Having exceptional software engineering skills and experience can land you a decent job but only if that reflects in a well-written resume for software engineers. Moreover, hiring managers must notify the same. These two are completely different sides of a coin.
In this guide, we will be discussing the untrodden paths of writing a software engineering resume. To help you navigate smoothly through this guide we have compiled a reading map. Refer to it below.
- Software engineering definition
- Job description of a software engineer
- Senior software engineer resume example
- Software engineer resume format
- Structure of a software engineer resume
- Contact details in a software engineer resume
- Summary in a software engineer resume
- Experience in a software engineer resume
- Education details in a software engineer resume
- Skills Section of a software engineer resume
- Additional-details in a software engineer resume
- Good and bad examples of individual sections
- Section-wise list of must-have keywords
- Software engineer resume FAQs
Select your favorite and use it as a resume template to write a good software engineer resume. For more software engineer resume sample scroll down to the bottom of this guide.
Software Engineering Definition
Software engineering is an engineering branch providing a systematic process to design and develop websites, mobile applications, servers, browsers, and software.
The term software engineering contains two crucial terms - software and engineering where software means programs while the latter means the scientific and practical approach to designing and developing a program.
Not only design and develop but a software engineer also maintains websites, mobile applications, servers, browsers, and software to attain better quality management.
Therefore, considering the above points here's the specific job description of a software engineer.
Job Description of a Software Engineer
The primary software engineer job duties working in tech companies are to design, develop, and perform the maintenance of software programs. They have advanced programming skills and technical skills in the software development regime.
- Apply software engineering principles to design, develop, test, modify, and execute programs at tech companies or for personal projects while maintaining the software development cycle.
- Writing well-structured and bug-free programming codes, testing the codes in different environments to attain maximum functionality at the same time monitoring the cost and expenses of the development phase.
- Determining the business requirements, usability, and feasibility of a project from the client’s end so that the overall cost of the project does not exceed the client’s budget expectations.
- Writing codes in programming languages like Java, Python, PHP, C++, and Ruby. Also being familiar with testing environments and quality results related to these programming languages.
- Detect and troubleshoot errors in software development or programming projects. Maintain the features and functionalities of the same after fixing the issues.
- Work according to company standards and attempt to deliver high-quality results abiding by the project strategies, rules, regulations, and policies.
Now that we know the specific job description of a software engineer published by hiring managers with an overview of software engineering in the beginning let's compile a software engineering resume.
Software Engineer Resume Example
The following software engineer resume example can be utilized as a template to create a generic resume if you are a software engineer. This resume template is not only ATS-friendly but also for hiring managers. Hence, go through it carefully and revise important details.
Good Software Engineer Resume Writing
An engineering job needs technical skills to perform a particular job in any discipline. This is the reason why most job descriptions for a software engineer or a software developer demand a high-level of relevant skills.
This way it becomes essential to highlight those relevant skills, experience, resume summary, education section, and other details in a software engineer resume. But before that two important components shall be addressed.
Software Engineer Resume Format
A resume format is critical, especially when you are writing your experience as a software engineer. Secondly, the education section has to be written in a format properly. For the software engineer resume examples, we will be using the reverse chronological format.
We have two more formats - the functional and the hybrid format. Out of these three, the reverse chronological order will properly format the resume starting with the current job.
Refer to the software engineer resume examples in the beginning. Look into the work experience section. You will find it written in the reverse order.
Structure of Software Engineer Resumes
The structure of a software engineering resume means the outline or a predefined sketch. It is similar to the wireframe designed by civil engineers or electrical engineers to proceed with the installation work.
By defining the structure in software engineers resume you will have finished a major task. After that, it is just similar to arranging the content. So how's the structure of software engineers resume?
- Contact details (with a job title)
- Resume summary
- Work experience
- Education section
- Software engineering skills section
- Programming language
- Certificates
You will have to write a total of seven sections in a resume for software engineer jobs. Now let's head on to write one for ourselves.
Contact Details (Header) in Software Engineer Resumes
Applicant tracking systems are there for a reason. It can be a good tool for hiring managers but a nightmare for the resumes of software engineers. However, only if it is not written properly. For instance, the contact details aka header.
Writing contact details in the resume of software engineers is an effortless task. You don't need any help since it is just your name, job title, and a few pieces of information. If you ask what could go wrong then refer to examples of contact details in software engineer resumes below. See yourself what's wrong in there.
Senior Software Engineer
Youngstown, Florida
+1 850-703-3632
ramonamarshall@gmail.comkeppelnorway.com
Ramona F. Marshall
2576 Woodside Circle
Youngstown, FL 32466
+1 850-703-3632
ramonamarshall@jourrapide.comkeppelnorway.com
Height - 5' 8" (172 cm)
Weight - 137.3 pounds (62.4 kg)
Blood group - O+
Birthday - January 2, 1968
Age - 55 years old
Zodiac sign - Capricorn
Summary in Software Engineer Resumes
A software engineer resume summary follows immediately after the contact details. To create a familiar reference we have taken the software engineer resume example mentioned at the beginning of this guide.
Here you will see the comparison between two examples of summary in a software engineer resume. It's pretty straightforward to understand why they both differ from each other.
Experience in a Software Engineer Resume
After the resume summary falls the work experience of software engineers. Recruiters spend an average of 6-7 seconds to scan a resume after it has passed the applicant tracking system and reached the hiring manager.
In those 6-7 seconds the most scanned section is the work experience. In short, this section will either make your chances or break them. To make the concept transparent we have taken the experience section from the software engineer resume example mentioned at the beginning of this guide.
Further, you will read comparisons of two examples of experience sections in a software engineer resume.
