How to write a great software developer CV that will make you stand out from the crowd

Software developers are in high demand, so there’s no dearth of opportunities for people with the right skills but that alone doesn’t automatically line up interviews for you, as you look for a new job opportunity. You will need to write a great resume first.

Beyond just simply listing your work experience; your resume must display the entire extent of your experience. Highlight your best accomplishments and projects in your summary. Present your key qualifications and talents to demonstrate the image of an experienced professional.

A well-written software developer resume must have a clear account, it must resemble good code which is readable, well-organized, elegant and free from bugs. In this blog, we’ll show you how to build one just like that.

Write a resume summary or an objective

The ATS (Applicant Tracking System) scans for keywords before sending your resume to a human recruiter for skills, qualities and experience relevant for the job. How do you know which keywords should be in your summary and resume? To ensure that your resume summary passes through the ATS, the two main sources of information are - industry knowledge and job description.

When you’re applying to jobs, it’s good to provide some explanation of your career goals. A concise, detailed resume summary section will prove useful to link your past experience, recent training, outstanding work-related achievements, future goals and inconsistent work history etc. This helps recruiters to better understand how your skills might translate into a job role you are looking for.

The summary focuses on your previous relevant experience and so it’s appropriate for candidates who’ve been in the industry for at least 2 years. On the contrary, you can include a resume objective to highlight your skills, if you are a fresh developer and building up an entry-level resume.

Emphasize your software engineer experience

Result-oriented, relevant and consistent are three qualities that a well-written software engineer resume must have to catch a recruiter’s attention. To write an appealing and result-driven resume, you must list not only what you did, but what you achieved by edging it in terms of numbers. For example, reduced the loading time of 15 million records by 40% by optimizing the code.

Highlight your skills section

Being insightful about which programming languages are the latest in the industry or what additional interests to include may attract the recruiter. You don’t always need to be an expert in these, but if you possess these skills then you must display them in your resume.

Some key points to present your skills are listed below:

• Prioritise the technical skills to list on your resume.
• Don’t list any obsolete technology; it might look a bit odd.
• Don’t list any apparent skills like MS Office or Windows OS. It is obvious you’re good with these with your job profile.
• Prudently study the job description and the company you’re applying for. Prioritise the skills that the company is looking for.
• When you list a specific technology on your resume, it’s good to list next in line technologies too. For example, Java with J2EE, Spring and Struts etc. to show you actually have a working experience with the complete stack.

Customize your skills to the job

Different programming jobs will need you to have knowledge of different languages. You might consider including all your skills but if it is not relevant, remove it from your listed skills. Most ATS tests are constituted to link with the job description. The more alike terms are there between the resume and the job description, the more likely you are to pass the bot and influence the recruiter.

Demonstrate continual learning

Software developers need to continuously stay updated on the latest developments in technology by regularly learning new skills. It's good if you can influence with some technology and coding blogs you read and podcasts that you listen to. You can also list the online courses and books that you have used for self-learning for enhancing your software development skills. Just don’t include the whole list but only those that are necessary for the position you are applying for.

Emphasize your education

If you don’t have much actual professional experience to display then your education, trainings and technical skills will be especially significant. Accordingly, you’ll want to be certain that it stands out. Creating comprehensive Education and Training and Technical Skills sections and present them prominently in your resume to highlight your qualifications.

Provide links to projects

It can be tough for a recruiter to comprehend exactly about your work experience in diverse projects. Subsequently, when it’s apt, you might want to consider providing links to the completed projects on platforms like GitHub where probable employers can get an understanding and a glimpse of the kind of work you can do.

Include certifications

Even though adding certificates won’t substitute an actual work experience, they will meaningfully strengthen your overall software developer resume.

Showcase your soft skills too

Including examples of your soft skills can be helpful. Possibly you’re a great communicator; you can mention in your resume that you have experience in communicating with business decision makers. Perhaps you have strong leadership skills and you can describe how you’ve managed teams, helped and mentored junior developers.

Add an *Activities* section

Include a list of the activities that you have performed till date. For example, you can add about your freelance projects, your contribution to open source efforts and involvement in hackathon etc.

Conclusion

Create a resume with a consistent story that demonstrates both your technical knowledge and proficiency. Your resume replicates your experience, skills and resourcefulness, so dedicate time and energy to get it right.

Carefully study the job description and present your key resume sections accordingly. Customize your resume to reflect the job description, incorporate relevant keywords, and include specific details of your experience to highlight your resume and eventually it will help you to land your next job.