Check out Arc’s Ultimate Software Engineer Resume Guide to write a CV sure to get you an interview!
Many job candidates use the interview or software engineer cover letter to highlight their skills and expertise — leaving real estate on a resume dedicated to featuring past experience and work projects. However, the resume is a great place to showcase both hard and soft skills.
In fact, resumes without skills listed are more likely to be overlooked by applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan for specific phrases and resume keywords.
Whether junior, mid-level, or senior, software developers can stand out from the crowd by listing some of the most in-demand hard and soft skills on their resumes.
Read on for a list of good skills to put on a resume and some tips for building a resume skills section.
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5 Hard Skills for a Resume in Software Development
The rise of remote work has slightly disrupted trends in the software development hiring market. For instance, cloud security is more in-demand than in previous years.
Here are important technical skills companies will seek from software developers in 2022 and beyond:
1. Cloud & cloud security
The rise of remote work has dramatically increased the need for cloud and cloud security developers.
“Demand for cloud-native development skills is expected to expand in future years to satisfy the increased agility needed by organizations with a development model that span data centers and multi-cloud environments,” Erica Langhi, senior solution architect EMEA Red Hat, told TechRepublic.
2. DevOps
“Software Development Methodologies (DevOps) expertise is the most marketable going into 2021, with 634,600 open positions available in North America,” reported Forbes.
The benefits of a DevOps lead are well-documented. One 2016 survey found that IT departments with a strong DevOps workflow deploy software 200x more frequently than low-performing IT teams. These DevOps teams 24x faster recovery times, and three times lower rates of change failure. And, these teams spend 50% less time addressing security issues.
These are efficiencies that businesses can no longer afford to ignore.
Read More: How to Get a Job as a Self-Taught Developer
3. IT automation
IT automation is predicted to be one of the most highly-sought-after technical skills for software developers in 2021. This category of skills includes any expertise related to automating digital processes and workflows.
Once again, the shift to remote work makes these hard skills that much more important. “IT automation expertise can earn technical professionals a $24,969 salary premium, the most lucrative of all tech job skills to have in 2021,” reported Forbes.
4. Full-stack development
It’s not enough to be a great front-end developer: Today’s mid-level and senior software developers must also be well-versed in back-end development, too. “Developers who want to stand out from the crowd in today’s job market need to have the full repertoire of front-end and back-end development expertise,” said Aude Barral, Co-founder and CCO of CodinGame.
“That means having knowledge of one or more of Python, JavaScript, Java, Go and PHP for back-end programming languages and HTML/CSS for the front end.”
5. Python
Python was one of the five most in-demand coding languages of 2019 and continues to be highly sought-after by companies of all sizes.
Read More: How to Write a Resume for IT Jobs
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Soft Skills on a Resume in Software Engineering
Technical skills are just one part of the equation: Soft skills — things like leadership and time management — are also in high demand. And, unlike technical skills, soft skills often can’t be taught in on-the-job training.
Soft skills might be even more important to a recruiter than technical skills. One LinkedIn survey found that nearly 60% of US hiring managers found it difficult to hire candidates with great soft skills. These types of skills become even more valuable as you advance in your career.
Software developers who have excellent soft skills will be able to command higher salaries at some of the most competitive companies.
Recruiters are going to be seeking software developers who demonstrate these five soft skills.
6. Good communication
Software developers need to be able to effectively interface with non-technical counterparts, ask for support where needed, and delegate to team members in a way that makes them feel valued and engaged with their work. Especially in a remote-work setting, good intercultural communication is imperative.
To help build your communication skills on your own time while also building your professional brand, learn how to network with other software developers.
7. Time management
Software managers must be able to keep their teams on track to meet deadlines. It’s becoming more and more common for software development team members to be located in different time zones. As a result, senior engineers and leaders must be equipped to manage lots of moving parts to keep projects on track.
Read More: 12 Common Mistakes Keeping You From Landing Your First Developer Job
8. Problem-solving skills
There are always going to be problems in any software project and on any development team. Great problem-solving skills are handy for software engineers in their day-to-day jobs and for their long-term careers, in general.
Use your resume to describe how you’ve creatively and independently come up with solutions to difficult client requests or overcome any obstacles that would have threatened the success of your project.
9. Adaptability and flexibility
This soft skill goes hand-in-hand with problem-solving and analysis skills. Show on your resume how you’ve been able to adjust to changing work conditions during the pandemic, for instance, or how you’ve added knowledge, skills, and tools to keep up with changing industry standards.
Being adaptable and flexible are important for remote collaboration and working with distributed teams. And, this is getting more and more important, so, if you’re wondering how to become a software engineer, make sure to add adaptability and flexibility to the top of your skills list.
10. Ability to accept feedback
Humility and patience are hard to quantify, but one way to show you’re easy to work with is to show that you’re open and welcoming to project feedback — no matter how tough it can be to hear constructive criticism.
Soft skills are in demand — but they can also be hard to demonstrate in written form. Consider adding keywords that are listed in the job description to your summary section or to a specific skills section.
Use numbers to back up your soft skills expertise: use facts and figures to show that you’re a “skilled manager.” KPIs like “% of projects shipped ahead of schedule” or “managed x developers in y time zones” demonstrate your soft skills effectively.
Read More: How to Write a Resume for Web Developer Jobs
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How to Include Skills on a Resume for Developer Jobs
If you have the space in your resume format, include a skills section that responds to the specific job posting for which you are applying. This section does not have to be long, but it does need to be strategic. Use specific keywords for which an ATS may be screening.
Limit the skills you list to those which are highly relevant — especially for this stage in your career. Omit obsolete skills or obvious software programs, like Microsoft Office, for example.
Most experts recommend selecting 10-15 hard and soft skills to highlight in your resume, using a symmetrical column format with five or six skills per column. Group together your technical software skills in a skills section separate from your soft skills for maximum impact.
(You can also use these skills to optimize your LinkedIn profile, as well!)
It’s important to make sure that your resume best showcases your skills as they relate to the job description. By adding a skills section, you can highlight some of the hard and soft skills that are most in-demand for senior software developers in today’s job market.
Finally, even if you have a busy developer schedule, always keep learning, growing, and building new skills!
Read More: How to Write an Information Technology Cover Letter for Top IT Jobs
You can also explore HireAI to skip the line and:
⚡️ Get instant candidate matches without searching
⚡️ Identify top applicants from our network of 350,000+ with no manual screening
⚡️ Hire 4x faster with vetted candidates (qualified and interview-ready)
