Format: The Non-Negotiables
Keep your resume to one page until you have 5+ years of experience. Use a clean, single-column format with no graphics, tables, or multiple columns — ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) parse these poorly and your resume may become garbled before a human sees it. Use a standard font (not Inter or Arial — try Garamond, Cambria, or Georgia for a professional look), 10.5–12pt body text, and consistent margins. Export as PDF.
Your header should include: your full name (large, at top), your city and state (no full address needed), phone number, email, LinkedIn URL, GitHub URL, and portfolio website URL. That's it. No photo, no age, no marital status.
Section Order That Works
For developers with less than 2 years of experience: Summary → Skills → Projects → Work Experience (if any) → Education. The projects section comes before work experience because your projects ARE your experience at this stage.
For developers with 2+ years: Summary → Work Experience → Skills → Projects → Education.
Writing Bullet Points That Stand Out
Every work experience or project bullet should follow this formula: Action Verb + What You Did + Measurable Result. Quantify everything you can.
❌ Weak: "Built a React application for the company"
✅ Strong: "Built a React + Node.js inventory management system that reduced stock discrepancy reports by 40%"
❌ Weak: "Worked on the API"
✅ Strong: "Designed and implemented a RESTful API handling 10,000+ daily requests, with JWT authentication and PostgreSQL database"
❌ Weak: "Improved website performance"
✅ Strong: "Optimized Lighthouse performance score from 52 to 91 by implementing lazy loading, image compression, and code splitting"The Skills Section
List technologies in categories, not as a wall of text. Include the level (proficient vs familiar) if the gap is significant. Don't list things you'd be uncomfortable answering questions about in an interview.
Technical Skills
Languages: JavaScript (ES6+), TypeScript, SQL, HTML5, CSS3
Frontend: React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, React Native
Backend: Node.js, Express.js, REST APIs
Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Prisma ORM
Tools: Git, GitHub, Docker (basic), Postman, VS Code, Vercel, Netlify