How to Write a Junior Software Developer Resume (With Tips)
By Indeed Editorial Team
Published June 17, 2022
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
Junior software developers are entry-level personnel who work with a development team and assist in most aspects of coding and software design. When recruiting for this role, companies typically search for candidates knowledgeable about programming languages, curious about new technology, and eager to learn. Learning how to draft an entry-level developer resume that highlights your abilities can increase your application success. In this article, we explain the steps for preparing a junior software developer resume, share tips to help you create a compelling document, and provide a template and example you can use.
How to write a junior software developer resume
A junior software developer resume can help you demonstrate your skills to a hiring manager. Here are the steps you can follow to write your resume:
1. Use a suitable format
You may want to use the reverse chronological resume format as it can help you highlight your relevant work experience and technical skills. This resume format is also helpful if you have work experience, internships, relevant extracurricular activities, or volunteering experience. If you're an entry-level developer with minimal experience, you can consider using a functional resume as it generally prioritizes skills over experience.
2. Create a header
A header usually appears on the top of the resume and contains a candidate's contact information. In this section, you can include your full name, phone number, city and province or territory, and e-mail address. It's often advisable to demonstrate professionalism by using an e-mail that contains your name. Entering accurate contact information in your resume header can help the hiring managers contact you about continuing the hiring process. You can also display related coursework in this section by including a link to your portfolio.
Related: How to Write the Best Resume Header
3. Add a resume profile
Your resume profile can be a professional summary or an objective statement. As an entry-level developer, you may want to use an objective statement as it focuses more on your skills and capabilities instead of work experience. If you have ongoing software projects or relevant internship experience to emphasize, you can consider using a professional summary. When writing your resume profile, you can use adjectives such as hard-working, diligent, competent, or goal-oriented.
You can review the job description to identify the relevant skills the company wants and include them in this section. You can also include achievements you aim to accomplish. Targeting the company's missions and core values can help ensure you align your goals with theirs. This can help the section remain engaging, which can compel a hiring manager to continue reading your resume.
4. Provide the details of your education
As an entry-level developer, you can list this section before your work experience to help a hiring manager focus on your qualifications. You can mention your program type, institution name, your earned licences or qualifications, and your graduation date. You can list these details in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent one. This section typically provides you with an opportunity to impress a hiring manager with your projects, dissertations, degrees, and related coursework.
5. List your work experience
As it's an entry-level role, hiring managers typically understand when candidates have less work experience in the field than others do. You can discuss your projects, internships, and volunteering activities to compensate. It's important to discuss your accomplishments in each role rather than your assigned duties. As the company is likely searching for candidates who can impact their business, you can explain your achievements and how they can influence the business.
Even with minimal experience in software development, you can still discuss your other roles. The aim is to show the hiring manager you can work with teams and contribute to the business's success. When writing this section, you can list your previous company's name, your position, and your employment duration. Then you can create a bullet list of your accomplishments and start each point with an action verb.
Related: Junior Developer Jobs (With Salaries, Duties, and Skills)
6. Outline your skills
You can include both soft and hard skills in this section. Soft skills are a combination of social, personal, and communication skills that help you interact in the workplace. These skills can include teamwork and logical reasoning. A developer's hard skills are abilities you learn and maintain through practice and training, such as coding and data analysis. You can create a master list of your skills and review the job description to determine which skills are relevant to discuss.
It's often advisable for your work experience section to validate your proficiency in using these tools. Provide instances where you used your mentioned skills to accomplish goals. If you want to improve your technical skills or want a competitive advantage, you can take online IT courses to develop targeted areas.
Related: Top Skills for Software Developers
7. Consider including additional sections
You can highlight additional information that demonstrates your suitability for the developer role. Adding extra sections can give an advantage when hiring managers decide between candidates with similar qualifications and backgrounds. You can include sections like your language skills or projects. For example, this section may be an opportunity to discuss a personal project, boot camps, and earned certificates. Examples of additional sections to consider include:
Interest and hobbies
Awards
Languages
Tips for creating a compelling resume for a junior software developer role
Here are some best practices to help you draft an effective resume:
Review the job description. You can increase your application's success by reviewing the job description to determine the technical skills and keywords the company seeks. It can also help you rank higher in an applicant tracking system.
