How I made my CV

This is not regarding any techie thing or any project I have done. This is simply about how properly make a CV, in
my point of view. The main cause is, I had the chance to review a bunch of CVs lately and I saw many of them dont
have any idea what a CV means. So, this article is not regarding How to make a proper CV, but rather How I
made my CV which lead me to be hired by Millennium IT (part of London Stock Exchange Group). If youd like to
know what rules I followed, please spend a few minutes to read this.
Please note Im a software engineer and some of these facts are related to that type of CVs. However, many of the
points can be applicable for other domains as well. And please note this is what I did. It may differ what others do.
Please feel free to post your ideas as comments. (I will update this accordingly.)
Following are some sample CVs.
1. This is one I created earlier. (SE)
2. This is the one I got selected for Millennium IT.
3. Single page CV. (SE)
4. This is a single page CV. (BA)
5. The above CV in a different format.
What is a CV?
Many of you think that a CV is to list out your achievements. Even thought it should contain your achievements, it
IS NOT. As I see, your CV should be able to reflect who you are. It should be able to represent you specially when
youre not around. Thats what it actually do. When a company sees your CV, they should get an idea about who
you are. Whether its worthy to call you to an interview or not. So, your CV is THE key to the interview. As far as I
know, from the CVs a company gets, more than 60% are directly rejected just by looking at the front page of the CV.
Only 40% earn the fortune to be turned to the 2nd page. So you can imagine the probability of getting selected to an
interview.
So create your CV in a way that is professionally attractive. Consider the CV as the key. And you need to market
yourself through that.
Fun fact : Go to the end of the post to find some memes.
Template
Think of a good template for your CV. You have all the right to make your own template. Dont copy someone elses
CV or its template. Even if you do, make sure they dont look the same. Because, a single company may get hundreds
of CVs per day, and there is a higher chance that they will get your CV along with its original CV. So, be creative.
Because it reflects your creativity as well.
You may use Word, Photoshop or even LaTeX to create your CV
Make use of maximum area of the page.
o You may use a thin page margin.
Try to limit your CV to 3 pages and 4 at max. 5+ pages are boring.
o If you have a lot to say about yourself for pages, cut of non-related stuff and include the most
significant things.
o If you dont have much to say (or even if you do), you can create a single page CV, but think of an
attractive way of presenting the contents.
o Mention the things, that worth and needs to be mentioned. No more, no less.
Dont be afraid to use colors.
o But dont make it distractingly colorful. Use some primary colors.
o You may even use a background image if you need to, but remember to let the text be visible.
Line spacing
o Dont leave a lots of space between lines. It leads your CV to be empty.
o And dont use too less spacing either. Then you CV will look like a scribble.

Alignments
o Properly align your topics, sub-topics and descriptions. It will make your CV clean.
Columns
o It is not recommended to use two columns if you have a lot of contents in your CV.
o But again, it highly depends on your CV template.
Titles
o Some people make the titles (Education, Projects etc) above the description, and some use them at the
right side of the description. If you can come up with a new way, thats awesome.
o Maintain a consistent formatting among them. Use the same font, font size, colors, Capital/Simple
URLs
o Always use the complete URL
o NEVER add a URL as a hyperlink.
Bad Example : My Blog : SudoPacman
Good Example : My Blog : sudopacman.wordpress.com
o Its always better to use non-shortened URLs for blogs
Language
This is a very critical aspect of any type of a formal document. Use formal language in your any report. Dont use
informal or offensive language.
Example:
Im self-driven and kind of a person who searching easy and effective paths to reach to the target without wasting
time and strength..
This is a very bad usage of language. You can convey the same idea with different words, in a nicer way.
Fixed Example:
Im a self-motivated individual, looking for more effective and efficient solutions.
Review your CV by several people. It may help to avoid lots of tiny errors.
Contents
Many people follow different order of components in their CVs. My personal idea is that the order itself depends on
the person. For example, I believe that you should order the sections according to the significance of them. If your
most significant achievement is a academics, mention that. If its on projects, mention it. But if your most significant
achievement is on Extra-Curricular activities, you most probably need to re-evaluate your significance criteria.
Here is the order I had in my CV.
1. Personal details (as header)
2. Objective
3. Experience (Projects)
4. Academic Qualifications
5. Technical Skills
6. Publications
7. Extra-Curricular Activities
8. Misc. Experience and Activities
9. Interests
10. Referees
11. Declaration
o What is the point of saying that the mentioned information is true? Is there any chance that its not?
Remember, this is not a legal document. Youre NOT signing your CV (mostly).
Now lets see each of them descriptively.

