To land a great job as a Cloud Engineer, you need more than just the right skills - you also need a compelling resume that sells you as the best candidate

Cloud Engineers are increasingly in demand, as companies around the world continue to leverage new technologies by migrating vital data and services to the cloud. The field itself has rapidly become a career of choice for many IT professionals, as it's now one of the most lucrative technology jobs for skilled and experienced tech pros. Of course, to get one of those exciting jobs, you need to have a compelling Cloud Engineer resume. Is yours up to the task?

In this post, we'll explore this growing field and examine the key elements you'll need to include in your Cloud Engineer resume. We'll also offer some tips and examples that you can use to develop your own resume and ensure that it successfully highlights your cloud computing skills for any prospective employer.

What do Cloud Engineers do?

Cloud Engineers are responsible for fulfilling many different technology functions in a company or other organization. Their role has become increasingly important in recent years, as more companies make the decision to migrate operations to the online cloud to obtain strategic benefits from emerging technologies.

Achieving that migration requires skilled Cloud Engineers, who can set up the needed architecture on Google Cloud, AWS, or similar providers. These Engineers then help with the migration of the company's existing systems to the new cloud-based environment and ensure access to the new systems in the most secure way possible. Once that's achieved, Engineers need to provide ongoing operational maintenance and troubleshoot potential problems.

What skills do Cloud Engineers need to be successful in their jobs?

When employers look for competent Cloud Engineers, there are a number of key skills that they want to see in a candidate's resume. Obviously, technical skills are a priority, since cloud computing is a role that requires an understanding and familiarity with a wide range of computer-related skills. However, you'll also want to ensure that you include relevant soft skills like communication, problem-solving, and collaboration or teamwork.

For technical skills, you should focus on those listed in the job description for the position you're seeking. Some of the top skills that appear in Cloud Engineer job descriptions include hard skills like:

  • Amazon Web Services

  • DevOps

  • Cloud deployment

  • Scripting

  • Azure

  • Python

  • Linux

  • Troubleshooting

  • Cloud security

  • Computer Science

It's important to review the job description, to see which skills a given employer mentions, and then tailor your resume to include those abilities. This will not only help to ensure that the hiring manager sees the necessary skills when they examine your resume, but can help to improve your odds of satisfying any applicant tracking system.

How do I include AWS skills on my resume?

One question that Cloud Engineers sometimes ask is how to include Amazon Web Services skills. Many employers look for those skills in their new Cloud Engineer hires, so you'll want to make sure that they feature prominently in your skills list. Some of the most common and sought-after AWS skills include:

  • DevOps

  • Cloud security

  • Cloud migration

  • Cloud deployment

  • Programming languages

  • Serverless architecture

  • Docker or other containers

If you have AWS certification, you should include that in the professional development section of your resume, after the education section. AWS certification demonstrates that you have the cloud expertise needed to help a company with its cloud service requirements. There are several different certifications out there, including:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) Solutions Architect – Associate

  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

  • Google Associate Cloud Engineer

  • IBM Certified Technical Advocate - Cloud v3

Each has its merits and market reach. AWS is by far the most common, with the biggest share of the cloud market. Azure is the second largest and can definitely be helpful if you're seeking a position working for a government agency or contractor. Meanwhile, many financial firms rely on IBM cloud infrastructure.

How do I write a resume for a Cloud Engineer?

Before you begin to write your Cloud Engineer resume, take some time to create lists of all the relevant information you want to include, such as skills, educational details, certifications, and work experience. Having that information at hand can make it easier to focus your attention on crafting the document. Once you have those details, then it's time to begin.

Start with your personal information

Always begin a resume with your basic personal information. This opening section should include your full first and last name, phone number, and email address. You can also include your LinkedIn profile and GitHub, if you use them. It's also a good idea to ensure that you're not including unprofessional contact details - like a silly or offensive email address that you created in high school. If you don't have a more formal-sounding email address, get one.

By placing this information at the very top of your resume, you ensure that employers can quickly find your contact details when they want to set up an interview or make a job offer. Be sure to double-check those details to make sure that everything is correct. The last thing you want is to miss out on a job opportunity because you typed the wrong phone number or email address.

Add your professional summary

The summary section goes where the old objective statement used to be found, right below your basic information. Your summary statement is basically an elevator pitch - no more than three sentences that serve as an introduction to your prospective employer. Try to create a compelling pitch that describes your experience, highlights your skills, and provides some insight into the type of value that you can bring to the organization.

