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AV Candidate CV Advice: Don’t Just List the Technology

  • Writer: Jodie
    Jodie
  • Aug 28
  • 3 min read

If you work in Audio Visual, don’t just list

Q-SYS, Crestron or Microsoft Teams on your CV, tell us what you can actually do with them. What have you personally designed, programmed, configured, commissioned, tested or fixed?


There’s a big difference between supporting a system that contains Q-SYS and independently configuring and commissioning it. Clients are becoming increasingly aware of that difference, and it can have a real impact on the interviews and salaries you’re offered.


Why is this important right now?


We’re seeing increasing demand from our clients for engineers with genuine Q-SYS and Crestron experience, particularly across commissioning, programming and technical support roles. Modern AV systems are becoming far more connected. Q-SYS and Crestron are no longer simply pieces of equipment sitting inside a meeting room. They can form a central part of the entire solution, bringing together audio, video, conferencing, room control, automation and wider networked systems.


Clients therefore need engineers who can do more than recognise the technology or provide basic support. They want to understand whether you have personally:


  • Configured and commissioned a Q-SYS system

  • Worked with DSP files, audio tuning and acoustic echo cancellation

  • Programmed, amended or fault-found Crestron code

  • Integrated systems with Microsoft Teams Rooms

  • Worked with Dante, AV-over-IP or networked AV

  • Diagnosed faults across AV, control and network systems

  • Completed testing, documentation and final client handover

  • Taken ownership of a project without constantly escalating problems


Be honest about your level of involvement


The level of experience behind a technology listed on a CV can vary enormously. One candidate may have supported meeting rooms containing Q-SYS or Crestron equipment. Another may have independently configured, programmed, commissioned and handed over the entire system. Both experiences are valuable, but they are not the same. Simply writing “Q-SYS experience” doesn’t give a potential employer enough information to understand your technical ability. Instead, explain exactly what you did.


For example, rather than writing:

Experience with Q-SYS and Crestron


You could write:

Configured and commissioned Q-SYS DSP systems across corporate meeting-room projects, including audio tuning, fault-finding, Teams Rooms integration, system testing and client handover. Made amendments to existing Crestron programmes and worked alongside programmers to resolve control-system issues.


That immediately gives the employer a much clearer picture.


Give context to your technical experience


When describing a project, try to include:


  • The type and size of the environment

  • The technology involved

  • Your personal responsibilities

  • Whether you worked independently or as part of a team

  • The problems you identified and resolved

  • Whether you completed the final commissioning and handover

  • The outcome for the client


You don’t need to write paragraphs about every project, but a few specific examples will make your CV significantly stronger.


Don’t underestimate transferable experience


If you have strong experience in enterprise support, service engineering or UCC, don’t assume it is less valuable than traditional commissioning experience. Clients are increasingly interested in candidates who understand the complete room including Microsoft Teams Rooms, DSP, cameras, control systems, remote monitoring, networking and the end-user experience. The important thing is to explain the depth of your involvement. Did you simply monitor and escalate faults, or did you diagnose and resolve them yourself? Did you support a Teams Room, or did you deploy, configure and test it?


The strongest CVs show capability - not keywords


The candidates securing the strongest interviews and salaries aren’t necessarily those with the longest list of technologies. They’re the people who can clearly explain:


  • What they personally delivered

  • How technically complex the work was

  • What problems they solved

  • How independently they worked

  • What value they brought to the project or client


The current market is placing greater value on AV professionals who can take ownership, solve problems and successfully deliver working systems. So, be specific. Your practical technical ability could be worth far more than your CV currently suggests, but clients need to be able to see it.



 
 
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