Software Engineer CV Examples & Guide for 2025

Crafting a CV that stands out to recruiters can be a daunting challenge for a software engineer amidst fierce competition. Our guide provides targeted tips and industry-specific examples to help you hone your resume and showcase your skills effectively, ensuring you make a memorable impression.

Structuring your software engineer CV layout: four factors to keep in mind

There are plenty of best practices out there for your CV layout and design. At the end of the day, a clear format and concise CV message should be your top priority. Use your CV design to enhance separate sections, bringing them to the forefront of recruiters' attention. At the same time, you can write content that:

• Follows the reverse chronological order in the experience section by first listing your most recent jobs;
• Incorporates your contact information in the header, but do skip out on the CV photo for roles in the UK;
• Is spotlighted in the most important sections of your CV, e.g. the summary or objective, experience, education, etc. to show just how you meet the job requirements;
• Is no longer than two-pages. Often, the one-page format can be optimal for your software engineer CV.

Before submitting your CV, you may wonder whether to export it in Doc or PDF. With the PDF format, your information and layout stay intact. This is quite useful when your CV is assessed by the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS) . The ATS is a software that scans your profile for all relevant information and can easily understand latest study on the ATS , which looks at your CV columns, design, and so much more.

Tips and tricks on writing a job-winning software engineer CV header

The CV header is the space which most recruiters would be referring most often to, in the beginning and end of your application. That is as the CV header includes your contact details, but also a headline and a professional photo. When writing your CV header:

• Double-check your contact details for spelling errors or if you've missed any digits. Also, ensure you've provided your personal details, and not your current work email or telephone number;
• Include your location in the form of the city and country you live in. If you want to be more detailed, you can list your full address to show proximity to your potential work place;
• Don't include your CV photo, if you're applying for roles in the UK or US, as this may bias initial recruiters' assessments;
• Write a professional headline that either integrates the job title, some relevant industry keywords, or your most noteworthy achievement.

In the next part of our guide, we'll provide you with professional CVs that showcase some of the best practices when it comes to writing your headline.

What's the difference between a software engineer CV summary and objective

Why should it matter to you?

• Your software engineer CV summary is a showcasing your career ambitions and your unique value. Use the objective to answer why your potential employers should hire you based on goals and ambitions. The objective is the ideal choice for candidates who happen to have less professional experience, but still meet some of the job requirements.

Before you select which one will be more relevant to your experience, have a look at some industry-leading CV summaries and objectives.

More detailed look into your work history: best advice on writing your software engineer CV experience section

The CV experience is a space not just to merely list your past roles and responsibilities. It is the CV real estate within which you could detail your greatest accomplishments and skills, while matching the job requirements. Here's what to have in your experience section:

• Prove you have what the job wants with your unique skill set and past successes;
• Start each bullet with a strong, action verb, and continue with the outcome of your responsibility;
• Use any awards, nominations, and recognitions you've received as solid proof of your skill set and expertise;
• align your experience with the role responsibilities and duties.

For more help on how to write your CV experience section, check out the next section of our guide:

Swapping your professional experience (when you have none) with skills and more

Never underestimate the importance of relevancе when it comes to your software engineer CV. Even if you don't happen to have much or any standard (full-time contract) professional experience, this doesn't mean you shouldn't apply for the role. Instead of a bespoke CV experience section:

• Showcase more prominently any internships, part-time roles, and volunteer experience that are applicable to the role and have taught you job-crucial skills;
• Feature a strengths or achievements section with your transferrable skills or talents you've obtained thanks to your work or life experience;
• Write an objective statement that clearly outlines your values as a candidate and defines your career ambitions;
• List your education or certificates that match the job profile closer to the top of your CV.

Key software engineer CV skills: what are hard skills and soft skills

Let's kick off with the basics. You know that you have to include key job requirements or skills across your CV. For starters, take individual skills from the job description and copy-paste them into your CV, when relevant. Doing so, you'll ensure you have the correct skill spelling and also pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. There are two types of skills you'll need to include on your CV:

• Hard skills - technical abilities that are best defined by your certificates, education, and experience. You could also use the dedicated skills section to list between ten and twelve technologies you're apt at using that match the job requirements.
• Soft skills - your personal traits and interpersonal communication skills that are a bit harder to quantify. Use various CV sections, e.g. summary, strengths, experience, to shine a spotlight on your workspace achievements, thanks to using particular soft skills.

Remember that your job-winning CV should balance both your hard and soft skills to prove your technical background, while spotlighting your personality.

Your university degree and certificates: an integral part of your software engineer CV

Let's take you back to your uni days and decide what information will be relevant for your software engineer CV. Once more, when discussing your higher education, select only information that is pertinent to the job (e.g. degrees and projects in the same industry, etc.). Ultimately, you should:

• List only your higher education degrees, alongside start and graduation dates, and the university name;
• Include that you obtained a first degree for diplomas that are relevant to the role, and you believe will impress recruiters;
• Showcase relevant coursework, projects, or publications, if you happen to have less experience or will need to fill in gaps in your professional history.

Key takeaways

Here are five things you need to remember about writing your software engineer CV for success:

• Sort your experience based on the reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent career items, to showcase how you've grown your career;
• Include within your CV header your relevant contact details, a headline that could spotlight your unique value, and a photo - if you're applying for roles outside the UK or US;
• Decide to use the CV summary, if you happen to have more professional experience, and an objective, if you want to showcase your career goals;
• Within the experience section, write your bullets using action verbs, skills, and success, instead of just merely listing your on-the-job responsibilities;
• Prove your technical skills, using your education and certificates, and your soft skills, with your achievements and strengths sections.