Crafting a CV that stands out can be a daunting challenge for a software engineer intern, as it's essential to balance technical prowess with the ability to showcase soft skills effectively. Our guide provides insightful tips and practical examples that will help you navigate this complexity, ensuring your CV impresses potential employers and opens doors to exciting opportunities.
- Create an attention-grabbing header that integrates keywords and includes all vital information;
- Add strong action verbs and skills in your experience section, and get inspired by real-world professionals;
- List your education and relevant certification to fill in the gaps in your career history;
- Integrate both hard and soft skills all through your CV.
Discover more industry-specific guides to help you apply for any role in the links below:
Structuring and formatting your software engineer intern CV for an excellent first impression
The experts' best advice regarding your CV format is to keep it simple and concise. Recruiters assessing your CV are foremost looking out for candidates who match their ideal job profile. Your white space, borders, and margins. You may still be wondering which format you need to export your CV in. We recommend using the PDF one, as, upon being uploaded, it never alters your information or CV design. Before we move on to the actual content of your software engineer intern CV, we'd like to remind you about the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS). The ATS is a software that is sometimes used to initially assess your profile. Here's what you need to keep in mind about the ATS:- All serif and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Rubik, Volkhov, Exo 2 etc.) are ATS-friendly;
- Many candidates invest in Arial and Times New Roman, so avoid these fonts if you want your application to stand out;
- Both single and double column CVs can be read by the ATS, so it's entirely up to you to select your CV design.
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Be mindful of white space; too much can make the CV look sparse, too little can make it look cluttered. Strive for a balance that makes the document easy on the eyes.
The top sections on a software engineer intern CV
- Contact Information ensures quick communication.
- Technical Skills showcase relevant proficiencies.
- Education Background highlights academic credentials.
- Work Experience demonstrates practical application.
- Projects and Portfolio exhibit hands-on experience.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your technical proficiency by including specific programming languages, tools, and technologies you have worked with; recruiters look for candidates who have hands-on experience with languages such as Python, Java, or C++ and tools like Git, Docker, or Jenkins.
- Showcase any relevant projects or coursework that demonstrates your ability to code and solve problems; detail what you built, the technologies used, and the impact of your contribution.
- Include any previous internships, work experience, or volunteer work in tech, even if they were short-term or part-time roles; this reflects your practical exposure to software development processes.
- Emphasise soft skills like teamwork, communication, and adaptability by mentioning any collaborative projects or team-based experiences, as software engineering often requires working closely with others.
- Ensure you tailor your CV for each application by carefully reading the job description and highlighting the experiences and skills that align with the responsibilities and preferred qualifications of the software engineer intern role.
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Our checklist for the must-have information in your software engineer intern CV header
Right at the very top of your software engineer intern CV is where you'd find the header section or the space for your contact details, headline, and professional photo. Wondering how to present your the name of the city you live in and the country abbreviation as your address;
- are tailored to the role you're applying for by integrating key job skills and requirements;
- showcase what your unique value is, most often in the form of your most noteworthy accomplishment;
- select your relevant qualifications, skills, or current role to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. Still not sure how to write your CV headline? Our examples below showcase best practices on creating effective headlines:
Examples of good CV headlines for software engineer intern:
- Software Engineer Intern | Full-Stack Development Enthusiast | Java & Python | Agile Methodologies | CI/CD Savvy
- Aspiring Software Developer | Front-End Specialisation | React & HTML5 | UX/UI Design Principles | Git Proficient
- Junior Software Programmer Intern | Data Structures Mastery | C++ and C# Proficient | OOP Concepts | Debugging Expert
- Graduate Software Engineering Intern | Cloud Computing Aficionado | AWS Certified | DevOps Practices | Security Awareness
- Software Development Intern | AI & Machine Learning Interests | Python & TensorFlow | Algorithm Design | Robotics Club Lead
- Entry-Level Software Engineer Intern | Mobile App Development | Kotlin & Swift | Cross-Platform Solutions | UI/UX Prototyping
Catching recruiters' attention with your software engineer intern CV summary or objective
Located closer to the top of your CV, both the summary and objective are no more than five sentences long and serve as an introduction to your experience. What is more, you could use either to entice recruiters to read on. Select the:
- Summary, if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience. Feature your most impressive accomplishments and up to three skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for;
- Objective, if you're just starting your career off. Provide your career goals and answer how you see the role you are applying for will match your professional growth.
Judging which one you need to add to your software engineer intern CV may at times seem difficult. That’s why you need to check out how professionals, with similar to your experience, have written their summary or objective, in the examples below:
CV summaries for a software engineer intern job:
- As a recent Computer Science graduate from the University of Cambridge, I have a foundational year of hands-on experience in Java and Python, supplemented by a robust academic understanding of algorithm design. My greatest achievement includes developing an award-winning mobile application during a hackathon, which utilises machine learning to aid in language learning.
