INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Developer positions are at a 13% growth rate, which is faster than average. With that said, there are currently 199,400 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 25,500 to 224,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Developer jobs was $77,200 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $40,750, and the highest 10% more than $146,430.
Our conclusion? The Developer job market is wide open for candidates.
Top developer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write the perfect developer resume experience section
Developer experience section: checklist
- List your positions in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Go for 4-6 bullet points;
- Add only relevant work experience;
- Include information about the challenges you’ve faced, the actions you’ve taken, and the results you’ve achieved;
- Use action verbs instead of filler words.
We’ve selected some of the top Developer resumes made using the Enhancv platform to illustrate what a great experience section looks like. Use them as inspiration when building your own resume:
- Worked on 2 projects for the company: CMS and a broker website.
- Learned to work with Ubuntu, Bash, Github.
- Implemented new features and helped solve problems.
- Collaborated with a small team to find solutions that will benefit the projects.
- Introduced to SAP ERP Operations Module.
- Created forms for mass printing in SAP Systems using Smart Forms.
- Participated in a working environment of 40+ developers and consultants who cooperated towards a common goal.
- Component integration
- Bug fixing
- Low level memory implementation
- HMI development
- Task estimation
- Software integration and version control
- Calculated aerodynamic coefficients for a fixed wing aircraft
- Designed an initial concept for a tidal stream generator in a renewable energy project
- Contribuited to several project proposals for CONACYT
- Elaborated technical reports for CONACYT
- Conducted simulations of a fixed wing aircraft in six degree of freedom
- Worked closely with senior project developers to establish an appropriate architecture of a flight control system for the whole flight envelope
- Developed part of a flight control system for a fixed wing aircraft
- Determined the set of parameters required for aircraft system identification. Also I defined a set of different maneuvers for aircraft system identification
- Gathered technical information, wrote requirements and participated in design sessions
- Estimated polar, thrust and power curves for a fixed wing aircraft
- Modeled thermodynamic processes of a turboprop
- Elaborated and gave technical presentations for costumers
- Involved in machine learning enablement of the product
- Part of feature engineering efforts and data provisioning
- Communicates with multiple teams across the globe for best results
- Leveraging big data technologies for ETL, near real-time stream processing and advanced analytics.
- Created visualizations to describe complicated data to business users and effectively communicate results.
- Implemented an end-to-end elastic web-based real-time data visualization application that helped visualize and analyze various technical resources of the bank across the country.
- Back-end development of web applications built with PHP, MySQL and the Laravel Framework
- Development of a small end-end JavaScript application with the MEAN stack
- Crafting small WordPress projects and plugins
- Created a cloud management system
- Worked on the system update process of the SAP HANA Platform
- Wrote scripts for Linux virtual machines
- Made software tools for internal utility usage
- Design and develop multi-threaded .NET, C++ windows applications and services
- Hands on development of various lenght projects from genesis to delivery
- Analysing and debugging code
- Maintaining the stability of all live systems
- Optimizing and refactoring legacy code
- Suggesting improvements on design and functionality of all systems
- Mentoring new team members in development and best practices
- Developing internal tools for making developers more productive
- Learned to interact with PHP/MySQL Servers
- Created a Content Provider to allow native sharing between different apps
- Worked with a team of designers to create custom views for the application.
- Always got positive feedback from my students
- More than doubled the student retention rate
- Worked both in large groups and with individuals alike
- Led small teams of students and co-workers
- Learned how to prepare course materials (slideshows, homeworks, assignments, code samples, proof-of-concept apps)
- Helped improve the SoftUni Learning System
- Established and lead a team of 18 people; covering every key role in the early stages.
- Main role - production and booking manager; image-maker and community leader.
- Managed 500+ projects and events a year - in-house and/or with outside promoters and organizers.
- Built a sustainable community in Sofia music scene; creating brand awareness and steady partnerships that turned club *MIXTAPE 5* into a factor in the music scene and the event management business in Bulgaria.
- Lead a firm policy in restricting under-aged attendance.
- Supported the local promoters and underground music communities by promoting the concept of buying pre-sale tickets and coming on time for gigs and events.
- Part of the team that turned bar "FRIDAY" (бар "ПЕТЪК") into an institution for the local community of young people and friends. Making it a first-in-mind choice for spending a great night out.
- Met a lot of people outside the corporate world and learned that life is out there.
- Built practical skills in copywriting, digital marketing, event management and cocktail making.
- Grew Facebook fan base to 50 000 likes for the first 2 years.
- Became one of the best bartenders in town.
- Conducted more than 40 training courses in Sofia, London, Varna, Ruse, Burgas, based on the method Suggestopedia - unlimited capacity of the human mind
- Became a managing partner at Metareading in less than a year
- Trained 250+ children in 15 programs, based on Suggestopedia, reading and learning skills, arts and other creative initiatives
- Trained 800+ students and conducted 40 courses in “Metareading”, developing skills in photoreading, speed reading, memory excellence, creativity, personal development and motivation in a specific environment
- Built and designed the front and backend of the iOS app in only 4 months.
