

You’ve decided it’s time to get your foot in the door. But if you want that to be the door to an A-tier company, you need a fully validated software engineer intern resume.
How does a new grad student get a software engineer job at a prestigious IT company?
By bribing the CEO?
Maybe by a manufactured zero-to-hero Hollywood story where he upgrades their entire network to prove his worth?
It’s far easier, actually, and far more doable.
Simply by writing an irresistible software engineer intern resume.
And, yeah, there’s going to be lots of competition—such is life.
But you’re still going to beat them.
This guide will show you:
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Software engineer intern resume made with our builder—See more resume templates here.
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Lois W. Boese
Software Engineer Intern
323-314-1273
loisboese@gmail.com
Linkedin.com/in/loisboese
Resume Objective
Enthusiastic and motivated undergraduate software engineering student seeking internship opportunity at PlateDiff. Proficient in C, Ruby, and Python. Won Bluewoods High School Junior Coder competitions in 2016 & 2017. Active contributor to over 10 GitHub libraries.
Education
Percy College
Bachelor of Computer Science
Expected Graduation: June 2023
GPA: 3.7
Relevant courses: Ruby, C, Python, Java (301 classes), database management, software testing
Work Experience
Software Engineer Intern
PressCode Inc.
April 2019–October 2019
Key Skills
Awards
Language Skills
Here’s how to write a software engineer intern resume:
Software engineering is all about creating software, testing it, making sure it works and that it fits the purpose for which it has been designed. Your software engineer intern resume needs to exemplify all of these qualities and more.
With a staggering 22% 10-year growth in jobs, there should be plenty of room for you to get into the industry. Except…
For you, as an intern, you don’t have to have a portfolio of clients who commended you for designing their multi-million cash cow software.
But your resume does have to show you have the makings of a future IT prodigy. Let’s start with some basic tips:
Saving the file as a PDF shows youpossess a very desired quality among software devs—foresight. MS Word files often bug out, while PDFs don’t. Take advantage of this to make sure your work doesn’t go to waste.
Read more: Resume Format: Everything You Need to Know
Resumes typically start with what is called a resume profile. It’s simply a short-ish resume introduction that’s your one and only chance to make a good impression and make it fast.
Interns, freshers, career changers all go for what is called a resume objective—that’s the industry name for a resume profile with no experience. How do you write one? Check it out:
Once you have some relevant experience and professional achievements to list, you’ll replace your objective with an impressive resume summary. For now, though, an objective will do just fine!
Read more: How to Start a Resume: Guide and Examples
There are lots of young professionals who are all doom and gloom, thinking they can’t start early because they don’t have real job experience.
And that’s simply not true.
Listing your education on a resume is one thing, doing it to play to your strengths is another:
Read more: Listing Your Degree on a Resume
This one should be simple, just slap on past software engineering internships on the resume and forget about it, right?
Not really.
See, as highlighted in the resume objective section, even when your work experience bears little relevance to software engineering, it can still be used to your advantage. It’s like making use of pre-existing data structures and adapting them.
Read more: How to Put Programming Projects on a Resume: Guide & Examples
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
Question: What does the hiring manager want to see on a CS resume?
Answer: The right skills to make sure the hire fits the job.
And would you look at that, there just happens to be a list of resume skills for you right here:
But copying won’t get you the job—only the trash can. You’ll want to tailor your skills section for the best results. Try this:
Read more: Good Things to Include on a Resume: Examples
What’s the name of the IT guy from the Office?
Nobody knows.
So, don’t be like him. Instead, show flair, something personable, or something that shows a little bit of your uniqueness. You can achieve that through extra resume sections.
There’s no beating around the bush when it comes to the necessity of cover letters. Winners write them, rejects don’t, and that statement is more truthful than it might seem. Around 50% of recruiters won’t read a resume without a cover letter,according to HR stats.
Betting on all the other candidates not including one so that the playing field is level? Very much not worth it.
Follow these cover letter tips to get there in a jiffy:
Additionally, keep in mind the cover letter should be up to 4 paragraphs long and never go past one page.
Last but not least, we’re all onboard the “all internships should be paid” train, but don’t mention salary requirements on a cover letter regardless. It’s a bit too blunt.
Read more: How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter for an Internship
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
And done!
With that kind of a resume, you could skip the internship rung on your software engineer career ladder altogether!
Thanks for reading. Did we miss any crucial tips or advice for software engineer interns? Got any unanswered questions on writing a software engineering internship resume? Let us know down in the comments below!
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