IT Professional CV Checklist: Essential UK Tech Skills & Certifications (AWS, Azure, Coding Languages)

Marketing banner for a professional guide titled "IT Professional CV Checklist." The design features a square, white-bordered photo of a smiling female professional holding a clipboard with a resume template, set against a modern office background. The text section is gray with a black and red color scheme, listing the subtitle: "ESSENTIAL UK TECH SKILLS & CERTIFICATIONS (AWS, AZURE, CODING LANGUAGES)," specifically targeting IT professionals in the UK looking to improve their curriculum vitae.

Introduction

Crafting an effective IT professional CV is more critical than ever in today’s fast-paced UK tech job market. Whether you’re a seasoned IT specialist or just stepping into roles in cloud computing, software development or infrastructure, a finely-tuned CV can open doors. By clearly highlighting your technical proficiency  from coding languages and cloud certifications to UK-specific tech skills  you position yourself as the candidate who understands modern demands. In this guide you will discover a comprehensive checklist for your IT CV, centred on UK tech skills and certifications such as AWS and Azure. You’ll learn what to include, why it matters, how to organise it, plus pros, cons, examples, statistics and trends that hiring managers expect. Let’s dive into how to build a CV that gets noticed.

What Should an IT Professional CV Cover?

Key CV Sections to Include

Your IT professional CV should include the following sections:

  • Personal profile / summary  a short paragraph introducing who you are.
  • Technical skills & certifications  list your coding languages, cloud platforms, tools and certifications.
  • Professional experience  roles, responsibilities, achievements with metrics.
  • Education & training  degrees, diplomas, certifications.
  • Projects / additional experience  especially if you’re a developer or engineer.
  • Other skills & interests  include soft skills, maybe volunteer work to round your profile.

Why These Sections Matter

Recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS) scan CVs quickly. According to the Oxford University Careers Service, employers may spend just a few seconds before deciding whether a CV is worth further readingA properly structured CV ensures your key tech skills and certifications stand out early. In the UK almost one-third of tech job adverts now require cloud skills.

Tailoring For The UK Tech Job Market

  • Use British English spelling (e.g., “analysed”, “organisation”) and UK date formats.
  • Mention UK-relevant certifications or standards.
  • Reflect UK salary benchmarks, regional differences (London versus UK excluding London) to show you understand the market. For example median salary for Azure-skills roles in UK excluding London is ~£52,000. Highlight skills aligned to UK employer demand: cloud, DevOps, cybersecurity, programming languages.

Why Highlight UK Tech Skills And Certifications

Why Tech Skills Are Essential

Technical skills signal that you can hit the ground running. UK guidance emphasises technical skills often give candidates a competitive edge. In the UK an estimated 82% of job openings require digital or IT-related skills.

Why Certifications Boost Your CV

Certifications validate your technical expertise. For example the AWS Certification site indicates there are over 1.42 million active AWS certifications globally as of January 2025. In the UK roles referencing AWS certification show median salaries around £57,468.

Current UK Market Trends

  • Jobs requiring Azure skills accounted for 14.43% of UK permanent job adverts in the 6 months to November 2025. Cloud computing skills represent around 31.81% of all permanent UK job adverts.
  • UK employers are actively seeking tech skills like AI, cloud computing, software development & cybersecurity. Pros and Cons of Focusing on Skills & Certs

Pros:

  • Helps you pass ATS filters by having relevant keywords.
  • Demonstrates up-to-date technical credibility.
  • Makes you stand out in competitive UK tech job market.
    Cons:
  • If you list many skills but cannot provide evidence you’ve used them, it raises credibility risk.
  • Certifications can expire or be outdated  need to maintain and update them.
  • Over-emphasis on certifications without practical results can backfire — experience still matters.

How To Build Your IT Professional CV (Step-by-Step Guide)

Step 1: Personal Profile / Summary

  • Keep this to 2-4 sentences.
  • Clearly name your role (e.g., “Cloud Infrastructure Engineer with 5 years experience”).
  • Mention your key tech skill(s) and certification(s).
  • Tailor it to the role: mention UK region or type of employer (e.g., “based in London and available for UK-wide remote roles”).
    Example:

“Results-driven IT professional specialising in cloud architecture and DevOps with AWS Certified Solutions Architect  Associate. Over 5 years’ experience delivering scalable infrastructure in UK enterprise environments. Seeking to leverage strong Azure and Kubernetes skills to drive migrations and optimise cost-efficiency.”

