Penning a software engineer resume can be arduous. But don't worry, you're in luck!

[Click here to directly go to the complete software engineer resume sample.]

So, to make the resume writing process of a software engineer easy for you, our software engineering resume writing experts at Hiration have come up with this guide in which they have explained each and every step of their software developer resume making process in detail for you.

In this guide, we've explained each stage and step of software engineer resume making precisely.

Here's a summary of what you'll find in this guide:

• Resume formats that you use to craft your software developer resume
• Sections that you need to create for your software developer resume
• What to include in the header section of your resume, and why is it important
• How to present your professional experience in the best way possible in your software developer resume

By the end of this guide, you will be able to:

• How to decide whether to make a summary section or a objective section?
• How to choose the correct format for your software developer resume?
• How to design the tech skills section in your resume?
• How to write down your professional experience in a persuasive way?

... All to make a job cracking software developer resume!

Additionally, you can go for Hiration's Online Resume Builder for an effortless software engineer resume making experience.

If you choose to make your software engineering resume on your own, then follow this 10 Step guide to make your software engineer resume making process an easy one.

Plus, we've provided dozens of software engineer resume samples and examples in this guide to provide you with greater clarity on how to make a software engineering resume.

Also, after you're done making your software developer resume, you can go for Hiration's Resume Reviewing Service, where you can get your resume checked for ATS compliance.

"Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering."
- Bill Gates

Similarly, a software engineering resume also needs to be a combination of great content and a visually appealing software engineer resume template.

The basic level of education required to become an engineer is a Bachelor's degree. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the field of software engineering is likely to grow by 24% in the coming 8 years, which is much more than the average of other professions.

The basic work of a software engineer revolves around developing various kind of applications for computers and other devices. Further, they also develop underlying systems in order to run devices and manage networks.

Software engineer also evaluates analysis, requirements, problem definition, proposed solutions, and solution development to determine operational feasibility.

With the growing need of software engineers in the sectors of software publishing, manufacturing, finance, and insurance, etc., hundreds of candidates apply for just a handful of job vacancies.

What Is A Software Engineer Resume?

The basic purpose of a software engineer resume is to demonstrate the proficiency level of a professional as a software engineer.

A software engineering resume gives the recruiter detailed information on the skills that you acquire and how efficient you are at deploying those skills in your daily duties.

So, here's the deal:

While hunting for a job, having a software engineer resume is a sure-shot way to get as many job interviews as you possibly can.

Fresher in the field of software engineering get an approximate starting salary of $6,500 per month whereas the professionals at a senior post get an approximate monthly salary of $11,000.

Salaries and software engineer resumes have a very important connection with each other. Software engineer resumes have the number of years for which you have been working as a software engineer, so, when the recruiter sees your software developer resume, he/she decides the salary to be paid according to the number of experience you have in that field.

You can opt to make your software engineer resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder for an effortless software engineering resume making experience.

Software Engineer Resume Format

Broadly, there are three formats in which a software developer resume can be written. Along with the detailed information about each format, we've also listed the pros and cons of each format.

Reverse Chronological Resume Format

As the name suggests, in this format, the information in a resume is listed in reverse chronological order. This basically means that the most recent information in terms of dates is written first, followed by the earlier ones.

Also, when writing your resume in reverse chronological order, it is always beneficial to write only those things which are relevant to the target profile.

Pros And Cons Of The Reverse Chronological Order

The reverse chronological resume format is the most commonly used resume format across professions. But, it also has its own pros and cons.

PROS

• ATS Optimized
• Preferred by Recruiters
• Easy to Make
• Highlights the Most Recent Work Experience

If you don't want the recruiter to focus more on your previous profile then this format is the best for you. As a recruiter scans a resume only for merely 6 seconds in the first go, they won't look at your previous work profiles if your resume is written in the reverse chronological format.

Now that we know the benefits of using a reverse chronological order, let's see what are the cons of using the same.

CONS

• Highlights the Gaps in Your Professional History
• Unsuitable if there are frequent job changes

Functional Resume Format

The functional resume format emphasizes on the summary and key skills section while not going into the details of the professional experience section.

Let us now see what are the pros and cons of the functional resume format.

PROS

• Covers Employment Gaps
• Addresses the Issues of Job Switches

CONS

• Isn't ATS Friendly
• Suspicious To Recruiters
• No Focus On The Trajectory across your Career till date

Combination (Hybrid) Resume Format

The combination resume format is written using both the reverse chronological and the functional resume format.

The first half of the resume, which includes the summary and the key skills section, is written using the functional resume format, while the second half of the resume (which includes the professional experience section) is written using the reverse chronological resume format.

