When you apply for your dream job (which we hope is at Reaktor), you want to stand out among the other candidates. Your CV and cover letter could certainly accomplish that.
But there’s good standing out and there’s bad standing out. In this post, we’ll tell you what could help you fall into the former category in our eyes – and avoid the latter.
The three Rs: Recent. Real. Relevant.
Recent
This can vary a lot depending upon where you are in your career. If you’ve been in the industry for 20 years and have moved around a lot, don’t feel like you have to include a detailed description for every job. Put them in chronological order — from new to old — and only do a longer writeup for the last few positions you’ve held.
Also, if you’re talking about technology you use, if it’s something you haven’t touched in a decade (and quite frankly, don’t remember), it’s probably best to remove that, too.
Real
You would think this goes without saying, but we’ve seen it enough times that we have to say it — don’t put down things that aren’t true. By that, we aren’t talking about outright lies (please don’t do that, either), but rather inflating your skills to make it seem like you’re an expert at something when really you’re not.
After all, the interviews will reveal your aptitude. And we’re confident there are plenty of things you know really well, so concentrate on those.
Relevant
Think about the position you’re going for, as well as where you want your career to head, and include those details. Be as concrete as possible and focus on the important things — your core skills, the tech and tools you’ve worked with the most, and where your passion lies.
Practice at least a little restraint
There’s a long-held debate about how long a CV/résumé should be. Some people insist on one page max. Others are a bit more flexible, especially when it comes to someone with a lot of experience. We won’t put a hard line in the sand, but we will suggest not going over two pages. Remember, a little editing almost always makes for a better product.
What we don’t want to know about you
Years ago, we would have loved for you to send us a photo, simply to put a face to the name and CV. However, in our mission to become more DEI-focused, we're now asking applicants NOT to send a photo.
We believe anonymous and genderless first-round screening helps remove bias from the process, and that's certainly something we support at Reaktor.
Along with that, you can assist us by not including details like marital or parental status, religion, ethnicity, nationality, political leanings, and the like. We understand these parts of your life are also what shape you, but we want to get rid of as many barriers as we can to make our recruitment as equal as possible for all.
Pay attention to the basics
When a CV is difficult to read, it doesn’t get as much time and attention. For that reason alone, formatting matters. So make sure that:
1. The layout is easy to follow (e.g., there's enough space between sections)
2. The font is not too small
3. The design isn’t too busy
Also:
Proofread. Typos make it seem like you don’t really care about the details.
Check your English. If you aren’t a native speaker, you may want to give this special attention, since as a global tech company English is our primary language.
Ensure that all your contact details are written correctly. Typing @gmail.com or @gmal.com could be the difference between getting a response from us or not!
Show us some personality
This will be our first introduction to you, so you should be in it. Sure, that could include incorporating your favorite color (just please don’t go overboard), but we’re more interested in actually learning about you. Don’t be afraid to express your authentic self, because we’re always on the hunt for unique and engaging individuals. With that in mind, in the CV summary or cover letter, consider sharing things like this:
What are your motivations toward learning?
What do you want to do in the future?
What tools or technologies excite you?
What are your hobbies?
Why are you applying to Reaktor?
By including these details, we can better prepare for a possible interview and really think about the best role for you.
We wanna check you out
It’s always great to see the results of your hard work. For that, we want to take a look at your Github (developers) or portfolio (designers). So don’t overlook them! Make sure they’re in good order and include the info — along with any passwords — in your application materials. It’s also a good idea to check that the links work.
“Not Required” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
Here’s the thing about cover letters.
Do we require them? No.
But it’s a great opportunity to tell us more about you.
We know some recruiters think you should adapt your CV for every job you apply to. While we think that is a great idea in theory, in practice it’s a lot harder. We live in the real world and understand that maybe you can’t spend hours editing your resume for each company or position.
This is where the cover letter can be really handy. Use it as a tool to tell us more about you and what you think about Reaktor. Remember: be yourself. We’re not interested in hearing some script. We want you to be genuine, and we’ll accept you as you are!
Keywords — and why you shouldn’t depend on them
In our modern age, a lot of companies employ AI in their recruitment process. Because of that, job seekers fill their CV with keywords that they believe will get them through stage one, assuming that machine learning is siphoning out all the undesirables who didn’t think to sprinkle certain terms and phrases in their applications.
We don’t use automated screening at any point in our hiring.
We have lovely, dedicated humans who read through your material and evaluate you as a whole person — not by some quota of tech words.
