Best Tips: For Constructing
An Engineering Resume

What you should know before you hire your next employee

How can you demonstrate that you are the most qualified candidate for an Engineer position? Of course continuing to gain experience working as an Engineer may be your best qualification, but there are other ways you can also develop your skills, like continuing education or volunteer opportunities. More immediately, however, you can be ready for your next opportunity or promotion by educating yourself about the duties, responsibilities, and required skills of an Engineer and making sure your resume reflects your experience properly.

Look for keywords in the job postings

The best place to start when preparing to write a resume is to carefully read the job postings that interest you. As you apply for different jobs, you should study each job description for keywords that show what the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate. Include those keywords in your resume where relevant.

Employers require a broad range of skills and qualifications in their descriptions of Engineer positions. The top three keywords make up 40.75% of the total set of top terms. Use a Resume Checklist app to investigate how your keywords match up to employer’s job descriptions.

Most Important Skills Required to Be an Engineer as Listed by Employers and Employees

Here is a simple table of the top 10 skills and qualifications as listed by employers in Engineer job postings since January of 2018, followed by the top 10 skills and qualifications most commonly listed by people who held the title of Engineer on their resumes.
Both employer job listings and resumes from people who’ve held the role of Engineer tend to always include skills and requirements found in this list. Whether you’ve only got Software Development, Scripting, Continual Improvement Process, Python, Deployment, Hardware, Java, Linux, Electrical Engineering, Compliance, SQL, Computer Aided Design, Simulation Software, Mechanical Engineering, Vendor Management, Electricity or Database in your background and experience, make sure to highlight the term prominently on your resume. As a job seeker you’ll be competing with many others who are bound to have as many as you (or more!) of these common resume keywords highlighted in their application for a job as an Engineer.

Review resume examples for your industry

When crafting your resume, you might study examples of resumes from your industry for inspiration and best practices. While there are many ways you can use resume samples, there are three main takeaways you should look for:

  • Make it simple and easy to read. Resume samples are simple and straightforward. This is because employers have a minimal amount of time to review your resume, so readability is key. This also means selecting a professional, clean font.
  • Make it brief. You’ll notice that each section of the resume sample is short and to-the-point, including the summary and experience descriptions. Including only the most key and relevant information means employers are able to consume more information about you, and more quickly understand your fitness for the role.
  • Include numbers. You might also notice that there are often metrics included in the experience section of resume samples. This is because employers are highly responsive to measurable proven value. Numbers allow them to better understand the value you may bring to the position.
  • Avoid using them as a template, samples are useful as examples of high-quality resumes in your industry and job title.

Include only the most relevant information and put the most important information first

While you might have extensive work or educational experience, it’s important to keep your resume as brief as possible without leaving out key information. Hiring managers don’t spend a lot of time reading each resume. If your resume includes old or irrelevant information, such as jobs held over 10 years ago or minor degrees and achievements, it may distract from key information.

Include only work experience, achievements, education and skills most relevant to the employer. Find the most relevant attributes by carefully reading the job posting. Prioritize important information higher on your resume to draw attention to key skills and achievements.

Use active language

Your resume should be written using active language without extraneous words. This means using words, such as “achieved,” “earned,” “completed” or “accomplished.” If your resume is too long or seems hard to read, you might consider making sentences shorter or ideas more concise.

Call attention to important achievements

Instead of listing your job duties under the experience section, select your top three or four most important achievements in each role you’ve held. Where possible, include numbers that measure your success for that particular goal or achievement.

You might also consider including a separate “Achievements” or “Skills” section to specifically highlight relevant achievements in your education, career, volunteer work or other experiences.

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