Tips for Django Developers writing a Resume

Possibly the most important document you’ll write. There are no shortcuts, write it yourself in your words. Take advice, but this is what will set you apart from others who are applying for the same jobs.

Lots of your competition will be using the same Word/Google Templates and impersonal intro from ChatGPT. It might seem like a good idea to speed up the process but you’ll not have the same success as writing your own.

In this blog post I will share some of my top Resume writing tips for any Django Developer currently in a job search or just starting to think about making a move in the next few months.

First of all, as a British Recruiter working with Django people in the United States I am still trying to say Resume instead of CV… The advice I’ll give is the same whatever you call the document!

A good Resume should be 2-3 pages long MAXIMUM, a concise “one pager” is great too but you could secure more interviews by expanding it a little.

Here are the tips in order as you read the Resume:

PERSONAL INFO:

Start off with your name, your email and any links to GitHub or your portfolio, youtube etc.

You don’t need to add your address, just give a general location like City/State that helps people know roughly where you are. There is no need for your Date of Birth, or your Marital Status to be on your Resume either.

Add a phone number if you are happy to take lots of calls.

PERSONAL SUMMARY:

Avoid standard “professional sounding” phrases that you think people want to hear. Instead, explain your experience and how you became interested in Django Development.

Highlight any Open Source contributions or Conferences you have attended. Explain your search criteria and WHY things are important to you.

If you often get the same questions about something in the Resume, address that here too.

SKILLS MATRIX:

Highlight your main tech skills here, list what you have experience with and how long you have worked with if possible - i.e. Django 7years.

Keep to the most relevant tech you work with or want to work with.

If you used wordpress 10 years ago leave this off as it is unlikely to help you get a role as a Django Developer now.

Lay it out however you like. I'm quite a visual person so I like it when people add little bar charts or star ratings but this is your Resume.

WORK HISTORY:

List your most recent role first. Explain your responsibilities in this job, list the skills/tech that you worked with and any achievements. Try to explain a little about what the company does too, assume the person reading won't know them.

Give detail about the type of product and work you were doing. Explain how you work with Python/Django in this position.

If you have had a long career as a Django Developer, be careful how much detail you go into on the older roles, technology changes so quickly some of the older things you worked on may not be relevant now.

Only go into more detail about the relevant roles as a Django Developer to help keep the length of the Resume down. You can either add “Previous positions available on request” or just list job titles to summarise any positions before you worked with Python/Django.

Don’t worry about listing any part time jobs when you were a teenager anymore either.

EDUCATION*

Similar to your work history, start with your highest academic achievements first and give relevant details that will help in your career now.

Explain any relevant further learning you have done within your career. If you have any official industry qualifications, list these here too.

If you have learned to code through a bootcamp I prefer that to be listed in Education rather than work history.

*Some people prefer the Education to come before Work History, in my experience this is secondary unless you are a junior. If you have 5+ years experience as a Django Developer, it doesn't really matter as much what you studied at university before you started your programming career. But this is your Resume, put it where you are happiest.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:

I think this is a very important area of a Resume that often gets overlooked.

Working as a Django Developer you benefit from contributions from the community who give their time and experience to benefit everyone else. If you have ever raised a ticket, resolved a ticket or contributed in anyway to help Django, list that here.

Also list any meetups or conferences you have attended, any talks you have given (link videos if possible) and if you have a blog add that here.

PERSONAL INTERESTS:

This section is a good chance to potentially connect with your Recruiter or Hiring Manager. Share the things you enjoy away from coding, stay away from generic statements like "spending time with family/friends and keeping fit".

Give more information and add personality, how do you keep fit? If you play sports, what is your best achievement? What do you do with your family? If you are musical, what's your instrument of choice? Favourite genre of music? Who have you enjoyed seeing live?

You never know, but by sharing more information here your interviewer may have a similar interest and talk about that with you too.

I hope these tips help!

Once you have finished your first draft, seek feedback from friends, family or colleagues.

Any recruiter worth working with will give a few minutes of their time to help you and review your new Resume before you start the search. Don't expect the whole thing to be re-written for you but you'll get some tips to improve it.

Check out our other blog posts for help with your career and information about the Django Community