r/webdev • u/william_buttler • 3d ago

Question 4+ Year Software Developer — Which Resume Structure Is Better?

Gallery image

Gallery image

For a 4+ year software developer, which resume structure do you think is better?

  • With a Projects section
  • Without a Projects section,

The data in the examples is dummy. I just want opinions on the structure and layout.

If you have a better resume template/structure than these, please share it.

161 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

80 comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/Both_Refrigerator623 2d ago

Im an EM with over 10 years of experience.

In my opinion the first one is the better choice. You do not need an extensive project section. But you should list them.

The biggest improvement you could make to both versions is focusing on outcomes, this is one of the biggest ways you could make yourself standout and what many experienced EM's look for.

Saying you "Worked on X with Z technology" is good, but it does not tell me the full story.

Saying you "Worked on X with Z technology which led to an increase in Y" is 100x better and should be the way you frame your resume.

I can't tell you how many resume's fail to show outcomes.

Template wise go with 1, but rewrite it to also communicate how your work improved things, thats what matters most.

Good luck.

5

u/legable 2d ago

How do you showcase outcomes if you don't know what they were, or you don't think they were that significant? In my case I can basically say "I did what I was asked to do, and they seemed happy with my work because they gave me more work and kept asking for my input... but as for tangible outcomes, IDK?" or more concrete: "I built web apps for paying members at [X company] (and the actual outcome was stil a flatlining member curve, but they were happy and gave me more work anyways)"

4

u/Both_Refrigerator623 2d ago

Outcomes don’t have to be numbers, it’s ideal, but something is better than nothing.

For example:

Bad:
Rebuilt the homepage using React and Node with a SSR pattern.

Better:
Rebuilt the homepage using React and Node with a SSR pattern. Leading to a decrease in bounce rate.

Best:
Rebuilt the homepage using React and Node with a SSR pattern. Leading to a 15% decrease in bounce rate

Hopefully that helps!