Guides

How to Tailor Your Resume for a Software Engineer Job

A resume written for the specific software engineer posting is easier for a recruiter to say yes to than one written for every job. Here's how to tailor yours, honestly.

Words that often show up in Software Engineer postings

Every posting is different, so start with the one you're applying to. These terms come up a lot for this job; use the ones that are true for you, in the posting's exact wording.

• the posting's languages and frameworks
• APIs
• cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• CI/CD
• testing
• code review
• system design
• scale (users, requests, data)

Turn duties into proof

Recruiters skim. A bullet that says what you did, how much, and with what tools is easier to say yes to than a vague duty.

What to put first

Match the stack. If the job says TypeScript and React, those words should appear in your bullets where you really used them. Then reorder the bullets under each job so the ones that match this posting come first.

Don't stretch the truth

Only use a keyword where it's true. If the posting asks for something you don't have, leave it off and mention in your cover letter how you're building it. Claims that fall apart in an interview cost more than a missing keyword.

Interview questions to prepare for

• Walk me through a technical decision you'd make differently now.
• Tell me about a bug that was hard to track down.
• How would you design a simple version of this company's product?

Answer with a short story: the situation, what you did, and what changed because of it.