Personal Details
This is not a marriage proposal that youre submitting to a newspaper! Or neither a legal document. No one expects
a whole biography of yours. The reason is this is not a Bio Data, this is a Curriculum Vitae. I recommend the
following fields to be mentioned.
There are two main ways of mentioning your personal information.
1. At the header
o This is the mostly used method. Since youre mentioning only what is needed, its better to add them
to the header.
2. As a separate section
This is the old-school version, but still many people use it. Its not bad. But old.
That also have two approaches considering the place you add that block.
1. In the beginning
Well, this is not good as the previous one, but not bad as the next one.
2. At the end
Nobody would know who you are until the end of your CV.
Many reviewers search your name on Google, hence, its always better to have these in the
beginning.
Photo
o Please please please. Use a clear photo to your CV if you do. Or else, dont use any.
o Dont use the one you have on your NIC or university ID or any older one.
o Use a recent (less than a year, preferably 6 months) photo.
o And NO FUNKY POSES. Some people add photos like it is for a fashion show or a modelling
competition. Well, this is for you to get a job. Use that type of a pic, if you think that it would help.
Name
o Use the common name that you use. If youre mentioning your full name below, its okay to display
your first name in larger font (and again, it depends on your template).
Good Example : Praneeth Nilanga Peiris
Bad Example : Mudali Devage Praneeth Nilanga Peiris (Nobody cares)
o You really dont have to mention your full name. It is NOT expected, and sometimes its disturbing.
o And dont put both Name in full and Name with initials. Nobody cares.
Email
o Use a working email.
o Its better if you can use an email address from a recognized organization.
Example : praneethnilanga@ ieee.org
o Try to avoid any funky emails you have. (Anyway, this is not a big deal nowadays)
KillTheDemon@gmail.com
o If the email is changed in to a hyperlink, remove the hyperlink.
Mobile Number
o Use a working and reachable mobile number. Dont use your dads phone number.
o If you have two numbers, its okay to mention them. But not 3 number. You may seems like a
communication center.
Address
o This is not compulsory nowadays since most of the communication is done via email or phone.
o But no harm to add yours.

URL to your LinkedIn profile

o This is more important than you think. Even though you had to remove some projects in CV (due to
page limitations), you can add as many as you wish on LinkedIn.
o And make sure to keep your LinkedIn profile clean and up-to-date.
LinkedIn is considered as the virtual CV.
Dont use a funky profile pic to your LinkedIn profile.
o When youre adding the url, make sure youre using the shortened version.
LinkedIn provides a sharable version.
Example : https://lk.linkedin.com/in/praneethnilangapeiris
If you cant find it, at least shorten your profile URL using Goo.gle or similar tool.
Birthday (Optional)
o This is not to have birthday cakes from the company. But to show your age. Its easier than directly
mentioning your age.
And think again before adding these fields.
NIC number
o I really dont see any reason why would you need to mention your NIC number.
o Not like in other countries like Sweden, in Sri Lanka NIC cannot be used to get your details.
o So I dont see a valid reason to mention that.
Gender
o Well, they can read your name, that might convey your gender.
o If you can have an ambiguous name, its okay to add this field.
o If you had added a photo to your CV, this field is nearly useless.
Adding more unnecessary fields to your CV makes it consume a lot of valuable space. So think twice, if you really
need to add anything.
Profile
I dont know why its there as a separate section (or a sub-section). Ive seen it in many CVs, which tries to explain
what type of a person you are. Well, its not bad to mention who you are, if you write about who you really are.
Objective
This is the most trickiest thing in the CV. Many people ignore it. And most of the people just copy and paste it from
someone else. Seriously? Dont you have your own objective? If you cant write an objective of yours, youre not
even ready for a job. Go home and think what is wrong with you (no offense).
If you do have one, make sure it is clearly written. Dont write paragraphs about yourself. Reviewers know, if your
objective is a genuine one, or just some random set of words which are organized in a grammatical way.
Write this in a polite way. Dont be selfish when writing this, by just mentioning what you expect by doing a job.
Mention what would the company get if they hire you.
In my point of view, two lines (12pt) is enough. 3 line at max. But not 4.
And you dont really need to have a separate topic as Objective. Think of a creative way of mentioning it.
DONT EXAGGERATE. Just be humble & honest.
o Bad Example : my effective and easy paths makes me more accurate and faster
o If you need money as priority by doing this job (thats obvious), mention it (if its needed to), but
choose the words carefully.
Bad Example : I need to earn money
Better Example : I need to be financially stable
Check the linguistic correctness and clarity of your objective by several people.

