Do I need a degree to be a junior developer?

Not always. Degrees, bootcamps, apprenticeships and self-taught portfolios are all seen. What matters is that you can show working code and explain it.

What if I have no paid experience?

Use personal projects, university work, open-source contributions or volunteer builds. Describe what you made and the problems you solved.

Should I list every programming language I know?

Only the ones you have used in real projects and could talk about in an interview.

Should I include a GitHub link?

Yes, if the projects are tidy and readable. Pin your best two or three so they are easy to find.

Junior software developer CV example

A strong junior software developer CV shows what you have built, which languages you used and what you learned, with a link to code that people can look at. It should also show that you can work with others, test your work and keep learning.

Liam Foster

Junior software developer

liam@example.com

07700 900195

Glasgow

Profile

Junior software developer with a computer science degree and six months of experience at a small web agency. Builds and tests web features with JavaScript, TypeScript, React and Node.js, and works with Git and pull requests as part of a team. Curious, careful with testing and keen to keep learning on the job.

Experience

Junior Developer

a small web agency

Built and fixed features in React and Node.js for client websites, working from tickets in Jira

Wrote unit tests for new code and fixed bugs raised in code review

Used Git and pull requests every day and reviewed teammates' code alongside a senior developer

Built a booking form for a client that sent email confirmations and stored bookings in PostgreSQL

Joined daily stand-ups and sprint planning and gave short updates on progress and blockers

Volunteer Developer

a local food bank

Built a volunteer rota web app with React and a simple Node.js back end

Met the coordinator first to agree what the tool needed to do before writing any code

Wrote a short user guide and trained two coordinators to use the tool

Hosted the app on a low-cost platform and fixed issues reported by users

Key skills

JavaScript and TypeScript

React

Node.js

HTML and CSS

SQL and PostgreSQL

Git and GitHub

Unit testing

Agile and code review

Problem solving

Example · fictional candidate · Ribbon design · Use this design

Tips for a junior software developer CV

Link to GitHub with two or three projects that have a clear README, a live demo and tests
Name the languages and tools you have used in real projects, not everything you have read about
Describe what a project does for someone, such as a booking form or a rota tool, and what you built
Show teamwork with Git, pull requests, code review and stand-ups, even if it came from university or bootcamp projects
Keep the degree or course short and put projects and work experience near the top
Mention testing, accessibility or security work if you have done any

Applying with a cover letter? See our junior software developer cover letter example.