{"id":659,"date":"2022-03-10T18:41:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T16:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arc.dev\/developer-blog\/?p=659"},"modified":"2025-11-03T14:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T06:08:04","slug":"how-to-list-programming-languages-on-a-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arc.dev\/talent-blog\/how-to-list-programming-languages-on-a-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"How to List Programming Languages (& Other Technologies) on a Resume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When browsing through job listings we are pattern matching: looking for keywords and phrases that match with our skills and<\/em> what we want from our next job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more times you mentally check one of those things in a job listing, the more likely you are to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you will do this formally \u2014 with an actual list to compare \u2014 and others will go by feel. Either way, if you want to work 100% remotely on a JavaScript and Python stack then an on-site .net shop probably isn\u2019t going to rank very highly on your list. The pattern doesn\u2019t match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matching those patterns is difficult when job descriptions are a solid wall of text with no thought given to information layout. It might be worth an application but digging through 1,000 words of corporate jargon and a summary of achievements since founding makes it an uphill battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To combat this, some companies have taken the opposite approach. They summarize what they do in 2 sentences, list some top frameworks and programming languages<\/a> in a bulleted list and, if you\u2019re lucky, give an indication of the type of work you\u2019ll be doing. The hard technical information you want is there but, let\u2019s be honest, they\u2019re not really selling the role well, are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re nodding along to this, then I know you\u2019ve made the tedious trudge through job boards before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you get too smug, though, I want you to cast that same<\/em> critical eye over your software developer resume<\/a> or CV and tell me what you see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you fallen into the same traps as our fateful job listing above? Maybe you\u2019ve gone with a middle path, and mixed a few walls of text with dry bulleted lists of technical skills. The result: your attempt to appease all parties may have successfully annoyed both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t feel bad. Selling your technical achievements is hard. So hard, in fact, that when faced with an incomprehensible wall of text, recruiters often just look at the names of your previous employers and judge your application based on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why developers with Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. in their work history have such an easy time getting interviews. It\u2019s not that their skills are necessarily better than yours \u2014 but those company names act as a neon sign of credibility for the recruiter that shortcuts any real need to wade through the rest of their resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us mere mortals who don\u2019t have one of these lauded technology companies on our resume, we need to try a little harder to convey our technical skills to both a technical and non-technical audience. Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Match the pattern<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Much like you have a set of requirements that you need to see displayed in the job listing, so do the companies. What\u2019s fantastic is that they tell you in the job listing exactly what they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5+ years experience in React<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7+ years experience in JavaScript<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3+ years experience in .NET<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know it sounds obvious, but your resume needs to highlight very clearly<\/em> how you meet those criteria. Don\u2019t just imply or allude to meeting the requirements \u2014 spell it out for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to think that because you write:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 years developing native iOS apps<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That the person \u2014 or machine \u2014 reading your resume will understand that that means you meet the requirements of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5+ years Swift<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5+ years UIKit<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1+ years SwiftUI<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a native iOS engineer, it is obvious that you meet the requirements. However, to a non-technical<\/em> person reading your resume it may not be clear at all. The two minutes it would take to make it blindingly obvious you meet the requirements are well spent if it\u2019s the difference between making it through to the next stage or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they are specifying years of experience required, then make sure you say how many years you have. Don\u2019t make them do the math to work out that due to a position you had in 2011 where you wrote JS,  you, therefore, have 11 years under your belt. You could be in an initial pile of over 100 resumes. So making the reader\u2019s life as easy as possible is key to standing out. Requiring mental gymnastics from the reader is the opposite of easy and clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More<\/strong>: How to Write a Software Engineer Cover Letter w\/ Sample Template & Tips<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Lists Are Okay If…<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"a<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Lists are dull but they are effective. They force you to think about how to convey information as succinctly as possible and they are easy to skim read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, don\u2019t fall into the trap of simply listing your technical skills and moving on. A good list is a layout tool to help show the reader a group of points that make you a good fit for the role. A dull list of technologies and programming languages may tell them what skills you have\u2026 but it won\u2019t win you an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are falling back to a stand-alone list like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JavaScript, TypeScript, Angular, NgRx, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, DynamoDB, SQL,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026then you need to have a re-think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the above is factually correct, it focuses too much on the skills and not enough on how you use<\/em> those skills to add value to a team or business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that developers are hired to solve problems and create value with technology. Developers who show how these skills are used in context are the ones who stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above is far better broken out into a few bullet points along the following lines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Developed rich frontends in JavaScript, TypeScript and React with complex state managed in NgRX<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Deployed a scalable Python backend with Kubernetes, Docker and AWS CodeBuild for fast, continuous deployments<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Managed the complexities of multiple data stores with SQL alongside AWS DynamoDB to provide performant querying<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to read that as a generic dressed-up list, and to a certain extent, you would be correct because I have written it in a vacuum. The magic of the above approach is when you couple it with the job specification and<\/strong> use their own keywords\/language back to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n