In the next sections, think of the following things before even writing them.
DONT LIE.
o Never ever, lie on what you did.
o Dont say that you did something that you actually didnt.
o Dont say that you know something that you actually dont.
o Just mention, what youre confident of. You should be able to explain what you did/know.
Ordering
o Many people order the events (projects, achievements etc.) using the significance level. Well its not
bad.
o But the most appreciated way is to order them in the reverse chronological order.
Most recent thing at first.
Add the year along with the entry.
Think before you add something.
o Evaluate the significance, not how much it means to you, but how much it is important to the job that
youre applying.
Example :
If youre applying for a software engineer position, mentioning that you won the class price
at grade 11 sounds very much stupid.
May be even you were a prefect (but of course, it may display some leadership qualities
).
Experience
Add what is ONLY relevant to the post youre applying.
o Dont write everything you did. Just mention the most important ones.
This is where you should actually show your potential.
Add the descriptions about your work experience, researches, projects/applications, websites etc.
Winning competitions is NOT a part of this section.
You can use sub sections for each of those, if you have enough to mention.
Use the reverse chronological order to mention them along with the time period.
Work
o Mention the last position you held and the respective company.
o If you had any significant achievements, mention them as well.
o Consider about the non-disclosure agreement with those companies before mentioning any sensitive
information.
Researches
o Well, you dont need to explain it, and I know it cant be explained with several lines. Hence, just add
the title(s) of your research(es).

Projects
o Write a small description about the project (what it does). Limit it to 3-4 lines at max.
o Mention the technologies you have used. No need to mention your role unless it is a HUGE project.
o Add if there are any URLs which these projects can be found.
Never use hyperlink texts. How would someone click when its printed?
If you have a GitHub account, that would be the best way to do that.
o If you work as a freelancer, no need to mention all the projects you did over your lifetime. Just add
the most significant ones.

Academic Qualifications
Many companies really dont care much what your GPA is, if you have done good projects. Anyway, its always
good to say something about your academics.
Again, order them in reverse chronological order.
University
o If you have specialized a domain, mention it.
o Mention the current year that youre in and the GPA.
o DO NOT mention all the subjects that you did and the grades. Nobody cares.
GCE A/L
o Well, its better to mention the subject stream you sat for AL. May be the grades and the Z-Score.
o If you got a significant island or district rank, go ahead and mention it.
GCE O/L
o Well, nobody really cares.!!
o If you really want to say something, then mention the summarized results.
Example : 9 As (including Electronics)
BCS, CIMA, CIM, AAT or anything else.
o Give a brief highlight.
o Any ranks you got.
And any academic related awards you got
o Not the ones you got at the schools prize giving as the best score for Mathematics.
Technical Skills
This is another important section that many companies look in your CV. So its always better to add it right after
Experience. (But I did want them to see that I got a scholarship to Sweden, thats why my academic section was
there before technical skills)
Golden Rule
o If you dont know, DO NOT LIE.
It ruins the reputation of you as well as your institute you represent.
Its better to categorize your technical knowledge.
o Example : Programming Languages, IDEs, Testing tools, Frameworks, Platforms, Methodologies etc.
Never mention the category names as a skill.
o Example : NoSQL
NoSQL is NOT a specific tool.
o Fixed Example : MongoDB
o And dont mention NoSQL databases like MongoDB
Everyones knowledge is bounded. What is mentioned above is open-ended.
Then the reviewer would think, Okay, so you only know MongoDB. But you could have
simply say that.
Specify your expertise.
o Some more bad examples.
Experience in web technologies, Graphic designing, Mobile development
Knows Windows, Linux
Mention the platforms you can work with
o Example : Windows, Linux, Android, Windows Phone, iOS
o These are NOT tools.
If you have more (not much related) tools, just mention them as Misc. or Other.
o Example : Netbeans, Eclipse, Visual Studio, Visio

