Resume Writing
Resume Writing
Like the look of the template above? Create your own modern and professional engineering
resume in minutes with these easy-to-update templates.
If you were applying for a different position in this field, you might find one of our other resume
examples more useful:
Here are the elements that make this engineering resume example outstanding:
Now that you know exactly what makes an effective engineering resume, let’s put theory into
practice and see how you can create a powerful engineering resume!
Here are the steps to building your engineering resume:
Before you start filling in the contents, let’s address how you should format your engineering
resume.
• Functional
• Reverse-chronological
• Combination
You’re best off using the reverse-chronological resume format for your engineering resume.
It’s the preferred resume format among recruiters worldwide, so it’s obviously the safest and
most obvious choice for you!
And the best part? It starts off with your most recent - and relevant - engineering work
experience, highlighting your achievements and skills first.
• Pick a professional font style. Choose a font that’s easy to read on a PDF file and use it
throughout the length of your engineering resume.
• Choose the right font size. Use 11-12 pts for the body and 14-16 pts for headings in
your engineering resume.
• Bullet points. Whenever possible, use bullet points to present the information and make
it easy for the recruiter to skim.
• Mind the length. Recruiters shouldn’t go through a 3-page resume to see whether you’re
the right candidate, so the optimal length of your engineering resume should be one
page (unless you’re a professional with 10+ years on the job, that is).
• Save your engineering resume in PDF format. Unless asked to do otherwise, your best
bet is to save your resume as a PDF file to ensure it looks the same on every device and
OS.
As an engineer, you should use every opportunity to show the recruiter how innovative you are
and your engineering resume is your first chance to do that.
Like most people, you probably tried creating a Word resume… admit it, using 30+-year-old
software is the opposite of being innovative.
Think about it. You can spend hours on formatting alone, but in the end, your engineering
resume will still look boring and outdated.
Well, what if we told you there is an easy way to save time AND stand out with your engineer
resume?
Our resume templates are created in collaboration with professional recruiters, so they don’t just
look fresh and modern - they’re also well-organized and easy to scan.
Pick Template
Now that the formatting is out of the way, you can start filling in the contents of your
engineering resume.
You don’t have to invent anything new here - just make sure to avoid making any mistakes (you
don’t want the recruiter to think you aren’t capable of successfully providing your contact
information - after all, attention to detail is key to being an engineer!).
Example:
Sam Edwards
Mechanical Engineer
012-345-6789
Sacramento, California
linkedin.com/in/samedwards71
• If you have lots of engineering experience, write a resume summary to highlight your
skills and achievements.
• If you lack engineering experience, use a resume objective to show your career
aspirations and how you can benefit the company.
First impressions matter, so whether you’re writing a resume summary or objective, it must
effectively show your professional background or how you can be an asset for the company
you’re applying to.
Now, if you don’t have the relevant experience and opt for a resume objective, this is what you
need to include to make it as memorable as possible:
Now, let’s move to the most important section of your engineering resume - your work
experience.
First, let’s address the formatting.
Begin with your most recent/current job position and simply do this:
• Start off with the job title. This shows the recruiter what role you had in the company.
• Add company details. Include the name and location of the company you worked at.
Optionally, you can briefly describe the company if it’s relatively unknown.
• Include the date of employment. Use the mm/yyyy format to write down how long you
worked in each company.
• Add responsibilities and achievements. Use 5-6 bullet points for the most recent jobs,
and 2-3 for older jobs.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk about making the most out of your work experience
section.
Of course, you want your engineering work experience to stand out among hundreds of other
applications, so simply listing your responsibilities isn’t enough.
• Tailor your work experience section to the job. If you’re an engineer, your work
experience section should show exactly that, so skip the barista job you had in university
and use the space for your achievements or to include additional sections instead.
• Focus on achievements over responsibilities. Every civil, electrical, mechanical, or
another type of engineer has the same responsibilities, more or less, but it’s your
achievements that can really set you apart from the competition.
• Use action verbs to describe your achievements. Power words (e. g. developed,
organized, operated, redesigned, assisted…) will spice up your engineering resume.
• Make your achievements quantifiable. Whenever possible, use numbers to drive the
point home (e. g. “Led a team of 15 engineers” instead of “Led a team”).
And here’s an example of an effective work experience section:
Example:
Mechanical Engineer
Company X
02/2017 - 01/2022
• Worked with a team of 14 to design, build, and install industrial air compressors.
• Ensured compliance with safety rules and regulations.
• Increased production efficiency by 9% by strategically minimizing production
bottlenecks.
• Planned and redesigned equipment layout to optimize workflow, resulting in a 7%
production capacity increase over the span of 3 years.
• Consistently met the company's needs at 12% under budget.