PROS

• Information is Written in Reverse Chronological Order
• Summary and Skills are Highlighted

CONS

• Is Time Consuming
• Might Not Comply With Company-Specific Guidelines

Complete Software Engineer Resume Sample

Below given is a software engineer resume sample for you to see how a well finished software engineering resume is supposed to look like:

How To Write A Software Engineer Resume?

This Software Engineer Guide is written to make your job of writing a software developer resume easier.

By following the steps given in this guide, you can make your software engineer resume with ease in just 10 simple steps.

Also, do have a look at the 'KEY TAKEAWAYS' given at the end of the guide to know some tricks and hacks that will make it impossible for the recruiter to skip your software engineering resume and move to the next one.

In addition to this, go for our Hiration's Online Resume Builder to make your software engineer resume as our Online Resume Builder makes the process of composing a software developer resume super easy with the various features that it offers.

It comes with pre-filled ready-to-use software engineer resume templates which you can edit and customize around your own professional experience.

Software Engineer Resume Sections

The following will be the order of the software developer resume:

1. Header
2. Personal Information
3. Profile Title
4. Summary/Objective
5. Key Skills
6. Technical Skills
7. Professional Experience
8. Internship
9. Education
10. Certifications

Writing your Software Engineer Resume

The software engineering resume will be written in the following three stages:

1. Master Software Engineer Resume: The master software developer resume is Hiration's proprietary method which is used by our in-house experts.

The master software engineering resume doesn't only help in making your existing software developer resume, but it is also of a lot of help when you've to update your resume in the future in case of a job change or career change.

At this stage, all you have to do is to write ALL THE INFORMATION that you can possibly think of related to your software engineer resume in your master software engineering resume.

Then later in the process, when you'll move to the second stage of software engineer resume making, you can pick out the most important and relevant information to your target profile and jot it down in your first draft of the software developer resume.

The basic idea of a master software engineering resume is to collect and write down all the information related to your software developer resume at one place so that you don't have to go through other documents for making your software engineer resume in between the software engineering resume making process.

If you don't make a master software engineer resume and directly go on making the final software developer resume, then there is a high chance that you might forget to write things that are important for a software engineering resume.

Consider the master software developer resume as an outline which is being prepared for your final software engineer resume. After making this outline or master software engineering resume, you can tweak your final software engineer resume according to it.

When you're done compiling the information in the master software engineer resume, you'll start making your software engineering resume section. So, at the master software engineer resume making stage, you will make two sections: (a) Professional Experience and (b) Internship Section

After you're done making the master software developer resume, you'll move on to the second stage of software engineering resume making.

Hiration Pro Tip: In order to be able to use the master software developer resume in the future, save a copy of it.

2. First Draft For Your Software Engineer Resume: At this second stage, you will make the sections of the header, personal information, profile title, education, and certification.

3. Final Software Engineer Resume: At this stage, the first thing that you need to do is to make your 'KEY SKILLS' and 'TECHNICAL SKILLS' sections.

Second is to make the 'software engineer resume SUMMARY' or 'a software developer resume OBJECTIVE' section.

HIRATION PRO TIP: Entry-level professionals in the field of software engineer will make a software developer resume objective section, whereas, mid-level and senior-level professionals in this field will make a software engineer resume summary section.

Lastly, bold and highlight all the important words and phrases throughout your software engineer resume except the software engineer resume summary/objective, key skills, and technical skills section.

Let us now see in detail, how to make each section.

How to write your Software Engineer Resume Professional Experience Section

Step 1 in the software engineering resume making process is to make the professional experience section.

The professional experience section is one of the most important sections of a software developer resume. It demonstrates the work history of a professional as a software engineer.

Use the below-given format to write the professional experience section of your software engineer resume.

{Name of the Organization} | {Designation} | {Location} (city, country pin) | {Dates} (in mm/yy-mm/yy format)

Framing Points Of Your Software Engineer Resume Professional Experience Section

There is a proper method to write the points of the professional experience section.

The method of writing the points of the professional experience section is called the cause-effect method of writing points. Ensuring a cause-effect relationship helps in showcasing the quantifiable impact you delivered on the business.

So, let us now see how to write the professional experience software engineer resume points using the cause-effect method with the help of software developer resume examples.

Example 1:

• Developed the hotel booking engine
• Worked on the entire Product Development Lifecycle
• Worked on the development of a central reservation system
• Delivered new features for the reservation system

The points written in example 1 don't provide much information around the impact that the work of the professional had on the business as these points are not written using the cause-effect method of framing points.

