Top 5 Items a Programmer Needs to Have on Their Resume

We hear a lot about how important culture and fit are for companies in finding just the right candidate to fill a position. But how do you get to the point of having them figure out if you’ll work well with the rest of the team? Or what type of leader you’ll be?

The first way is to actually get the in-person interview, and that’s where your skills and expertise come in. If you’re looking for a job in programming, it’s not enough to simply state where you went to school and list your previous jobs. You need to make your resume stand out with keywords and a detailed description of your skills.

We asked career expert and author of Big Career in the Big City, Vicki Salemi, for top tips on crafting the perfect programming resume.

You’re a former corporate recruiting executive so tell us, what is the number one thing programmers need to have on their resume to stand out from the crowd?

They need to include all of the programs they’ve ever worked on. If they’ve worked on C++, great! Include it. Recruiters’ eyes are trained to scan resumes extremely quickly and effortlessly – make it easy for them to say yes by highlighting your programs and the languages you speak. 

Is there a “best format” for programming candidates?

The chronological resume works best, but one of the greatest ways to stand out regardless of format is to include programs you’re proficient in coding towards the top of your resume. Group them together and make them easy for a recruiter to spot at first glance. 

How can you use keywords to make sure your resume gets past the first scan?

Tie your resume back to the job description. While many companies will include generic jargon in their job descriptions, one specific company for instance may have another way of stating their requirements. So, tailor your resume and tweak it slightly so the words are spot on with the keywords that popped out at you when you first read their job description.

What about certifications, are they important to highlight?

Yes. If you have certifications, include them. It’s a tight market right now and while the job seeker is in charge due to the labor shortage in tech, if it comes down to you over another candidate, anything you have obtained to put you above and beyond the competition will serve you well. As such, highlight it.

For entry-level candidates, what’s the best way to detail any IT experience, even if it was in school or volunteer work?

The best way to detail any IT experience is to include it. Even if it feels minimal such as a volunteering opportunity, at the end of the day you gained experience so don’t shortchange yourself. You can create a separate section such as “volunteering” or if it was obtained through school, include it in the education section. In addition to including it on your resume, during a first round phone interview be sure to talk it up so the recruiter gets a sense that you not only were exposed to the IT experience, you actually learned from it and now possess skills you can apply to a new role.

What are some other ways to convey your critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

You can convey your critical thinking and problem-solving skills by being thoughtful with all of your answers during a job interview. You may get out-of-the-box questions specifically seeking a problem-solving train of thought.

In addition, prior to the interview be sure to have one or two experiences at the ready which show you were able to grow and adapt your skills. During the interview, nonchalantly but also very consciously make it a point to bring up one or two of these examples to demonstrate you not only talk the talk by saying you expand your skills, you walk the walk.