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No matter what type of engineer you are, you’re rigorously logical with a penchant for numbers.
You shouldn’t also have to be an expert cover letter writer or resume maker to spotlight your abilities and land your next (or first) engineering job.
Getting started is the hardest part of building an engineering resume. Our seven engineering resume examples are helping engineers get interviews in 2024, so they’re an excellent starting place for inspiration and valuable resume tips.
How you format your engineering resume can determine whether you get an interview. Your resume needs to be in a logical format that can be quickly reviewed and should include all necessary information. If you leave important details out of your resume, you won’t have the opportunity to prove yourself.
Let’s briefly explore our three best tips for resume formatting for engineers:
Engineering Resume Formats
Engineering is definitely a field that has plenty of opportunities for career progression. in 2024, reverse-chronology formatted resumes are best for engineers because they show your most recent experience first, as well as an increase in responsibilities over time. Also, this format lets you include more details for more recent positions and less information for older jobs.
You’ll want your header to stand out professionally. Many of the resume examples we have show your name in large letters at the top of your resume. We recommend the following:
Also, include the title of the position you’re applying for directly under your name. Are you applying to be a DevOps Engineer? A Network Engineer? A Data Engineer? Your future employer should know the position you’re applying for right away.
Additionally, you’ll want your contact information close to your name. Some resume writers put this information directly under their names, but you can also place this at the top of the sidebar. Include the following information:
When it’s all said and done, your engineering resume header may look something like this:
Most employers use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter through resumes. If your resume is hard to read, the ATS could nix it from the system before employers ever have a chance to look at it. For this reason, you’ll want to take the following steps to ensure your resume is ATS-compatible:
To save you a headache, we think you’ll love using our AI resume builder, automatically ensuring your resume is ATS-friendly.
Writing your engineering resume may feel daunting. It feels like a lot to take on because a lot rides on it. It can be anxiety-inducing, to say the least. We understand this well, so we’re devoting this section to breaking down how to write your resume.
Your objective for your resume is to get a job. If you write an objective, you’ll want to clearly discuss what type of job you’re seeking. A summary is different. Its focus is to give a brief synopsis of your whole resume.
Skilled DevOps engineer with 10 years of experience in nodes, infrastructure, and server management. Excellent at time management and saving companies money.
This summary is ineffective because the information can be gathered from other resume sections. It’s a waste of space that could be used for other things. Here are a couple of examples of strong objectives.
Experienced developer with 8 years of experience in full-stack, consumer-facing applications. Wanting to transition to B2B applications to improve interactions between small and medium-sized businesses at a company like OpenEd.
Veteran data engineer with 5 years of experience in B2B applications. Looking to switch to DevOps engineering to focus on improving overall company efficiency by improving applications through user interface.
Both of these examples work because the objective is:
Your most relevant experience should be listed first. We recommend listing two to four jobs that best show your qualifications for the position to which you’re applying. You don’t need to list more than four jobs, nor do you need to list every job you’ve ever worked. The employers who review have limited time, and they want to quickly see what you have to offer.
It’s easy to sink or swim regarding job description bullet points. Check your resume for the following:
Not every bullet point is created (or, rather, written) equally. Here are some poor bullet points:
These bullet points are weak because they don’t provide any information. What is the EmptyNest app? Who’s it for? What functions does the app perform? What kind of bugs did he fix? Why were user reviews important? What kind of coding updates did he make?
While you can’t include every single detail about your work, asking these kinds of questions will get you headed in the right direction. Here are the same bullet points, written strongly:
These bullet points work because they provide details that help recruiters understand the project, demonstrate accomplishment and success, and prove ability through numbers. Metrics are vitally important, so let’s dive into that next.
For engineers, quantifying your impact is a crucial part of showing your success. The numbers tell the whole story. While this is daunting, it works in your favor if you successfully implement quantities and qualifications. Try to include metrics in about 60 percent of your bullet points.
We recommend the following steps to quantify your impact:
Quantifying your impact will show employers how valuable your work is and why they should consider you for their position.
Including your skillset is essential for any resume. How you present skills on your resume is important. You want both your hard and soft skills to show.
Your soft skills are the ones you can’t easily show on paper. For example, managing conflict and communicating with others are imperative soft skills. Your hard skills include software you’ve mastered and programs you use. It’s easy to show proof of your work.
There are countless types of engineers, so you’re an aerospace engineer, civil engineer, chemical engineer, etc., these skills are a broad overview of what will serve you well:
For instance, if you’re a civil engineer, the skills section on your engineering resume may look like this:
Additionally, software engineering is a rapidly growing, evolving field, and if this is you, here are some of the most sought-after skills:
If you’re an engineer, you’ll have your bachelor’s degree at a minimum. You may even need a master’s degree, and some jobs even require a doctorate.
Education is important to being an engineer. Without it, you couldn’t perform many of the functions of your job. And in a constantly evolving world and workforce, high pressure is placed on engineers to stay at the top of their game. This includes continuing education and becoming certified in new programs as they come out.
Many states have strict requirements regarding continuing education. For example, a certain number of hours of continuing education may be required to keep certifications and licenses. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all requirement. In fact, these requirements can vary by state and by the job.
If you’re an Engineer-in-Training, list the following:
If you’ve been in the field for less than 10 years, list the following:
If you’ve been in the field for 10 to 20 years, list the following:
Most engineering jobs don’t provide room for your interests or hobbies on your resume. The exception to this is for entry-level positions. If you’re a brand-new college grad, you’ll need to list advanced projects from your collegiate experience. Discussing your interests and hobbies through your projects will show passion for your career field and encourage employers to give you a chance.
Listing interests and hobbies can help you nail a job if it’s a close call between you and another candidate. If you’re equally qualified, being a “better fit” for the company could work in your favor. You don’t have to include interests or hobbies, but doing so might benefit you when you’re starting out, especially if you’re looking for a trendy startup that’s likely to care more about cultural fit.
We know it would be easier to make one resume that you submit to dozens of different jobs. But this won’t result in success. In fact, you aren’t likely to score any interviews using this method. ATS will weed your resume out for missing job keywords.
You’ll need to tailor each resume to each job you apply for. Some drafts of your resume will be very similar to each other. Others may look quite different. Adjust your bullet points, skills, and objective/summary for each job. While it takes time, your efforts will be worth it!
Engineers are perfectionists by definition. Because of this, it’s important to have a flawless resume. This is where editing and proofreading come in. It’s often overlooked because most resume writers just want to be done. After all, drafting a resume can take hours, but using our free resume maker can save you lots of frustration and time.
We recommend taking the following steps when editing and proofreading your resume:
Keep the following in mind:
Congratulations on writing your resume. It’s the first and most important step to getting a job. Without a resume, you can’t submit any applications. But with the right resume and your engineering cover letter complementing it, you can score the perfect job.
