When you're looking for your first job in a new career, having the right resume can be the difference between landing your dream role, or not even getting to speak to the company. Show
But how do you get taken seriously (and make yourself look good!) when you're just trying to break into an industry? This guide will give you a detailed, section-by-section walkthrough of how to write your first developer resume. It will cover what to include, what to leave out, and how to structure each section. It's aimed at new software developers without professional experience, and especially those changing career from a non-traditional background. ๐ In this guide
๐ What does your resume need to do?The purpose of your resume is to represent you before you interact with a company in person. And you often have just a few seconds to make a good first impression. So what does this mean? Your resume needs to showcase your skills in a clear, scannable and visually appealing way. When you have no experience, there are several key techniques you can use to draw attention to the most relevant information (while staying honest about your background). So, your resume is not solely responsible for getting you hired, but it does need to get you through that first stage of the process. ๐ Who does your resume need to convince?The initial point of contact for your resume might be an online jobs page (which I wouldn't recommend; more on that later), a recruiter who you've connected with on LinkedIn, or a hiring manager while they decide whether to move you forward in their interview process. These different audiences will be looking for different things. ๐ Online jobs portalsThese are sites like Indeed, or the jobs pages of companies using systems like Greenhouse or Lever. These portals often have automated screening of resumes that are uploaded. They look for relevant keywords, and could determine whether your resume even gets seen by a human. So, including the right keywords in a machine-readable format is important here. Pro tip: If you save your resume as a PDF, make sure you can select the text with your mouseโthis means it will be readable by automated systems too. ๐ RecruitersUnless it's a very small company, your resume will usually be reviewed first by a recruiter. They will be scanning it for relevant keywords and experience to determine whether you're a possible candidate for the position. Unlike machines, recruiters will also likely base their decision on how professional your resume looks, so this is where clarity, layout and overall design are important. ๐ Hiring managersIf you pass the recruiter screen, your resume will make its way to a hiring manager. This person will likely have an engineering background, and therefore more technical knowledge, so will be looking for more than just keywords. This is where explanations of your projects and experience come into play. Hiring managers will want to know not only what tools and technologies you've used, but howโand why you used those specific ones. ๐ General resume best practices
๐ Main sections to includeThis is the core structure of a 'no experience' career-changer resume:
Let's look at each section in more detail. This is the section at the top of your resume which shows things like your name, contact details, and social links. It's often boldly formatted to stand out and grab attention. It should include:
Your header area could also include a profile, overview or objective paragraph. It's not required, but you can add it if you have space, or a template that includes one. It's basically a sentence or two to summarize who you are and what you're looking for. Keep it short, and use it to draw attention to one or two specific points. Because you have no experience, you should focus on your enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and what direction you hope to take your career (you can also include any interesting relevant experience you do have). Pro tip: Avoid generic descriptors like 'results-driven', 'detail-oriented' or 'passionate' without qualifying examples. Anyone can claim these things, so they are meaningless if you don't also demonstrate how they actually apply to you. Some examples of profile statements that show specific interests and direction:
๐ SkillsThis section is where you list the skills you've learned that are relevant to your future job as a developer. Most people list technologies here (programming languages, frameworks etc.) but I also like to include things like any agile methodologies I've used, or collaboration skills like pair programming or reviewing other developers' code. This section is actually optional, but I recommend including it as it's a good way to communicate your experience to the reader in a format they can digest easilyโeven if they're just quickly skimming your resume. If you do include this section, keep it focused (don't include too many skills) and be sure to group skills in ways that make sense. For example, if you're looking for a full-stack role, you might list technical skills arranged by stack area (so into front- and back-end sections). If you're just focused on the back end, you might have separate sections for programming langages, frameworks and databases. ๐ How to present skills on a resumeSkills often work well as a more graphically interesting section on your resume. Simple bullet points are fine, but many resume designs display skills in a table or pill/chip format. You'll also notice that a lot of templates include skill charts or star ratings for skills, the idea being that you can grade yourself based on your proficiency in each skill. These might be pretty, but I actually don't recommend using them, for the following reasons:
๐ ExperienceThis section should be the main focus of your resume. It's where all the most interesting and unique information goes, and is your chance to add the kind of detail that's going to make you stand out. I use the title 'Experience' rather than 'Employment' deliberately. As a self-taught career changer, you might not have had a job yet, but you can (and should) use this section to showcase all the relevant experience you do have. So what can you include here?
