How to Write a Great Software Engineer Resume

As a software engineer, you are acutely aware that it is a competitive job market in which you operate. When looking for a new role, a great resume can be the difference, however. If you’re just getting started and are unsure what skills you need to become a software engineer, check out Cloud Roster™. It allows you to explore the latest skills in demand by job role, understand skillset requirements, and discover certification learning paths. So without further ado, here is how you can put together an effective software engineer resume.

Be clear and concise, and think about the layout

An important note to start: If your resume is not well laid out, there is too much text, and your presentation and sentences are long-winded and overly wordy, then your resume is going to be glossed over way too quickly. 

“Make sure that you present your resume clearly, with a logical and well set out structure. Keep details concise, and remove anything irrelevant. Finally, make sure that your sentences are to the point, and avoid too much text where possible, because this puts off the hiring manager immediately,” recommends Charles Swanson, resume proofreader at Best Assignment Writing Service.

Start with a clear summary

The fashion these days is to begin your resume with something that could be called a summary or even personal profile. Quite simply, this is a paragraph or two (but not too long) which sums you up – your main skills, experience, achievements, and character. Think how you can best sell yourself within these couple of brief paragraphs (but avoid ‘salesy’ language and exaggeration). This may be your one shot at getting your resume noticed because hiring managers are often inundated with resumes and only use this summary quickly to decide if the rest of the resume deserves their attention.

Spell out your strengths immediately, and what you are looking for

Within this summary as mentioned, spell out your strengths as a software engineer, meaning the programs you have worked with, notable career achievements, notable companies you have worked for or collaborated with, impressive projects that you have worked upon, as well as any education achievements which help you stand out from the crowd.

Give more details about your experience and emphasize achievements

Next, you delve more into your experience, giving relevant examples of the activities you performed in each role (starting with the most recent) and naming the projects that you were involved with, and in what capacity. Talk about the different software, but remember the advice to be as clear and concise as possible.

Be clear in communicating your achievements, and as well as personal achievements, how did you add value to the organization you were working for – this is of total relevance to any future employer. Achievements should be laid out as ways in which you brought success to the projects you were involved in, and any numbers that you could add in terms of what you generated to the company’s bottom line would be of great help. All of these details immediately catch the attention of prospective employers, and as such should be included in the summary section that you begin with.

Qualifications and skills (including software that you have worked with and could work with)

In today’s tech industry, businesses are not just looking for college degrees. Employers are looking at your technical experience and certifications. If your resume is lacking experience, you’ll want to look into certification courses. Cloud Academy’s Programming Training Library offers a wide variety of Learning Paths, Courses, Exams, Hands-on Labs, and Lab Challenges that provide the theory, technical knowledge, and hands-on practice to get certified on the industry-leading cloud platforms and technologies. 

Cloud Academy's Programming Training Library

It’s also important to list your educational background, of course, but because of the way the tech world is always developing, involving all the relevant software you have worked with and studied is of paramount importance. Detail how you engaged with this software and the style of projects you have been involved with. Which takes us on neatly to the next point. 

Show your commitment to innovation

Are you an innovative individual? How so? In software engineering, innovation is a sought-after quality, so if this is you, demonstrate effectively on your resume how you have been innovative in the past (it’s not enough just to list ‘innovative’ among your qualities). Demonstrate pertinent examples on your software engineer resume. 

Show your commitment to staying up-to-date

Software engineering is a fast-evolving field of expertise, so what do you do to stay up-to-date? What recent training have you completed, what new software have you had experience with, and how do you generally keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to innovations? These are vital considerations in this industry, and demonstrating your commitment to staying with the times is important. 

Use the right tools

Putting together a great software engineer resume, or any resume at all, can be greatly complemented by making use of the plethora of online writing services – trust me, it’s a smart move. Here are just some of the options available to you.

  • A great place to start in terms of assistance is Resumention, a resume service that can help get you off on the right foot.
  • MyWritingWay and LetsGoAndLearn are terrific examples of online writing guides that can assist in starting off your resume.
  • OXEssays and Academized can be of great assistance as editing tools (as reviewed in Top Writing Services), and will definitely assist in making your resume clearer and more concise.
  • At the same time, SimpleGrad and StateofWriting can be used to assist you in generating subject lines, titles, and subheadings which are essential for laying out your resume.
  • Look no further than ViaWriting and WritingPopulist as effective grammar-checking tools if you are concerned about your grammatical presentation, or if you are a non-native writer.
  • And finally, make sure you proofread everything that you have included on your resume. PaperFellows and Write My Paper are great online proofreading tools, as mentioned in AustralianReviewer).

References

Don’t forget to include influential references, so think long and hard about who is best to use as a reference. An eclectic mix is best suggested, and if you can use key figures from your previous jobs, not only does it lend weight to your resume, it also shows that you have been able to maintain healthy relationships with those you worked with and for, which is always a great sign to a potential employer.

Anything else

Is there anything you can add to your software engineer resume which lends weight to your ability, your achievements, or your character? The latter is a very important aspect for hiring companies, who often use advanced character assessments when searching for new employees, so put in details of your hobbies and achievements which may not obviously be work-related. Who you are as a person is equally important to organizations in the 21st Century.

Aimee Laurence can be found offering her expert insights as a resume editor at College Admission Help and Write My Essay Online, where she focuses on career guidance. Aimee also tutors at Essay Help Online, an educational portal.

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