Articles
Write a CV that gets read, then use it
Short, practical guides on the parts of a CV that decide whether it gets an interview, and on turning that CV into answers once you are in the room. Each one ends with how to do it in Opagine.
Writing your CV
The parts recruiters read first, and how to get each one right.
- Summary
How to write a CV summary that gets read
A CV summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. Learn what to include, a simple three-part formula, and examples of weak and strong summaries.
5 min read - ATS
How to make an ATS-friendly CV
Applicant tracking systems read your CV before a person does. Learn how ATS parsing works and how to format a CV that passes, without myths or keyword stuffing.
6 min read - Experience
How to write CV bullet points that show results
Turn job duties into achievements. Learn the action-result pattern for CV bullet points, how to add numbers when you have none, and which words to avoid.
6 min read - Length and layout
How long should a CV be? One page or two
One page or two? Learn how long a CV should be at each career stage, how to cut it down without losing impact, and how margins, fonts and spacing help.
5 min read - Tailoring
How to tailor your CV to a job description
A tailored CV gets more interviews than a generic one. Learn how to read a job ad, match your wording and reorder your CV for each application in minutes.
5 min read
After your CV: the interview
Everything you thought through to write your CV is your interview preparation. Here is how to use it.
- Interview prep
Your CV is your interview prep
Every line on your CV is a question the interviewer will ask. Think through the story behind each line as you write it, and you prepare for both at once.
5 min read - STAR method
The STAR method, built from your CV
Answer “Tell me about a time when…” questions with the STAR method. Your CV bullets already hold the Action and the Result: here is how to add the rest.
5 min read - First question
How to answer “Tell me about yourself”
The first question in most interviews. Answer it in about two minutes with present, past and future, using your CV summary as the outline.
5 min read - Hard questions
How to answer weakness and failure questions
Biggest weakness, failure, challenge, conflict: skip the clichés, pick a real story from your experience and spend most of the answer on what you changed.
5 min read - Gaps and changes
How to explain CV gaps and job changes
Gaps, short jobs and career changes show on your CV, so expect the question. Learn how to answer briefly, honestly and with confidence.
5 min read
CVs for tech roles
What engineering hiring managers look for at each level, now that AI writes much of the code and many of the CVs.
- Tech: junior
Junior developer CV: prove you can finish something
No experience yet? With AI, a list of skills proves little. One finished, working project you can explain says more. What to build, how to show it, where education fits.
5 min read - Tech: mid and senior
Mid and senior developer CV: show scope, not stack
At mid and senior level your stack is assumed. What gets interviews is the size of what you owned, what changed because of you, and the judgment AI cannot fake.
5 min read - Tech: lead and staff
Tech lead, staff and manager CV: show your leverage
At lead level you are hired for what others ship because of you. How to show that on a CV, for staff engineers and engineering managers, and how to show you led the AI shift.
5 min read