Full Stack Developer / Software Engineer Resume Example

How to write a developer resume that passes both the recruiter and the tech lead

A developer resume gets read twice: first by a recruiter scanning for stack keywords, then by a tech lead looking for evidence you have built real things. Failing either screen ends the process. And most candidates make the same mistake: listing technologies without showing what they built with them.

What the recruiter and the tech lead look for

• Concrete stack with real depth. Languages, frameworks, databases, cloud — but with context. "React + Node + PostgreSQL in production for 2 years" says more than a list of 25 technologies.
• Projects with impact. What you built, for whom, what problem it solved, with what outcome (users, performance, time saved). One well-described project beats five named ones.
• GitHub and portfolio. Working links, clear READMEs, readable code. The tech lead opens them. Empty or messy repos subtract points.
• Engineering practices. Git workflow, testing, CI/CD, code review, agile ceremonies, documentation. They show you can work on a team, not just write code.
• System design awareness. Even at mid level: how you structured data, handled auth, scaled a feature. It signals you think beyond the ticket.

Mistakes that get a developer resume rejected

• Technology list with no projects. "Python, Java, React, Angular, Vue, Docker, AWS, Azure..." with no context reads as padding. The tech lead will ask about each one.
• Skill bars or percentages. "React 80%" means nothing. Replace with years and usage: "React (3 years, production)".
• Broken links or empty repos. If you list GitHub, it needs projects with READMEs. A dead link is worse than no link.
• Duties instead of outcomes. "Developed features" describes the job. "Cut homepage load time from 4s to 1.2s" describes your impact.
• More than two pages. One page under five years; two with more. Relevant personal projects yes, everything else no.

Keywords ATS filters look for in developer resumes

Use them only where they are true for you: the filter searches for them, but the recruiter verifies them in the interview.

Want to know whether your current resume uses these keywords and whether ATS filters can read it? Analyze it free — three checks a day, no sign-up.

If you are a junior or self-taught developer

Without work experience, your projects are your experience — but they must be finished, deployed and documented. Three complete projects in production, even small ones, beat ten copied tutorials. Describe each like a job: problem, stack, what you built, result, link. Add bootcamps or courses with a capstone, open-source contributions if you have them, and hackathons. If you are self-taught, prove discipline: a consistent GitHub commit history counts more than any certificate. Consider contributing a bug fix to a library you use — it is real, verifiable collaborative work.

Frequently asked questions