Software Engineer CV — The Complete Guide

Header

• Full name, city/country, email, phone (optional), time zone
• Links: GitHub, LinkedIn, portfolio
• Optional: Visa/work authorization note for relocation roles

Professional Summary

A 2–3 sentence snapshot tailored to the role. Emphasize years of experience, domains, and your differentiator (performance, UX, data, etc.).

Skills (Grouped & Curated)

Languages: TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust
Frontend: React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS
Backend: Node.js (Express, NestJS), GraphQL
Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB
Cloud & DevOps: AWS (ECS, Lambda, S3, RDS), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform
Testing: Jest, Vitest, Playwright
Observability: OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana

• Prioritize depth over breadth; avoid laundry lists.
• Mirror terminology in the job description for ATS alignment.
• Update regularly; remove stale tech you won’t use again.

Experience (Impact Tasks)

Use the formula: Action + What + Impact.

• Optimized Postgres queries and introduced Redis caching, reducing P95 latency by 42%.
• Led migration to microservices on ECS with canary deploys, cutting incidents by 35%.
• Implemented GitHub Actions CI/CD, reducing release time by 60%.

Projects (Show, Don’t Tell)

• Link GitHub repos, live demos, and concise READMEs.
• Explain the problem, constraints, and your design choices.
• Highlight tests, CI, and performance benchmarks.

import express from "express";
import rateLimit from "express-rate-limit";
const app = express();

app.use(rateLimit({ windowMs: 60_000, max: 300 }));
app.get("/health", (_req, res) => res.json({ ok: true }));

app.listen(3000, () => console.log("API running on 3000"));

GitHub Actions (CI/CD)

name: ci
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  build-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run build --if-present
      - run: npm test -- --ci

Dockerfile (Node)

FROM node:20-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --omit=dev

FROM node:20-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

SQL (Performance)

-- Avoid SELECT *
EXPLAIN ANALYZE
SELECT id, email, last_login
FROM users
WHERE last_login > NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days'
AND status = 'active'
ORDER BY last_login DESC
LIMIT 100;

Rust (Fast Text Replacement)

let rendered = template
  .replace("{first_name}", first_name)
  .replace("{last_name}", last_name)
  .replace("{color}", color); // replaces ALL occurrences