Tag Archives: content

Engineering Resume Content: Tell Them What You Do, Not Who You Are

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engineering resumeIn my previous messages about the best engineering resumes I told you about form and content. I also told you about job descriptions and how important they are.

But what exactly should you write about when you list your contributions?

Make sure you write about what you did, not about you.

It may seem simple but it is not always obvious to engineers that the reason there is an opening is because the organization has a need they need to fill with someone who can perform.

In order to convince the reader of your resume that you are interview material you need to focus all your efforts into telling them how you can fill that need.

So how do you do this? Make sure you describe your accomplishments. Never say things like “I was part of a team” or “I participated in”, instead use phrases such
as “I did/designed/developed…” or “I led the team that….”.

In summary make sure your writing focuses on your abilities and skills, not on you, where you were or what you participated in.

Tell them what you did and what you can do for them and you will get their attention.

Try it… It really helps get interview calls…

Remember your engineering resume can change everything…

best engineering resumes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly.

Good luck with your search!

Michael Brit
michael.brit@engineer-resume.com
President
http://www.engineer-resume.com

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How Much Detail In An Engineering Resume When Listing Old Jobs?

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How much of your engineering resume should you devote to what you did a long time ago?

The hiring manager is looking for someone who can help him/her do better and help the organization go forward. So they are going to focus their attention on what you have been doing lately.

What you did 10+ years ago is not likely to matter as much as what you did last year or the year before last.

Fact is we are constantly evolving and growing professionally. So the level of detail you devote to jobs that you had 10+ years ago should be limited. Key highlights should do.

Don’t worry about missing too much detail. The hiring manager is going to spend most of the resume reading time on the latest jobs so focus your attention on those and save precious resume real estate by limiting the amount of text devoted to older jobs.

In summary make sure that your primary focus and the majority of your resume space is devoted to skills, abilities and job achievements that occurred more recently. Beyond that a couple of bullet points will do. You can expand during the interview.

Try it… It really helps get interview calls…

Get a head start with our Very Best Engineering Resume Collection, a collection of the best engineering resumes and cover letters. Available to you in a simple download.

best engineering resumes

 

 

Best Engineering Resume Collection

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly. Good luck with your search!

Thanks for visiting!

Michael Brit
President & Chief Resume Writer
www.Engineer-Resume.com

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Engineering Resumes And Professional Development

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If I’m looking to hire a new engineer I don’t want to hire someone that has stopped learning. So… Don’t Tell Me You Stopped Learning!

We all went to school. Most of us went to college. Then we went to work and stopped learning.  Not true is it? Make sure this is not the story in your resume…

One of the most important things you need to do as an engineer is to continue to invest in
yourself. Stop learning and you lose value over time and become obsolete. You know this and you have been continuously evolving to stay in professional shape and add value to yourself. So make sure this is reflected in your resume.

If you took classes, list them. If you attended corporate sponsored training on software then list it. If you learned on the job and can not claim any formal educational experience do mention your on the job learning of new skills and/or tools.

In summary your engineering resume should always include a section with relevant training or learning you have gone through in your career after you left school.

Try it… It really helps get interview calls…

Get a head start with our Very Best Engineering Resume Collection, a collection of the best engineering resumes and cover letters. Available to you in a simple download.

best engineering resumes

 

 

 

 

Best Engineering Resume Collection

 

 

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly. Good luck with your search!

Thanks for visiting!

Michael Brit
President & Chief Resume Writer
www.Engineer-Resume.com

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What A Manager Looks For In Your Engineering Resume…

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An engineering manager will look for skills and alignment with the job first. However if you are applying for the right job then these two things are a given – for you and for your competitors. So how do you differentiate your engineering resume from the other on the manager’s desk?

What Do Engineering Managers Look For In Your Resume?

Your achievements. You must tell them about the specifics of your contributions. It is fairly easy to write down what you worked on, the jobs you performed, the companies you supported and specific skills you have. These are important but they do not address the key question in the employer’s mind…

“You tell me you can do this and that… But have you actually done it?”

The only way the employer will know what you can do is to read about your accomplishments. So make sure that you tell them what you achieved.

Did you develop a new engineering tool? What did it do? How did that help? Did you design a new part or engineering process? What was the outcome? Did you manage an engineering program? If so did you meet schedules and budgets?

Here is an example of an electrical engineering resume that is well written and lists clear achievements and accomplishments without using too many words.

Electrical Engineer Resume Example

Electrical Engineer Resume Example

If I am the reader I want to read objective achievements because they tell me what you have done before. This builds my confidence that you can do things for me when I hire you. So… I am going to call you in for an interview. When appropriate add percentages in savings, efficiency metrics, increased performance numbers or any other metrics that show your work made a difference.

In summary list achievements in a quantifiable way. Tell the engineering resume reader what your contributions were and how the affected the project, product or organization.

Be specific when appropriate to highlight contributions.

Try it… It really helps get interview calls…

Get a head start with our Very Best Engineering Resume Collection, a collection of the best engineering resumes and cover letters. Available to you in a simple download.

Best Engineering Resume Collection Best Engineering Resume Collection

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly. Good luck with your search!

Thanks for visiting!

Michael Brit
President & Chief Resume Writer
www.Engineer-Resume.com

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Objective And Summary Statements in An Engineering Resume

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The use of a strong objective statement or summary in an engineering resume is often overlooked. It should not be, as it is a unique opportunity to score big points with the reader.