Example 2:

• Developed the hotel booking engine from scratch using the Python/Django framework
• Directed the entire Product Development Lifecycle, from understanding the business case to implementation
• Steered the development of a central reservation system to handle 10k+ bookings per day
• Single-handedly delivered ~100+ new features for the reservation system

The points written in example 2 are written using the cause-effect method of framing points. Thus, they provide greater clarity on the work of the person as well as the effect that the person's work had on the business.

Bucketing & Bolding The Points In The Software Engineer Professional Experience Section

Bucketing and bolding play an important role in the making of the professional experience section. Let's see with the help of software engineering resume examples how these two elements make a major difference in the software developer resume.

Example 1:

• Developed the hotel booking engine from scratch using the Python/Django framework
• Steered the entire Product Development Lifecycle from understanding the Business Case to Implementation
• Directed the development of a central reservation system to handle 10k+ bookings per day
• Single-handedly delivered ~100+ new features for the reservation system

The above points have poor readability as no bucketing and bolding is there in the points written in example 1.

Example 2:

System Development

• Developed the hotel booking engine from scratch using the Python/Django framework
• Directed the development of a central reservation system to handle 10k+ bookings per day

Product Development

• Steered the entire Product Development Lifecycle from understanding the Business Case to Implementation
• Single-handedly delivered ~100+ new features for the reservation system

In example 2, we put the points that are related to a single function under the bucket of that function as well as we've bolded all the words, phrases and numbers to increase the readability of the software engineer resume points.

In the example above, we've created two buckets, namely: 'System Development' and 'Product Development'.

Have a glance at the below-given example to get more clarity on how a professional experience section should look like:

Software Engineer Resume: Key Skills

Step 8 is writing the key skills section and also, from here starts your third stage of software engineer resume making, which is the final draft software developer resume.

Making the key skills section third last in the process of making a software engineering resume gives you more skills to write in the software developer resume than making it in the starting of the software engineer resume making process.

To write the key skills section, scan your entire software engineering resume once to look for the key skills, and then write them in the key skills section.

Also, when writing the key skills, a bullet will be added before each key skill. For Example:

• Software Development
• Requirement Gathering
• Unit Testing
• Agile Methodology
• Code Optimization

... and so on.

To get more clarity on how to write the key skills section, see the software engineer resume sample given below:

You can also opt for Hiration's Online Resume Builder to make your software engineer resume as here you will get 25+ resume designs along with the option of customizing your personal information and key skills sections with social media icons, bar graphs, pie charts, and many more such options.

Take a look at the key skills pie charts given below:

So, go and make your software developer resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder Now!

How to write your Software Engineer Technical Skills Section?

Step 9 involves making the technical skills section. Every software engineer has a set of skills. And broadly, these skills are categorized into two categories: Hard Skills and Technical Skills.

Hard Skills are written in the key skills section, whereas, a separate section is made for writing the technical skills. This section is named as 'TECHNICAL SKILLS' section.

In the technical skills section, we further categorize the technical skills into subcategories, like: Languages, Frameworks, OS, etc. Similar to the key skills section, the sub-categories of the technical skills are also written using a bullet before each.

To get more clarity on how to write a technical skills section, look at the software developer resume sample given below:

Software Engineer Resume: Summary/Objective

The final step of software developer resume making is writing the software engineer resume summary/objective section of the software engineer resume.

To write the software engineer resume summary of your software engineering resume, scan the entire software engineer resume and pick out points that are the highlightss of your career. Now rephrase these points along the requirements of the recruiter and include them in the software engineer resume summary section.

Write a software engineer resume summary if you have over 3 years of professional experience in the field of software engineer and opt for a software developer resume objective section if you are an entry level professional.

When making a software developer resume objective section, write what you can offer to the organization and not what you expect the organization to provide you with.

See the software engineer resume sample given below to get a better idea of how to write your software engineer resume summary section:

Software Engineer Resume: Header

Step 3 is to make your software developer resume headline; from here starts your first draft stage of the software engineer resume making process.

So, now the question is: Why is a headline important?

The headline is composed of your name and so it differentiates your software engineering resume from other software engineer resumes.

The headline should be the largest text in the whole of your software developer resume. The font size of either 14 or 16 points is considered to be the ideal font size of a software engineering resume headline.

When writing your name in the headline, make sure to give a single space between your first name and your last name. Inconsistencies in giving space - like that of no space or double space - gives a wrong impression to the recruiter and leaves the impact of being careless about minor things.

In addition to this, people who have a middle name should write their name in the following manner: 'William B. Pitt'.

