# Resume Writing > Developer resume writing guide including structure, experience description with STAR method, technical skills organization, and project description. Use when writing or reviewing a developer resume. - Skill: `iceflower/resume-writing` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add iceflower/resume-writing` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/iceflower/resume-writing/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - License: MIT - Author: iceflower (https://skillmd.com/u/iceflower) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/iceflower/resume-writing --- # Developer Resume Rules ## 1. Resume Structure ### Section Order | Section | Required | Purpose | | ------------------ | -------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Contact Info | Yes | Name, email, phone, GitHub, LinkedIn | | Summary | Yes | 2-3 sentence career overview | | Skills | Yes | Technical skill inventory | | Work Experience | Yes | Reverse chronological career history | | Projects | Optional | Notable side/open-source projects | | Education | Yes | Degree, institution, graduation year | | Certifications | Optional | Relevant professional certifications | ### Formatting Principles - Keep to 1-2 pages maximum — prioritize relevance over completeness - Use consistent formatting (fonts, spacing, bullet style) throughout - Left-align all content — avoid center-aligned body text - Use clear section headings with visual separation - Avoid tables, columns, or complex layouts that break ATS parsing - Save as PDF to preserve formatting across devices - File name format: `{Name}_Resume_{YYYY}.pdf` ### ATS (Applicant Tracking System) Compatibility - Use standard section headings (Experience, Skills, Education) - Avoid headers/footers for critical information - Do not embed text in images or graphics - Use standard fonts (sans-serif preferred) - Include keywords from the job description naturally in context --- ## 2. Experience Description ### STAR Method for Each Bullet Point | Element | Description | Example | | --------- | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- | | Situation | Context or problem background | Legacy monolith causing 30-min deploy cycles | | Task | Your specific responsibility | Led migration to microservice architecture | | Action | What you actually did | Decomposed into 12 domain services with event sourcing | | Result | Measurable outcome | Reduced deploy time to 5 min, 99.9% uptime achieved | ### Writing Rules - Start every bullet with a strong action verb (Designed, Implemented, Optimized, Led, Migrated) - Quantify results wherever possible (%, time saved, throughput, users, cost reduction) - Focus on impact and outcomes, not just tasks performed - Limit to 3-5 bullet points per role — prioritize most impactful contributions - Use past tense for previous roles, present tense for current role ### Action Verb Categories | Category | Verbs | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | Building | Designed, Developed, Implemented, Built, Created, Engineered | | Leading | Led, Managed, Coordinated, Mentored, Directed, Supervised | | Improving | Optimized, Refactored, Improved, Reduced, Streamlined, Enhanced | | Analyzing | Analyzed, Evaluated, Investigated, Diagnosed, Identified | | Delivering | Deployed, Delivered, Launched, Released, Shipped, Migrated | | Collaborating | Collaborated, Partnered, Facilitated, Contributed, Supported | ### Quantification Examples | Weak (task-focused) | Strong (impact-focused) | | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Wrote unit tests | Achieved 85% code coverage, reducing production bugs by 40% | | Managed database | Optimized slow queries, reducing P99 latency from 3s to 200ms | | Worked on API development | Designed RESTful APIs serving 50K+ daily active users | | Participated in code reviews | Reviewed 200+ PRs, establishing team coding standards | | Helped with deployment | Automated CI/CD pipeline, reducing deploy time from 2h to 15min | --- ## 3. Technical Skills Organization ### Skill Categorization | Category | Examples | | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | Languages | Kotlin, Java, TypeScript, Python | | Frameworks | Spring Boot, React, FastAPI | | Databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB | | Infrastructure | Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS/GCP | | CI/CD | GitHub Actions, Jenkins, ArgoCD | | Messaging | Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS | | Monitoring | Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry | | Tools | Git, IntelliJ IDEA, Jira, Confluence | ### Skill Presentation Rules - Group skills by category, not by proficiency level - List only skills you can discuss confidently in an interview - Prioritize skills mentioned in the target job description - Include version numbers only for major frameworks (e.g., Spring Boot 3.x) - Omit outdated or irrelevant skills (e.g., jQuery for a backend role) - Do not rate skills with stars, bars, or percentage — they are subjective and unhelpful ### Skill Relevance Filtering - **Always include**: Skills directly mentioned in the job posting - **Include if relevant**: Skills from the same ecosystem or complementary tools - **Omit**: Skills unrelated to the target role or tech stack --- ## 4. Project Description ### Project Entry Structure ```text Project Name | Role | Duration Brief description (1-2 sentences) - Technical decisions and rationale - Your specific contributions - Measurable outcomes or impact - Tech stack used ``` ### Project Description Rules - Lead with the business problem or goal, not the technology - Clearly distinguish your individual contribution from team effort - Highlight technical decision-making (why you chose X over Y) - Include scale indicators (users, data volume, request throughput) - Link to live demo, GitHub repo, or documentation when available ### What to Highlight in Projects | Aspect | Why It Matters | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | Problem definition | Shows you understand business context | | Architecture choice | Demonstrates technical judgment | | Trade-off analysis | Shows you evaluate alternatives, not just build | | Scale and impact | Provides concrete evidence of capability | | Lessons learned | Shows growth mindset and self-reflection | ### Project Selection Priority - Projects that align with the target role's tech stack - Projects where you made key architectural decisions - Projects with measurable business impact - Open-source contributions with community engagement - Side projects that demonstrate initiative and learning --- ## 5. Anti-Patterns - Listing every technology ever touched — curate for relevance - Copy-pasting job descriptions as experience bullets - Using vague phrases ("various tasks", "responsible for", "helped with") - Including personal information (age, photo, marital status, religion) - Lying or exaggerating — interviewers will probe claims in detail - Using the same resume for every application — tailor per role - Focusing on duties instead of achievements - Writing paragraphs instead of concise bullet points - Including references or "References available upon request" - Using first person pronouns (I, me, my) in bullet points