Your engineering hiring manager’s time is precious. He or she will not spend a lot of effort trying to discover who you are in the body of the resume. If they have other engineer’s resumes that clearly tell them about the candidate upfront, they will go with those. If your engineering resume is hard to read, no call, no interview, you lose.

You need to open with a strong statement that immediately addresses the fact that you can fill their need. In the first 15 seconds of reading their mind must race to the fact that you are going to help them fill the gap they want to fill.

So how do you do this?

Research what the need is first. Either through a job posting or through a referral you should have a clear idea of what the engineering position is all about.

Then make sure you clearly state what your objective is and of course it should match the need. This tells the reader of your resume that you are a person that they want to talk to.

A great match potential!

Then and only then, will they give your resume their attention.

In summary make sure that you clearly state what your objective is and that the objective matches the job posting words or need they are trying to fill.

A professional summary then delivers the message that you are the person for the job.

It’s a two punch approach that delivers results. They immediately decide to call you and then simply peruse the resume.

Note that in some cases you can add your objective statement in the summary section and avoid a dedicated objective. This saves some space which can be convenient.

If the reader doesn’t immediately think of you as a match, your resume is going to end up at the bottom of the pile and with it go your chances of getting that job you want.

Give them the bottom line upfront in your engineering resume and your chances of getting and interview call will increase dramatically.

Get a head start with our Very Best Engineering Resume Collection, a collection of the best engineering resumes and cover letters. Available to you in a simple download.

Best Engineering Resume Collection Best Engineering Resume Collection

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly. Good luck with your search!

Thanks for visiting!

Michael Brit
President & Chief Resume Writer
www.Engineer-Resume.com

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The Importance Of A Good Format In An Engineer’s Resume

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One of the most powerful ways an engineering resume can be improved in by changing the formatting. In fact there is not one single aspect of engineer’s resumes that is quite so critical in denying the engineering job seeker and opportunity as poor formatting!

This is so critical and yet it is so often overlooked. It is a necessary condition but by no means a sufficient one.

Just as you would not consider going to a job interview with an old t-shirt and messy hair so too your resume should not be poorly presented. It is after all your calling card. While the roles, the descriptions, the summary or profile and so many other content elements are of critical importance a bad format can immediately kill your chances.

A word of caution, we have seen resumes with poor content and wording that look phenomenal. Format is by no means the dominant part of your resume. However you must make sure that the resume is appealing in addition to having well written content.

Looks do matter and in order to stand out you want to use a modern font, good spacing, moderate use of strategically located graphical elements and an easy to read layout.

Another key thing you must plan on having is a catchy layout that immediately tells the reader who you are. Nobody has a lot of time for your resume. Hit the reader quickly with a strong intro that appeals and delivers a short key message about you.

In summary make sure that your resume is appealing to the eye when finished and that the message about you flows and is easy to comprehend. The presentation should be attractive, direct, modern but not flashy and not too busy.

There are many variations of resumes that work and many that don’t. If the reader doesn’t like the way your resume looks, it will end up at the bottom of the pile and with there go your chances of getting the job you want. So make sure you start with a format and template that is proven and professional.

Get a head start with our Very Best Engineering Resume Collection, a collection of the best engineering resumes and cover letters. Available to you in a simple download.

Best Engineering Resume Collection Best Engineering Resume Collection

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly. Good luck with your search!

Thanks for visiting!

Michael Brit
President & Chief Resume Writer
www.Engineer-Resume.com

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Best Format For An Engineering Resume

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Electrical Engineering Resume Sample

Engineer Sample Resume

One of the most common questions I get from job seeking engineers is:

“What is the best format for an engineering resume?”

There are plenty of sources out there that will tell you that you need a functional resume with project accomplishments. Or a “skills first” resume with limited focus on your employment history. In general neither of these is correct.

After years of writing resumes and evaluating hundreds of engineers for jobs I can tell you the two most important things in your resume are:

1. Employment History

Imagine I am the prospective employer. As an employer one of the first things I am going to look for is your career history. I want to know of your progress, your evolution along your career path and your ability to stay in the same place for a while. Gaps in employment or constant job changes are major red flags unless clearly explainable. So a career history is very important in your resume. It showcases your career progression and tells the employer a lot about you. You should take advantage of the career history to highlight your accomplishments and crucial skills, especially as they relate to the position I am looking to fill. More on that in future posts…

2. Strong Opening

Another “must have” in your resume is a strong opening statement of skills and capability. You need to tell me immediately who you are and what you can do. As an employer, when I am looking for an engineer I need a skilled professional to fill a need. The closer you get to convincing me you fill my need the more likely you are to get an interview call. So open with a strong summary and tell me immediately what you can do for me. This can take the form of a summary or a professional profile. What is crucial is that within 15 seconds of reading your engineering resume I need to have a picture of what you can do. This takes place in the initial section which is the most important of all.

So in summary…

“What is the best format for my engineering resume?”

Open strong, tell the hiring manager what you can do for him/her in 15 seconds and then impress him/her with your employment history while focusing on accomplishments.

If either the intro or the job history is weak, then strengthen the other part. If both are weak, your resume is not going to lead to an interview call so make sure you pay careful attention to these two elements of an engineer’s resume. The format is not as relevant as having the two sections above clearly labeled and well written.

Get a head start with our Very Best Engineering Resume Collection, a collection of the best engineering resumes and cover letters. Available to you in a simple download.

Best Engineering Resume Collection Best Engineering Resume Collection

If you have any questions about this or any other topics please feel free to contact me directly. Good luck with your search!

Thanks for visiting!

Michael Brit
President & Chief Resume Writer
www.Engineer-Resume.com

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