Writing your resume can be a daunting task. Many aspiring developers like you don’t always know where to start and what makes a good resume altogether.
We at BENLIGHTEN work closely with leading tech companies. And over the years, we learned the exact steps you need to follow to stand out from other applicants ???? You can get career mentoring and upgrade your technical skills here.
Let’s take a closer look at developer resumes and start with a strong statement. ????
Your resume is the most important document you have as a developer at the start of your career.
Many candidates compete for entry-level developer jobs. One job opening can get hundreds of applicants. And most of these applicants don’t get a chance to prove themselves during interviews or coding challenges.
Like it or not, hiring managers need to cut out many candidates based on nothing more than their applications.
At this stage, your future employer needs to have a crystal clear understanding of who you are as an applicant ????
The good news is you can make a difference and help them better understand why you are a great fit for their team.
You can take your resume to the next level with these 3 tips.
We carefully selected these tips for you after reflecting on the experiences of our graduates who are now working as software engineers ????
We also reflected on numerous meaningful partnerships that we’ve built with tech companies over the years.
If you are reading this, you are likely pursuing a career in software engineering after years of education and work in different fields. And you are not alone!
Over the years, we have seen many aspiring software engineers craft their resumes and submit numerous job applications without saying a word about their backgrounds.
This is one of the most common mistakes and we have a story to prove why your background matters to your new career in software development ????
Laura is one of the most recent graduates from the BENLIGHTEN International Academy and she just started her first job as a Junior Front-end Developer.
At first, Laura thought her background in finance was not relevant to her future in software engineering. And so, she excluded her work experience and education from her resume.
Sadly, Laura never got past rejection letters after sending many applications.
After chatting with a career coach at BENLIGHTEN, she learned that her background makes her a strong candidate for developer roles in the FinTech sector.
Soon after, her applications started receiving more traction. And weeks later, she was fortunate enough to choose between two job offers.
Just like Laura, all your past experiences make you a better developer and team player. Make sure to share them!
Many developers still neglect the skills section on their resumes. For many, this section is no more than an afterthought when filling out generic resume templates.
As a result, many developers try to fit a handful of technologies in a single line in no particular order while leaving out some of their hard-earned skills.
You can do better.
But first, remember your future employer needs to have a crystal clear understanding of who you are as an applicant ????
For this reason, you should treat them to a concise summary of your professional abilities.
First, include all technologies that you know in one place. These technologies can be programming languages, frameworks, and other software development tools.
Next, categorize them according to their use, such as front-end or back-end development, database management, and deployment.
???? Bonus point: You can highlight or bolden the skills required for the role for which you are applying.
Some say you should exclude skills and experiences not required for the role. And we beg to differ. Here is another success story ????
A recent graduate from the BENLIGHTEN International Academy applied for a role that required React.js, a JavaScript framework for front-end development.
At the same time, he was enthusiastic about Vue.js. He kept it among his skills on the resume even though it was not a requirement as per the job advertisement.
During the interview, our graduate learned that another development team in this same company worked with Vue.js. And knowing both of these technologies helped him land this job!
Over the years, many hiring managers told us they found it hard to assess the programming skills of entry-level applicants. ????
Even more so, many recruiters agreed that the biggest mistake junior developers can make is to exclude their GitHub profiles from their resumes.
So let your work speak for itself – show your skills in action with your projects ????
But don’t forget: presentation is the key ????
You cannot copy-paste a link and expect hiring managers to click on it. You should encourage them instead. Give them a reason they should see your project and explain how it proves your programming skills.
Here’s what you can do:
???? Bonus point: If you are fortunate enough to collaborate on a project with other developers this early in your career, you should include it on your resume. Projects like these demonstrate your ability to work in a team.
???? One more bonus point: If you built a website for your connection or a local business, you should also include it as one of the projects on your resume. These projects demonstrate your ability to work and communicate with clients. Translating business objectives into clean code is a rare talent.
We hope you learned something new for yourself. By following these 3 tips, many graduates from the BENLIGHTEN International Academy started their careers as software engineers.
It’s time for you to take a step closer to your dream job too. Learn more about career mentoring at the BENLIGHTEN International Academy.
Thank you for your time and we hope to see you again!
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