For engineers job growth depends on industry and training. Workers in the automotive industries will be in less demand, while those in growth industries (such as green energy, process engineers etc) will be in higher demand. No matter what industry you are in, it’s important to write your resume for the job you want – write for the future – rather than for the job you had.
The resume gets the interview – I repeat this ad naseum because it’s an important point to remember. Your interview and skills will land the job, but the point of the resume is to establish you as qualified enough, and professional enough for potential employers to bring you in for an interview.
The resume is a ‘whole’ document
Resumes should be singular – if you are applying for a job as a process engineer, don’t include the job you had when you were 20 trying to break into the mechanical engineering field. The content of a resume starts with the summary of qualifications at top – everything in the rest of the resume should flow from this singular declaration of your skills and qualifications – there should never be a disconnect between the summary and the rest of the resume.
Who will read your resume? Write for them
Engineers have to remember that the first point of contact might be a computer, and then a hiring manager. This means that your technical jargon might be to your disadvantage. It’s important to strike a balance between including relevant information, and writing to an audience. That audience may include an engineer, but most likely will not, at least initially.
That being said…be sure to include all knowledge of technical equipment, computers, software etc
Be comprehensive in your listing. You don’t have to explain everything, but you want the gist of the resume to be understood by a layperson.
Don’t forget ‘Situation, Action, Result’ method of resume writing
I say this in every article I write. The Situation, Action, Result (SAR) model of resume writing is a universal way of selling yourself to potential employers. In short, you set up a situation, or problem that needs to be solved. You say what you did (action), and how that action solved the problem, benefited the company, saved time etc. (result).
What potential employers are asking: “What’s in it for me?”
This is universal. Employers want to know how your presence is going to benefit them, especially their bottom line. If you can show positive results from your actions in past results, you will have answered that question. Also include extra skills such as publications, speaking abilities/presentations, awards etc.
The basics
No mis-spellings. Nothing too personal, or unrelated to the job at hand. Don’t (as a rule) go longer than 2 pages. Don’t lie, under any circumstances.
Related Articles:
- Mid-Level Engineering Resume
- Writing an Engineering Resume for a Recent Graduate
- Why Design Matters in an Engineering Resume
- How to Write a Successful Engineering Resume
Sample Engineering Resumes
