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How to Make a Stellar Software Developer Resume?

A solid way to be on par with the industry trends is to jump on the technology bandwagon. A fairly recent realization, there has been a boom in demand for software developers to optimize websites.

In a work environment saturated with software developers, it might be difficult to offer a different perspective on your software engineer resume. While building your skills and improving your range as an employee are laudable functions, your hiring manager will fail to catch the extent of your caliber if you don’t present it accurately.

Here are some facts to know to do justice to your potential as a software developer:

 

ATS Compliance

As a step towards optimizing the hiring process for big companies that receive thousands of applicants, the Applicant Tracking System or ATS does the first round of selection for them.

The ATS screening process involves the following parameters:

 

Keywords

Employers list the functions that they expect from their prospective employees. In the roles and responsibilities section, there are certain keywords that the company expects you to list in your resume.

The ATS screens your resume for these keywords as a better fit for the employer. You can squeeze in these keywords in your summary section, professional experience section, key skills, and additional experience sections.

Here is a software developer job description by Amazon:

• Programming experience in object-oriented languages or scripting languages (Java, Python, Ruby, Perl, and SQL), distributed systems, and Unix-based systems
• Strong knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and designing for performance and availability

In this particular scenario, you can add those technical skills to your resume, and explain how you worked with them in your previous stints. Similarly, if there are any keywords for leadership or team-playing, make sure that you include them by using power verbs like Collaborated, Directed, Spearheaded, etc.

 

Resume Format

The most ATS-friendly resume format is undoubtedly the reverse chronological resume. Following this resume format means that you list your work experience beginning with the most recent one and moving backward. It is also recruiter-friendly because your most recent stint will align more closely with your profile title.

Additionally, use a simple design for your resume as it is hard for the ATS to parse through complicated templates that scatter your information.

 

Key Skills

As mentioned earlier, technical skills are a requisite for any software developer’s resume. Not only will it match with the job description enlisted by the employer, but also elucidate your caliber more efficiently.

Since you would be having a lot of technical skills, that is proficiency with a lot of tools and software, the more sustainable option is to group them based on functions.

Here’s a small example of that:

• Languages: C#, .Net, C++, HTML, JavaScript, Python
• Tools: Spring, Spring Boot, SQL Server, NoSQL, Jira, Rally

Doing so is a direct way of informing your hiring manager of what you’re capable of, thereby giving them a well-rounded explanation of why they should hire you.

 

Work Experience

As this is the section when you disclose your career trajectory, you would have to put in the most effort to make sure that it is no less than perfect.

Some methods you can adopt to do that are:

 

Maintain a Cause-Effect Relationship

Whatever you state in your resume, make sure that they are not empty statements. Place importance on backing your sentences with substantial evidence.

Maintain cause-effect methodology in all of your work functions. It can be somewhere along with the format of:

The function you performed + its outcomes

Doing so will do justice to your problem-solving skills and will speak volumes about your competence. While listing outcomes, try to quantify them wherever possible like so:

• Designed 10+ internal websites for seniors & clients to save an average of $15,000 in labor costs per month
• Collaborated with the Business Development team to develop a new SQL database and enhance overall efficiency by 45%

By quantifying your functions, you are giving your hiring managers valuable insight into your drive and competence.

 

Efficient Formatting

Even if you have a rich work experience section, it will look bland without a bit of sprucing up on the formatting side.

Use one-liners to list your experience and do not start your sentences with pronouns I or We. Beginning your sentences with action words like directed, collaborated, rendered, analyzed, etc. creates an impression of authority.

Along with that, group similar functions and give them an appropriate title depending on the work functions listed under it.

 

Additional Information

You can customize your resume based on your expertise, so you can opt-out of a few sections or add any extra sections depending on you!

As a tech profile, you can make a separate section for your academic projects or any other projects you undertook on your own. It will show your recruiter that you have practical knowledge as well. The same applies to other academic achievements too! Try not to downplay your education section and list any and every relevant achievement you might have had during your academic career.

Additionally, add sections for Training, Certifications, or Volunteer Experience as per your requirements.

 

Key Takeaways

A stellar software developer resume can be difficult to crack with the truckload of information you want to add. Fret not for if you follow these tips, you might have just the one in your hands.

• Make sure that your resume is ATS compliant by paying attention to keywords listed in the job description and using the reverse chronological order
• List all of your technical skills and group them based on functions to enhance readability
• Your work experience section contains all the information valuable to your recruiter so make sure that it follows the format listed above
• Customize your resume based on your areas of expertise and add sections like training, certification, or projects as deemed necessary

Now, what are you waiting for? With all of these solid tips, your dream job is just around the corner. We are rooting for you!