Include only relevant programming languages. Listing too many programming languages on your resume may give the impression that you're overstating your abilities. You can list the relevant technologies mentioned in the job description if you understand them to show the hiring manager you have in-depth knowledge of the skills you listed.
Check that your links are correct. As applying for developers' roles typically involves sharing an openly available code, website, or blog posts to help demonstrate your skills, ensure you include the correct links on your resume. You can click on them to confirm they're accurate.
Related: 14 Resume Writing Tips to Help You Land a Job
Resume template for a junior software developer
Here's a template that can guide you toward creating your resume:
[Your full name]
[City and province or territory]
[Phone number]
[E-mail address]
Objective statement
[Write 1 to 3 sentences that summarize your achievements, career aspirations, and goals.]
Education
[Degree, diploma, or earned licence]
[Institution name], [City], [Graduation year]
Experience
[Job title 1]
[Company], [City], [Employment duration]
[Bullet points explaining your accomplishments and responsibilities in the role]
[Job title 2]
[Company], [City], [Employment duration]
[Bullet points explaining your accomplishments and responsibilities in the role]
Skills
[Bullet points listing all relevant hard and soft skills]
Awards and certifications
[Bullet points naming all relevant certifications, awards, and accomplishments]
Resume example for a junior software developer role
Here's a resume sample to guide you when drafting your software developer resume:
Berry Mark
Toronto, Ontario
(199) 416-7830
berry.mark@email.com
Objective statement
A competent recent graduate in information technology and winner of the 2020 LayGold Programmers' Scholarship. Proficient in over five programming languages, I'm actively pursuing opportunities with an organization where I can use and develop my knowledge of software development. I aim to propel this company's mission as it aligns with my goals, and I want to use my skills to work on multiple projects and meet customers' demands.
Education
BSc in Information Technology
Rainbow University, Toronto, Ontario, September 2021
Dean's honour list, 2021
Received a minor degree in software engineering
Developed my skills in software structures by taking elective courses in software systems and modelling
Wrote over 12 articles for the university newsletter on topics that help students improve their learning experiences using digital trends
Designed a system to predict student's academic performances using different variables
Experience
Software developer graduate intern
MoonGlow Corp., Toronto, Ontario, January 2022–March 2022
Participated in over 20 scrum meetings, unit testing, and bug fixes
Assisted senior developers with the design, development, deployment, and the maintenance of the menu maintenance portal code using MySQL and JavaScript
Troubleshot the server communication system to ensure a continuous workflow
Managed backend and frontend of a stock market analysis website to help individuals make informed investment decisions
Developed an internal data analysis assistance program to optimize stock market classification using PHP and MySQL
Participant
CodeOn BootCamp, Toronto, Ontario, September 2021–December 2021
Created a voice-to-text app for writing and uploaded it to online app stores
Collaborated with my teammates to build an app to scan and search for images on the internet
Used MySQL to work on a side project so camp visitors could request appointments and receive approval to ease the manual process of confirming appointments
Completed several quizzes to test my coding abilities and maintained an average of 75% throughout the camp duration
Analyzed over 12 real-life user needs and suggested design software solutions to help them
Skills
Java
MySQL
PHP
Analytical thinking
Web programming
Excellent communication skills
Operating systems software
Certifications and awards
CodeOn Software Developer of the Future, December 2021
MoonGlow Award of Excellent Service, March 2022
Please note that none of the companies, institutions, or organizations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.
Related: How to Write a Junior Web Developer Resume (With Example)
Explore more articles
- How to Write a Marketing Intern Cover Letter (With Example)
- How to Write an English Teacher Cover Letter (With Template)
- How to Create a Construction Project Manager Resume
- How to Write a Technical Analyst Cover Letter (With Example)
- What Is a Visual Resume? (And How You Can Create One)
- How to Write a Game Developer Resume (With Template)
- A Guide on How to Enhance Your Resume (With 12 Tips)
- Importance of Using a Reference Letter Template (With Types)
- How to Write a Photographer Cover Letter (Plus Helpful Tips)
- Merchandiser Resume Guide (With Template and Example)
- Front-End Developer Resume Skills: Definition and Examples
- What Are Recruiting Coordinator Resume Skills? (With Tips)