The Electrical Engineer thinks about it all.
Through their innovation and skill, electrical engineers the world over have produced the hidden mechanics of modern society.
The field is a dependable one with many opportunities for employment and varied areas of focus.
You’ve chosen a great career to pursue, but how can you land a job?
This is where we come in!
We’re going to help you construct a great electrical engineer resume that will impress employers and fully demonstrate your value.
It will take more than learning the basics of resume writing. You will also need to show why you are the preferable candidate in a sea of others.
Let’s start at the beginning.
In this article we are going to outline everything you need to know about creating the perfect electrical engineer resume.
Summary
- Resume Template
- Formatting
- Writing Your Resume Summary
- Areas of Expertise
- Writing Your Work Experience
- Writing Your Education Section
- Additional Sections
- Resume Points to Remember
- Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
- Some Helpful Tools
Let’s begin with a sample electrical engineer resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best electrical engineer resume you possibly can.
Electrical Engineer Resume (Text Version)
Contact Info:
Anthony Coen
[email protected]
1 (573) 693-0143
Columbia, MO 65201
linkedin.com/anthonycoen
Summary Statement:
Electrical Engineer: Licensed Electrical Engineer with experience in electrical design and management including code compliance, CAD design, and project management. Skilled at designing systems for industrial applications and domestic applications including apartment complexes and hotels. Collaborates easily with engineers and development teams to create timely and efficient solutions to any obstacles that may arise.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- 3D CAD SOFTWARE
- C++
- CODE COMPLIANCE
- PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- RISK ASSESSMENT
- TROUBLESHOOTING
- TEAMWORK
- PLANNING
Professional Experience:
Bithium Industries, Columbia, MO
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER | October 2016 – Present
- Produce electrical systems for new industrial construction projects
- Observe relevant building codes at all stages of design process
- Communicate with contractors, clients, and consultants about projects
- Determine specifications for distribution layouts, wiring, and loads
- Complete electrical studies of system susceptibilities
- Maintain dialogue with power companies for new service connection
DRS Corporation, St Louis, MO
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER | January 2014 – August 2016
- Utilized C++ to design system control programs
- Collaborated with senior engineers on industrial applications
- Assisted clients in developing strategies for electrical systems
- Examined new installations and checked for code compliance
Highrise Electrical, St Louis, MO
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER | June 2011 – December 2013
- Configured electrical system designs using 3D CAD software
- Developed system schematics and interconnect drawings
- Met with clients to discuss expectations and probabilities
- Assisted with complex system fabrication and installation
- Present on-site for installation and troubleshooting/system testing
Education/Certifications
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
University of Missouri at St Louis, St. Louis, MO,
Class of 2011
LICENSED ELECTRICAL ENGINEER WITH THE STATE OF MISSOURI, 2011
Formatting Your Electrical Engineer Resume
An electrical engineer uses special software to lay out electrical grids and schematics. Patterns are followed and adhered to.
Similarly, good electrical engineer resume writing follows the same principles.
We’re going to show you how to effectively format and structure your resume.
One objective of resume writing today is making your document scannable. Many employers use bots to scan resumes for keywords and correct language.
A large part of assuring electrical engineer resume is scannable is to keep its content relevant to the position you’re seeking and your career field.
After considering scannability, you need to consider readability.
Your resume needs to be highly readable.
Why?
Because the average resume spends about 6 seconds under the eyes of a hiring manager – not long at all.
You can see why your resume will need to make a good impression quickly.
A must in terms of formatting is to lay out your resume in reverse chronological order.
Put your most recent job/position first, so the reader will see it first when looking at your work experience.
Select a clear and legible font. Nothing fancy or artistic.
Correct use of white space will help you achieve scalability and readability. Align your columns and text in an organized and efficient manner.
Fashioning Your Resume Summary
The resume summary comes first on your page. It’s your opening statement and elevator pitch.
In 2-3 sentences, you need to introduce your most impressive skills and demonstrate your value.
What are you bringing to the table?
Get specific when listing your skills, don’t fall back on generalities. Employers want to know what makes you special, what qualities set you apart.
You want to prove to them that you are the one for the job!
PRO TIP: Your summary should be succinct and focused. It may take several rewrites to get it working effectively. Take your time. Use power words to help emphasize your skill-set.
Now let’s have a look at some summary examples:
Yes!
Licensed Electrical Engineer with experience in electrical design and management, including code compliance, CAD design, and project management. Skilled at designing systems for industrial applications and domestic applications, including apartment complexes and hotels. Collaborates easily with engineers and development teams to create timely and efficient solutions to any obstacles that may arise.
No!
Electrical Engineer with experience in electrical design and project management. Skilled at designing systems. Collaborates with other engineers to solve problems. Looking for a position that utilizes my skills and has a good benefits package.
Why does the first example work, but not the second?
Let’s break it down.
The first example offers a comprehensive, but succinct, overview of the candidate’s chief skills and qualifications.
There are no generalities here.
Power words are included to give the summary a sense of action and competence.
The second example, while not terrible, lacks some necessary detail.
It uses power words well, but they are let down by the general nature of the surrounding language.
The summary also uses an objective at the end. This is incorrect and should not be done.