If you don't feel like you have enough experience to even fill out this section, I would recommend trying to do some more of these types of projects before applying for a job. You'll have a much easier time getting someone to hire you once you have at least some way to demonstrate you can do the job. ๐ How to present experience on a resumeTo keep the information digestible, use clear headings and short, snappy bullet points rather than walls of text. The basic structure of each experience entry should be:
Here are some examples of how the first three items could look: ๐ Open Source Contributor, [Name of Project]June 2020 - present ๐ Participant, [Name of Hackathon]May 2020 ๐ Personal Project: CoffeeWalksJanuary 2020 If you completed multiple freelance projects, you could group these all together under one 'role' like this: ๐ Freelance Front-End DeveloperWeb Design & Development, Joe's Pizza Website Development, Stem & Petal Blog Development, Prism Marketing For each entry, you then want to add a few bullet points going into more detail. Don't just say what you did, but talk about the impact, outcomes and reasons for your choices. Another way to think about this is every time you state something you did, explain more by answering the question: so what? For example, this:
...is not as good as this:
Pro tip: Consider introducing some more advanced concepts in your projects like testing, monitoring and performance (and then mention them in your resume). Most people with no experience don't do this, so it will make you come across a lot more professional than the average entry-level candidate. If you're wondering whether to write your bullet points in the first or third person, it honestly doesn't matter. I've seen both. It's not necessary for a tech resume to sound super formal, so just pick whichever you prefer and be consistent. ๐ Where to put previous career experienceIf you're changing career, you might have several years of employment experience that you don't know what to do with. Do you just list it in with your tech experience? Should you even include it at all? This depends on how relevant the work is. If you've had roles where you dabbled in something technical, like basic coding or SQL or data analysis, I'd include it for sure (talking up anything that sounds particularly relevant to your new career, of course). If your past experience is not at all relevant to software development, I'd group it under a single entry at the bottom of your experience section. Say you had a few jobs in fast food restaurants over several years, that single entry could look like this: ๐ Fast Food WorkerJune 2017 - May 2020 ๐ EducationI put this section last for a reason. If you're a new grad with a CS degree, you probably want to put this at or near the top or your resume. But as a self-taught career changer or bootcamp grad, your practical experience will be more valuable than your education in your job search. Although it might be at the bottom of your resume, this section is still important, particularly because you likely at least have some relevant educationโeven if not a STEM degree. So what should you put here?
๐ What NOT to includeWith just a single page to work with, you need to use space efficiently. Here are a few things that people often include in their resumes which don't need to be there. ๐ Your addressPeople viewing your resume to assess you as a candidate don't need to know your full physical address. In fact, companies generally only need this information when they've made (and you've accepted) a job offer. So just provide it when they ask for it. You may also want to share your resume publicly on the internet (e.g. on Twitter or a personal website). If it has your home address on it, that could be a security concern. There are valid reasons you might want to show your location, such as if you're local to the position, and want to indicate that you could start quickly. But in this case, including just your city is fine. ๐ ReferencesReferences are the people your new employer can contact to verify your track record and employment history. But they are also not relevant to the initial candiate screening process, and only needed at a later stageโusually either just before or after the company has decided to make you an offer. Not all companies even use references, so they'll ask you for them if they need them. ๐ A photoMany resume templates include a photo because it looks nice in a layoutโbut it's definitely not required, or even common, for a software developer resume. This one is actually optional, but I advise against it for a couple of reasons: at best, it doesn't provide any necessary information (what you look like should not influence whether you pass a resume screening). At worst, it could contribute to bias and discrimination. ๐ Free resume templates
What to put on an IT resume with no experience?Skills List for Entry-Level IT Resume. Interpersonal skills.. Cybersecurity.. Problem-solving skills.. Time management skills.. Cloud computing.. Big data and data analysis.. Communication skills.. How do you write an entryHow to write a resume with no experience: 5 tips. Highlight your education. If you have little work experience, emphasizing your education is a great way to showcase your strengths, interests, and background. ... . Include relevant experience. ... . List your skills. ... . Include a summary. ... . Use a template.. What skills should an entryHere are the technical skills you should master as an entry-level software engineer:. Programming Languages. This is a must-have skill for software engineers. ... . Data Structures and Algorithms. ... . Testing and Debugging. ... . Object-Oriented Design (OOD) ... . Software Architecture. ... . Documentation. ... . Problem-Solving. ... . Creativity.. Do software engineers need experience?From afar, the work these coders do can seem daunting, even incomprehensible. But thanks to the expansion of computer science education and training options, it has never been easier to enter the software engineering field โ even with little to no prior industry experience.
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