

Is your software developer resume too unicorny? Check this guide to see how to avoid hindenbugs and prepare a job application that even Bill Gates could be proud of.
Being a software developer, you're just a few steps away from landing that dream job in Silicon Valley. You just need to write a killer application to send to your perfect software company.
Imagine this: you put all of your programming knowledge, tech skills, and job experience on your software developer resume, but a hiring manager still encounters error 404 while going through it.
What went wrong?
They simply couldn’t find the information they were looking for.
To avoid such errors in the future, take a look at this handy guide and debug your application asap.
This guide will show you:
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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.
Monin Ghosh
Software Developer
0035 0846211
ghosh.monin@zetymail.com
linkedin.com/in/monin.ghosh
Date of birth: 10th June 1996
Marital status: Married
Nationality: Indian
Summary
Achievement-oriented software developer with 3+ years of professional work experience. Eager to support CreeStal with reaching new prospective buyers by improving the features and working speed of the company web app. Achieved a 27% increase of active users of an e-commerce app in 2021.
Experience
Software Developer
Appify This, Mumbai
September 2019–January 2022
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievement:
Junior Software Developer
Webolution, Mumbai
May 2018–August 2019
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievement:
Education
Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
2015–2018
CGPA: 91%
Skills
Certifications
Languages
Declaration: The information stated above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for a top-notch software developer resume:
According to the Evans Data Corporation report from 2019, there are over 20 million software developers in the world today. India will become the largest developer population centre in the year 2024.
On the one hand, that’s great—this is a growing industry and there will always be many jobs available.
On the other hand, this means that competition is massive, and the best jobs will go to the top candidates. Having the most up-to-date knowledge and qualifications might not be enough to get noticed among thousands of others.
You need a cutting-edge resume. One that looks great, just like the UI of an award-winning app. It must catch the attention of the hiring manager and make them want to hire you.
But don’t reinvent the wheel! Go for foolproof formulas that can ensure a great reading experience for the hiring manager.
So we’ve covered the visual part—now it’s time for the back-end stuff. After all, you can’t just throw your info in a random order, right?
Not sure how to format your new resume? Check these free resume templates that you can edit easily.
Just like a “Hello World” message is essential to any code, the work experience section simply must appear in your application. This is the spot where you describe your past roles and responsibilities as a software developer.
Remember, this is not your life story—don’t start at the beginning! List your newest position at the top. Reverse-chronological order helps to showcase your biggest achievements. What you need to do is:
Take a look at these software developer resume examples:
Right |
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Software Developer Appify This, Mumbai September 2019–January 2022 Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievement:
|
This sample from someone working in software development clearly shows their biggest achievements, with factual data helping to validate each claim.
Wrong |
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Appify This, 2019–2022 Software Developer
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This sample could describe the exact same person as the previous one. However, there is a big difference between the way they described themselves. Working on an app is not the same as completing it successfully.
The above samples come from an experienced software developer. If you’re a newbie in this industry, you might feel discouraged—you don’t have too many professional accomplishments to brag about. But don’t worry! Writing a resume for freshers is not that difficult. Simply showcase your academic achievements, internships, part-time jobs, or freelance projects.
Right |
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Software Development Intern Softraya, Bangalore May 2021–present
Key achievement:
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See, you don’t need decades of experience to prove yourself! The above example shows your knowledge, skills, and stellar success.
Wrong |
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Intern in Softraya From May 2021
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Designing an app is one thing. Coding it in Android and releasing it on Play Store is a completely different story! Remember, always make it clear why you consider something an achievement.
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.
If you call yourself a software developer, it’s highly likely that you have a degree to prove it. Be it in computer science or software engineering, it doesn’t matter, as long as it matches what the hiring manager is searching for.
Experienced software developers can simply put their highest degree on their resume, as their work experience stands out for their achievements.
RIGHT |
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BS in Software Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur 2015–2018 CGPA: 91%2015–2018 CGPA: 91% |
A fresher software developer can also list other information such as academic achievements and extracurricular accomplishments to catch the attention of recruiters.
RIGHT |
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BS in Computer Science, Madras Institute of Technology 2018–2021 CGPA: 87%
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Even if you don’t yet have a formal degree in computer science or software engineering, you can still apply for tech jobs. According to HackerRank’s 2020 Developer Skills Report, over 30% of developers at small companies don’t have a bachelor’s degree. And even giants like Google stopped requiring formal degrees from candidates!
Pro tip: Coding boot camps are great opportunities to expand your knowledge and build new skills—and they can also be mentioned in your resume!
Now it’s time to brag about yourself!
Select skills that reflect your strengths and match the job you’re applying for. Think of these as a list of the most important features of a program you’ve designed.
