By Clémence Gaisnon, recruitment and Talent Management Director @ Gologic
Have you previously held positions in the field of DevOps or are you interested in switching careers to become a DevOps engineer? Here are a few tips for writing your CV.
Tip #1: Use the “storytelling” method in
your tagline or personal statement
What is “storytelling”? Also known as “narrative hook,” it is the art of telling a story to convey a message.
Instead of presenting arguments using traditional methods, you use an alternative approach to try to persuade your audience by appealing to their emotions. You can use your own anecdotes and lived experience. The idea is to catch their attention and create a lasting impression in their mind so they cannot forget your application.
The DevOps role
When we talk about DevOps, we are referring to a broad range of skills. I suggest that you highlight what you enjoy doing (automation, containerization, CI/CD process improvement, etc.). Additionally, you can share what you enjoy about the DevOps culture and what you think about the IT field.
Your story can also recount one or more lived experiences with problem solving. Consider describing a problem that you think is often encountered at the company where you are applying for a job.
Another option is to frame your entire career path as a success story. Here is an example describing the career path of Albert Einstein:
Albert Einstein is a well-known scientist and a person of extraordinary genius renowned the world over for his major discoveries and contributions to science. He stated that success is failure in progress and that someone who has never failed cannot truly succeed. He continuously experienced setbacks during childhood. He was not even fully able to speak until he was nine years old. He was then expelled from school. Furthermore, his acceptance to ETH Zurich was not given consideration either. However, he remained steadfast in pursuing his achievements and became a renowned figurehead in the field of science and technology, eventually winning the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Tip #2: Showcase your accomplishments
through your results
When describing your project and the tasks you accomplished, I suggest that you include the results you obtained. These can be individual or collective, provided that they are quantifiable and qualifiable. The goal is to demonstrate the impact of your work. For example: The delivery process is 10% faster since adding x tools. Watch out for confidential data.
Tip #3: List programming languages in your
CV
Regardless of whether you are more Ops or Dev, you should highlight the programming languages that you know. You can list them using a progress bar to indicate your level.
Note that in DevOps, there is no default language. You need to know a number of them, but you do not need to master them all. Most importantly, you need to understand how programming languages interact with each other to avoid potential development problems.
Tip #4: Emphasize security management
Computer security has never been more vital for organizational sustainability and has become a major challenge in today’s digital world. Cyber attacks and fraud are on the rise, a daily reality that makes it absolutely critical for organizations to stay on top of their security.
If you are interested in security, I suggest that you emphasize this in your CV. You can also talk about DevSecOps, which puts more emphasis on the importance of application security.
Tip #5: Remember to list your DevOps
training and certifications
Regardless of whether you are for or against certifications, they are considered an important factor during the hiring process. There are a number of DevOps certifications available, including:
- CKA — Kubernetes Administrator
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
- DevOps Foundation
At Gologic, we issue DevOps Foundation® certification from the DevOps Institute. We also offer DevOps training workshops to expand your knowledge and skills.
DevOps skills
While technical skills are critical, DevOps engineers must, among other things, demonstrate their ability to collaborate, communicate, empathize and adapt to change. These soft skills may be emphasized during the interview.
Career options
If you are just kicking off your career in the DevOps field, you can start as a Release Manager before becoming a DevOps Engineer, a Cloud DevOps Engineer and, finally, a DevOps Architect.
Salary expectations
Average annual salaries for DevOps positions in Montreal start at $70,000 for rookies and climb to over $110,000 for those with years of experience. Working in the field of DevOps requires many talents! For this type of job, you need a solid understanding of a product’s entire delivery cycle and the ability to problem-solve to continuously improve processes and, in turn, accelerate deliveries.
To conclude, you should know that a career in the DevOps world will undoubtedly provide you with complex and exciting challenges. Happy writing!
By Clémence Gaisnon, recruitment and Talent Management Director @ Gologic
