How to write a professional back-end developer resume?

A back-end developer resume should be cleanly designed, it needs to fit on one page, and should focus mainly on your key career accomplishments, technical skills, personal programming projects and programming courses and certificates.

We bring you 4 tips to help you write a back-end developer resume that will prove you’re an exceptional fit for any web development team.

Amazon Software Development Engineer Resume Sample

Hired by

IBM Software Engineer Resume Example

Hired by

Software Engineer Resume Sample (Hired)

Hired by

Oh and also, if you don't feel like reading and prefer watching a YT video instead, check out the front-end resume guide below. Sure, it's not aimed specifically at back-end developers but most of the points it makes can be applied to your back-end developer resume too. 

1. Elevate your back-end developer resume with a stellar summary

Imagine hiring managers sifting through countless resumes, seeking that perfect back-end developer. In a matter of seconds, they decide which resumes to dig deeper into.

This is where your resume summary becomes your secret weapon. It acts as a concise introduction, showcasing your key technical skills, experience, and accomplishments. With a captivating summary, you instantly pique their interest and distinguish yourself from the competition.

2. Highlight your back-end development skills

As a back-end developer, you rely on specific technical skills to perform your job. Because of this, hiring managers pay a lot of attention to the skills section of your resume — making it very important to focus on this section and add skills that align with what they’re searching for.

You can do so by researching the job description and tailoring your resume around the specific programming languages, systems, and programs they’re searching for in a candidate.

Here are some examples of the technical skills — also known as hard skills — that you can usually find in back-end developer resumes.

Apart from hard-skills, soft skills can also benefit your back-end developer CV.

However, don’t list every single technology you’ve ever touched. Only add skills you know in-depth and that you’re comfortable discussing in an interview.

Ideally, your skills section should be also relevant to the job you’re targeting. But if you feel it’s important to also list some other technologies, you can divide your skills section into “Key skills” and “Other technologies”.

Find out your resume score!

Our AI Resume checker can scan your resume for issues and give you tips on how you can improve it.

Get my resume score

3. Create a custom resume section for side programming projects

Naturally, your resume should include standard resume sections like resume summary, work experience, education and skills. But if you want to get noticed, you need to give hiring managers something extra.

Adding personal projects to your CV can help you do just that, plus it will make you a more qualified job candidate. Some even say this section is a must-have for people looking for a back-end developer position.

By the way, if you're bound by an NDA and cannot really talk about your past projects, there's still a way to include those projects in your resume. Our resume vs non-disclosure agreement guide can help.

Anyway, what else can you include in a section like that? It can be a blog, a mobile app, or a personal website — really anything programming-related that you create by yourself and in your own time. It will show the hiring manager your passion for programming — and hiring managers love that!

Besides that, it also shows off your skills as a programmer.

Just create a separate section called “Side projects” or “Personal projects” and include the name of each project, a short description, what tools and tech you used, and add the respective links.

Junior Software Developer CV Sample

Hired by

IBM Software Engineer Resume Sample

Hired by

Lead Devops Engineer Resume Sample

Hired by

4. Include your back-end developer related courses and certificates

This section is a great place to let the hiring manager know you’re someone who likes to stay up to date with new softwares and programs.

Jot down relevant courses and new cloud-based certificates either in the education section or in a separate section called “Courses & Certificates” (if you have more of them).

List your certificates in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent one. Don’t forget to include:

• Name of the certification
• Authority
• URL or code
• Any relevant dates

5. Link your GitHub

GitHub is very similar to LinkedIn for technical roles — meaning most of the hiring managers will either look it up or ask for it anyway.

Just think of it as the portfolio of your code.

Apart from getting noticed and showing off your programming skills, a GitHub profile is a great way to show off attributes that simply cannot be conveyed through your resume. For instance, it shows you know how to write a clean code, that you can read code, or that you have great collaboration skills.

And how to include GitHub on your resume? Simply put a link to your best GitHub project at the very top of your resume, right next to your contact details.

However, only put GitHub on your resume if you deem it as your advantage.