Generally, your strengths as a software developer are related to various computer skills, so mention those first.
But wait, there’s more to putting your skills on a resume than just copying this list!
Remember—hiring managers look for specific information. When you apply for a specific job, make sure that your skills match the ones listed in the job description. Here’s what you should do:
This is what a sample software developer skill list should look like:
Can you communicate fluently in French? Do you run coding workshops for local kids? Or review mobile games on YouTube? This is the section where you can mention such facts.
The most common types of additional information in a resume are:
There are a bunch of certifications that can boost your candidature. They don’t have to be strictly related to software development! Some popular ones are:
In this section, you can also mention boot camps and online programming courses that helped you expand your knowledge about software development.
Doing volunteer work can be a great way to get some professional experience if you’re a junior developer. Maybe you helped to build a website of a charity organization? Or helped high school students to prepare for programming competitions? Such facts can easily make you stand out from the crowd.
As companies from all over the world search for talented software developers, it’s worth learning a few words in other languages. Remember to mention your proficiency level whenever listing a language—there’s a big difference between saying “hello” in Arabic and discussing software specifications.
If you belong to a software developer association, you may also mention it in your resume. Some popular associations for experienced software developers include:
Conferences are not only a great way to meet people in the software community. They also provide a chance to show off your expertise. Being a guest speaker at a TED event can spark the interest of a hiring manager.
Show that you’re a true computer geek. Do you run a YouTube channel for beginner programmers? Maybe you review video games on your blog? Brag about it here instead of boring your girlfriend with it.
Remember that anything you want to mention should be relevant to the job. Don’t just throw in random info about yourself—be selective!
Here’s how a software developer can mention extra info on their resume:
RIGHT |
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Certifications
Languages
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Though you should put this part at the top of the resume, we mention it last. Why? Because you will use the information already listed in your resume to write this introduction.
You might be wondering why do you even need to write “about me” in a resume for a software developer. After all, you’ve got the valuable experience and hard skills to prove you’re a great candidate, right?
Well, would you download an app with a long list of features but no description explaining its purpose?
Exactly.
Before you start typing on the keyboard, you need to consider these points:
Decide if you are an experienced software developer or a fresher. Candidates with no work experience should write a career objective and explain what they can do for the potential employer. Experienced candidates should write a resume summary to show off their greatest achievements and mention how they can support the new workplace.
Now have a look at resume summary examples:
Right |
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Achievement-oriented software developer with 3+ years of professional work experience. Eager to support CreeStal with reaching new prospective buyers by improving the features and working speed of the company web app. Achieved a 27% increase of active users of an e-commerce app in 2021. This summary mentions the specific achievements of the candidate and shows how they can use their knowledge to help the new employer. |
Wrong |
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Experienced software developer looking for new professional challenges. My skills include programming in Python and Ruby. I hope to manage projects for a new company. |
Though this summary mentions some of the candidate’s experience, it doesn’t show how the new employer can benefit from hiring this person.
When it comes to junior candidates, it’s better to stick to resume objectives. Have a look at a sample resume objective for a fresher software developer:
Right |
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Communicative software developer with BS in Computer Science and 3+ years of experience coding mobile apps in Android. Hoping to assist BrainMachine with creating innovative AI projects using my knowledge of machine learning. This candidate doesn’t have long work experience, but they have relevant skills that can be useful to the potential employer. |
Wrong |
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I’m a recent graduate with a BS in Computer Science. I have experience with Android and I enjoy coding in my free time. |
Though this candidate might be passionate about coding, they don’t sound very professional or knowledgeable. Also, using first-person pronouns is not a good idea.
I’m sorry to break that to you, but your resume is not enough to land that dream position. You must write a cover letter.
Why?
Because many hiring managers will simply ignore applications without it.
You already put a lot of work into your resume. Do you want this work to be fruitless? Probably not. Believe me, attaching a cover letter increases your chances of getting that desired position, just like rubber ducking your code increases the chance of finding that annoying bug.
Think of your cover letter as a sales pitch for an app you’ve designed. You want people to download the app and give it a try—the same way as you want the hiring manager to consider your candidature and invite you to an interview.
Here’s how to write a software developer cover letter that lands jobs:
Last but not least, make sure your cover letter template matches your resume template. Don’t make it look like a boring user’s manual.
If you want in-depth knowledge about writing cover letters, read our cover letter writing guide.
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.
This was a bit long. Need a tl;dr version?
Here’s how to write a software developer resume step by step:
Now you know how to write a resume for a software developer. Feel free to throw your three cents in! I’d love to hear from you:
Let me know. Let’s get the discussion started!
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