After writing the initial of your middle name, put a full stop followed by a single space and then write your surname. In addition to this, do not write any kind of nicknames in the software developer resume headline. Only write your original name as it is written in official documents.

Furthermore, you can go for Hiration's Online Resume Builder to make an on-point software engineer resume headline. Our Online Resume Builder makes the headline in a fixed font size and font face, so it is completely hassle-free to use.

So, what are you waiting for? Make your software engineering resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder Today!

Look at the software engineer resume example given below to see how a header should look like:

Software Engineer Resume: Personal Information

Step 4 is making the personal information section. In this section, you will provide your personal information.

In this section, you will write your personal phone number, personal e-mail ID and the current location of residence. Other than this, no further personal information will be written in the software developer resume.

Personal Phone Number

There is a proper method of writing your personal phone number in the software engineering resume. The personal mobile number will be written on the left-hand corner of the software developer resume, just below the software engineer resume headline.

Also, write the International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) code of your country before the mobile number. Then give a single space after writing the first five digits of your mobile number.

E-mail ID

When writing your personal e-mail ID, use professional e-mail ID names like: 'william.pitt@xyz.com'. Professional looking e-mail ID names are important as they reflect your professionalism. Also, it will be written at the center, right next to the personal mobile number.

Current Location Of Residence

If you are living in a city that's not your home town, then in the current location of residence, you will write the name of the city in which you are living currently and not the name of your home town.

The current location of residence will be written on the right corner of the software engineering resume, right next to the personal e-mail ID. Also, there is no need to write the complete address of your current location. Just write the city name followed by the country pin.

See the below-given software engineer resume sample to get a better understanding of how to write the personal information section:

Software Engineer Resume: Profile Title

Step 5 is making the software engineering resume profile title.

Adding a profile title in your software developer resume is important as it lets the recruiter know your field of expertise and your level of proficiency in that field.

The title should be the second largest text in whole of your software engineer resume, written in between the font size of ~14 points.

You can also opt for Hiration's Resume Review Service to get a review of your software engineering resume which will be done by select industry experts at Hiration to check your software engineer resumes template.

Take a look at the example given below to see how a software developer resume profile title should look like:

Software Engineer Resume: Education

Now, this is step 6 in the software developer resume making process.

Writing the education section is important as this is how the recruiter decides whether you are eligible for the position which you've applied for or not.

The software developer resume sample given below will provide you a clear understanding of how to write the education section:

Software Engineer Resume: Certifications

Step 7 of the software developer resume making process is to make the certifications section. The best way to add more value to a software engineering resume is to add certifications in it. These certifications can be in mobile app development, web programming, UI development frameworks, etc.

Use the below given format to write your software engineer resumes certification section:

{Name of certification} | {Affiliating Institution} | {Location} | {Date} (month & year)

Have a look at the below-given software engineer resume example to see how to write a certification section:

Key Takeaways

1. Do not include your hard skills and technical skills just in the key skills and technical skills section, but include them all across your software developer resume. Doing so will increase your chances of getting shortlisted for the maximum number of interviews.
2. When the recruiter reads your professional experience section, there are chances that the recruiter might not have heard of the company where you worked previously. So, make sure you write a one-line description of your company just below the company name. In this description, try to sell your previous company to the recruiter.
3. In the company description, you can write some facts around the company's revenue, total number of employees, number of customers, etc. Writing figures will show the recruiter that you were working for a good company. Add a company description for all the companies where you've worked.
4. Reserve a separate single line for the company description and start your professional experience software engineering resume points from the next line.
5. Formatting plays a very crucial part in a software developer resume as it makes a software engineer resume look more coherent. So, you need to draw a clear distinction between your role and contribution.
6. Dates in your software engineering resume must be written in mm/yy format throughout your software engineer resume.
7. Start each of your software developer resume point with a power verb as they have a better impact on the recruiter's mind. Power verbs communicate your message more strongly and confidently as compared to normal verbs. Also, do not repeat the same word too many times.
8. The points in your current professional experience section should be in present continuous tense, whereas, the points in your past professional experience sections will be in the past tense.
9. In all the cases wherein you led a team, do remember to mention the number of people you led. In addition to this, do not forget to bold the number of people led.
10. Refrain from writing redundant points in your software engineering resume. Redundant points have a negative impact on a professionals profile. To avoid writing repetitive points in your software developer resume, make sure all your points highlight your contribution, its effect/impact, and corresponding achievements.

Still got more queries around software engineer resume? Send them at team@hiration.com and our software engineering resume experts will get back to you.