Checklist how to write resume for engineers

Change History

№	Change date	Change description
1	October 5, 2023	Added english version of checklist
2	October 13, 2023	Added green and red flags for passing ATS checks (with comments)
3	March 2, 2024	Added CV templates and checklist from AgileFluent
4	September 3, 2024	Removed unnecessary and added more examples

What to include in your resume:

[ ] A suitable high-quality photo (if required for your specific market, otherwise skip this)
[ ] Contact information: phone number, email, messaging app for communication, LinkedIn (you can specify your preferred contact method)
[ ] Desired position (if applying for multiple positions, create separate resumes for each)
[ ] Summary: A brief description of yourself as a professional (± 3-5 lines). Some CV templates lack a summary section, so it's your choice whether to include one. However, I personally prefer to have a summary.
[ ] Additional information (professional hobbies, achievements, etc.) that can highlight you as a specialist
[ ] A grouped list of professional skills, tools, and technologies (in descending order of skill level and usage)
[ ] Include your soft skills (if they can be demonstrated). Better to write it as achievements or as a part of responsobilities then just a list.
[ ] Work experience relevant to the desired position (or specific job vacancy), starting with the most recent project
[ ] Project descriptions should include: time period, company name, a brief project or field description, your position, a list of responsibilities, and a list of achievements
[ ] If possible, list responsibilities in a format that explains what you accomplished and with the use of which tools. Sometimes, you can add qualitative or quantitative metrics
[ ] You can describe achievements in a shortened STAR format: What you did, what the result was (quantitative/qualitative metrics), and why it was important
[ ] Mention your highest education level (no need to include school)
[ ] Include professional certifications relevant to the job vacancy
[ ] List the languages you speak along with your proficiency level
[ ] Add links to your portfolio, work examples, or GitHub repository

Additional checks:

[ ] Ideally, keep your resume to 1-2 pages. The most important information should be readily available to recruiters and technical specialists
[ ] It's important to save your resume in a user-friendly format for recruiters: PDF (with text that can be copied, and searchable), or a link to Google Drive. Pay attention to the file name of your resume. It's best to use the format "NameSurname_Position_CV.pdf," for example: GennadyChursov_QALead_CV.pdf
[ ] You can use ChatGPT for assistance in writing achievements and the brief information section, but make sure the text sounds human and not overly formal
[ ] Check if all phrasings are understandable to people outside of your projects. Avoid using obscure terms, provide context for described tasks on the project, and describe the complexity and significance of each task
[ ] Run a spellcheck on all words using Google Spellchecker or Grammarly for English resumes
[ ] In the case of team achievements, describe the candidate's individual contributions
[ ] In a resume, uniform bullet points are used, for example: in the work experience, achievements, and summary sections
[ ] In a resume, headings are used (with style, increased font size, and/or bold) to visually separate sections
[ ] All links are highlighted, clickable, lead to the intended destination, and are predictable for the recruiter
[ ] The entire text can be copied, and it pastes correctly without invalid characters or breaks.
[ ] You can use Notion as a portfolio, and you can also save links to articles, presentations, your techtalks/meetups there, then provide a link to that collection in your resume.

What not to include in your resume:

A photo in some cases