【Jobs in Japan for Foreigners】Resume Writing Tips for Software Engineers

When changing jobs, the resume you submit to companies will differ across job types. For example, applicants for a software engineering job will need to provide details on what parts of a project they were responsible for or what programming skills they possess. In this article, we will introduce how to create a resume for a software engineer position.

For those who would like more information on what a resume is, please refer to our other article: 【Jobs in Japan for Foreigners】Resume Writing Tips

1. Resume for software engineers
2. How to fill out a Resume for software engineers
   1. Date/Name
   2. Career Summary
   3. Work History
   4. Technical Skills
   5. Specialties and Experiences
   6. Computer Skills and Certifications
   7. Language Proficiency Levels
   8. Self-PR
3. What recruitment staff are looking at when hiring software engineers
   1. Does the applicant have development experience that can be used in projects at our company?
   2. Can I picture the applicant’s skills clearly?
   3. How has the applicant investigated or solved problems?
4. Summary

Resume for software engineers 

First, we will use a standard template (shown below) to explain how to write a resume for software engineers who are changing jobs.

① Date/Name

Write the date and your name in the upper right-hand corner of the document. The date should be the day you submit the document. Your name can be typed in English (as opposed to katakana).

② Career Summary

Write a summary of your work history, including information on what types of companies and departments you worked for and what job titles or responsibilities you held. This section should be about 200-250 characters. If you have a GitHub account or portfolio, adding the URL may also help sell yourself to the company.

③ Work History

Create a subsection for each company at which you were employed and write about your job roles and responsibilities. The order of companies should be chronological, beginning with the most recent company you worked for.

【Employment period】Write the period in which you were employed at the company using years and months.

【Company name】If the company is a foreign one, type its name in English (as opposed to katakana).

【Company description】Provide a brief description of basic company information.

【Number of employees】Write down the number of employees at the company to show the scale of its business.

【Department and Position】If applicable, also mention the number of subordinates you oversaw.

【Job Description】

Organize your content according to projects. If you were involved in multiple projects at a company, order these projects chronologically, beginning with the most recent one you worked on. Writing about these different projects will help showcase your skills and experiences.

Project length

Clearly state whether you were involved in a long-term project or multiple short-term projects.

Project name

Provide a name that gives a succinct summary of the project.

Project overview

Supply information on what kinds of projects you developed, including information on how, by whom, and for what occasion(s) the service is used. If the service is open to the general public, include the URL. Many recruiters may not have much programming knowledge so providing such means to help them picture the level of your technical skills will improve your resume.

Responsible Phases 

From top to bottom of the waterfall model, list which phases you were responsible for (e.g. requirements, system design, implementation, testing, etc.).

Job responsibilities

Specify the duties you were responsible for in bulleted form.

 

Achievements and Activities 

Write about what roles you played or what activities you were a part of within your projects. It will be easier for recruiters to picture how you work if you write about the results and affects your upgrades or developments had on the company’s business or the project’s service.

 

Development environment 

Mention the system requirements, programming languages, operating systems, databases, and tools you used.

 

Number of team members, Official titles held 

Write how many people were involved in the project and official job titles you held (if applicable).

 

④Technical Skills

For all the technical skills you have had experience with, write at what level and how long you have used each.

⑤Specialties and Experiences

Write down what industries you are familiar with and what technical skills you have. Also note what you specialize in. If you have business or management experience, it will be good to highlight this as well.

 

⑥Computer Skills and Certifications

Apart from the skills used in an engineering job, list other computer skills such as literacy in Excel. Also specify your software engineering certifications if you hold any.

⑦Language Proficiency Levels

List languages you can use in the workplace, explaining your proficiency in each using the following three categories: (1) native level, (2) business level, and (3) daily conversation level.

If you are not from an English-speaking country, write down your TOEIC and/or IELTS score. Furthermore, providing your JLPT level (e.g. N1, N2, etc.) will help recruitment staff more easily predict your Japanese language level.

⑦ Self-PR

Write about experiences and/or knowledge you have gained, especially those that pertain to experiences or track records that the company is looking for in candidates. The word count should be about 100-200 characters. If you would like to call attention to multiple points, split them into separate paragraphs or subsections.

What recruitment staff are looking at when hiring software engineers

1.Does the applicant have development experience that can be used in projects at our company?

As the development environments differ across companies, the skills and experiences each company looks for vary as well. For instance, a developer who managed a project with five members at their old company may struggle in using their experiences to manage a project with 20 members at their new job. It is best to specify your project experiences and skills in as much detail as possible to maximize your chances of being considered a fit. Additionally, if you are currently studying a programming language or framework, write this in your technical skills or self-PR section.

2.Can I picture the applicant’s skills clearly?

Many companies seek engineers who are work-ready and reference application documents to see what types of projects they can immediately assign to the applicant. For this reason, it will be easier for recruitment staff to assess your application if you highlight the skills you are good at rather than making a flat list of the skills you have. Furthermore, if your GitHub account or previous projects are public, mentioning the URL will make it easier for recruiters to picture your current skill levels and job responsibilities.

3.How has the applicant investigated or solved problems?

Recruitment staff may face difficulty in understanding an applicant’s technical thought process if the applicant only supplies a list of experiences. The recruiters are unable to see why an applicant assessed a situation in a certain way or why an applicant chose a particular course of action. In your job description, it is best to write what problems you faced, what sources of these problems you investigated, what solutions you implemented, and what results occurred. Small examples are fine to use—given that you provide a detailed explanation so that the recruitment staff can picture whether or not you can work at their company.

Summary

In this article, we introduced how to create a resume for software engineers. Take care to write down details such as the development environment or the number of members in a project, as adding these details is commonly forgotten by applicants with short-term project experience. Summarizing projects after completing them will be helpful when writing a future resume, so be sure to write down these overviews for each of your projects.

List of ways to look for jobs in Japan

• Recruitment Agency for Expats in Japan
• Job Board for Expats in Japan
• Search for jobs by occupation in Japan
• Search for jobs by industry in Japan

Job Hunting Guide for International Students

• Job Hunting Guide for International Students