Now, if you’re a fresh engineering graduate or haven’t graduated just yet, you likely don’t have
relevant work experience.
That’s totally okay - even Elon Musk didn’t have enough relevant work experience at one point
in his life.
But the lack of work experience shouldn’t set you back from building a powerful engineering
resume!
You probably have more engineering-related experience to choose from than you think - after
all, engineering studies typically involve lots and lots of practice.
So, instead of your work experience, consider including your internships, assistantships,
academic projects, and merits, or extracurricular activities.
Example:
Electrical Engineering Experience
University of Bristol, UK
10/2019 - 03/2020
Of course, the lack of an engineering degree didn’t stop Nikola Tesla from becoming one of the
greatest engineers, but today the situation is quite different.
Most engineering jobs ask for a Bachelor’s degree at the very least, because engineering is a
highly technical field, where theoretical knowledge goes hand in hand with your practical skills.
But, even though your higher education is important to the recruiter, let’s face it - they don’t care
which high school you went to.
So, instead of wasting space, make sure to only include relevant education details in your
engineering resume.
To keep your education section short and snappy, start with your latest degree and include the
following:
• Degree title
• University/college/other institution
• Program location (optional)
• Years attended
And here’s an example of the education section on an engineering resume:
Example:
Education
10/2017 - 05/2019
Of course, you can also include relevant education details, such as your academic achievements,
the courses you’ve taken, your GPA, projects, etc. - if they add value to your resume, that is.
Skills are an important part of your engineering resume. They testify to your professional
abilities, so you should only include the skills which are relevant to engineering.
Now, although engineering is a technical job, you’re also expected to have a variety of soft
skills.
After all, no engineer works in total isolation, so communication and teamwork skills are must-
haves for most positions.
So, here are some tips to better organize the skills section on your engineering resume:
Write down your hard skills as specifically as possible to give the recruiter a clear idea of your
skills. For example, if you’re good at programming, make sure to include all programming
languages (Python, C++, PHP, MATLAB, etc.) you know.
1. Creativity
2. Attention to detail
3. Problem-solving
4. Innovation
5. Communication skills
6. Teamwork
7. Ability to work under pressure
8. Curiosity
9. Leadership
10. Analytical thinking
11. Active listening
12. Prioritization
13. Time management
14. Leadership
15. Emotional intelligence
16. Organizational skills
17. Adaptability
18. Brainstorming
19. Research
20. Resilience
21. Interpersonal skills
22. Self-motivation
23. Reliability
24. Self-management
25. Flexibility
1. Math
2. Mechanical skills
3. Project management
4. Debugging
5. Troubleshooting
6. Prototyping
7. Machine Learning
8. Workflow development
9. Web Development
10. Computer skills
11. Knowledge of manufacturing processes
12. Knowledge of applicable laws
13. Technical documentation
14. PHP
15. Data Structures
Your university diploma is just one part of engineering training, so the next step is to include
your engineering licenses and certifications.
This part is especially important if you want to work abroad because each country has different
rules on what kind of education, licenses, and qualifications you need to work in engineering.
So, if you’re a certified or licensed engineer, list your licenses and certifications in your
engineering resume in reverse-chronological order and include the following:
• Certification/license name
• Name of agency
• Year of obtainment
• Location (optional)
• Expiration date (if applicable)
• In progress (if applicable, and add the expected date of obtainment)
Here’s an example:
Example:
Professional Certificates
Consider adding any of these additional sections to make your engineering resume stand out and
paint the full picture of your engineering experience:
Example:
Organizations
If you got this far, you’re just a step away from writing an effective engineering resume for
yourself!
But before you get to it, there’s one more important element to your resume we need to address -
writing a compelling cover letter.
The point of a cover letter is to convince the recruiter that you are the engineer they’ve been
looking for.
Essentially, you need to prove you’re a competent engineer and a great match for the company,
its values, vision, and goals.
So, your cover letter is a chance to give a detailed description of your engineering experience
and include any important information that didn’t make it to your engineering resume.
Want your cover letter to catch recruiters’ attention? Match it to your engineering resume by
picking one of our cover letter templates!
Key Takeaways
Congrats!
By now, you have all the tools and tips you need to write an outstanding engineering resume
(and a cover letter, too!).
Before you go, let’s go over some of the main elements of an impactful engineering resume:
• Choose the reverse-chronological format to focus your work experience and make your
engineering resume easy to read.
• Write an impressive resume summary if you have plenty of work experience, and an eye-
catching resume objective if you lack engineering experience.
• Make your work experience section stand out by quantifying your achievements.
• Show off your unique engineering experience with licenses, certifications, associations,
publications, and other additional information that fits your engineering resume.
• Don’t forget to add a compelling cover letter to your engineering resume to prove you’re
the perfect candidate and a great asset to the company.