your engagement, ability to work collaboratively on the entire product, and potential for growth.
  • Briefly mention the type of job you're seeking and what's important to you (e.g., 'Seeking an opportunity to grow in [Area X] within a product company', 'Want to apply my skills to create [Product/Service Y]').
• Additionally (if space permits and relevant):
  • Participation in hackathons, Open Source (with merged PRs), speaking at meetups.
  • Experience mentoring or training colleagues.
  • Maintaining a technical blog or channel.

What to Avoid:

• Generic phrases: 'quick learner', 'responsible', 'communicative' (better demonstrated through examples in your experience).
• Excessively long text: Maximum 2 small paragraphs.
• Inconsistencies with the rest of the resume.

Example Summary for a Frontend Developer (1-2 years experience):

Frontend Developer with 2 years of experience in creating and optimizing user interfaces using React and TypeScript. Participated in the development of [application type, e.g., an e-commerce platform], focusing on [key task, e.g., creating a UI component library and refactoring module X], which resulted in [outcome, e.g., accelerating new feature development by 15%].

Possess a deep understanding of modern web development principles, including [related area 1, e.g., responsive design and accessibility (a11y)]. Have basic experience with Node.js for building Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) and configuring CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI. Seeking a Frontend Developer position in a product company where I can contribute to the development of a complex and valuable product.

Section 3: Key Skills — Optimization for Search

This section is your arsenal of technologies and tools. It's critically important for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and for recruiters who quickly scan resumes for key requirements matching the job description.

Goal:

To clearly list your technical competencies, grouped for ease of reading and searching.

How to Format:

1. Group by category: Don't lump everything together. Dividing into logical blocks makes the section readable and understandable. Example categories:
   • Programming Languages: (Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Go, C#...)
   • Frameworks & Libraries: (React, Angular, Vue.js, Node.js, Express, Django, Flask, Spring Boot...)
   • Databases: (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra...)
   • Tools & Technologies: (Docker, Kubernetes, Git, Jenkins, GitLab CI, RabbitMQ, Kafka...)
   • Cloud Platforms: (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud...)
   • Testing: (Jest, Cypress, Pytest, Selenium, JUnit...)
   • Methodologies: (Agile, Scrum, Kanban...)
   • (Other relevant categories: OS, Web Servers, Big Data, etc.)
2. Be specific: Instead of general phrases like 'Web Development', list specific technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Node.js . The more precise, the better for searches.
3. List what you know: Include skills you genuinely possess and are prepared to discuss in an interview. Don't add a technology you've only read an article about.
4. Tailor to job descriptions: Review the descriptions of jobs that interest you and ensure the key technologies mentioned are present in your list (provided you know them, of course).

What NOT to do:

• List Soft Skills: Skills like 'communication', 'teamwork', 'stress resistance' are out of place here. Demonstrate these through your experience description and achievements.
• Create a 'tag cloud': Simply listing skills separated by commas is less effective than a structured list by category.
• Rate your proficiency level: Avoid writing 'React (advanced)', 'SQL (basic)'. Your level will be evident from your experience description and the interview.

Example skill block structure (for a Fullstack Developer):

Key skills:

• Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, SQL
• Frontend: React, Redux/Redux Toolkit, HTML5, CSS3/SCSS, Webpack, Jest, Cypress
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, Flask, SQLAlchemy
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
• Tools & DevOps: Git, Docker, GitLab CI, Nginx
• Cloud: AWS (EC2, S3, RDS - basic experience)
• Methodologies: Agile, Scrum

Section 4: Work Experience — Proof of Your Value

This is the heart of your resume. It's where you prove you can apply your skills practically and achieve results. Recruiters and technical specialists pay close attention to this section.

Structure for each job position:

• Company Name: Provide the full name. Tip: Make the name clickable (link to the company website) if possible. This adds credibility.
• Job Title: Your position at this company.
• Employment Period: Month and year start – Month and year end (or 'Present').
  • Regarding short tenures: Try to avoid listing experience shorter than 3-6 months, if possible, as it might raise questions about your stability. If you do include it, be prepared to clearly explain the reason for leaving (project ended, mismatched expectations, lack of growth, etc.). Experience of 1 year or more at one place is perceived as perfectly normal.
• Key Responsibilities and ACHIEVEMENTS (most important!):
  • Use bullet points.
  • Focus on achievements, not duties: Instead of 'wrote code' — 'Developed module X, which enabled Y'.
  • Quantify results: Use numbers, percentages, metrics. Even if exact data isn't available, provide a reasonable estimate. This looks more professional. Examples:
    • 'Optimized DB queries, speeding up report generation by 25%.'
    • 'Implemented a CI/CD pipeline, reducing deployment time from 2 hours to 15 minutes.'
    • 'Developed and conducted A/B tests for X, increasing conversion by 5%.'
    • 'Migrated project from JavaScript to TypeScript, covering 80% of the codebase with types.'
    • 'Reduced UI bugs by 20% after implementing a component library.'
  • Use action verbs: Developed, implemented, optimized, led, managed, created, configured, improved, reduced, increased, migrated, tested, mentored.
  • Mention technologies: Briefly state the stack used for a specific task (e.g., '...using React and Redux Toolkit').
  • Be concise: 3-5 strong points per job are usually sufficient.