Step 2: Skills & Certifications Section

  • Create a subsection labelled Technical Skills and another labelled Certifications (optional).
  • List languages, tools, platforms: e.g., Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP.
  • Under Certifications: e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator, CompTIA Security+.
  • Use bullet points for clarity.
  • Ensure relevance: Prioritise skills and certifications mentioned in the job advert. UK guidance recommends matching your list to the advert. Step 3: Professional Experience
  • Arrange in reverse-chronological order (most recent first) — UK standard. For each role include: job title, company name/location, dates (month/year).
  • Use bullet points (6-10 per role) and start each bullet with strong action verbs (e.g., Developed, Engineered, Led).
  • Quantify where possible: e.g., “Reduced infrastructure cost by 25% by migrating workloads to AWS and automating backups.”
  • Tie achievements back to skills & certifications: e.g., “Using AWS Lambda and Azure Functions cut event-driven pipeline latency by 40%.”
  • Show UK relevance if applicable: mention UK clients, UK regulatory compliance (GDPR), UK region projects.

Step 4: Education & Training

  • List degrees/diplomas: e.g., BSc Computer Science  [University]  [Year].
  • Include relevant training courses (especially short-courses or bootcamps) if less formal experience.
  • If certification is recent, you may include date. This is especially useful for UK employers tracking current credentials.

Step 5: Projects / Additional Experience

  • If you have significant side-projects or open-source involvement, provide a short section.
  • Use bullet points: name of project, technologies used, your role, outcome/impact.
  • Especially useful for developers or engineers transitioning or building portfolio.

Step 6: Other Skills & Interests (Optional)

  • Include soft skills (communication, team leadership, Agile).
  • Only include hobbies if they demonstrate transferable skills or unique tech interest.
  • UK guidance suggests avoiding listing generic interests like “socialising with friends” unless detailed. Step 7: Final Review for ATS & Formatting
  • Keep CV length ideally 2 pages for most IT roles in UK. Use simple fonts and layout; avoid graphics or excessive styling as ATS may mis-read them.
  • Use keywords naturally. Since you are highlighting skills & certifications like AWS, Azure, coding languages, match wording with the job advert.
  • Proofread for UK English spellings and grammar.
  • Save as PDF (unless the employer states otherwise) and ensure file name is professional (e.g., John-Smith-IT-CV.pdf).

Internal Linking Suggestion

If you run a blog or services site, link to your CV critique or CV writing service page: “Get your CV written by experts today → [link to service page].”

External References

To support your statements on demand for cloud & tech skills you might include links/references to the stats from ITJobsWatch and other authority sources cited above.

Example Checklist For Your IT Professional CV

Use this bullet list as a checklist before submitting your CV:

  • Personal profile includes your role, main tech skill and certification.
  • Technical Skills section lists cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), coding languages, tools.
  • Certifications section includes recognised credentials (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator).
  • Skills list tailored to job advert keywords (match exactly where relevant).
  • Professional experience entries include action verbs + metrics (e.g., % improvement, cost savings).
  • Experience mentions UK-relevant clients, regulatory environment, remote/onsite in UK context.
  • Projects section (if applicable) lists technologies, your role, outcomes.
  • Education/training section up-to-date, includes year or date of most recent relevant certification.
  • Other skills & interests section (optional) is purposeful and relevant.
  • Format is ATS-friendly: simple layout, consistent date format, bullets.
  • CV length is appropriate (1-2 pages unless senior level).
  • Saved as PDF with professional filename.
  • Proofread and UK English spelling used throughout.
  • File size acceptable and mobile-friendly viewing considered.
  • LinkedIn profile URL included if maintained and relevant.
  • Optional: hyperlink to your portfolio or GitHub (if developer).
  • CTA or strong closing line (especially if you include in cover letter).

Expert Insights & Trends in UK IT Careers

Insight 1: Skills-based hiring rising

Research shows UK employers are shifting toward skills-based hiring instead of just degrees. For AI and green jobs, the wage premium for skills exceeded that for degrees. Implication for your CV: emphasize skills, certifications and outcomes rather than simply degree name.

Insight 2: Cloud computing is now essential

In the UK cloud computing roles are increasingly common. Over 85% of UK businesses use some form of cloud technology and about 30% of IT job adverts mention cloud skills. Implication: explicitly highlight your cloud skills and detail how you’ve used them  don’t just list them.

Insight 3: Tech skills demand shifting

UK employers in 2025 focus on AI/ML, cloud native development (AWS, Azure, GCP), DevOps, cybersecurity and programming languages like Python, JavaScript. Implication: choose your coding languages and skills list accordingly and show relevance to these hot areas.

Insight 4: Certification value remains high

Though not the only factor, certifications still carry weight. AWS stats show large numbers of certified individuals. Implication: If you have certification(s), highlight them prominently near top of the CV so recruiters and ATS spot them early.