Senior Software Engineer
Youngstown, Florida
2018-ongoing
- Assisted lead software engineer to streamline the mobile application pages improving the page speed by 10% and boosting the page traffic by 33%.
- Assigned and monitored the entry-level software engineer team to re-architect codes of an e-commerce platform resulting in an improved user performance of 1.2M users.
- Tested client’s website by enabling - text compression, eliminating render-blocking resources, and reducing initial-server response time which resulted in increased performance by 66%.
- Performed site analysis and avoided long main-threads tasks, reduced unused JavaScript, and network-payloads, and an excessive DOM size.
Galaxy Infotech
Entry-Level Software Engineer
Youngstown, Florida
2015-2018
- Organized large layout shifts, minimized main-thread work, and reduced the impact of third-party code, user timing marks, and measures in the client’s mobile app under the supervision of a senior software developer.
- Substantially minified JavaScript by reducing the script-execution time, and avoided non-composited animations after converting a static website.
- Awarded the star entry-level software engineer award for locating bugs in the software development projects submitted by lead software engineer teams.
Senior Software Engineer
Youngstown, Florida
2018-ongoing
- Assisted lead software engineer to streamline the mobile application pages.
- Assigned and monitored the software engineer team.
- Tested client’s website by enabling - text compression.
- Performed site analysis and avoided long main-threads tasks.
Galaxy Infotech
Entry-Level Software Engineer
Youngstown, Florida
2015-2018
- Organized large layout shifts and minimized main-thread work.
- Substantially minified JavaScript by reducing the time.
- Awarded for locating bugs in software.
Education Section in a Software Engineer Resume
Similar to the contact details, the education section is the simplest one. Use the reverse order to mention your qualifications. For instance, the highest one at the top is followed by others. Refer to the examples of the education section in a software engineer resume below.
Youngstown University
Youngstown, Florida
2012-2015
Florida, 2015
Skills Section in a Software Engineer Resume
After the work experience, the skills section is the second most scanned item in a resume. After all the hiring manager needs to know what type of software engineer skills the applicant possesses.
Instead of comparing two examples of skills section in a software engineer resume we have bifurcated the key skills into different headings. This is also important because a senior software engineer resume differs from a civil engineering resume.
Further, they both are completely distinct from an administrative assistant's resume. Hence, the bifurcation. Now let's see what is it.
First, refer to the job posting published by the hiring manager. Then prepare a separate list of key skills that are demanded. Now bifurcate the list under the following headings.
- Soft skills
- Hard skills (software engineer skills)
- Technical skills (if required)
If you are writing a software engineer resume sample then hard skills can be given the title of software engineer skills. This can be unique for another resume example.
Make sure you don't make a single list of all your software engineer skills. It is not the responsibility of a hiring manager to divide and read. A ton of resumes will be waiting in the hiring process. They will simply keep it aside.
Additional Details in a Software Engineer Resume
What are technical recruiters searching for in an engineer resume sample? You have already mentioned every detail then what extra do they want from you? There's no harm in providing the team of technical recruiters with a little more information.
On the contrary, they will like to see the other side of the coin if it is in the interest of the company. But do not repeat the mistakes mentioned below. Here are two examples of additional-details in a software engineer resume.
- Java
- Python
- PHP
- C++
- Ruby
- Certified Software Development Professional
- Java, python, c++, php, ruby, certified software development professional
A resume correctly written can increase your chances of getting an interview call. Hence, don't repeat these mistakes when writing a real-time resume and job application.
List of Must-Have Keywords
Why is this even necessary? Before your senior or junior software engineer resume reaches the hiring manager it will go through a series of tools and programs that are part of the hiring process. These are the applicant tracking systems.
Therefore, it is necessary to include keywords and key phrases from the software engineer job description in your software engineer resume. By doing this it will easily pass through an applicant tracking system.
Following is the list of must-have keywords and key phrases in the software engineer resume
- Developer jobs
- Tech companies
- Business requirements
- Communication skills
- Machine learning
- Hard skills
- Data structures
- Software engineering
- Software project
- Soft skills
- Programming language
- Engineering job
- Education section
- Resume summary
- Resume objective
- Software developers
- Software engineer jobs
- Personal projects
- Computer science
- Technical skills
- Lead software engineer
- Software development
- Software engineers
Software Engineer Resume Sample
Following is the list of ready examples for you to refer to. They are more or less similar to resumes for software engineers. This IT resumes will help you have a deeper insight into the resume-writing genre for software engineers. Hence, read them carefully
- Web Developer Resume
- Information Technology Resume
- Software Development Engineer Resume
- Android Developer Resume
- Front End Developer Resume
- UX Designer Resume Guide
- Cloud Engineer Resume Guide
- Game Programmer Resume
- Cloud Developer Resume
- Linux Administrator Resume
- Programmer Resume Guide
- IT Technician Resume and Guide
- Cyber Security Resume Example
- Game Designer Resume Example
- IT Project Manager Resume
- Data Scientist Resume
- Software Developer Resume
- Data Analyst Resumes
- IT Manager Resume
- Web Developer Resume
- Information Technology Specialist Resume
- Java Developer Resume
- Data Scientist Resume
Software Engineer Resume FAQs
A software developer is a user of the tools made by software engineers to create apps. In other words, one is the creator and the other one is the user. Yet, both of them uses the same IT technology to accomplish their task.
A software developer resume is no different than other IT sector resumes. Some details will vary, for example, experience, skills section, and education. Still, the format and the structure of a software developer resume will remain the same. Refer to the software developer resume examples in this guide for intrinsic details.
A cover letter is a must when you make a job application and writing a software engineer cover letter is no different. To write one for yourself follow our cover letter examples and templates.