In the software engineering field, employers give substantial weightage to technical skills. Do not just mention programming languages or software you've worked with, but also explain how you've used them to create, debug or enhance software. If you've worked on any projects during your studies or personal time, make sure to include them as well.

Employers value real-world experience and problem-solving abilities. Even if you acquired your skills outside of a professional setting, it's worth including if it's relevant to the role. This could make you stand out among other entry-level applicants.

Even though technical prowess is important for an entry level software engineer, don't neglect your soft skills. Employers highly regard professionals who show strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. These are essential for working effectively within a team and making sure projects are carried out successfully.

In your resume, give examples where you collaborated with others, led a project, or innovated a solution to a problem. These will provide concrete examples of your soft skills in action.

Make your resume fit the job you want. Show how your skills and experiences make you a good fit for an entry-level software engineer role. Tell us how you solve problems, learn fast, and work with others.

• Point out the projects you have done with Java or Python. Tell us how these helped you learn or helped a team.
• Show how you have worked with others. Mention times when you helped your team meet a goal.
• If you're new to software engineering, talk about other work where you used tech skills. Maybe you made a website or helped with a database. Tell us how this can help you in a tech job.

When you're trying to land a job as an entry level software engineer, it's essential to show potential employers that you are active and effective. To do this, use strong action verbs at the beginning of your bullet points to describe your responsibilities and achievements.

These verbs help you make a strong impression by demonstrating your skills and experiences in a clear and concise way. They also help your resume stand out in a sea of applicants who will often use common and less impactful verbs.

• To demonstrate your coding skills, consider verbs like developed, engineered, programmed, implemented, or crafted.
• For problem-solving achievements, use verbs such as troubleshooted, resolved, refined, optimized, or restructured.
• To show your ability to work with a team, use collaborated, coordinated, partnered, contributed, or supported.
• When discussing projects you've managed, use led, directed, organized, oversaw, or facilitated.
• For your ability to innovate and create, choose verbs like invented, designed, originated, pioneered, or formulated.

Want inspiration for other action verbs you can use? Check out synonyms to commonly used action verbs like Ran, Supported, Complete, Managed, Produced.

When crafting your resume, you'll want to show off your technical skills. These are the tools and languages that you'll use on the job every day. Here is a list of skills highly relevant to entry-level software engineering:

• Java
• Python
• C++
• SQL
• JavaScript
• HTML/CSS
• Git
• Linux
• RESTful APIs
• Agile methodology

You don't need to know every skill listed. Choose those that match the job you want. For example, if you aim to work in web development, focus on JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and RESTful APIs. Place these skills in a dedicated section on your resume to help you get past applicant tracking systems (ATS), which many companies use to filter candidates based on key terms.

Remember, show how you've used these skills in projects or during your education. This can be under work experience, projects, or in your education section. If you've contributed to open-source projects or have a strong portfolio, make sure to include these as they can be great practical evidence of your skills.

When you apply for a job as an entry level software engineer, showing any leadership roles or promotions can make a good impression. Even if you're just starting out, you might have experience that shows you can lead or take on more responsibility.

• If you were a project lead in a school project, list this role and describe the project's success.
• Include any intern positions where you had to manage tasks or help new interns.

Think about times you went beyond your role. Did you help your team finish a project? Did you find a bug and fix it? These show leadership. Use simple phrases to describe these moments like:

• 'Led a team of classmates to develop a mobile app, resulting in an A grade.'
• 'Promoted to senior intern for outstanding performance, overseeing code reviews.'

When you write your resume, showing the impact of your work with numbers can make a strong impression. Numbers help hiring managers see the real value you bring. Here are ways to think about your impact:

• Consider the size of the projects you worked on. Did you contribute to software that is used by thousands of people? Mention the number of users or transactions your work supported.
• Did your code improve efficiency? Perhaps you wrote a script that cut down on processing time. State how much time was saved, like reducing a task from 3 hours to 30 minutes.
• If you helped fix bugs or errors, estimate how many issues you resolved. You could say you helped decrease software errors by 20%.
• Think about any feature you developed or improved. If it led to an increase in user satisfaction or engagement, quantify it. For example, 'Enhanced feature X leading to a 15% rise in user engagement.'

Remember, even if you're not sure of the exact number, an educated estimate is better than no number at all. Just be ready to explain how you came up with your figures during an interview.

When applying to small companies or startups in software engineering, focus on showing your flexibility and ability to take on various tasks. Highlight any experience with multiple programming languages or roles you have taken on in projects.

Include phrases like “adaptable to different coding environments” or “experience in multiple stages of software development” to show your versatility. Mention specific tools or platforms like GitHub or Bitbucket if you’ve used them in collaborative projects.