- Maintaining a 30%+ retention rate, 16%+ purchase rate, and push notification engagement double that of the industry average.
- Accepted into Winter 2014 batch of First Growth Ventures' SG VC accelerator.
- Skills involved: Objective-C, Cocoa, Xcode, Javascript/Node.js, HTML, CSS, Version Control (GitHub), 3rd party RESTful APIs (eBay, Amazon, etc), Growth Engineering, and Fundraising.
- Implemented and tested metadata tagging of photos according to the 2014 IPTC-IIM standard
- Optimized sorting and searching of photos based on metadata tags through database indexing (SQLite)
- Incorporated Facebook, Twitter and Instagram APIs in image sharing
- Devised two different ways of facial detection: Using Android SDK / Using OpenCV libraries
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your developer resume
Recommended reads:
Developer resume: How to write a strong skills section
The ultimate developer skills section checklist:
- Balance between all kinds of hard skills – technical, analytical, etc.
- When it comes to technical skills, match them to the job description;
- Add keywords present in the job advert to pass ATS;
- Don’t forget to list transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, work ethic, and presentation skills.
Top skills for your developer resume
.NET Core
ASP MVC
Web API
SQL Server
EF Core
Hangfire
EF 6
JavaScript
JQuery
AJAX
Communication
Organisation
Analytical thinking
Creativity and innovation
Accountability
Flexibility
Eager to learn
Perseverance
Problem solving
Resourcefulness
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Recommended reads:
Developer resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your developer resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Developer resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Developer resume summary: things to include and things to avoid
Job-winning developer resume summary checklist:
- Mention your total years of experience in the field;
- Highlight one or two of your top achievements;
- Avoid getting into too much detail – you’ll do that in the experience section;
- Focus on short sentences that are easy to read and add value to your application.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
Recommended reads:
Highlighting education, courses, and certifications in your developer resume
Education section checklist:
- What? Where? What’s the result? Answer these questions when mentioning education and courses on your resume;
- Give preference to courses and degrees that are relevant to the job position;
- Be honest! Some recruiters love checking with colleges and universities to see if you’ve really been enrolled in them;
- Share more about certifications that have helped you turn into a professional, and mention the bodies that have issued them.
Top certifications for your developer resume
The Web Developer Bootcamp 2022
COMPLETELY REDONE - The only course you need to learn web development - HTML, CSS, JS, Node, and More!
Ultimate AWS Certified Developer Associate 2022 - NEW!
Full Practice Exam with Explanations included! PASS the Amazon Web Services Certified Developer Certification DVA-C01.
The Complete Web Developer in 2022: Zero to Mastery
Learn to code and become a Web Developer in 2022 with HTML, CSS, Javascript, React, Node.js, Machine Learning & more!
The Complete 2022 Web Development Bootcamp
Become a Full-Stack Web Developer with just ONE course. HTML, CSS, Javascript, Node, React, MongoDB, build real projects
Complete Python Developer in 2022: Zero to Mastery
How to become a Python 3 Developer and get hired! Build 12+ projects, learn Web Development, Machine Learning + more!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Developer resume format 101
If a couple of years ago Developer resumes could be text files with no graphic elements, today’s recruiters need a bit more to remember you.
And yet, you can still choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
But when it comes to choosing the right format for your Developer resume, there are two factors to keep in mind: your experience and whether you’re looking for an industry change.
The reverse-chronological format is the most common one. That being said, it gives recruiters exactly what they’re used to in terms of order and information. However, it’s not suitable for applicants with employment gaps or not enough experience.
We at Enhancv suggest the functional skills-based resume format for people with limited work experience who find reverse-chronological resumes irrelevant. This format showcases the applicant’s most significant accomplishments, skills, and strengths.
Don’t miss our resume format checklist:
- Go for a traditional easy-to-read resume font sized 10-12p;
- Don’t risk it: choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Make sure your Developer resume fits in one to two pages;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid having it edited by someone else.
Looking for more tips? Check out our job-winning guide for crafting a resume that gets you remembered!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections for your developer resume
If the position you’re applying for allows for that, you can include some non-traditional sections in your resume. This will add a bit more depth to your application and will also give the hiring manager a better idea of who you are as a person.
Some ideas include:
A developer resume recruiters would love
You’ve drafted an amazing Developer resume, but are still not sure whether it will make a strong first impression? After all, recruiters go over tens of resumes each day, right?
Right! And the recipe for getting their attention includes a dash of creativity.
What’s more, a creative resume is perfect for adding your personality to the mix. For example, you could mention your favorite books, quotes, movies, or even what your day usually looks like.
Regardless of what you choose, make sure your levels of creativity match the industry, the company, and the position. Otherwise, your resume might look silly and inapt.
What makes a great developer resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
