When you’re a computer science student looking for an internship or your first full-time role as a developer, understanding what is a resume, deciding what to include in a good resume ,and how to format it correctly can be challenging.
We analyzed countless computer science resumes and chose the top 17 examples to help you get started. No matter if you’re looking for your first real-world coding job or are a seasoned campaigner, we have a computer science cover letter and resume designed to match where you’re at in your career.
The hardest part of resume writing is figuring out how to do a resume. Our resume tips, resume maker, and free Word resume templates have helped developers get interviews at companies like Facebook and Microsoft, so they’re a great place to start.
Embellish the bullet points
- Don’t fall into the trap of writing unquantified work experience bullet points. Including numbers show potential employers the tangible effects of your work.
- Whether it be identifying problems in a system, building solutions, deploying applications, or automating monotonous tasks, include metrics wherever possible.
- For example, instead of writing “Developed machine learning models to solve business problems,” say, “Developed 3 machine learning models to solve recurring business problems, which helped the company save $4,945+ every year.
Impress with resume format
- Past software development experience and programming skills aren’t the only things modern employers want to see. If you throw a wall of text at them, chances are, you won’t make the cut.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with resume templates and see which design best fits your profile. However, as a thumb rule, avoid using ones that create a clustered mess.
- As long as you check your resume and make sure that all your tech-based experience, skills, and computer science degree(s) are readable with a hint of warm colors, you’re good to go.
Outline career progress
- As you keep developing technical solutions over time, it’s only natural to grow in your role and get promoted. Hence, let employers know that you mean business by outlining your impressive career growth.
- Be smart and choose the reverse chronological resume format. You’ll have your latest experience at the top and oldest at the bottom.
- Worked various jobs? Cherry pick the three best ones that prove your ability to build apps, test new programs pre-release, troubleshoot systems, and overall be a great tech person to work with.
Flaunt your certificates
- Here’s a pro resume tip to show hiring managers that you’re a tech expert: List down credible certificates.
- IT is a vast field so you’re better off including certificates for programming languages and software that the job requires.
- For instance, if you’re applying to be a software developer where proficiency in Python is a must then add a Certified Associate in Python Programming achievement. Similarly, for a software engineer job that requires expertise in C/C++, try including something like the CPA – C++ Certified Associate Programmer certificate.
Craft a career objective
- A career or resume objective is a welcome addition to any computer science resume. However, you should know how to use it correctly.
- Make the most of your career objective to outline your motivation, ambition, technical skills, and future goals at a new company.
- Try taking inspiration from this: “Recent graduate with high proficiency in Python, Java, AWS, and Rust aiming to join XYZ company and develop innovative digital solutions.”
Splurge on skills
- A degree in computer science is an avenue to a myriad of jobs. The catch? You must be well-versed with different programming languages, deployment tools, and data structures.
- Now, you don’t need to learn every programming language that exists, but having widely used ones like Python, JavaScript, C/C++, and SQL on your skill set will help.
- Also, it’s a good idea to categorize skills as languages, frameworks, database management tools, etc to stay organized.
Stick to the job description
- Instead of being among the list of generic candidates, make sure that you thoroughly go through the job description and check your resume to find areas for improvement.
- Look at all the skills and experience the company is asking for. Got extra programming languages in your skill section that aren’t relevant? Take them out.
- Does the job demand a minimum timeframe of experience at a specific responsibility like building Java-based applications? Include all previous jobs where you’ve used Java to create applications.
Leverage action words
- Want to show potential employers your technical prowess from the get-go? Make a habit of using strong action words at the start of each bullet point.
- When it comes to a computer science resume, leveraging words like Deployed, Built, Leveraged, Developed, Led, and Released show your proactivity to take charge of daily job responsibilities.
- Ditch those generic sentence beginnings and personal pronouns like “I was responsible for using Java.” Instead, try something like “Built applications on Java” or “Leveraged Java frameworks for unit testing.”
Define your skills
- While companies may find real-life work experience more appealing, you can leverage university projects if you’ve only stepped into the IT industry.
- Remember, if you’re adding projects then mention all programming languages or software you used and what problem it solved. If you’ve led a team project, talk about your leadership. If not, detail your contributions as a member which align with the job responsibilities.
- Use points like “Led a team of 9 to create a Python web scraper that helped teachers extract information from the internet 34 minutes quicker.”
Amplifying your achievements
- For an employer who’s already dealing with a busy day, sending a generic resume is not even an option.
- If you’re looking to score in-demand jobs like software engineer or data scientist, then focus on achievements more than your daily duties. These can include bringing out financial impacts using technology or automating tasks to save time.
- Here’s an example: “Used AWS for building 3 Android applications which helped the company expand its consumer base by 28%.
Use ready-made template
- A computer science resume can include a lot of things such as project/work experience, skills, personal hobbies (if needed), and profile details.
