A software engineer resume is read twice: first by an applicant tracking system or recruiter scanning for your stack, then by an engineer judging what you actually built. It needs the right keywords where the first reader looks and measurable engineering results where the second one does.
Where your tech stack belongs
Put a compact technical skills block near the top, grouped so it reads in seconds:
- Languages: TypeScript, Python, Go
- Frameworks: React, Next.js, FastAPI
- Data and infrastructure: PostgreSQL, Redis, Docker, AWS
Then repeat the important technologies inside your experience bullets. A skill that appears only in a list looks claimed; a skill used in a bullet looks proven. Remove anything you could not discuss comfortably in a technical interview.
Bullets with engineering impact
Recruiters skim for numbers, and engineers check whether the numbers make sense. Use the metrics your team actually tracked: latency, uptime, error rates, build times, users or cloud cost.
- Example: "Cut p95 API latency from 820 ms to 240 ms by adding Redis caching and removing N+1 queries."
- Example: "Led the migration of 14 services to Kubernetes; average deployment time fell from 40 minutes to 6."
- Example: "Built offline sync for a Flutter field-sales app used by 3,000 agents across Bangladesh."
No exact figure? Use scale, such as requests per day or number of users, rather than guessing a percentage. The resume bullet point generator helps turn task lists into this format.
Keywords by specialization
| Role | Keywords recruiters search for |
|---|---|
| Frontend | React, TypeScript, accessibility, Core Web Vitals, design systems, testing |
| Backend | REST or GraphQL APIs, databases, caching, queues, microservices, security |
| Mobile | Kotlin, Swift, Flutter, React Native, app store releases, offline support |
| DevOps and SRE | CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, monitoring, incident response |
Mirror the job ad's wording wherever it is accurate for you.
Projects and GitHub for junior developers
With little work history, projects carry the resume. Choose two or three with real users or realistic data, a clear README, tests and a live demo, and pin them on GitHub. One finished, deployed project is worth more than ten tutorial clones. Competitive programming results, such as ICPC regional participation, fit in a short achievements line.
Applying for remote roles? Add evidence of asynchronous work, such as design documents, code reviews and your time-zone overlap, and see our guide to getting a remote job from Bangladesh.
FAQ
How long should a software engineer resume be?
One page suits juniors and most engineers with under five years of experience. Senior and staff engineers with substantial project history can use two.
Should I include personal projects if I already have a job?
Yes, when they show skills your job does not, such as a new language or open-source contributions. Keep them to a few lines below your experience.
Do recruiters actually look at GitHub?
Some do, especially for junior and open-source roles, but a link only helps when pinned repositories are tidy and documented. A profile full of forked tutorials can hurt more than no link.