Remember, this needs to be relatively brief, since you only have a matter of seconds to capture your reader's attention. Focus on using powerful verbs and adjectives that engender a positive emotional response for anyone reading your resume. The goal is to be compelling enough that the hiring manager is willing to invest the time needed to review the rest of the document.

Create your skills section

Next comes your skills section. It's important to make sure that you prioritize the most relevant skills, based on the job description and your strengths. To emphasize the skills needed for any given position, always list those abilities toward the top of your list so that they are the first skills the hiring manager sees in that section. If you're using a multi-column format, try to put one of those key skills at the top of each column.

It's a good idea to include both technical and soft skills in this list. While it might be tempting to use this space solely for your hard skills, that could work against you. Yes, those technical skills are prerequisites for this type of job, but companies don't hire qualifications. They hire people. So, make sure that you include some space for those soft interpersonal skills that the employer will be looking for during the hiring process.

Provide your professional work experience

The work experience section is where your talents should really shine, so take the time to think about which jobs you want to list here. We recommend focusing on those positions that have some direct relevance to the job you're seeking. If you worked in a different industry early in your career, you may want to omit or minimise that information to ensure that you keep the focus on your experience as a programmer and cloud expert.

As you list each job, provide several bullet points that detail your role and what you achieved during your time in that position. Try to include measurable results that demonstrate the type of value you provided with each accomplishment. Three or four bullet points beneath each job listing are usually sufficient to give an employer some insight into your prior work history. However, if you have only worked at one job, you may want to add several more bullet points if your resume is light on content.

Document your educational achievements

What you put into your education section will largely depend upon your level of real world work experience. If you have actual experience as a Cloud Engineer, then your education section only needs to include the basics - the college you attended, which degree you completed, and your major - as well as any special achievements you earned and your year of graduation. You can then list your certifications in a short section right after this one.

On the other hand, if you have recently graduated from school and are just entering the workforce, you might want to take the time to beef up your educational section. You can elaborate on your coursework, discuss any cloud-based projects you worked on, and provide any other relevant information that can help to convey your level of expertise.

Cloud Engineer resume example

One of the easiest ways to begin compiling your resume is to rely on an easy-to-understand template. We've provided a generic template below that you can use as you create your resume document. All you need to do is replace the bracketed information with your own details.

[First and Last Name]

[Certification]

[Phone Number] [Email Address] [LinkedIn Address]

Professional Summary

[A brief paragraph consisting of two or three sentences that encapsulate your skills, experience in the industry, certifications, and accomplishments as an Engineer]

Skills

[A bulleted list of your relevant skills. Include hard skills related to your technology competencies, as well as any soft skills that would make you a valuable addition to the company's team. To save space, you can list these in a multi-column format]

Professional Experience

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]

[Company Name, City, State]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]

[Company Name, City, State]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

  • [job responsibility] + [achievement or impact]

Education

[Degree earned and major]

[School Name]

Certifications

[List any relevant certifications here]

Important tips to remember when creating your Cloud Engineer resume

Of course, there are a lot of things to remember when you're trying to craft the ideal resume. The following tips can help you to ensure that your resume creation process goes as smoothly as possible:

  • Always try to write with the prospective employer's perspective in mind. Remember that they are looking to add value to their enterprise, so they want to see a resume that can convince them that you are the best candidate to provide that benefit.

  • Employers want Cloud Engineers who can solve problems and manage limited resources appropriately, while providing the right level of security for their cloud environment. Make sure that your resume properly highlights those areas of concern.

  • Always provide up-to-date information. Double check your resume to make sure that your contact information and employment details are current.

  • If possible, try to link your hard and soft skills in your work section bullet points. That can be a great way to demonstrate that you understand how your various skills contribute to your work success.

  • Don't forget to include a cover letter with your resume submission. You can use that letter to provide additional information that expands on your resume's compelling narrative.

The job of the future

As the cloud grows in importance, competition for Cloud Engineer jobs is likely to increase in the years to come. The best way to beat that competition is to ensure that you have a compelling Cloud Engineer resume that can highlight all the reasons why you're the best candidate. Hopefully, the tips and advice provided in this post give you the tools and insight that you need to meet that challenge and find success in your job search.

Need assistance with your Cloud Engineer resume? Find out if it will meet your needs by receiving a free resume review from our team of experts today!

Recommended reading:

Related Articles: