Back-End Developer Resume: Templates, Examples & Essential Skills

Most websites and mobile apps users will only pay attention to the user interfaces that they interact with. Some of them may not know that all the features they can interact with can function properly because of the hard work of back-end developers. 

To help you ease your job-hunting process, this article will guide you on how to craft a good backend developer CV!

Recruiters are busy people, for the API developer resumes they receive, they can only spend a few seconds skimming through them before moving on to the next ones. For that reason, it’s best to keep an entry-level back-end developer resume or a junior backend developer resume short, preferably, 1-2 pages long.

However, if you have a senior backend developer resume or if you are applying for academic or research positions, your resume can go up to 3 pages long. 

You would want to ensure that the fonts that you settle on for your backend developer CV are readable to recruiters.

To ensure that your GraphQL resume is readable and easy on the eyes, a one-inch margin on all sides will balance out your content and the document’s remaining white space.

Spacing is important, too small of spacing and your backend engineer resume will look too packed, too big and it will take up a lot of unnecessary space.

A 1.15 spacing is ideal for a backend developer CV to give it extra room while still looking professional.

Generally, the most two common formats of backend developer resumes would be Word and PDF format. PDF format is much less volatile of the two formats, it will look the same in every device it is opened in. A backend developer CV in a Word format, on the other hand, might have its template shifted around due to the difference in the application version.

Thus, unless specifically asked, you should submit your API developer resume in PDF format.

After you’ve settled on the layouts that you want to use, it’s time to figure out the right format for your backend engineer resume.

There are 4 formats that you can use, they are:

• Chronological resume format
  List your work experiences in chronologically reverse order, starting with your current or latest work experience first, and work your way backward along your work history timeline. This format is a safe choice if you are unsure of which specific format to use because of how universally used it is. However, because it’s so general, it might not be able to highlight your specialty.
• Functional resume format
  In this format, your backend developer-related skills, qualifications, and achievements will be the highlight. Though it can be a risky format to use because of how focused it is on skills, it can work for entry-level backend developer resumes, student backend developer resumes, or backend developer CVs with gaps in between their careers.
• Combinational resume format
  As its name suggests, this format combines both chronological resume format with the functional resume format. In a combinational resume format, you highlight your relevant skills first and add your employment experience second in a reverse-chronological format.
• Targeted resume format
  A targeted resume format may be one of the most time-consuming resume formats to construct, as it requires you to tailor your backend engineer resume for every position you apply to. However, because of how tailored your backend developer CV is going to be, the results might be better and your resume will be more relevant to the job description.

A proper API developer resume will contain basic personal information and contact details so recruiters can reach out to you.

Here, you:

A resume headline, or a resume title, is a one-line summary of your resume. A resume title is usually placed on the very top of your backend developer CV, thus, it will be the very first thing that recruiters will see.

You want to make sure that you craft an intriguing and excellent resume title, as it can be the determining factor for recruiters to decide if they would want to read through your entire GraphQL resume.

After crafting your backend engineer resume title, you should elaborate more on it in your backend developer resume summary statement. Your backend developer resume summary should not only delve deeper into your resume title, but should also describe who you are, your experience, and your relevant and most valuable skills.

You don’t want your summary to take up a lot of valuable space, so ideally, it should be within one to two sentences long and be structured coherently.

Your skills as a backend developer are valuable because of how technical the job is; you want to make sure that this section is well-crafted to make yourself more attractive to recruiters.

To do this, there are four ways you can consider to list your skills in your backend engineer resume:

• Bullet lists
• Expanded bullet list
  The format is similar to bullet list except you get to go into more details about your skills.
• Integrated with work experience
  It's not suitable for an entry-level backend developer resume as it requires extensive work history as definitive proof of your skills.
• Categorized skills section
  It requires you to possess a wide array of skills, so also not very suitable for an entry-level backend developer resume.

Each format has its pros and cons, thus, its suitability will differ from candidate to candidate depending on their work experience and job context.

Experience is one of the most prominent sections of your backend developer CV, it is definitive proof of your skills and it’s able to give recruiters a clear hint of how well you’ll do in the position you’ve applied to.

To make this section easier to craft, there are three tips that you should keep in mind.

• Firstly, remember to tailor your experience to the backend developer job. Some experience may be irrelevant to the position you’ve applied to, it’s best to exclude these from your CV to save valuable space.
• Secondly, you should add quantifiable results to your backend developer resume. Results in numbers are more convincing and apparent than qualitative descriptions.
• Lastly, remember to use action verbs; strong action verbs can provide further information about you to recruiters and may increase your backend developer resume’s chances of being propelled ahead of other candidates.

Backend development is an occupation that requires you to possess a set of specialized and technical skills. In most instances, these skills are gained through formal education. 

Thus, your educational qualifications are essential to your API developer resume. 

The positioning of this section matters depending on your resume type. If you happen to have a student resume or an entry-level backend developer resume, it’s best to put your education section in front, right after your resume objective or backend developer resume summary to make up for your lack of experience.

Since your resume is a gateway between you and recruiters, you might want to consider adding an extra section to highlight your personal traits or achievements, such as:

• Volunteer work
• Hobbies and interests
  If your hobbies and interests (i.e., interested in mobile application development) aligns with the job context and/or the company, you can include them to further strengthen your resume standing.
• Certifications and awards
  Backend development-related certifications and awards (i.e., Adobe Certified Expert, AWS Certification, MCSA) can help instill further confidence in your skills in recruiters.
• Projects
  If you happen to have a portfolio of past projects that can further vouch for your skills, you may want to upload them to GitHub or other online platforms to show to recruiters.
  
• References
  If you happen to have previous related work experience before, you may consider asking your supervisors or managers to be your reference for the position you are applying to.

As your backend developer resume is limited in length (and therefore, details), you should include a backend developer cover letter to accompany your resume. A cover letter for your backend developer resume is a space for you to further convince recruiters by elaborating more about you, your motivation to apply, and relevant qualifications.

A proper cover letter should include your contact details as well and should be closed politely and properly, thanking the recruiters for their time.

A well-constructed backend developer resume is a crucial step in ensuring that you pass through the next stage of your job application process. A concrete understanding of the essence of a good resume (templates, formats, layout) can be helpful for you to make your resume as professional as possible.