We know as an Engineering Staffing Agency that preparing a resume is not really a difficult task, but creating one which stands out from everyone else’s can be a much more daunting undertaking. Yet, that is what’s necessary in order for you to conclude a successful job search, because there will always be plenty of competition against which you’ll be stacked up.
In the engineering field, there is a great deal of industry-specific jargon which might come into play, and you have to find a way to accurately convey your credentials without confusing a hiring manager. Some of the tips below will help you to prepare the best possible engineering resume so that you have a much better chance of securing that coveted job you’re after.
Avoid Including Errors
While this might be quite obvious, it’s still one of the most important things to keep in mind when you’re preparing your engineering resume. Once you’ve finished with your resume, check it multiple times to make sure that you haven’t introduced any errors, and this is especially true if you have made any recent changes.
It might even be a good idea to ask a friend to review your resume because a fresh set of eyes will often catch errors that you yourself will overlook. Keep in mind that engineers must be extremely detail-oriented, so if you make the mistake of including errors on your resume, not all hiring Engineering Staffing Agency managers would like it.
Be Specific about your Experience
Don’t make a hiring manager hunt around your resume for the section which features your skills and your experience. Make sure these are listed prominently and clearly so that they’re easily found and evaluated. It may be worth your while to list the major projects you have worked on at each company you were employed by, and also provide details about what your contributions were to the overall project. It’s a good idea to specifically reference any problem-solving skills which you used while working on these projects.
Use Multiple Pages
In the past, it was desirable to cram everything onto a single page, because Engineering Staffing Agency’s hiring managers didn’t want to review multiple pages for each candidate. That is no longer the case because a great many more managers now understand that more detail is better since it provides a much better picture of each candidate.
On the other hand, you should also keep your information as concise as possible, and make sure that everything relevant is listed on your resume. Use your best judgment to consider how much space you should devote to each section on your resume, and try to think how a hiring manager might feel about reviewing each of those sections.
Make Sure to Include your Skills
It’s important to be as specific as possible about any professional skills you’ve acquired in your career. This means skills on hardware, software, and possibly programming languages as well.
After listing all your skills, you should summarize how these skills can help you do the job which you are applying for, and exactly what you bring to the table as a candidate. This will help any hiring manager to visualize how you might fit into their operation.
Highlight Professional Experience
Your college degree definitely counts for something, but it won’t be quite as impressive to a hiring manager as your professional experience will, especially as it applies to engineering. It will of course be necessary to have the degree as a prerequisite, but you must always list your academic experience after your professional experience. This stands to reason since it will be prioritized over your academic experience by any hiring manager from an Engineering Staffing Agency.
You should list any student jobs you performed during your academic experience, but only if they actually applied to the field of engineering.
Use a Personal Project if Necessary
If you haven’t had time to acquire any significant professional experience, it will be acceptable to provide information on personal projects which you have developed on your own. This is also true if you’ve had significant gaps between jobs because it will demonstrate to a hiring manager from an Engineering Staffing Agency that you have remained active with engineering, and have created your own projects to keep your skills sharp.
If there’s anything that you may have created from scratch, make sure to detail exactly how you accomplished each phase of the project, and whatever lessons you may have gleaned from the experience. This will show how involved and passionate you are about your work, and it may even set you apart from some of your competitors.
Use Active Voice
You might be surprised to learn how important your choice of words is when composing a resume. You should avoid using passive terms and substitute action words instead because hiring managers are always looking for material that demonstrates leadership and initiative.
If necessary, look online for the most appropriate action words to use on your resume, and be sure to include them wherever possible. A few examples might be managing the project, leading a team, or carrying out research. All these phrases demonstrate action and leadership, so it’s definitely worthwhile to include them on your resume.
Use Industry-Specific Terms
Another tip about word usage is to make sure you include terms specific to the engineering field, especially when they relate to recent industry advances or technological tools. Be careful not to overwhelm any reader with technical jargon, because that might cause them to drop your resume and pick up someone else’s.
A good rule of thumb is to include industry-specific terms where they apply to a position you’re seeking. If you haven’t updated your resume recently, it will certainly be worth your while to review the language you have on it, and include any recent terms which have come into vogue.
Be Positive
Don’t use your resume to describe why you left a previous employer, why certain projects failed, or anything else which might be perceived as negative by a hiring manager. Everything you include on your resume should be upbeat and positive and should announce to the hiring manager why you are the right person for the job.
Your goal is to leave a positive impression with whoever is reading your resume, and not to muddy the waters with anything which might be construed as negative.