Example Experience Description:

BV "MyCvForMe" (mycvforme.com) | Brussels, Belgium

Backend Developer | October 2022 - April 2025

• Developed REST API for a new mobile application (Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL) serving ~10,000 users.
• Optimized complex SQL queries, reducing key report generation time by an average of 30%.
• Configured CI/CD processes using GitLab CI, decreasing manual deployment time by 90%.
• Integrated a third-party payment service (Stripe), enabling card payment acceptance.
• Participated in code reviews, assisted in onboarding a new team member.

What if You Have No Commercial Experience?

This is the classic 'chicken and egg' problem, but it doesn't mean the section should be empty! Your experience isn't just paid work. Showcase your projects and initiatives:

1. Personal Projects (Pet Projects):
   • Describe them like commercial experience: project name, your role, period worked on it (at least approximate), and most importantly — tasks and achievements.
   • Example:

     Project: Telegram Bot 'TaskMaster' | Independent Development

     January 2024 - March 2024

     • Developed a Telegram bot for task management using Python (aiogram) and SQLite.
     • Implemented features for adding, editing, setting deadlines, and reminders.
     • Configured the bot to run on a remote server (VPS).
     • [Link to the bot's GitHub repository]

2. Educational Projects: If you completed courses or bootcamps, choose the most complex and comprehensive projects (especially team-based ones) and describe them similarly. Mention the stack used and your role/contribution.
3. Open Source Contributions:
   • Even small contributions (fixing bugs, writing documentation, tests) are valued.
   • Example: 'Contributed to the [Library/Framework Name] repository by fixing bug [X] / adding documentation for [Y] (Pull Request merged).' [Link to PR, if possible]
4. Freelance / Volunteering / Internships: Any relevant experience is important. Describe the task, stack, and result. Example: 'Developed a landing page for NGO [Name] using Tilda/WordPress/pure HTML/CSS, which helped them [achieve result]'.

The main rule for those without experience: Show what you did, not just what you learned. Use the same structure and focus on results as you would for commercial experience.

Section 5: Education and Certifications — Foundation and Development

This section showcases your educational background and commitment to development. Although experience often matters more than a diploma in IT, relevant education and certifications can be an advantage.

Goal:

To demonstrate your formal training and additional learning efforts.

What to Include:

1. Higher Education (if applicable and relevant):
   • Provide the full university name, faculty/department, and major (as on the diploma).
   • Years of study or graduation year.
   • Example:

     Technical University of Munich (TUM) | Munich, Germany

     Department of Informatics

     Major: Computer Science, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)

     2018 - 2022

2. Courses and Certifications (most important here):
   • Be selective! Only list courses relevant to IT and the desired position.
   • Prioritize recognized certifications: Vendor certifications (AWS Certified Developer, Google Cloud Certified, Microsoft Azure Developer Associate) or technology-specific ones (Certified Kubernetes Administrator - CKA) carry significant weight.
   • Quality Online Courses: List courses from reputable platforms (Coursera, edX, Udemy - if the course is in-depth and relevant) or specialized schools with a good reputation. Include the course name and the organization/platform.
   • Example:

     • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (Amazon Web Services, 2024)
     • 'Algorithms and Data Structures' Course (Coursera, Stanford University, 2023)
     • 'Full-Stack Developer' Bootcamp ([Reputable School Name], 2023)

3. Hackathons and Olympiads: If you participated (especially if you won awards) in relevant competitions, you can briefly mention it here or in the additional information section.

What NOT to do:

• List EVERYTHING: Don't include one-day webinars, short introductory courses, or irrelevant courses (e.g., sewing).
• List courses from heavily marketed schools with poor reputations: As mentioned in the source video, this can be a 'red flag' for some employers. It's better not to list questionable courses at all. Sometimes, honestly stating 'Self-taught' combined with strong projects in your experience works better.
• List high school diploma: This is irrelevant.

Important: If you don't have a university degree, don't worry. In the IT field, this is often not a critical factor if you have proven skills and experience (real or through projects).

Format: Information is usually presented in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

Section 6: Additional Information — Finishing Touches to Your Profile

This section is for anything important that didn't fit into previous blocks but can favorably complement your profile. Use it to show your professional engagement and other strengths.

Goal:

To add valuable details that help form a more complete picture of you as a candidate and individual (in a professional context).

What You Can Include (choose the most relevant):

1. Professional Activity and Personal Brand:
   • Publications: Links to your articles on Habr, Medium, DOU, personal blog.
   • Speaking Engagements: Mention talks at conferences, meetups, webinars.
   • Open Source: Brief description of your contributions or link to a significant project (if not detailed in experience).
   • Professional Communities: Involvement in organizing meetups, mentoring, etc.
   • Technical Blog / Channel: Link to your Telegram channel, YouTube channel (if professional and active).
2. Languages:
   • Definitely list the languages you speak and your level. Use a standard scale (e.g., A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) or descriptive levels (Native, Fluent, Advanced, Upper-Intermediate, Intermediate, Pre-Intermediate, Basic).
   • Example:

     • English: Fluent
     • German: A2 (Elementary)
     • Dutch: Native
     • Russian: Fluent

3. Awards and Achievements: Wins in olympiads, contests, significant awards (if relevant).
4. Hobbies and Interests (WITH CAUTION!):
   • Include only if they are relevant to the job or highlight useful qualities (e.g., playing chess might indicate strategic thinking, participation in a sports team — teamwork).
   • Avoid overly general or unrelated hobbies. This section can easily become filler.

What NOT to Include:

• Repeating information from other sections.
• Adding irrelevant details 'for volume'.

Format: A brief list works best.