Although the demand for engineers in the industries is high, they still need to write a perfect CV (curriculum vitae) to impress the recruiter and stand out among other candidates. Writing a CV for the engineering field is different than others because they have to mention their technical skills, experiences, internships, and communication skills in a perfectly balanced way.
As an engineer, you may not realize that you may have a greater number of technical skills when you graduate from engineering school. Therefore, presenting these skills on your CV is sometimes tricky and requires extra effort. It will not only impress the recruiter but also open ways to land better jobs in your field.
In this article, we have mentioned some of the most important factors you need to keep in mind while summarizing your technical skills, expertise, and other personal skills on your CV. Here are some tips to write a perfect engineering CV that will impress your employer.
#1 Choose the Perfect Layout
The first thing recruiter perceives in your CV is the layout you are writing on. The mistake in not choosing the perfect layout for your CV may confuse the recruiter and thus he may ignore your CV at first sight. Therefore, it is very important that before you start writing your CV, you should choose an appropriate CV layout.
It should be very simple and easy to navigate. Your name and contact details should be at the very top. Head your CV with an introductory profile. There should be different sections for your qualifications, training experiences, technical skills, and so on where you mention them concisely in a perfectly bullet-points fashioned way. List your work experience in reverse chronological order and then add your education and qualifications.
#2 Make it Simple
Sometimes engineers mention their qualifications and skills in a very complicated way such that the recruiter will have to take extra time on your CV. So, he eventually ignores your piece of writing. Your CV has to be very concise and containing relevant and rational sentences with key points in a bold and italic format (if emphasizing is required) to make it easy for the recruiter to read.
Mention your key skills in bullet points to make them significant on your CV. Your CV must have a powerful personal statement on top which must contain a summary of your technical skills, expertise, and experiences. This summary should be adjusted in such a way that it meets the requirement for a job you want to apply. In the first line of your CV, you should also state the technical position you are applying to. This way, your recruiter may determine the relevancy of your CV instantly.
#3 Prove what you have acclaimed
You can’t just mention your education, knowledge, skills, and experiences randomly in your CV. You have to give evidence of each skill and qualification you have mentioned in your CV, otherwise, the recruiter would not be paying any attention to your self-acclaimed achievements and goals.
If you are a new graduate and want to apply for a job, you should mention your skills and expertise in relevant engineering areas that you have learned through your engineering education rather than acclaiming random technical experiences that you haven’t achieved yet. Be honest!
Focus on the skills you think you are good at and describe briefly how you have utilized these skills in your educational career. Include your engineering projects and associated memberships with engineering communities and societies you had in your educational career. While mentioning your technical skills, don’t forget to mention other important organizational skills such as management and team working.
#4 Make it Professional
Sometimes engineers mention too much about their work experience and skills that gets the CV out of the context. This gives the recruiter a negative impression. While writing your CV, remember that you are creating a piece of writing that gets you started in your professional career in the relevant engineering field and thus it should look professional and relevant.
When writing CVs, most new graduates prefer to download a CV template and customize it. This is a good idea, however, not all the templates are suitable for engineers. For example, most colorful and stylish templates are used by designers. As an engineer, you should use a simple and clean template to write your CV.
Don’t write sentences repeatedly to make your CV lengthy. A good CV is a maximum of two to three pages. If you have experience working with notable professionals, mention them in your reference section to make your CV stand out. Mention only relevant personal information. Avoid mentioning religious beliefs, salary status, or other discriminatory private information in your CV. Additionally, you can mention the skills and commitment you can apply to make the company succeed in achieving goals.
#5 Make it Relevant
Each engineering field has sub-fields, and each industry is related to a specific sub-field of relevant engineering. Thus, to make it more professional you should mention your relevant sub-field experience based on the company you are applying for, rather than explaining the long irrelevant sentences out of these sub-fields. For this, of course, you have to explore the industries’ interests and goals according to your skills and capabilities.
For example, an electrical engineer applying for an electronics company must mention skills and expertise in the electronics field rather mentioning the power sector or communication experiences. After all, the recruiter only cares about the relevant experience according to industry requirements.
#6 Make it Error-free
After you have prepared your CV to apply for a job, always remember to double-check for mistakes or errors. You can go through your piece of writing two to three times to check spelling and grammar mistakes. Also, check for the statements you have mentioned informally, and make them professional. Consistency in your CV is also a very important factor to double-check.
No matter how relevant and perfect the skills you have mentioned in your CV, they won’t be reckoned by the recruiter if you have several mistakes in your CV. It is always recommended to get your CV reviewed by one of your teachers or a professional in your relevant field of engineering. They will help you make your CV more professional and error-free. They could also advise you to apply for the right position in the right company. Alternatively, there are many online experts you can find who can give a detailed review of your CV to get a perfect new job for you.
Summary
Writing a perfect and balanced engineering CV is one of the important skills for an engineer. Choose a simple and clean layout and don’t use colors without a purpose. To make your CV stand out, you must identify the required skills and adjust your CV according to the job posted. Highlighting and summarizing your key skills perfectly is a very crucial step in writing a perfect CV. You can also create a separate section to show off your key skills and abilities to the employer immediately.