Becoming A Software Engineer
The best time to begin creating a professional resume is when a person starts their education. While all resumes follow the same principle in form, the resumes for the technology, especially when creating a software engineering resume, can be quite different in the details. First of all, what should students look for to include in resumes, and second, how are technology resumes different than business or Liberal Arts resumes?
When students decide to declare a major in engineering, most of them attempt to work at least part time in a relevant field and in most cases these students started their informal education at a very early age. This means that if you are an 18 year old student trying to put together a resume for a part time job, they should include the fact that they might have been doing home computer repairs or creating applets and small programs from an early age. Since most students do not have a formal job history, this informal education and experience can at least stir an interest with prospective employers.
One of the most important things about technology resumes is sticking to the facts. Keep adjective use to a bare minimum. If you had a job at a computer repair company during high school, even an informal one, list it. There is no need however to insert irrelevant or obvious “facts” like, “the job was completely in a satisfactory manner”. The employee will be contacting the mentioned job and if you did the job well, the employer will see this. If you did not, and try to sell the idea that you did, you are unlikely to be hired.
Another important feature is balance. If you include things like bullet points, and try to hide a weakness hidden in the list, employers will pick up on this. Keep the entire resume as balanced as possible, leaving out weak points rather than trying to hide it in a mass of words.
One of the most important things to remember when you are creating a software engineer resume is that you will likely be starting at a smaller company and the person who reviews your resume probably be an engineer and programmer, instead of a Human Resources person. This means that the person who reviews your resume is an expert on examining details. Trying to hide weaknesses in details will demonstrate a propensity to do the same when you are designing an application and no company will hire someone who thinks in this manner.
© 2012 How To Become A Software Engineer