- With over three years of experience in the highly competitive field of front-end development, I have honed my skills in React and Angular, while also gaining valuable experience in UX/UI design principles. My commitment and tenacity shone through when I spearheaded a critical refactor of a legacy codebase in my previous role at TechInnovate Ltd, significantly improving system efficiency and user satisfaction.
- Moving from a successful career in mechanical engineering to software engineering, I bring a unique perspective and an earnest desire to contribute to technological advancements. Though new to the field, my analytical skills and problem-solving abilities, honed over four years at Dyson, have already aided me during my extensive self-taught journey in Python and C++ programming.
- Transitioning from healthcare into the tech industry, I come with a unique blend of skills that marry four years of analytical decision-making as a laboratory technician with a burgeoning talent in software development — my self-initiated study of Java and Swift attests to my dedication to seamlessly pivot into this dynamic sector.
- Seeking an internship to apply my newfound skills in Java, SQL, and Git, acquired through a rigorous six-month online coding bootcamp. I am eager to translate my dedication and quick learning capabilities into impactful contributions in a real-world software development environment.
- Eager to immerse myself in the tech industry, I am on the lookout for an internship where I can employ my strong foundational knowledge in data structures and algorithms, gained from online courses and personal projects. My objective is to grow as a software engineer, by crafting meaningful code and learning from seasoned professionals.
Narrating the details of your software engineer intern CV experience section
Perhaps you've heard it time and time again, but, how you present your experience is what matters the most. Your CV experience section - that details your work history alongside your accomplishments - is the space to spotlight your unqiue expertise and talents. So, avoid solely listing your responsibilities, but instead:
- adverts' keywords and integrate those in your experience section;
- Use your CV to detail how you've been promoted in the past by including experience in the reverse chronological order.
Before you start writing your software engineer intern CV experience section, dive into some industry-leading examples on how to structure your bullets.
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Developed a Java-based inventory management application, enhancing the data processing speed by 30%, during a summer internship at TechCo.
- Collaborated with a team of 5 to integrate a new authentication feature into the existing company app, utilising OAuth and RESTful APIs, at InnovateTech.
- Implemented unit tests with 85% code coverage for key software components, improving system reliability, during my internship at Start-Up Solutions.
- Assisted in the migration of a legacy system to microservices architecture, resulting in a 20% reduction in server costs, at Cloud Corp during a 3-month internship.
- Contributed to the development of a responsive web application using React and Node.js, which attracted 10,000+ users within the first two months, at WebWorks Internship.
- Analysed user feedback on software usability and functionality, leading to a 15% improvement in customer satisfaction scores at BetaSoft Inc.
- Participated in daily Agile/Scrum meetings, enhancing team communication and sprint deliverables by effectively reporting progress and impediments, during my time at AgileApp Internship.
- Authored detailed documentation for API services, supporting future software maintenance and scalability, while interning at DevSolutions Tech.
- Optimised SQL queries in the company's main product database, resulting in a 25% performance gain evidenced by reduced page load times, at DataStream Inc.
- Implemented a Python-based data aggregation tool that processed over 10,000 data points daily, enhancing the analytics capabilities by 25%.
- Developed an automated test suite using Selenium and JUnit for a new feature in our flagship product, reducing bugs by 15% and shortening the release cycle by two weeks.
- Collaborated with a team of 5 to refactor legacy code, leading to a 30% improvement in application performance and maintainability.
- Contributed to the front-end development of an internal tool using React.js, resulting in improved user engagement by enhancing the UX/UI design for over 200 company employees.
- Aided in deploying microservices for a new feature on the company cloud platform, achieving a 99.9% uptime and handling over 1,000 requests per hour.
- Engaged in critical code reviews and pair programming sessions which led to maintaining high-quality code standards across the team and reducing technical debt significantly.
- Spearheaded a project to integrate an AI module into the existing CRM system, which improved customer interaction tracking by 40%.
- Enhanced the database management system by writing optimized SQL queries, which increased data retrieval times by 20%.
- Participated in bi-weekly sprint planning meetings to ensure timely delivery of software components, contributing to a team that met 100% of project deadlines.
- Led the development of a cross-platform mobile application using Flutter, which was successfully launched in the App Store and Google Play, amassing over 5,000 downloads within the first month.
- Implemented Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment pipelines, reducing deployment times by 50% and enabling more frequent and stable product releases.
- Assisted with migrating a monolithic architecture to microservices, resolving scalability issues and improving system responsiveness by 35%.
- Worked on the implementation of an end-to-end encryption feature in a messaging app, securing communications for over 100,000 active users.
