Junior Software Developer Resume Sample

Junior Software Developer Resume with Writing Guide

The sheer volume of resumes hitting employers’ inboxes has increased in recent years. It’s not always easy for a recruiter to browse through, and it can be difficult to stand out amongst the hundreds of other applicants.

If you’re a Junior Software Developer looking for your first job, you need to create an attention-grabbing resume that will make recruiters take notice.

You’ll need to do a little research to figure out the best way to write one of these, and you’ll need to customize it for your skill set. Fortunately, there are tons of resources on the internet that can help you polish your resume and put it into the best possible light.

Junior Software Developer Resume Writing Guide:

1. Use an Objective

“Pick a unique one for your experience, and open with it,” said Killian Coyle, President of Back in Control IT. “This is an opportunity to make a first impression.”

The first thing that any recruiter or hiring manager is going to look at is your objective. Get them interested and they’ll be more likely to read the rest of the resume and learn more about you.

2. Keep it Short and To the Point

The objective is your first impression, so make sure to keep it brief. Keep it under a single line of text so that the recruiter can scan quickly over it.

Remember these three questions: Who are you? What do you want? Why should we care?

3. Don’t Get So Specific You Lose Effectiveness

“Make it short but not too short,” said Coyle. “People get frustrated when they don’t find what they need in the resume. You don’t want them to have to scroll back up.”

As a Junior Software Developer, you’ll want to be concise and clear about what you’ve done in your past experience, but there’s no need to be so specific that it makes the rest of the resume useless.

Furthermore, if you work with one company for several years you should feel free to say “I’ve worked at Company A” instead of “As a Team Lead at Company A,” unless the job description says otherwise.

4. Combine the Headline and Objective

Some people combine the headline and objective, but others say it’s best to keep them separate. “I prefer to combine them,” said Tim Sackett, President of ExecuNet, a recruiting firm.

“If you’re writing an objective (as opposed to a headline), you have a chance to show a recruiter why they should want to talk with you about work.”

It’s up to you how you want to do this. Some employers insist on keeping the two as separate parts of the resume, while others prefer to have a single brief line sandwiched between.

If you combine them, make sure it doesn’t look cluttered and untidy. You can’t afford any mistakes in this part of the process.

5. Your Work Experience Section

To Let Them Know What You Can Do
The work experience section is usually about three times longer than the objective, so leave room for what you want to say there. This is where you can show the employer that you have the skills and knowledge that they need.

Use a line or two to introduce the position, but then go into more detail about what you did there. Include results, where applicable. Remember to keep it brief and to the point.

Junior Software Developer Responsibilities:

1. Took on the role of Junior Software Developer in an effort to simultaneously learn about the field and contribute
2. Upon completion of one year, was promoted to Senior level for my performance and hard work
3. Acted as a mentor for new employees, fielding questions and helping them with issues they did not understand
4. Provided exceptional customer service by resolving every issue that came my way to ensure that no customer was dissatisfied
5. Upon completion of my work at XYX, I helped create and implement a guide for new developers to understand current projects better
6. Created a system for managing developers and projects, allowing management to see what was happening on each project without asking the involved parties
7. Worked with management to create coding guidelines and best practices for enforcing consistent code quality
8. Worked with management to create QA procedures that allowed us to catch mistakes early and correct them quickly
9. Throughout my career, have been a leader and mentor to new employees
10. Have seen other developers perform at a high level by demonstrating my knowledge and skill
11. Have received numerous promotions throughout my career to keep up with the ever-changing roles that are required of me
12. Have been a leader throughout my career, working hard to ensure that my peers and I were able to move forward in our careers
13. Have a proven track record of success, earning me the respect of my peers and management alike
14. Have excellent team building skills, helping me find new ways to brainstorm ideas with fellow employees
15. As a Junior Software Developer, was able to match skill level with specific project needs

Top 15 Junior Software Developer Skills:

1. Troubleshoot technical issues
2. Enforce coding standards
3. Code new features quickly and efficiently
4. Work well in a dynamic team
5. Create and enforce policies that help to maintain quality code throughout the team
6. Communicate effectively with team members to ensure the deliverables are on time and on target
7. Support Junior Software Developer peers with systems, documentation, APIs, etc. to allow them to do their jobs more effectively
8. Lead a team of Junior Software Developers in development efforts
9. Help junior developers understand technical issues at a deeper level
10. Code test cases for QA and other developers to implement
11. Hold frequent code reviews to ensure quality and maintain consistent code quality throughout the team
12. Work with senior software developers to create new coding standards as needed
13. Mentor Junior Software Developers as they grow in their careers
14. Assist management with the hiring process to ensure that the best possible people are hired for their respective roles
15. Actively pursue a career in software development

In addition to the above values, here are some additional things to mention in your resume:
Personal skills: be honest and straightforward with what you want to do here; don’t pretend you want something that you don’t; keep it general. You’re not applying for an Ivy League school, but you’re trying to impress the person who is.

Tips to write Junior Software Developer Resume Objective:

Included Skills: The Junior Software Developer Resume Objective should focus on skills related to the Job you’re applying for. Your resume objective should show that you can do the job, and should emphasize some of your key soft skills such as: team-building, communication, customer service, time management and organization or project design.
To learn more on how to write a resume objective here

List all of your education and training that relates directly to the position you are applying for.
Tell the employer what you can do for them. What are your qualifications? Why should they choose you over someone else?
Be specific and show that you understand what is required of the job.
Make sure it’s brief and to the point. You won’t have a lot of space to tell them everything that you want to write, so don’t waste it. Use your cover letter to get more information about the company or industry if necessary.

Tips:

1. Highlight your education first. If you have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, put that first – and use your high school education to fill in the gaps.
2. Listing relevant skills can come next, although it may be more appropriate to leave this section for the work experience area of your resume (below). Don’t get too detailed with this section, because many employers will simply scan the document quickly before deciding whether or not to call you for an interview.
3. For the work experiences section, focus primarily on responsibilities and achievements. Avoid listing skills or accomplishments that you may have acquired during your time working in the past to demonstrate your particular qualifications for this position.
4. Be sure to point out how your education or experience relates to the job you are applying for, and why you’re capable of performing it.
5. Try not to over-dramatize or exaggerate any of these sections of your resume (i.e. length, dollar amounts, etc.). Lists of skills and responsibilities are much more important.
6. The “References” section is entirely optional. If you do decide to include it, ask your references to give you the contact information for at least two people who can speak to your work experience and/or abilities (this could be former employers, former supervisors and co-workers within the same company).

Tips to write Junior Software Developer Cover Letter:

You can always use our cover letter sample as a template. However, it’s important to be personal and unique, so feel free to use this or something like it. Your cover letter needs to speak directly to the person reviewing your resume, and should mention specifics about the company and position you are applying for.

Some basic rules for a cover letter:

1. Make the subject line attention-grabbing and to the point. (Most employers will not take the time to read a cover letter that is not crisp and well written.)
2. Use action verbs to describe what you have done (or are willing and able to do), rather than using vague adjectives or passive verbs.3. This is your chance to say what makes you different from all other applicants, or why this particular company/position/industry appeals to you. Address what you can offer them – not what they can offer you.
3. Proofread it carefully and get someone else to proofread it as well. It’s always embarrassing to have any kind of spelling or grammar mistake on your resume!
4. If you’ve made a list of references, be sure that these people know that you’ve used them as a reference, so they are not taken by surprise if the employer contacts them (or worse yet, find out from the employer).
5. You’re not going to get every job you interview for (no matter how much experience you have or how great your resume is). Your cover letter provides a way to express yourself in writing, and should be sent along with your resume no matter what.

Key Takeaways:

• Keep your resume up-to-date and relevant to the latest version of your skills.
• Include effective keywords to attract future employers with better scannability.
• Make sure all contact information is up-to-date, including your email address and mobile number.
• Keep it neat and easy to skim through – avoid long paragraphs and sentences, too much irrelevant information, etc..
• Keep the format consistent across all parts of your resume.