Web Developer (New Grad) Resume Example
Web developers reach professional level when they show production-ready code ownership measured by user scale, not academic task completion.
This resume is for entry-level software engineers who have completed multiple internships and contributed to production codebases, but aren't yet responsible for system architecture or leading full product cycles.
- Evidence of shipping code into production environments
- Proficiency with core engineering workflows like CI/CD and unit testing
- Ability to translate technical tasks into measurable business or team efficiency gains
- Education section placed at the top to anchor academic credentials
- Chronological internship history highlighting technical progression
- Project section showcasing specialized backend and cloud technologies
Ryan Taylor
Summary
Experience
- Engineered 4 REST API endpoints for the public workspace feature, supporting 12,000+ monthly active users.
- Optimized PostgreSQL query performance by 22% through strategic indexing and schema refactoring of the metadata service.
- Spearheaded the migration of 3 legacy UI components to a modern React-based architecture, reducing frontend technical debt.
- Directed a cross-functional initiative to improve error logging, decreasing average debugging time for the platform team by 15%.
- Developed a Python-based internal dashboard to track feature usage, used by 15 product managers to inform roadmap decisions.
- Refined the CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions, cutting build times by 18% and saving $3,200 in monthly compute costs.
- Launched a modular CSS-in-JS library for internal tooling, adopted by 2 engineering teams to ensure UI consistency.
- Created an automated unit testing suite for the merchant analytics portal, increasing code coverage from 65% to 82%.
- Streamlined data ingestion scripts in Python, reducing processing latency by 15% for real-time inventory updates.
- Resolved 14 high-priority frontend bugs reported by users, improving the overall stability of the shopper application.
Education
Skills
Python · JavaScript · TypeScript · SQL · Git · REST APIs · React · Node.js · Docker · AWS · PostgreSQL · Flask · HTML · CSS
Projects
Distributed Task Queue
Engineered a distributed task queue in Go using Redis for message persistence, capable of handling 1,500 concurrent jobs.
Go, Redis, Docker, Git
Real-time Analytics Dashboard
Built a real-time analytics dashboard that visualizes website traffic using AWS Lambda and React, reducing data latency by 15%.
React, AWS Lambda, Node.js, REST APIs
What makes this resume effective
- This resume meets the hiring bar for new-grad software engineer by demonstrating production-level feature ownership, optimization of existing services, and a commitment to engineering excellence through testing and CI/CD.
- Notice how Ryan Taylor highlights specific impact at Postman, such as building REST API endpoints that support over 12,000 monthly active users.
- See how the Grammarly entry quantifies efficiency by noting an 18% reduction in build times, proving an understanding of the cost and speed of development cycles.
How to write better bullet points
Helped fix bugs in the frontend application.
Resolved 14 high-priority frontend bugs reported by users, improving the overall stability of the Instacart shopper application.
It provides a specific quantity and ties the effort to a clear outcome of application stability.
Worked on the CI/CD pipeline to make it faster.
Refined the CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions, cutting build times by 18% and saving $3,200 in monthly compute costs.
It identifies the specific tool used and attaches a concrete financial and performance metric to the work.
Created an internal dashboard for product managers.
Developed a Python-based internal dashboard to track feature usage, used by 15 product managers to inform roadmap decisions.
It shows how the technical deliverable directly influenced business strategy and stakeholder decision-making.
Web Developer (New Grad) resume writing tips
- Quantify internship contributions by mentioning the number of users or services your code supported, like the 12,000 users at Postman.
- Highlight improvements to internal developer experience, like reducing build times by 18% at Grammarly or improving debugging time by 15%.
- Detail specific technologies used in projects to demonstrate hands-on experience with production-grade tools like Go, Redis, or AWS Lambda.
Common mistakes
- Listing course names instead of skills: Hiring managers care about what you can build, not just the classes you sat through; focus on technologies applied.
- Focusing on learning rather than doing: Phrases like 'learned about APIs' are weak; instead, describe the actual endpoints you built and their purpose.
- Vague project descriptions: Omitting the 'why' behind a project makes it look like a school assignment; explain the specific problem your project solved.
Frequently asked questions
Is this resume right for someone with only one internship? Yes, if you showcase deep, production-mimicking projects. Otherwise, expand your project section to demonstrate real-world engineering rigor.
Yes, if you showcase deep, production-mimicking projects. Otherwise, expand your project section to demonstrate real-world engineering rigor.
Yes, if you can demonstrate significant project depth that mimics professional environments. However, if your experience is limited to classroom work, you should expand the projects section to show more hands-on application.
What if my internships were at small startups instead of companies like Postman? Yes, because the scope of your contribution and tools used matter more than the company's brand recognition or size.
Yes, because the scope of your contribution and tools used matter more than the company's brand recognition or size.
The size of the company matters less than the scope of your contribution. Focus on the scale of the features you owned and the specific tools you used to solve problems, regardless of the company's name recognition.
What if I don't have access to specific dollar amounts or user counts? Use proxy metrics like code coverage percentages, build time reductions, or the number of bugs resolved to prove your technical impact.
Use proxy metrics like code coverage percentages, build time reductions, or the number of bugs resolved to prove your technical impact.
You can use proxy metrics like code coverage percentages or the number of bugs resolved. In this resume, Ryan Taylor uses an 82% coverage achievement at Instacart to prove quality without needing revenue data.
How much should I change before applying? Keep the impact-focused structure but swap specific languages and tools to match the target company's production tech stack.
Keep the impact-focused structure but swap specific languages and tools to match the target company's production tech stack.
Keep the structure of the impact-heavy bullets but swap the specific languages like Python or Go to match the tech stack of the company you are targeting. Ensure the most relevant skills for the specific job are listed first.
What do hiring managers focus on at this level? Recruiters look for evidence that you understand the software lifecycle, specifically through testing, CI/CD, and cross-functional work.
Recruiters look for evidence that you understand the software lifecycle, specifically through testing, CI/CD, and cross-functional work.
Recruiters look for signals that you understand the software development lifecycle. This resume succeeds by emphasizing CI/CD, testing, and cross-functional collaboration rather than just listing coding languages.
Related resume examples
Get a Web Developer (New Grad) resume recruiters expect
Use this example as a base and tailor it to your job description in seconds.
Generate my resume