- Participated in the development of a caching subsystem that reduced average API response time from 150ms to 65ms for high-traffic services.
- Conducted extensive research and presented findings on emerging technologies in the blockchain sphere, which informed the company's strategic planning for new product development.
- Prototyped a machine learning algorithm for sentiment analysis on social media data, which increased marketing campaign effectiveness by identifying key customer trends.
- Developed a web dashboard using AngularJS to visually represent business intelligence data, improving decision-making for the marketing team.
- Contributed to the development of an internal API for third-party integrations, expanding the company's service offerings and generating an estimated increase in revenue by 10%.
- Enhanced the security of web applications by incorporating OAuth 2.0 for authentication, successfully mitigating potential risk of unauthorized data access.
- Participated in the design of a scalable NoSQL database solution which now supports rapid data growth up to 500 GB per day, streamlining the data analytics processes.
- Collaborated closely with product managers to implement user-centric features which boosted customer satisfaction ratings by 20% for the company’s main service app.
- Took initiative in a project to build a responsive web application with AngularJS, which improved the end-user experience across desktop and mobile platforms.
- Optimized server-side performance by refactoring legacy Java code, achieving an increase in throughput of server requests by 50%.
- Delivered a comprehensive report on UI/UX best practices, which informed the redesign of the company’s customer portal and increased user engagement by 25%.
How to ensure your software engineer intern CV stands out when you have no experience
This part of our step-by-step guide will help you substitute your experience section by helping you spotlight your skill set. First off, your ability to land your first job will depend on the time you take to assess precisely how you match the job requirements. Whether that's via your relevant education and courses, skill set, or any potential extracurricular activities. Next:
- Systematise your CV so that it spotlights your most relevant experience (whether that's your education or volunteer work) towards the top;
- Focus recruiters' attention to your transferrable skill set and in particular how your personality would be the perfect fit for the role;
- Consider how your current background has helped you build your technological understanding - whether you've created projects in your free time or as part of your uni degree;
- Ensure you've expanded on your teamwork capabilities with any relevant internships, part-time roles, or projects you've participated in the past.
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Describe how each job helped you grow or learn something new, showing a continuous development path in your career.
Hard skills and soft skills to showcase your unique skill set on your software engineer intern CV
Did you know that your CV will mostly likely be assessed by recruiters based on skill alignment? And that means that the way you feature your key skills across different CV sections will play a crucial role in landing you that first interview. We recommend you add your:
- technical capabilities or hard skills in your CV experience, certificates, projects, etc. Use your past accomplishments to prove your technical capabilities. List up to a dozen different software or hardware in your dedicated skills section to match the job keywords;
- personal and communication skills or soft skills in your CV strengths, achievements, summary/ objective, etc. Soft skills are a bit more difficult to prove. How do you define your aptitude in active listening? So, instead of just listing the skill name, include a tangible metric to show your success.
On a final note, when you're in a hurry to create your profile, you may misspell a particular technology or soft skill. That's why we suggest you copy and paste the particular skill name (or keyword), directly from the job advert. This would also help you to pass any initial Applicant Tracker System (ATS) tests.
Top skills for your software engineer intern CV:
Programming languages (such as Java, C++, Python)
Data structures and algorithms
Database management (SQL)
Software development methodologies (like Agile, Scrum)
Version control systems (such as Git)
Web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
Mobile development (iOS or Android)
Operating systems (Linux, Unix, Windows)
Understanding of APIs and web services
Unit testing and debugging
Problem-solving
Communication
Attention to detail
Teamwork
Time management
Adaptability
Eagerness to learn
Critical thinking
Creativity
Proactivity
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Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
Your university degree and certificates: an integral part of your software engineer intern CV
Let's take you back to your uni days and decide what information will be relevant for your software engineer intern 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.
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If there's a noticeable gap in your skillset for the role you're applying for, mention any steps you're taking to acquire these skills, such as online courses or self-study.
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Key takeaways
What matters most in your software engineer intern CV-writing process is for you to create a personalised application. One that matches the role and also showcases your unique qualities and talents.
- Use the format to supplement the actual content, to stand out, and to ensure your CV experience is easy to comprehend and follows a logic;
- Invest time in building a succinct CV top one third. One that includes a header (with your contact details and headline), a summary or an objective statement (select the one that best fits your experience), and - potentially - a dedicated skills section or achievements (to fit both hard skills and soft skills requirements);
- Prioritise your most relevant (and senior) experience closer to the top of your CV. Always ensure you're following the "power verb, skill, and achievement" format for your bullets;
- Integrate both your technical and communication background across different sections of your CV to meet the job requirements;
- List your relevant education and certificates to fill in gaps in your CV history and prove to recrutiers you have relevant technical know-how.
