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Check your software engineer CV against the job advert

Software adverts are full of named technologies, and recruiters search for them. Your CV has to show the ones you've really used, in context, at the right level.

Updated 3 October 2026. General guidance for UK job adverts; your advert decides what matters.

Many engineering adverts list more technologies than anyone uses. You don't need all of them. You need the must-haves to be clearly in your CV, attached to real work.

Start with your advert

Every software engineer advert is different. The list below is what adverts for this job usually ask for, not what yours does. So start with your advert:

  1. Read the advert and copy out every "must have" or "essential" line, then the "desirable" ones.
  2. For each one, find the line in your CV that proves it. If you can't point to a line, that's a gap.
  3. Fill the gap with something true: a duty, a setting, a qualification or a result you really have. If you don't have it, say what you have that's closest, or leave it out.

Our guide to matching your CV to a job description goes through this in more detail.

What software engineer adverts usually ask for

The named languages and frameworks

Why they ask

Adverts lead with the stack, and the first filter is often whether your CV mentions it.

How to show it

Name each language and framework in your role bullets, not only in a skills list, and say how you used it. Use the advert's spelling ("Node.js", "Spring Boot").

Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts
  • Built [type of service or feature] in [language] with [framework], used by [who: customers, internal teams].
  • Skills: [languages], [frameworks], [databases], [cloud and tools].

Cloud and infrastructure

Why they ask

Many adverts ask for AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, and sometimes infrastructure as code or containers.

How to show it

Name the services you've used and what you did with them. Don't list a cloud you've only read about.

Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts
  • Deployed [services] to [cloud provider] using [specific services, such as containers, serverless functions or managed databases].
  • Wrote infrastructure as code with [tool] for [what it set up].

Databases and data

Why they ask

Most backend roles name SQL or NoSQL databases.

How to show it

Name the database and what you designed or improved.

Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts
  • Designed [tables / schemas] in [database] for [feature], and improved [a slow query or process] by [what you changed].

Testing, CI/CD and quality

Why they ask

Teams want engineers who ship safely: tests, code review and automated pipelines.

How to show it

Name the testing tools and pipeline you worked with.

Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts
  • Wrote [unit / integration] tests with [framework] and set up [CI/CD tool] pipelines for [project].

Scale, impact and seniority

Why they ask

Mid and senior adverts look for ownership, design decisions and mentoring.

How to show it

Say what you owned and what changed because of it. Use real numbers only if you know them.

Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts
  • Led the design of [system or feature], working with [product, design, other teams]; it [outcome].
  • Reviewed code and mentored [number] junior engineers.

How you work

Why they ask

Adverts mention Agile, Scrum, pairing or remote collaboration.

How to show it

Describe the team and practices honestly.

Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts
  • Worked in a [size] cross-functional team using [Scrum / Kanban], with [pairing, code review, on-call].

Only use a line if it's true for you. Swap each [gap] for your own detail: the setting, the number, the tool or the result. If you can't fill a gap honestly, cut that part of the line.

Mistakes that cost software engineer applications

Questions

Should I include technologies I've only used in side projects?

Yes, if you label them honestly, for example in a Projects section with what you built.

How long should a software engineer CV be?

One to two pages. Older roles can be a single line each.

Do I need a summary?

A two-line summary that names your main stack and level helps a recruiter place you quickly.

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