Software Engineer resume example
By Bhagirath Sheela, founder of JobCatch ·
A software engineer's resume is read twice: once by an applicant tracking system matching languages and frameworks, and once by an engineer who wants to know what you built, how big it was and what changed because of it. The second read decides the interview, so every bullet should say what you shipped and what it did.
What recruiters look for
- The languages and frameworks named in the posting, written exactly as the posting writes them
- Scale: users, requests a second, data size, team size
- Ownership: what you designed or led, not only what you were part of
- Code that can be seen: a GitHub profile, open-source work or a live project
Section order
With experience
- Summary
- Skills
- Experience
- Projects
- Education
- Certifications
As a fresher
- Summary
- Education
- Skills
- Projects
- Internships
- Certifications
- Achievements
Summary examples
Fresher
Computer science graduate (8.4 CGPA) who has built and deployed two full-stack projects in Java and React, and solved 400+ problems on LeetCode. Looking for a backend or full-stack role.
Experienced
Software engineer with four years building payment and order services in Java and Spring Boot. Cut checkout latency by 38% and led the move of three services from a monolith to Kubernetes.
Skills, spelled the way postings spell them
An applicant tracking system matches the words in the job posting, and it does not reliably treat two spellings as one skill. The left column is the form most postings use; the right, other spellings people type. Use the posting's own spelling for each application, and list only what you can discuss in an interview.
| Skill | Also written as |
|---|---|
| Java | Core Java, Java SE |
| Python | Python 3 |
| JavaScript | JS, ES6, ECMAScript |
| TypeScript | TS |
| Spring Boot | SpringBoot, Spring |
| REST APIs | REST, RESTful APIs, REST API |
| Microservices | Microservice architecture |
| SQL | Structured Query Language |
| PostgreSQL | Postgres, PostgresSQL |
| Docker | Containerisation, Containerization |
| Git | Version control, GitHub, Bitbucket |
| AWS | Amazon Web Services |
| Unit testing | Unit tests |
| CI/CD | Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, CICD |
Also worth listing if you have them: Data structures and algorithms, System design.
Bullet examples
Each bullet says what you did and what changed because of it. Change the numbers to your own; a recruiter will ask about every one.
- Built the refund service in Spring Boot and PostgreSQL that processes 1.2 lakh refunds a day with no manual step.
- Cut p95 checkout latency from 820 ms to 510 ms by adding Redis caching and removing two synchronous calls.
- Split the order module out of a monolith into three services on Kubernetes, with zero downtime during the cutover.
- Raised unit-test coverage of the payments codebase from 41% to 78% and added contract tests to CI.
- Mentored two new engineers through their first production releases.
For freshers: projects and internships
- Built a library management app in Spring Boot and React used by 300 students in my college; deployed on AWS EC2.
- Interned at a fintech startup for three months: wrote the REST API for KYC document upload, now in production.
- Solved 400+ problems on LeetCode; rated 1,750 on Codeforces.
Mistakes to avoid
- A skills list of twenty technologies with no bullet that proves any of them. Recruiters ask about the ones you list.
- Bullets that describe the product instead of your work: "The platform serves 2 million users" says nothing about what you did.
- Leaving out the links. A GitHub or project link is the only proof a fresher can show.
What an ATS reads from this sample
An applicant tracking system turns the PDF into plain text before anyone reads it. This is that text for the sample above, extracted by the same code as "What the ATS reads" in the app. Everything is in reading order, under the right heading, with the name and email intact — which is what a single-column template is for.
Arjun Mehta Software Engineer [email protected] | +91 98765 43210 | Bengaluru, Karnataka | linkedin.com/in/arjunmehta Summary Software engineer with four years building payment and order services in Java and Spring Boot. Cut checkout latency by 38% and led the move of three services from a monolith to Kubernetes. Technical skills Java · Python · JavaScript · TypeScript · Spring Boot · REST APIs · Microservices · SQL · PostgreSQL · Docker · Git · AWS · Unit testing · CI/CD · Data structures and algorithms · System design Projects Open-source contributions Merged fixes to two Spring ecosystem libraries: a connection-pool leak and a date-parsing bug. Experience Software Engineer II, Paylane Technologies Apr 2023 – Present Bengaluru Built the refund service in Spring Boot and PostgreSQL that processes 1.2 lakh refunds a day with no manual step. Cut p95 checkout latency from 820 ms to 510 ms by adding Redis caching and removing two synchronous calls. Split the order module out of a monolith into three services on Kubernetes, with zero downtime during the cutover. Software Engineer, Orbitkart Commerce Jul 2021 – Mar 2023 Bengaluru Raised unit-test coverage of the payments codebase from 41% to 78% and added contract tests to CI. Mentored two new engineers through their first production releases. Education B.E., Computer Science 2017 – 2021 RV College of Engineering · 8.4 CGPA Certifications AWS Certified Developer – Associate, 2024 Languages English, Hindi
Interview questions to prepare
The app's interview prep for this sample and a plain Software Engineer posting. It works from the resume and the posting only, and tells you how to prepare, never what to say.
Questions every interview has
- Tell me about yourself. Two minutes: what you do now (Software Engineer II at Paylane Technologies), one result you are proud of, and why this role is next.
- Why do you want this job? Read their website and one recent piece of news before the call. Name something specific.
- Why are you leaving your current job? Say what you are moving towards. Do not criticise your employer.
- What is your notice period, and what salary are you expecting? Decide your number before the interview, so you are not deciding it on the call.
About the skills the job asks for
- Tell me about a time you used JavaScript. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used TypeScript. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Python. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Java. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Spring Boot. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used REST APIs. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
About what the resume claims
- You wrote: "Built the refund service in Spring Boot and PostgreSQL that processes 1.2 lakh refunds a day with no manual step." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Cut p95 checkout latency from 820 ms to 510 ms by adding Redis caching and removing two synchronous calls." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Split the order module out of a monolith into three services on Kubernetes, with zero downtime during the cutover." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
Questions to ask them
- What would a good first three months in this role look like?
- Who would I work with most closely?
- What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?
Templates that suit this role
All of these are single-column and read cleanly by an applicant tracking system. Classic is free, with no watermark.
Questions
Should a software engineer resume be one page?
One page for a fresher and up to about five years' experience. Beyond that, two pages is normal if the second page is still about engineering work, not a list of every tool you have touched.
Do I need to put my LeetCode or competitive programming rating?
If it is strong, yes, especially as a fresher: service companies and product companies both use coding rounds, and a good rating tells the recruiter you will clear one. If it is average, leave it out and let your projects speak.
Next: the Software Engineer cover letter the app drafts from this resume, and how to show Java, Python, JavaScript on a resume.
More engineering resume examples: Frontend Developer · Backend Developer · Full Stack Developer · React Developer · React Native Developer · Angular Developer · Node.js Developer · Java Developer · Python Developer · .NET Developer · Golang Developer · PHP Developer · Android Developer · iOS Developer · Flutter Developer · Mobile App Developer · Embedded Software Engineer · Engineering Manager · Solutions Architect