Software Engineer
Resume Example

Even if you are an experienced software engineer or still an undergraduate, you must obviously know what code quality is. The number of code lines does not need to be significant for the code to perform its task.

The same theory applies to writing your Software Engineer resume. As long as you keep it simple and impressive, your resume can stand out from a first glance. At the same time, bear in mind that you need to beat an ATS to get noticed by a recruiter.

Let’s look at some important tips and tricks to make your resume free of bugs!

Hello World!

Although you can read and write Java, C#, Pascal or any other programming language, you could be wondering why it is so complicated to write a resume. The first step to ease the process is understanding the job role of a Software Engineer.

Apart from the responsibilities listed in a job description, here is a summary:

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Designing and development of software solutions.

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Understanding the problem domain.

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Following the standards of a Software Development Life Cycle.

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Testing and debugging.

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Developing technical documentation.

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Updating clients through effective communication.

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Keeping up with the team members.

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Working under pressure.

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Time management.

Taking all these into consideration, let’s write a bug free Software engineer resume!

Formatting your Software Engineer resume

Similar to a well written program with blocks of code, a good Software Engineer resume should have an easy to read format. 

Let’s look at the 7 golden rules to format your Software Engineer resume:

• Select attractive theme colors – Use darker shades of Blue or Green. Have adequate white space for readability.

• Select convincing fonts – Use a sans serif font probably because you will email the resume. Sans serif fonts are easy to read on screen. Try out Verdana, Gill Sans or Cambria.

• Give headings that draw attention – Identify the sections in your Software Engineer resume. A good heading always gives a summarized idea about the section that follows. Try out headings like professional profile, Work experience, certifications, skills and education.

• Pay attention to font size – Give a maximum of 14pt for headings and 12pt for body content.

• Emphasize using bold and italics- Highlight important details such as job positions, durations and company names using bold or italics.

• Use bullet points – Instead of describing each section using paragraphs, include everything using lists. This is applicable to sections like education and work experience.

• Save as PDF – Unless the recruiter specifically asks for a Word document, save your Software Engineer resume as PDF.

Add a header to your Software Engineer resume

When it comes to coding, file names, variables, classes and almost everything should have a meaningful name. That’s what allows programmers to understand code at a glance.

The resume header is very similar to a variable name. Your recruiters and hiring managers get the first impression by looking at it.

The resume header usually includes your name, current job title and company name and contact information. If this is the first job you are applying for, include your highest educational qualification instead of job title.

Or, if you are a newbie you can go with the following format:

Brand your resume with a Professional profile

Also known as the resume summary or objective statement, this is where you should summarize your key skills, achievements and vision as a Software Engineer. Always try to quantify your achievements and experiences to convince the recruiter.

Software Engineer with 5+ years of experience in over 10 projects of different business domains. Highly skilled in working in a tight schedule to meet deadlines through planning, Agile practices and team spirit. Well versed in an array of front end and back end technologies and frameworks. Looking forward to joining Exodus Labs, Inc for a new journey in Software development and eagerly waiting to learn new industry standards.

Well, we have a sample for newbies too!

Tech savvy fresh graduate from Louisiana State university with a Software Engineering major and a GPA of 4.0. Was an active member of the Young Developers’ club of the University and won the gold medal at LSU Hackathon consecutively for 2 years. Skilled in a range of development technologies and frameworks. Looking forward for a challenging and rewarding Software Engineering career with Exodus Labs, Inc Team.

Tip: Do not include your GPA if it is lower than 3.0.

Add a skills section to your Software Engineer resume

One of the most important things to include in a Software Engineer resume is your technical know-how. But wait! Don’t forget your soft skills! 

When including the relevant skills, try to organize them based on skill type or familiarity.

Organizing skills based on type

If you have a lot of skills from a single category, then this method is the best. Let’s look at an example:

You can also classify skills at your convenience based on whether they are front-end, back-end, etc. at your convenience.

Organizing skills based on familiarity

If you possess a limited number of software engineering skills to showcase, you can classify them according to familiarity. Three levels such as Advanced, Experienced and Familiar can be used.

Top soft skills for a software engineer resume

• Time management
• Working under pressure
• Flexibility
• Leadership
• Empathy
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Patience
• Approachability
• Problem solving
• Creativity
• Strategic thinking

Highlight previous work experience in your Software Engineer resume

If you are an experienced Software Engineer, your recruiters will definitely cross-check your skills section with work experience.

So, if you want to land your dream Software Engineering job, make sure this section is in order. List down each job title, company name, years of experience and key achievements. Quantify each achievement to show success in your career.

Here’s an example:

All of the above fit very well if you are an experienced software engineer. 

Then how about if you are a fresh graduate? If that’s the case, you may include any projects done in university, any volunteer work and also participation in events.

• President of the University Software Engineering circle in the year 2017- Organized 4 open source coding workshops increasing the number of participants by 15% compared to 2016.
• Participated in GSoC (Google Summer of Code) 2018 – Developed an automated Home safety solution with the use of IoT and got listed among the top 15 projects.
• Designed and developed a gesture based camera rotating algorithm with Python and the project was nominated for the best research project in year 2017.

Learn more about resume work experience

Add the Education section to your Software Engineer resume

This section is especially important if you are an entry level job seeker. This is the best chance to convince your hiring manager that you are the best candidate for the job position.

Take a look at this sample resume education section.

Winding up

If you have come this far, congratulations! 

Bonus tip: Limit your resume to a maximum of 2 pages.

Now you have the perfect toolkit for writing the perfect Software Engineer resume. Take a look at our sample Software Engineer resume for more information.

Good luck!