Breaking into tech with a non-tech background can feel intimidating, but it’s also one of your biggest strengths. In our recent Hive Mentoring Program workshop, we explored how to reframe your experience and build a skills-based CV that opens doors instead of explaining gaps.
Whether you're pivoting careers or entering the job market for the first time, this approach can help you connect the dots between your past experience and future ambitions.
Why It Matters
The job market today is skills-first. Employers care about your ability to solve problems, collaborate, and drive results, not just your job title or education. It’s easy to overlook your own strengths when writing a CV. Most common mistakes:
- Not tailoring the CV to the job
- Listing tasks instead of achievements
- Skipping transferable skills (like organizing an event, leading a team, or solving customer problems)
If you've ever juggled schedules, coached peers, or led projects, you're already practicing core tech-adjacent skills like communication, time management, and leadership.
Your Experience = Transferable Skills
One of our key exercises during the session was to reflect on past roles, volunteer work, or personal projects, and identify what skills helped you succeed. For example:
“Organized a fundraising event” → demonstrates project management, logistics, and budgeting.
Once you've identified a few experiences, the STAR method is a simple way to turn them into strong, results-driven bullet points for your CV:
Situation – set the scene
Task – describe your responsibility
Action – explain what you did
Result – share the outcome
This method brings clarity, confidence, and concrete proof of your skills, perfect for anyone switching paths or returning to the workforce. This technique is great to use during interviews and self-presentation.
Building Your Skills-Based CV – Step by Step
A skills-based CV is designed to show what you can do, not just where you’ve been. It’s especially helpful for career changers, students, and anyone with a diverse or nonlinear background.
Here’s a simple structure to follow:
1. Start with a Personal Statement
Write 2–3 sentences summarizing:
- Who are you professionally
- Your key strengths or unique traits
- What kind of role or impact you’re aiming for Example: "Adaptable and motivated career changer with a background in education and strong project management skills, looking to bring a user-focused mindset to a tech support or operations role."
2. Core Skills Section
Pick 4–6 key skills relevant to the role you’re applying for. These could include:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Team leadership
- Data handling
- Project coordination
- Add 1–2 bullet points under each using the STAR method for real examples.
3. Projects & Experience
Instead of listing job titles, describe relevant projects or experiences:
- Bootcamp or study projects
- Volunteer work
- Side gigs or freelance tasks
- Key moments from past jobs (even if unrelated)
- Focus on outcomes and transferable impact.
4. Education & Certifications
Add formal education and any courses or certifications, especially those that show your initiative in upskilling (like Hive, Coursera, or LinkedIn Learning).
Tailor It Every Time
Before submitting, scan the job description for clues. Make sure your CV reflects the key
- Hard skills (tools, platforms, coding languages)
- Soft skills (communication, growth mindset)
- Values (e.g., ownership, collaboration, curiosity)
Pro tip: Try color-coding the job description: highlight soft skills in one color, values in another, and hard skills in a third. This helps you visually identify what the company is really looking for — and tailor your CV accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Your story is your superpower. A skills-based CV helps you tell it with confidence, clarity, and relevance — especially when applying to roles that value potential just as much as experience.
Thank you again to all the Hive students who joined the session and bravely shared your journeys. Keep reflecting, keep refining, and most importantly, keep showing up for yourself.
You’ve got this!
Huge thanks to Ludmila Tomperi (Senior Talent Acquisition HQ at Wolt) for hosting the session and writing this article!
Read more about careers after Hive here.