Insight 5: Region and salary awareness matter

For example roles requiring Azure skills in London had median salary ~£75,000 whereas UK excluding London ~£52,000. Implication: If you are open to regions or remote roles specify your location flexibility; ensure salary expectations are realistic.

Real-World Example Bullets (for Experience Section)

Here are some ready-to-use bullet points you can adapt:

  • Led migration of 120+ VMs from on-prem to AWS EC2 and RDS, reducing infrastructure cost by 28% and increasing reliability to 99.9%.
  • Designed hybrid cloud solution using Azure Virtual Networks, Kubernetes AKS and Terraform, improving deployment speed by 45%.
  • Developed web API in Node.js and React, integrated with AWS Lambda & DynamoDB, achieving 40k daily users and 99.8% uptime.
  • Implemented DevSecOps pipeline in GitHub Actions, introduced container scanning with Snyk and cut average vulnerability remediation time by 35%.
  • Certified AWS Solutions Architect  Associate (2024) and Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator (2025), applying best practices in cloud security and cost optimisation.

Pros & Cons of a Skill-Centric IT CV

Pros:

  • Highlights your up-to-date value in a rapidly evolving tech market.
  • Meets ATS and recruiter keyword scanning criteria.
  • Leverages certification credibility.
    Cons:
  • If you emphasize many skills but lack depth or evidence you risk appearing unfocused.
  • Emphasis on certifications without actual experience may raise doubts.
  • May overlook softer skills (communication, leadership) which remain important in senior roles.

Final Checklist Before You Submit

  • Tailored to the job advert (matching keywords, skills, certifications).
  • Contains proof points with metrics, not just vague statements.
  • Emphasises UK-market relevance (region, salary benchmark, UK terminology).
  • Includes a strong, concise personal profile up front.
  • Structured clearly and readable in 1015 seconds glance.
  • Clean layout, bullet points, consistent formatting.
  • Saved as PDF named professionally.
  • All certifications up to date and clearly visible.
  • Links to portfolio/GitHub (if applicable) included.
  • Contact information correct and professional email used.

Conclusion

In the UK tech job market of 2025 your CV must do more than list roles  it must demonstrate that you are equipped with the right technical skills, certifications and results to make an impact. By following this IT professional CV checklist and emphasising UK-specific tech skills (cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, programming languages, DevOps) and certifications, you give yourself the best possible chance of standing out. Remember: tailor your CV to each advert, provide concrete evidence of achievement, maintain up-to-date credentials, and craft a clean, readable format that passes both ATS and human first-impressions. Ready to elevate your CV? Get your CV written by experts today and unlock your next UK tech role.

FAQs

  1. What are the must-have UK tech skills to include on my IT professional CV?
    Include cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), programming languages (Python, JavaScript, Java), DevOps tools (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform), cybersecurity, data analytics and frameworks. UK employers place high value on cloud and software development skills.
  2. How important are certifications like AWS Certified Solutions Architect or Azure Administrator?
    Very important. Certifications validate your expertise, help you stand out and may boost salary potential. AWS Certification has over 1.42 m active certifications globally. Should I list basic IT skills (e.g., Microsoft Office) on an IT professional CV?
    Only if these are relevant for the role. In more advanced IT roles, basic skills are assumed. UK guidance states you don’t need to include very basic IT skills unless highly relevant.
  3. How long should my IT professional CV be for UK jobs?
    Typically 12 pages are ideal for most roles. For senior roles, up to 3 pages may be acceptable. The UK standard emphasises brevity and relevance. How can I make my CV pass applicant tracking systems (ATS)?
    Use keywords from the job advert, use a clear structure, avoid complex graphics or formatting, and include a skills section at the top. Tailor each version to the role.
  4. Which section should I place my certifications in?
    Create a “Certifications” subsection (or integrate into “Technical Skills”) right after your skills list or near the top of your CV, so recruiters see them early.
  5. How do I highlight cloud skills effectively on my IT professional CV?
    Include cloud platforms in your skills list, mention certifications, show specific projects where you used AWS/Azure, quantify impact (e.g., cost savings, uptime improvements), and reference deployment, migration or optimisation work.
  6. Do I need UK-specific terminology or references on my CV?
    Yes. Use UK English spelling, date formats, and tailor to UK market expectations (e.g., mention “£” salary expectations if relevant, indicate “based in London” or “UK-wide remote”).
  7. What if I have many certifications but limited work experience?
    Use projects, personal work, internships or academic work to demonstrate application of certified skills. Emphasise learning and results and consider placing certifications near top to strengthen credibility.
  8. How often should I update my IT professional CV?
    Regularly  ideally every time you complete a major project, earn a new certification, or learn a new key skill. The UK tech market evolves fast (cloud, AI, DevOps) so keep your CV current.