Software Engineer resume example

How to write a software engineer resume

Software engineering resumes fail for one dominant reason: bullets that describe technology instead of outcomes. “Worked with React and Node.js” tells a screener nothing — “Cut checkout page load from 3.2s to 900ms, lifting conversion 12%” survives both the ATS keyword pass and the six-second human skim. Lead every bullet with a verb, attach a number to at least half of them, and put the metric where the eye lands: latency, cost, error rate, revenue, users served, review turnaround. Keep a dedicated skills section — ATS keyword matching leans on it heavily — but only list technologies you can defend in an interview, grouped so the recruiter can find the stack they are hiring for. Match the job description’s exact terms: if the posting says “Kubernetes,” write Kubernetes, not “container orchestration.” Recent, relevant experience belongs on page one; a two-page resume is fine after eight years, a stretch before five. Side projects earn a section only when they shipped to real users or demonstrate a skill your work history cannot. Skip the photo, skip the skill-level bars — a plain, linear layout parses cleanly everywhere, which is exactly what this example template guarantees.