How do I start a resume?

Write your contact header, then your most recent and relevant experience or projects as bullets with action, stack and result. Add skills and education, then edit down to one page.

How can I make my resume stand out?

Specific results with numbers, the technologies named in each bullet, a link to work a reviewer can see, and a top third tailored to the job.

Should I put references on my resume?

No. Employers ask for references later in the process. Use the space for your work.

Should I include a photo on my resume?

Not in the US, UK or Canada. Some countries still expect one, so follow local norms where you're applying.

Resume questions software engineers ask, answered

By Mubeen Jawed, founder of ResumeForDev · Updated November 7, 2026

Short answer

This page answers the resume questions developers ask most, in a sentence or two each. The short version: a resume is a one-page summary tailored to a job (a CV is a longer full history, or simply the word for a resume outside the US); start with your header and your most recent, most relevant work; make it stand out with specific results and the stack you used; and leave off photos, references and anything you can't discuss in an interview.

Key points

Resume: one page, tailored. CV: a full record, or the non-US word for a resume.
Start with your contact header and links, then your strongest section.
Specific results stand out more than design.
No photo, no “references available on request”, no skill-level bars.

Basics

What is a resume?

A resume is a short document, usually one page, that summarises your work, projects, skills and education for a specific job. For developers it's a skim document: a recruiter spends under a minute deciding whether to read further.

What is the difference between a CV and a resume?

In the US and Canada, a resume is a one or two page summary tailored to a job, and a CV (curriculum vitae) is a longer, complete record used in academia and research. In the UK, Ireland, India, Australia and much of Europe, “CV” is simply the normal word for what Americans call a resume. For a software engineering job anywhere, send a one-page technical resume, whatever it's called.

How do I start writing a resume?

List everything first, in rough notes: jobs, projects, tools, results, numbers.
Pick the job title you're targeting and keep only what supports it.
Write your header: name, email, phone, city, LinkedIn, GitHub or portfolio.
Write bullets for your most recent role or project, each with action, stack and result.
Add skills, education and the rest, then cut to one page.

The full walkthrough is in how to write a software engineer resume.

How do I make my resume stand out?

With specifics, not design. A bullet like “Cut API p99 latency from 900ms to 180ms by adding Redis caching for 40k daily users” stands out against a stack of “worked on backend services”. Add a link a reviewer can click (a live project or a clean repo), keep it to one page, and tailor the top third to the job. More in resume bullet points for software engineers.

What to include and leave off

Common resume inclusion questions for developers
Question	Short answer
Photo?	No, in the US, UK and Canada. Some countries expect one; follow local norms.
References?	No. Leave off “references available on request” too; it's assumed.
GPA?	Only if it's 3.5+ and you graduated in the last two or three years.
Objective?	Usually no. A short summary is better when you need one.
Full street address?	No. City and country (or state) is enough.
Hobbies?	Only if they're relevant or memorable, and only if there's room.
Skill-level bars or stars?	No. They're meaningless to a reviewer and don't parse well.
Every job you've had?	No. Keep what's relevant; older unrelated jobs can be one line or cut.

Format and length

How many pages? One page for most engineers; two for 10+ years. See how long a resume should be.
Which format? Reverse chronological, single column. See the best resume format for software engineers.
PDF or Word? A text-based PDF unless the application asks for Word.
Template? A plain single-column one, such as Jake's resume template.
Does it need to pass an ATS? It needs to parse cleanly. See ATS-friendly resumes for developers.

Writing it

How many bullets per job? Three to five for recent roles, one to two for older ones.
First person? No “I”. Start each bullet with a verb: “Built”, “Cut”, “Led”.
Tense? Present tense for your current job, past tense for everything else.
No metrics? Use scale, frequency, before-and-after or honest estimates. See how to quantify a resume.
Should I use ChatGPT? For rewording your own facts, yes, with care. See ChatGPT resume prompts.

If you'd rather answer questions than format a document, ResumeForDev asks you about your work one question at a time, writes the resume from your answers, and lays it out on one page. The first resume is free.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a CV and a resume?: In the US and Canada, a resume is a one or two page tailored summary and a CV is a full academic record. In the UK, India, Australia and Europe, CV usually just means resume.
How do I start a resume?: Write your contact header, then your most recent and relevant experience or projects as bullets with action, stack and result. Add skills and education, then edit down to one page.
How can I make my resume stand out?: Specific results with numbers, the technologies named in each bullet, a link to work a reviewer can see, and a top third tailored to the job.
Should I put references on my resume?: No. Employers ask for references later in the process. Use the space for your work.
Should I include a photo on my resume?: Not in the US, UK or Canada. Some countries still expect one, so follow local norms where you're applying.