CV template for IT
An IT CV has to show your tech stack, production experience and concrete projects. Norwegian recruiters in development often use LinkedIn and specialised platforms such as Stack Overflow Talent and Tech Recruiter, and collect CVs that are read by an ATS before a person sees them.
This template is built for full-stack developers, frontend, backend and platform engineers, DevOps, data scientists and similar roles. It prioritises tech stack, projects and results in the order technical recruiters look for them.
Recommended template: The industry template «IT og utvikling» (IT and development) in the CV builder: single column with skills and projects lifted first
Technical recruiters first scan for a tech-stack match (React, TypeScript, Kubernetes, etc.) before they read the details. A CV with the tech-stack section high up and keyword-rich project descriptions gives the best ATS result. Avoid the designed personality CV, it is a negative signal in tech. Søknadsbasen's «IT og utvikling» template follows exactly this pattern and is rated high for ATS.
How to build a CV for IT and development
Start with a tech-stack section right below the summary. List all the technologies you know and have used in production, not just what you learnt on a course. Distinguish between your core stack and 'familiar with'.
For each role: list the tech stack used, describe the product or system (not just 'developer at X'), and give two to four concrete results. 'Built a payment module that handles 1.2 million transactions a week' beats 'worked on payments'.
Include your GitHub profile, personal website and any portfolio as clickable links in the top section. Technical recruiters click on them more often than on the CV itself.
Side projects count, but keep them short and relevant. A two-line description of an active open-source contribution or pet project is enough.
Keywords recruiters look for
Example summary
Full-stack developer with seven years of experience from Norwegian start-ups and scale-ups, mainly TypeScript and React on the frontend, Node.js and Postgres on the backend. Have built payment, authentication and reporting systems in production with traffic from 10,000 to 2 million users.
Examples of result bullets
- ●Reduced API response time from 850 ms to 120 ms by rewriting to Node.js and Postgres connection pooling.
- ●Designed and implemented a subscription system with Stripe that processed NOK 4.2 million in its first month of operation.
- ●Migrated 14 microservices from ECS to Kubernetes without downtime, reducing hosting costs by 38 per cent.
- ●Mentored two junior developers from onboarding to independent delivery, both were promoted within 18 months.
Common mistakes in a IT CV
- −A long list of 'Worked with X, Y, Z' without showing depth. Better to say 'Built a production system in Kubernetes' than 'familiar with Kubernetes'.
- −Forgetting the production context. A tech stack without scale (users, requests, data volume) is less convincing.
- −A designed CV with two columns and fancy icons. Tech recruiters prefer clean and readable, and two columns fail more often in an ATS.
- −Skipping the GitHub link. It is the one thing technical interviewers always check.
Roles this template suits
Full-stack developer, Frontend developer, Backend developer, Platform engineer, DevOps engineer, Data engineer, ML engineer, Tech lead.
Common questions
- How much space should the tech stack take?
- Between a third and half of the first page if you are a developer. It is the section technical recruiters scan first.
- Should I list pet projects?
- Only if they are relevant to the job and you can show an actual contribution. A half-finished pet project does more harm than good.
- Should I include my grade average from my education?
- For roles with more than five years of experience, no. For new graduates, yes, if it is above 4.0 (or A to B). Otherwise, skip it.
Build your CV now
Søknadsbasen has a template that suits IT CVs, ATS-friendly and ready for PDF export.
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