DevOps is arguably the most sought-after skills in today fast-paced IT environment. Organizations have realized the full potential of DevOps and are actively looking for cloud engineers with DevOps skills. In fact, a study by Glassdoor shows that DevOps engineer jobs are among the top five jobs in America based on factors such as median base salary, growth opportunities and number of job postings. Additionally, other studies show that more than 75 percent of professionals across a wide range of industries are now deploying DevOps techniques.
So, how has DevOps changed the playing field in terms of software development and delivery?
Before DevOps, most organizations:
- Struggled with performance issues and as a result, this left them with challenges especially in regards to entering new markets, scaling their business and sustaining their competitive advantage.
- Had their development and test teams sit idle for most of the time as they waited for their code to be deployed.
- Pushed back their project delivery dates because of infrastructure delivery delays.
- Spent a lot of money acquiring, provisioning, and maintaining computing resources that were not efficiently used.
However, with the advent of cloud computing and particularly the birth of DevOps, software development and delivery process has greatly changed. Organizations have abandoned outdated delivery models that largely rely on manual interaction at multiple touch points along the software deployment lifecycle and are now depending on DevOps which has enabled them to foster communication between mission, development and operational teams.
Therefore, the big question is, as a DevOps Engineer, what are some of the things that you need to have on your DevOps resume. How can you ensure that you stand out when applying for a DevOps Engineer role especially in today’s competitive and highly complex talent market?
1. Technical Skills
DevOps engineers should have a number of technical skills that define DevOps. You have to demonstrate you are experienced in Linux server administration as most DevOps teams use Linux. You need to deeply understand the various platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, GoogleCloud which organizations use to deploy workloads.
Continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) are some of the must have methodologies that highly define the DevOps technique. As such, this requires DevOps engineers to have these skills in their resume. Make sure you understand CI & CD processes and be able to handle tools such as Jenkins, Bamboo, CruiseControl among others.
An all-rounded DevOps engineer should also have the ability to run software applications inside containers as it enables them to use various container platforms and container management software, for instance, LXD, Kubernetes, Docker and, hence manage the various CI processes.
The point is you must ensure you have certifications in some of the hosting platforms and other technical skills.
(Read The Ultimate Guide for a Successful Cloud Engineering Career)
2. Security Standards
DevOps engineers should have the ability to write secure code to protect software applications from cyber-attack and mitigate common cybersecurity vulnerabilities. In fact, employers regard this as a core requirement in a DevOps resume. Make sure you showcase this ability by maybe highlighting your experience in cybersecurity.
In addition, the General data protection regulation and Cambridge Analytica are some of the issues that are forcing organizations to put into place strategies that ensure they manage consumer data properly. This includes proper security standards.
For example, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard regulates the online retail world and has put into place specific laws that govern the hosting and maintenance of a software application that has cardholder data exposure. The same also applies to sites that are under the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) or sites that are governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The takeaway here is organizations expect candidates to show on their DevOps resume that they understand data security standards.
3. Soft Skills
DevOps at the end of the day is all about breaking down silos of software development and operations and this means organizations expect candidates to possess various soft skills.
Your DevOps resume should highlight some of the following soft skills: communication, flexibility, project management, among others. The best-in-class DevOps engineers have better communication skills and can collaborate well with other colleagues. You have to be able to communicate with both less-technical and more-technical colleagues.
DevOps entails multitasking, that is, juggling multiple workloads, working with different teams with different priorities. It is all about handling many different tasks that are urgent all at once. This calls for a flexible mind-set and being able to make the right decisions quickly.
The Bottom Line
DevOps is a skill that has helped all enterprises (think Adobe, Amazon, Target, etc.) across the globe eliminate waste, rework bottlenecks and automate manual tasks across the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process. It has enabled them to significantly reduce costs associated with manual processes and, hence improve the rate at which new solutions are developed and brought to market. In essence, DevOps has transformed legacy, siloed, and slow software operating models into integrated, business-driven engines that drive performance, facilitate agility, and maintain a competitive advantage.
These are just some of the reasons why organizations are actively seeking out for Cloud professionals with DevOps skills. You have to ensure you stand out when applying for this particular job role. Make sure that you clearly highlight some of the above mentioned skills on your DevOps resume.