Because, being able to use an IDE is NOT a skill. Its like saying asking to write the alphabet in an
English exam
Rank your own knowledge
o Dont just say that you know. The CV surely is the ticket to your interview. But you cant change it
when you go there. They will run after you with lots of questions of what you have said.
o So rank your knowledge. You can use the following terms.
Experience in (for the things you can answer without cramming)
Familiar with (for the things that youve done, but needs a revisit)
Publications
This originally supposed to contain any research based publications. But blogs are also eligible for this category.
Add the title, and small description if needed.
If there is a URL, mention it. (remember? no hyperlinks!)
Extra-Curricular Activities
Everything which are not into previous sections, end up here. And this is another section that the companies are
interested in. The reason is, this shows the sociability of the applicant as well as how much of a dynamic character
(s)he is.
This is extra curricular or co-curricular activities. These things should have a some type of a relationship with
your career path.
You can mention,
Any titles you hold
o Example : Microsoft Student Ambassador, Google Student Ambassador etc.
Any societies you are/were in.
o If you held any executive positions, mention the last(highest) one.
o If people dont know about those societies, give a one line description what you did.
Any achievements, along with the specific ranks
o If you have a good rank, the significance goes higher
Any domain related forums that youre active in.
o Not the ones you only have a profile, but the ones you actively collaborate.
o Example : Stack Overflow, Qt Forum, Code Project
o Its even okay to add a URL to your profile.
Misc. Experience
This where all the other rubbish go. If you still have anything else to say, go for it. But remember, youre deprioritizing the contents here. So there is a higher change that the reviewer wont even see this.
You can mention,
If you do an part time job.
Any social service societies that youre a part of.
Any of your school-time achievements.
o Yes, they all should ideally go in here. The reason is, nobody cares if you were a prefect or took part
in competitions in school!
Interests/Personal Traits
Another useless section. This is only mentioned to mention what type of things you do as a human (not as a software
engineer).
But dont write whatever you want. Always be tricky, mention what brings you attention (in a good way). Nobody
cares if sew, collect stamps. But music, games and sports are accepted. Better if you can mention some field related
interests. But dont lie. You need proof to whatever you say!
o

Not recommended
Logical thinking
Counseling (seriously ? )
Hacking (no way! )
Good listener
Understanding people (ooohhh! )
Team Player (didnt you have any other way to say this? )
Okay things
Its better to divide this into Field Related and Other sections.
Software designing, Database design
Image processing, Artificial Intelligence
Blogging
Games, Music
Swimming, Badminton, Chess
Referees
You need to mention two non-related referees and their contact information.
NEVER EVER say Available on request
o Do you really think that they will request ? It is your duty to provide all the needed information.
Not theirs to ask.
Mention the details of reputed people.
o Its okay if you mention some manager of some company you know.
o But better them to be known. Make sure that they know you too.
o Inform them that youre putting them as referees. Otherwise, theyll be lost if the company calls them
to ask about you.
o Add the following information
Name + Company/Institute + Designation
DONT mention their qualifications (i.e. MSc, Phd etc.)
You can add Dr. as the prefix, if the referee has a Phd.
Telephone numbers (mobile + land)
Address (just in case)
A working email (under the company domain they work)
Example : sda@ucsc.lk, but not shiromia@gmail.com
Bottom-line
CV is an advertisement. Youre the trader. The reviewer is the client. So market yourself using a paper, even without
you physically being there.!
Feel free to make your own CV. Its yours anyway.
Think of a good, attractive, professional template.
Mention only what is really really important.
Dont lie. Because, you cant lie in the interview anyway.
Format your CV well.
Get it reviewed by other people.