How to List Programming Skills on a Resume

Deciding the best layout for your programmer resume skills section can be influential for accurately displaying your qualifications to an employer. By enlisting helpful tips, you can discover the most effective format method that enhances your professionalism as a programmer.

In this article, we review why it is important to know how to list your programming skills on your resume as well as a step-by-step guide, templates and examples to help you create a professional programmer skills section.

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Programming skills are important to your resume because they demonstrate your technical skill level within your field. They are different from soft (interpersonal) skills, such as being detail-oriented or a great communicator. Programming skills help demonstrate the relevancy of your qualifications to a specific job position and can be a deciding factor in whether or not an employer chooses to contact you.

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There are several factors you need to consider before you can successfully list programming skills on your resume. Apply these steps to your own resume-writing process:

The first step in deciding how you should list your programming skills on your resume is to review the original job posting for the position in which you plan on applying. Use the job description to highlight specific skills and review the experience levels that are necessary to complete the job efficiently.

After reviewing the job posting, compare how your current programming skills and level of experience relate to what the employer is asking for. If the description in the job posting does not reflect your qualifications, consider other skill areas that you could use to present yourself as a reliable candidate for the position.

You want to make sure that you are being honest with yourself and the employer to whom you are sending your resume. Make sure not to exaggerate your skill level or include programming languages that you are not familiar with.

This could be present a misrepresentation of you as a candidate. If your qualifications do not match those of the job description, consider pursuing opportunities that better suit all you have to offer.

You should place your skills section at the top of your resume so that employers can immediately review your qualifications and mark you as a good candidate to pursue.

Place your programming skills directly under your header and contact details if you do not wish to include an objective statement or summary section. Place your programming skills directly below your objective statement or summary if you do choose to include one.

By organizing your most advanced skills before those that you consider intermediate or beginner level, you can potentially encourage an employer to continue reading your resume. If they are in the process of skimming through candidate resumes, having not only the required programming skills but also desired skill levels in those areas could determine whether or not they contact you for an interview.

Instead of simply listing your programming skills in an unordered, bulleted format, consider separating them depending on whether they are considered a programming language, tool or operating system. This can demonstrate your organizational skills while also clearly outlining your skill set to an employer.

This might be a good option for a programmer with experience working in the industry. If you are an entry-level programmer looking to apply for an entry-level position, listing that you have seven years of experience working with HTML might not seem realistic to an employer.

Concerning the above point, be sure to tailor your skills section to fit your current programming skills, experience level and the job position to which you are applying. As long as you consider these three elements, you can format your qualifications in a way that could enhance your employability.

Related: How to List Certifications on a Resume

Here are a few components that are helpful to include when creating your programming skills section on your resume:

Here are three templates and examples to use as a guide for your own programming skills section. Be sure to adjust these examples and the template options to fit your needs:

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