Craft a targeted resume that will get past the ATS and impress a hiring manager.
It's job-searching time, and dead-set on landing a Senior Software Developer role. The first thing you have to do is get your resume ready.
That's easy! You read a Senior Software Developer job description.
The short version is that you'll analyze the company's needs to build software that solves problems. The Senior part involves leading teams through software development projects, which means you'll need a balanced mix of hard and soft skills. All of which you'll find detailed in the Senior Software Developer job description.
In order to ensure your professional resume will support your goals, use this Senior Software Developer job description to inform what you should highlight on your resume.
By reviewing job description examples, you'll be able to identify what technical and soft skills, credentials, and work experience matter most to an employer in your target field.
Determine and identify high-level functional and technical requirements on the basis of interactions with the user community and knowledge of enterprise architecture. Design architectures, including the software, hardware and communications, to support the total requirements, as well as to provide for present and future cross-functional requirements and interfaces.
Interact with project management to plan project schedules and technical direction. Provide quality assurance review and the evaluation of existing and new software products. Develop high-level system design diagrams for program design, coding, testing, debugging and documentation. Develop and implement moderate to complex web applications on one or more platforms.
The first thing your resume goes through after you submit it to a job opening is the applicant tracking system. (Just a note: Some companies can pull a resume from an email directed at a person to run the resume through the ATS, too.) Because the resume is being scanned by a computer system before it gets to a human being, keywords have to become your best friend.
Using the Senior Software Developer job description to extract keywords and phrases to include on your resume ensures that you'll get past the ATS. This is called 'tailoring your resume' to the job.
The boring part is that you want to use the language exactly as it appears in the job description so that the ATS will recognize that you possess the right skills and proficiencies.
To give you a jump start on dissecting ATS-friendly keywords and phrases from the Software Developer job description, here is a list that you can use.
Most of these, and probably others, will be easily found in almost all Senior Software Developer job descriptions. They may be worded differently though. For example, 'analytical thinking' may be coined 'critical thinking.' When you use the phrase 'critical thinking' in your resume, you're tailoring it to the job at hand.
By aligning your resume with the specific responsibilities and requirements of the job description, you can effectively demonstrate that you are a strong candidate for the position.
If you refer to the sample job description in this article, you'll find that there are several responsibilities and qualifications that need to make it onto your new resume:
The keywords from these bullets would be:
By using these keywords in your resume, you align your qualifications and experiences with the job description, making it more likely to catch the attention of hiring managers and pass through ATS.
As you are probably aware, your resume will have a particular structure with information from your career broken into sections:
Technically speaking, you can weave keywords from the Senior Software Developer job description anywhere in your resume if they make sense. A lot of people will make the mistake of cramming a bunch of keywords into the skills section (a/k/a Core Competencies) and calling it a day. This is a mistake.
Instead, you need to integrate them naturally into various sections. Here's how you can incorporate the keywords in a structured manner:
Create a headline that includes relevant keywords to quickly convey your qualifications.
Senior Software Developer with Expertise in Project Management, Quality Assurance, and Complex Web Applications
Use the profile paragraph to provide a concise summary of your experience and skills, incorporating key terms.
Seasoned Senior Software Developer with over 10 years of experience in interacting with project management for scheduling and technical direction, conducting quality assurance reviews of software products, and developing high-level system design diagrams. Proven track record of implementing complex web applications on multiple platforms. Adept at mentoring junior developers and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, scalable software solutions.
List your core skills and competencies using keywords from the job description.
Detail your professional experience, making sure to quantify achievements using relevant keywords. This will help you stand out from even the largest crowd of rival job seekers.
Example:
Senior Software Developer at XYZ Corp January 2016 – Present
You can even use relevant keywords in your education section, especially if you have pertinent certifications.
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science University of Technology
Certifications:
By strategically incorporating keywords throughout your resume, you ensure that your qualifications are clearly aligned with the job description, improving your chances of catching the attention of hiring managers and passing through ATS filters.
The key to a successful job search is tailoring your resume to reflect the specific roles and duties outlined in the Senior Software Developer job description. By doing so, you increase your chances of not only passing the ATS but also capturing the interest of hiring managers, ultimately moving one step closer to securing your desired role.
Want to make sure your resume makes the cut? TopResume will review it against Senior Software Developer job descriptions for you for free. Not only do you get the free resume review, but you'll also get expert feedback from a pro resume writer.
