How to Put SQL Skills on a Resume — Like a Pro

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With our world becoming more digitized with each passing year, many companies are also digitizing their systems at the workplace.

Employee records, sales records, research, product information, search queries, and much more is now being stored digitally.

Being able to read and extract such data when necessary is a useful programming language called SQL. How can you include this on a resume?

SQL skills should be listed in the skills section of your resume. If the job you are seeking desires SQL skills specifically, then you may highlight it in the summary section as well as listing it in the skills section. Including the years of experience you have is also recommended.

SQL is a skill that is generally desired in fields related to programming and technology, so you should include it when applying to any field involving computers.

For those who are applying to relevant fields which include the use of SQL specifically, it is best to put it in the summary section.

The summary section is a short paragraph to highlight skills which are specific and impressive to a potential employer, and it is written in short sentence format.

In this format, you can summarize yourself and your skills to sound appealing to an employer within the first few seconds of reading your resume. 

“Should I put a summary on my resume?” is a question that is answered by proficiencies and relevance.

If you have several relevant skills, then including them in the summary is a great way to present them concisely. If you only have a single relevant skill or lack working experience, a summary section is unnecessary.

 

How to put SQL proficiency in the summary section

The summary section should be no longer than 3-4 short sentences max and should be written without the use of personal pronouns.

Include the SQL skill but do not expand on it too thoroughly. You may also include the number of years’ experience you have with SQL as well.

An example of a proper summary section which includes SQL experience is as follows:

The actual SQL experience needs not be lengthy here, as you could expand upon it in the bullet points of any job in the experience section.

How many bullet points per job on a resume still stands at 2-3, but SQL will only need one.

You could also put SQL experience in the skills section, as this is the perfect place to list programming languages on a resume. There isn’t too much to say about the skill itself, making it well-fit to be listed as a skill using just a few words.

 

How to put SQL proficiency in the skills section

Include SQL in the skills section in its abbreviated form. It is not necessary to write out the full term, as the abbreviated form is best.

You may also include the number of years’ experience you have with SQL using a hyphen or parentheses.

It is acceptable to include SQL experience in multiple sections but be sure that it isn’t the only skill you are listing throughout the resume.

Repeating just the one skill could make it seem like you have nothing to put on your resume, and should be avoided. 

The skills section formatting for SQL is a classic example of abbreviations on a resume.  While you could list out the full term, “structured query language”, it is not a good use of the space on your resume. 

Any employer receiving a relevant resume will understand what SQL stands for, so keeping it as an abbreviation is the best way to list it. 

When formatted properly, SQL listed in the skills section will look as follows:

You may also choose to expand on these just slightly, including how much experience you have in each skill.

This should be done using only the number of years, as listing anything less than a year could come off as inexperienced.

In that case, do not include the length of time at all, and answer that question upon getting an interview.

When adding length of time for your skills, it should look like the following:

You do not need to list a date for every skill, but skills that are ongoing experiences such as programming languages can be written as such to be more impressive.

Skills that are measured by certifications or certificates do not need the number of years written, as they are one-time achievements. 

 

How to include SQL skills if you have no work experience

If you do not have work experience that involves applications of SQL, you can still list it in the skills section.

List it the same way you would if you had held a job involving it by using the abbreviation “SQL” and listing the years of experience if you wish, but only if it is longer-term.

Many people learn SQL skills from outside of a workplace in order to increase their marketability or as a hobby.

While practical experience isn’t necessary to list a skill on a resume, it is important to be able to explain where this experience came from to an employer. 

Most employers wish to see skills that were utilized in the workplace, so it can be tough to show this within the confines of a 1-2 page resume.

Learning how to put self-taught skills on a resume is a bit less straightforward than other skills, but SQL skills are an exception.

SQL skills can be proven best by bringing in a personal device or laptop to the workplace or interview and offering to showcase your work.

When handing in your resume, it is a good idea to let the employer know that you have samples of your skills if they wish to look as well. 

Many technical fields will involve this type of skill evaluation because measuring proficiency in a subject is difficult without proof.

If you have no practical working experience to back it up, list it as a skill and offer to showcase some actual projects if the employer is interested. 

 

How to write an SQL resume for freshers

Freshers [freshmen] should focus on filling a resume with applicable skills and experiences. The professional experience section is likely to be shorter for a fresher, so an SQL resume should include all skills related to technology. Relevant coursework should also be included on the resume. 

