Here are the keywords and skills that appear most frequently on recent Software Engineering job postings. In other words, these are the most sought after skills by recruiters and hiring managers. So try to include them on your resume where possible. Go to the Sample Templates ↓ below to see how to include them on your resume.
Remember that every job is different. Instead of including all these keywords on your resume, identify the keywords most relevant to the job you're applying to and include those. Use the free Targeted Resume tool to help with this.
Does your resume contain all the right skills? Paste in your resume in the AI Resume Scan ↓ section below and get an instant score.
Paste your resume below and our AI will identify which keywords are missing from your resume from the list above (and what you need to include). Including the right keywords will help you get past Applicant Tracking Systems (i.e. resume screeners) which may scan your resume for keywords to see if you're a match for the job.
Here are examples of proven resumes in related jobs and industries, approved by experienced hiring managers. Use them as inspiration when you're writing your own resume. You can even download and edit the resume template in Google Docs.
If you’re a recent college graduate or completed a Bootcamp, this is the resume template for you. The key here is for you to sell yourself with the skills you’ve learned, projects you’ve completed, and software tools you’ve used. Internship experience, if any, will be useful to highlight as well. This sample lists many activities, projects, and classes that are relevant to the position, and communicate effective use of the knowledge they have.
We understand that you may not have much experience right out of college. That’s why you should list relevant activities you’ve done while in school. This sample does so by listing important courses, projects completed and explaining the different software used.
This sample communicates strong relevant verbs to highlight their experience. Use of words like “developed”, “designed”, and “implemented” all help to show usage of the skills they have. Use action verbs like these in your resume to show you can apply the knowledge you have to real situations.
It takes more than being skilled in different software to excel as a senior software engineer. You also need to convey that you can effectively lead a team that delivers positive results. This sample demonstrates the success they’ve had bringing individual success and managing a team that also succeeds.
Recruiters love to see that your success led to achievement and promotion. If you’ve been promoted, describe that promotion, listing timelines and achievements leading up to it. An example found in this sample is “promoted within 18 months due to strong performance and organizational impact”.
While it is key to list the skills you’re proficient at, you should list which skills you excel at. Did you achieve high marks for something complex? Were you in charge of a project that led to large profits? Elaborate on the skills used to accomplish these feats in your resume.
There’s a lot of debate in the industry about the difference between a Java software engineer and a Java developer. Some say that the largest difference is the title and pay schedule -- which does, of course, matter. Skills wise, it’s fair to say that a Java software engineer will probably be expected to be more of a computer science generalist with a strong speciality in Java who can also work in large teams. This means that you will be expected to code in other foundational languages (like C++ for example) as competently as you do in Java.
When you're applying to a specific Java software engineering role like this, you want to show recruiters that you have had practical experience in Java. Do this through your achievements like in the examples here, which call out Java frameworks through the work experience section.
Java development is a wide field. You can use a resume summary to tell recruiters what kinds of roles you're looking for within the Java or engineering space: whether that's a focus on developing front-end apps, back-end apps, mobile apps or testing.
Traditionally, Quality Assurance Testers come in at the end of the development cycle of a new product. The title QA software tester is often used to emphasize that the QA team is a part of the development of the product from start to finish. This means that the team works in an iterative and integrative way, and that QA software testers will pay attention to all things that will affect the function of the program, from bugs, to slow load times, to poorly written customer copy.
Especially in any tech field, your skills section tells a story. It shows the tools you have used and those you can bring to bear on the problems at hand. This is also an easy way to customize your resume to better fit a company’s needs -- if you have the tech skills they’re asking for, change them to match what’s in the job description and you’ll read as a better fit to ATS filters.
Whenever you’re a person in a senior position with management responsibilities, one of the best things you can do is show when you were rewarded ahead of schedule or exceeded expectations. Any position, especially as a QA tester, is looking for strong soft skills and ability to lead — being promoted within 18 months of receiving a new position is a great example.
If you’re pursuing a Node.js developer role, be prepared to give examples of successful apps and programs you’ve created in the past. Provide data and numbers when possible to show how well your creations have performed and what results you’ve achieved with them. Your work experience is more important to recruiters than your educational background, but if you have relevant degrees or certifications, it’s worth listing those as well.
When discussing your accomplishments from previous jobs, it’s always best to quantify those achievements. Hiring managers will take notice when you mention specific, measurable results you’ve achieved, especially when the numbers are impressive (e.g. an 85% satisfaction rate or a 97% performance rate for past projects).
If you want to make yourself extra competitive for jobs, you may want to list your relevant degrees and certifications. Having a Bachelor’s degree in software engineering or a similar field is a baseline requirement for many software development positions. Additional credentials (such as a Node.js certification or online technology course) can make you even stronger as an applicant.
If you're a software engineer with a few years of experience under your belt, use a template like this one. It's simple, effective at highlighting our work experience, and minimizes the emphasis on the education section (the dates are omitted which is good to prevent ageism, especially if you graduated more than 10 years ago).
The first rule about including a resume summary is that it does not repeat accomplishments mentioned elsewhere on the resume. This resume stresses new software engineering and leadership skills right at the top of the resume, and includes an award too. If you include a summary, try to include a mix of both technical accomplishments (e.g. projects you developed or led), as well as career-related accomplishments (e.g. being promoted).
Each bullet point starts with an action verb that stresses the skills relevant to the role. For example, action verbs like "Led", "Spearheaded", or "Launched" emphasize leadership.
The following word cloud highlights the most popular keywords that appear on Software Engineering job descriptions. The bigger the word, the more frequently it shows up on employer's job postings. If you have experience with these keywords, include them on your resume.
The most common skills and keywords we found on Software Engineering resumes and job postings were Software Development, JavaScript, Java, Git, C#, AngularJS, SQL and React.js.
Skills like Test Automation, Embedded Software, Linux, Programming and Software Testing also appeared on related job postings.
Popular skills we often see on resumes for Software Application Engineer positions include:
In comparison, skills we see on Java Software Engineer resumes include:
Depending on the specific role you apply to, you may need to emphasize different skill sets. Here are a few examples:
While the keywords above are a good indication of what skills you need on your resume, you should try to find additional keywords that are specific to the job. To do this, use the free Targeted Resume tool. It analyzes the job you are applying to and finds the most important keywords you need on your resume.
It is personalized to your resume, and is the best way to ensure your resume will pass the automated resume filters.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
