As one of the leading engineering recruitment agencies in Brisbane, we’ve seen our share of resumes. And it comes as no surprise at all that successful candidates applying for engineering jobs are invariably the ones with engaging resumes.
As an engineer looking for a job in Brisbane or elsewhere, you’re up against stiff competition. Your resume must stand out from the crowd and do so for the right reasons.
Make a great first impression
The old adage, you only get one chance to make a first impression, has never been more accurate than in the case of engineering job-seekers’ resumes. Your resume gives recruitment companies and potential employers that all-important first glimpse into who you are and how well-suited you are to the engineering job they are trying to fill.
Our engineering recruitment service specialists have put together this handy checklist of 10 tips to help your rock your resume and land our dream engineering role.
- Tailor your resume to show how your skills match the advertised criteria
Make it easy for the relevant engineering recruitment agency or engineering company executives to see how well your skill set matches the advertised role requirements. Work through the job advertisement and present your skills in relation to the job description and selection criteria. But avoid the temptation to lie or exaggerate.
- Clearly outline your experience
List all the relevant projects you have worked on in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Break down the responsibilities associated with each role into bullet points. For engineering job applications, it is especially important to highlight problem-solving skills, leadership, autonomy, initiative, and analytical thinking abilities.
- Focus on your experience over qualifications
Engineering is very much an applied field and as such professional experience far outweighs university qualifications. Admittedly, qualifications are generally prerequisite for engineering roles, but degrees alone will not get your resume across the line.If you’re straight out of uni and have not yet had any time to gain relevant experience, you may mention any projects or jobs you’ve been involved in that required similar skills (e.g., problem solving, attention to detail, analytical thinking).If you have no professional experience to draw on, it’s a good idea to mention any do-it-yourself projects that you have worked on. Perhaps you’ve restored an old car, created something from scratch or invented something useful to solve a problem. These types of experiences will help to demonstrate that you have the key skills recruiters are looking for when trying to find candidates for engineer jobs.
- Explain any gaps in your employment history
If you have taken a few months/years off to travel or raise a family, you may not have recent professional experience. Engineering companies and recruitment agencies strongly prefer that in such cases you include a briefly explanation of the reasons for your absence from employment.
- List your relevant skills
Mention all hardware, software and any programming language or other skills relevant to the engineering role you are applying for. Self-rate these but be realistic and honest as you may be asked to demonstrate them. Avoid listing your life/career objective, soft skills and hobbies unless relevant to the particular engineering job.
- Substantiate claims of your knowledge/skills with evidence and examples
Make it clear to the reader that you’re not just repeating their desired requirements. Use brief accounts of real-life examples to substantiate your claims. For example, avoid to simply listing ‘problem-solving’ as a skill. Instead, you could say, ‘Problem-solving: For example, in my role at ACME Engineering, I found a way to streamline process A by doing XYZ.’
- Watch your language
Use active rather than voice to keep the reader engaged and keep your resume concise. For example: ‘I designed a new smokestack scrubber’ rather than ‘A new smokestack scrubber was designed’.Stay positive and focus on your wins rather than your failures. Engineering companies and recruiters will be scanning your resume for particular qualities, so use words that show off your leadership, analytical thinking, initiative and problem-solving skills at a glance. Some examples include ‘leading a team’, ‘managing a project’ or ‘involved in research’.Use relevant engineering industry terms that show you are up to date with the latest industry advancements and tools. Avoid company jargon and meaningless buzzwords. Update industry terms along with the rest of your resume regularly to prevent it coming across as outdated.That said, ensure your resume can be read and understood by people outside the industry as it is likely to fall on the desks of recruitment agents and human resources people first before being passed on to employers within the engineering industry.
- Keep it concise and up to date
The required length of your resume will vary depending on the recruiter’s requirements. Take note of these and comply with them—giving busy recruitment agents and engineering executives more than they asked for will not endear you to them.Make sure the document is concise and clearly shows your appropriateness for the role. To make things easier for the reader, use bullet points, short sentences and paragraphs of no more than 4–5 lines.
- Check, check and check again!
Engineering firms are looking for organised individuals with a keen eye for detail. So, it’s vital to ensure your resume reflects these traits. It must be neat, tidy, well-written, and easy to ready with no grammar or spelling mistakes.Check it multiple times over, then get someone else to proofread it for you to be sure it is free of mistakes, ticks all the boxes, and makes a great first impression of your skills and abilities.
Need more help with your engineering job search?
We specialise in placing engineers in the right roles. Contact us for up-to-date market knowledge on companies, projects and new opportunities. We will assist you with career growth strategies and make the recruitment process a smooth and efficient as possible for you. Talk to our team of engineering recruitment experts today and take your career to the next level.