 

How to include SQL experience as a fresher

Freshers in college likely do not have much experience in the workplace, so the focus should be on skills.

An SQL resume should be focused on technological skills, so be sure to tailor your resume as such. 

An employer who is willing to hire a fresher is not looking for someone with a wealth of experience.

To make a resume stand out at this stage, include the skills that you have such as typing speed, video/sound editing, programming languages, and SQL. 

For those with less than a year of experience with SQL, you may include “knowledge of SQL” in the skills section or the summary section. 

For those with at least a year of experience, it is more impressive to write the exact number of years, such as “1 year of experience with SQL”. 

If your SQL knowledge is from a place of employment, you should mention this as one of your responsibilities in the professional experience section.

Otherwise, keep it in the skills or summary sections. 

You may also benefit from checking out tips on how to make a resume if you’ve never had a job. At this stage in life, a good resume is key to landing that first job experience that can change your life!

 

How to include SQL classes on a resume

If you are a fresher who is currently taking courses in SQL, this can be an impressive asset to display on a resume.

In place of a professional experience section, a fresher may include a “relevant coursework” section on a resume. 

Only include courses which are actually relevant to the job you are applying for, and avoid including classes which contain the words “into to” or “for beginners” when possible.

Relevant courses may be C++, data analytics, databases and SQL, and more. 

The course name is typically in bold, and there is no need to include dates.

You do not need to include bullet points in this section describing the course contents, though you may if your resume is too short and needs filling out.

This section may look like the following:

 

 

If you have very little experience and would like to fill out the resume a bit more, include only the most relevant aspects of each course.

An employer likely already knows what each class would include, so keep your bullet point brief. 

This can look like the following:

 

 
Be prepared to go over what each class entails during an interview if you are including it on a resume.

An employer hiring a fresher is expecting to need to train you, and it will be quite impressive to them to hear that you already have experience with SQL.

 

How to put SQL Developer on a resume

The SQL Developer job title should be stated clearly in the introduction sentence of the professional summary section. Make sure that this is also your job title in the experience section.  You can also include the number of years that you’ve been working with SQL as a followup to this title.

 

Display the SQL Developer title clearly and near the top

SQL Developers are expected to have a high level of knowledge and experience in their field, and this should be displayed prominently on a resume. 

The summary section is a strategic place to include this information because it will be one of the first things that a potential employer will read when reviewing your resume.

SQL Developer is a job title that stipulates at least a few years of experience with SQL, so you want this information to stand out. 

 

How to put SQL Developer in the summary section

Employers who are seeking SQL developers should already have a working knowledge of what this job title means, so do not over-expand upon it in this section.

Keep it brief, and include other technology related skills to bolster your first impression to an employer.

Summary sections should only include information which is extremely relevant to the desired job.

Your most recent position, responsibilities, and your most relevant skills should be written here. Never write your resume in first person, and always write without using personal pronouns.

It is a good idea to also include the number of years which you have been working with SQL next to the SQL Developer title, as that sentence will stand out to an employer.

They should know who you are, what you do, and for how long you’ve done it with a single sentence!

An example of how to include SQL Developer in your summary is as follows:

 

 

How to put SQL Developer in the experience section

SQL Developer is a job title, and should be displayed in the experience section if you’ve held such a job.

Keep SQL abbreviated to maintain a crisp and concise section, and then list the specific responsibilities you had with this job as bullet points below.

SQL Developers may also include specific projects which they’ve worked on in this section, as they likely have more impressive credentials than someone new to the field.

If you can show an employer things that you’ve done to help your past workplaces, they may also want you to do the same for them.

Many people may have five years of experience in SQL, but an employer seeking an SQL developer wants to know what a person has done with that knowledge during past employment. 

 

 

Frequently asked questions on how to put SQL on a resume

 

Under which category does SQL come on a resume?

SQL skills are typically included in the skills section on a resume. If an employer is specifically seeking someone experienced in SQL, this information should be listed in the summary section. If your previous job was related to SQL, you can list this information in the experience section. 

 

How to list SQL on a resume?

SQL skills are considered “specialist skills”. Specialist skills should be included in the skills section of a resume below the job experience section. SQL skills may be abbreviated and written as “Knowledge of SQL” or “X years experience with SQL”. 

 

How to describe SQL skills on a resume?

SQL skills can be described simply as “4 years experience with SQL” in the skills section with no additional information. It may also be worded as “Built and managed databases using Structured Query Language” if you are including it as part of a job’s responsibilities in the experience section.