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Category: Engineering
The Tricks To Writing An Engineering Resume That Scores
For those of us who are engineers or technicians, resume writing can be pretty tough. Most of us don’t like to write; we like to program things and build stuff.
But the reality of life in the technical world is that, first, you have to get a job. Getting a job as an engineer starts first with getting the attention of a potential employer and that is where a professional resume comes into play.
I want to give you a couple of resume writing tips before you start writing a resume. You will have to do some research to find what keywords are appropriate and pertinent to your field.
Resume Keywords Rule
Look at the online postings for engineering jobs. Find all of the keywords that apply to you and your experience, such as PLC, motors, drives, automation and so on. Make a list of these before you start writing a resume.
Don’t worry about the format of the resume at this stage. A simple list is fine.
Most resumes are placed online and recruiters and companies search for keywords first. It won’t do you any good to have a beautiful resume format if your resume never shows up in the searches.
Next, make a list of your skills and abilities. Use your keywords.
After that, list all of your previous employers in reverse chronological order. Make sure the dates are accurate. Under each employer, list what duties you performed. Again, use your keywords. Don’t be too humble here; I have found that most of the resumes I have reviewed understate the applicant’s ability.
How To Write A Resume The Easy Way – Use A Resume Writing Service To Create A Professional Resume
At this point, you can make a decision. You can choose to write your resume yourself, using eloquent phrases that flow trippingly off the tongue and impress the potential employer with your extensive knowledge of the English language.
Get Resume Help and Resume Tips
Or, you can hire a professional resume writing service to make a good, solid advertisement for you. They can provide the resume help you need.
After all, a resume is an advertisement; we don’t want to forget that. Unless you have experience in advertising, you will probably be much further ahead by paying someone else for his or her expertise in this matter.
You wouldn’t have to worry about the resume format, getting help with your resume, searching online for resume tips or some free resume template.
These people are writers and they do this for a living. Granted, there are quite a few companies on the Internet that claim to be able to write resumes, but based on some their websites, I have my doubts.
Try searching for sample resumes online from resume writing services.
Best of luck!
Engineering Tip: Use the Internationally Recognized Phonetic Alphabet
During the course of your engineering duties, how many times have you tried to communicate a lengthy part number over the phone, only to experience frustration?
For example, let’s say you are on the phone with a vendor and you want to buy a part with the number NM5924SFCZ. After you tell the vendor the part number, she looks for it on her computer but can’t find it.
You tell her that you just bought one a few weeks ago.
She says, “You want NN9924FFCC, right?”
You say, “No, the part number is NM5924SFCZ.”
She says, “NM5924SSZZ?”
You have been there, I am sure.
The tip is to use the Phonetic Alphabet. This is the way pilots communicate on the radio to each other and to flight controllers.
If you were to have said the part number is “novemeber mike fife niner too fo-wer sierra foxtrot charlie zulu”, then your vendor could have clearly understood what you wanted.
Besides, to us civilians, it sounds really cool . . .
Here is the Internationally Recognized Phonetic Alphabet:
Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu
1 – wun
2 – too
3 – tree
4 – fow-er
5 – fife
6 – six
7 – sev-en
8 – ait
9 – nin-er
0 – zee-ro
The field of engineering is filled with part numbers, abbreviations and acronyms. Do yourself a favor and learn the phonetic alphabet.
Writing A Good Objective Statement For Your Resume
If you are looking for a permanent position with a company, some people feel it is important to have a good objective statement for your resume.
Personally, I never used an objective statement. It always seemed a bit redundant to me. The mere submission of my resume seemed to state my objective clearly enough.
Besides, how many times have you seen something like this?
“Seeking a challenging position which will enable me to utilize my extensive skills, continue my professional development and provide opportunity for growth and advancement”.
Jeesh – talk about a rubber stamp . . .
However, if you feel you need to have an objective statement, make it unique. Also, make it work for you.
For those who are unfamiliar, an objective statement summarizes your professional goal.
Take a look at this example of an objective statement.
Objective:
To work in the position of an Electronics Technician, so that I may use my experience with digital signal processors to work with the most advanced audio and video equipment in the field.
However, it is to your benefit if your goals match the goals of your potential employer. The first part of your objective statement for your resume should indicate what position you are trying to fill.
If the ad for the job said they were looking for an “Audio Test Technician”, then that is what your objective should state.
Next, you should let the employer know what experience you have and how that is pertinent to the job. (To get some tips on resume keywords, look at Get That Engineering Job – The Tricks To Writing A Resume That Scores.)
Digital Signal Processors, or DSPs, are used in everything audio nowadays. If you have experience with DSPs, make sure the employer knows.
Let’s take our example objective statement and turn it into a good objective statement for your resume.
Let’s say the job posting header looks like this:
“Audio Technician needed to install, set up and tune public address systems”
You can re-work your objective statement to read something like this:
Objective:
To work in the position of an Audio Technician, so that I may use my experience with digital signal processors, audio amplifiers and speaker systems to work with the most advanced professional audio equipment in the field.
It never hurts to come up with two or three objective statements, and pick out the best one. Sometimes, a combination of your best two will give you a really good one.