- Instead of compromising your career details to fit a specific design, use a resume template that provides enough space to add your tech-based roles, programming skills, and any software certifications.
- Using a smart resume builder will let you edit/arrange any sections, change the font size/family, and add various colors.
Understand the company
- Before applying for your next job, take a good look at the company you’re applying to. Do they follow strict corporate culture practices? Or are they lenient and more informal?
- For instance, if your to-be company has an office in another state than yours and requires tech employees to travel and use their in-office devices/setup then mention that you’re willing to relocate in the location section.
- It’s fine to include additional data like your hobbies if they’re allowed but keep things formal and to the point for the serious ones.
Adding context
- When you apply for a job that requires expertise in certain skills like Python for data extraction or Jenkins (Java) for automated testing, don’t just add them to your skills section and play the guessing game with employers.
- Talk about how you’ve used them in real-life scenarios. For example, try mentioning how many web scrapers or ETL pipelines you built with Python and its impact on the business.
- Similarly, talk about using soft skills like communication or teamwork in a project where you worked with cross-functional teams.
Let education speak
- We know, tech-based employers are very welcoming to self-taught professionals who can deliver results. But that doesn’t mean they’ll always prefer them over those who’ve studied computer science in a conventional classroom.
- If you’re applying for a role where minimum education qualification is a requirement, use a resume builder to place your education section on the left/right side of your resume towards the top.
- Have extra space? Try adding in relevant or specialized courses like Data Structures, Software Engineering, and Machine Learning.
Talk about your competencies
- Not all tech jobs are strictly related to developing applications or extracting insights from raw datasets. If your next potential job is a fusion between computer science and another field, then be smart with your resume’s skill set.
- Roles such as a computer science teacher require the skills of a programmer and teacher, so maintain a fine balance between your abilities to act as both.
- You can include the programming languages you’re a pro at while listing teaching skills like communication, patience, and differentiated instruction.
Going ATS-friendly
- A large pool of companies uses an application tracking system (ATS) that can completely dismiss your application if you don’t speak its language.
- To make your resume ATS-friendly, include all keywords from the job description such as proficiency in Rust or Certified Entry-level Python Programmer certificate. Ensure these are all on your resume at the right places.
- Also, steer clear from including add-ons like pie charts, graphs, or acronyms.
Justify work gaps
- You may not be hired by a tech company every month and that’s fine. Whether they were planned or unplanned, be completely honest about your resume gaps.
- For planned breaks, include what you achieved during this time. Was it a new programming skill? Personal software development project? Or maybe a new computer course certificate? Make sure these are clearly labeled with dates.
- If your unplanned break lasted only a few months then you can be sneaky and not mention the month, but year of employment in each work experience.
Related resume guides
Writing Your Computer Science Resume
Early in your computer science career, you must keep your resume to one page. As such, real estate on your resume is valuable. You should only include a resume objective if it adds value and increases your chances of getting an interview.
So, what is a resume objective for a computer science student? It’s a statement that succinctly states your skills, what you’re looking for in the job you’re applying for, and how you’ll add value in that role.
That sounds like a lot, but it’s not that bad in practice. You should keep it to two to three sentences and customize it to each role for which you apply. Here are a couple of examples from the resumes above:
- “I’m looking for an internship where I can utilize my experience with natural language processing and building web apps for non-technical users to further the mission of Coursera in democratizing education across the world.”
- “Industrious recent computer science graduate with a zeal for innovation. Seeking a position at Sikka Software, where the strategic focus on delighting users aligns with my creativity and desire to enhance social events through technology.”
Alternatively, if you’ve built some valuable experience, you may want to consider a resume summary statement. Only include one if you can successfully and specifically highlight your greatest career accomplishments.
When you’re looking for a computer science internship or your first full-time role as a developer, projects are a must-have on your resume.
These can either be projects you completed as part of a class or something you went out and built on your own. Projects are the best way to show a potential employer that you can take what you learned in class and apply it to the real world.
More than that, they’re a great way to demonstrate your interest in coding outside of your classwork. In your projects, mention exactly what you built and the languages/ libraries you used. Here are some examples:
Social media scheduler
- Built a responsive web app using Django and Node that allowed users to schedule social media posts across Instagram and Twitter
- Utilized the Twitter API and Instagram API
- Built features using scikit-learn in Python that learned what time of day maximized engagement with social media posts which increased the overall user engagement rate by 15%
- Released app for free for University of Pittsburgh students, and it quickly grew to over 500 monthly active users
- Used: Javascript, Python, SQL, HTML/CSS
Poker simulation
- Built a full-stack web app to allow users to simulate and visualize outcomes of poker hands against opponents of different play styles using open-source cards.js on the front-end
- Utilized sci-kit learn in Python to simulate possible outcomes under different scenarios that the users chose
- Used: Javascript, Python, SQL, HTML/CSS