They know what you’re looking for, or else you wouldn’t be applying.
Keep it strictly about your skill-set.
A good summary will “hook” the reader and leave them wanting to know more.
Now let’s move on to the next section of your electrical engineer resume!
Areas of Expertise/Key Accomplishments
Your Key Accomplishments or Areas of Expertise is a natural extension of your summary.
While your summary is a paragraph, this part will be formatted as a bulleted list.
Your skills are what make you special as a candidate, so it’s time to highlight them.
Example
- 3D CAD Software
- Troubleshooting
- C++
- Teamwork
- Time Management
- Project Management
- Planning
- Risk Assessment
Make sure to list all of your relevant skills!
Your list is a breakdown of your hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills speak to the expertise you hold as an electrical engineer. What areas of the field do you specialize in?
What do you do the most?
Soft skills are personal characteristics that influence your work.
Are you organized, efficient, and focused?
Write your two types of skills down, giving each a bullet point.
Now you’ve got your list!
PRO TIP: Some skills are more relevant than others. While you want to impress the reader, you also don’t want to create a long list of skills that don’t pertain to your career path. So keep your list focused and topical.
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skill ideas to inspire you in writing your skills section.)
Drafting Your Work Experience
Now we come to the real meat and potatoes of your electrical engineer resume: your work experience.
This section is what you’ve been working towards thus far. It’s where you show how you’ve been using your skills over a protracted period of time.
Unless you’re new to this career path, or you just graduated, your work history will comprise the majority of your resume page.
What should you include?
It begins with the layout.
Reverse chronological order should be your formatting choice.
A potential employer will want to know how you’ve been using your skills in the recent past, as this will reflect your current level of competence and career trajectory.
As you work backwards in time listing the various jobs you’ve held, remember that you need only list relevant positions.
Don’t list every single job you’ve ever held.
There are exceptions, of course, such as lack of experience, but we’ll discuss that in a bit.
Of course, you don’t need to include everything you’ve ever done in your career.
As you lay out your work history, be sure to include:
- The company name
- Where the company is located
- What job you performed there
It is also standard practice to include dates in the position heading.
You may choose not to if you only held the position briefly, or had large gaps between jobs.
However, you will be asked about absent dates in an interview situation. You will have to provide answers concerning any gaps as well. So be prepared for this should you leave dates off your electrical engineer resume.
Moving on, you will use bullet points to list your day-to-day functions in the positions you’ve held.
Remember to use power words, and specifically power words that convey action.
3-5 relevant points should be sufficient to accurately convey your functions in the position.
Here are some examples for reference:
Yes!
DRS Corporation | St Louis, MO | Electrical Engineer | January 2014 – August 2016
- Utilized C++ to design system control programs
- Collaborated with senior engineers on industrial applications
- Assisted clients in developing strategies for electrical systems
- Examined new installations and checked for code compliance
No!
DRS | St Louis, MO | Electrical Engineer
- Used C++
- Worked with senior engineers
- Did new installations and code compliance
The first candidate seems like a seasoned professional, skilled at detail work and collaboration.
The bullet points utilize power words to give each role a sense of action and competence.
This candidate appears grounded in their skill set. They know what their responsibilities are and how to accomplish them.
The second candidate just doesn’t provide enough information to make an impression. Everything about the entry is vague and too general.
We gain no real idea of the candidate’s expertise or how they put their skills to use in a day-to-day capacity.
Remember, you want to demonstrate how you’ve used your relevant skills in each job position.
PRO TIP: Remember that your work history is the very heart of your electrical engineer resume. Each position listed needs to be relevant and on point. Think about what power words are best suited to each role and responsibility. Power words will help you structure your bullet points.
About Bots
We’ve mentioned bots earlier in this article. If your potential employer is using an Automatic Tracking System (ATS) to scan every resume, then you might consider making a few alterations in your resume formatting.
One option is to use a paragraph format for your work experience section.
Instead of bullet points:
DRS Corporation | St Louis, MO | Electrical Engineer | January 2014 – August 2016
- Utilized C++ to design system control programs
- Collaborated with senior engineers on industrial applications
- Assisted clients in developing strategies for electrical systems
- Examined new installations and checked for code compliance
Use a paragraph:
Utilized C++ to design system control programs according to specifications. Worked with senior engineers on efficiency of electrical equipment for industrial applications, adhering to best practices. Examined new installations and checked for code compliance.
Another option is to use a mixed format, with bullet points to highlight the special functions of the job or accomplishments.
Utilized C++ to design system control programs according to specifications. Worked with senior engineers on efficiency of electrical equipment for industrial applications. Examined new installations and checked for code compliance.
- Provided assistance to clients in developing strategies for electrical systems
- Received commendation for adherence to best practices.
A paragraph format enables you to insert more keywords into your entries.
But keep in mind that paragraphs are text dense, and therefore take more time to read for a hiring manager.
The last thing you want is to turn off a reader because of too many words on the page.
So unless you’re really concerned about an ATS, you should stick with bullet points.
Writing Your Education Section
Education is often the force that propels us into our professional lives.
Employers are interested in your level of education, and how it has influenced your skills.
Do you hold a degree specific to your field?
Perhaps you received a liberal arts education instead?
Whatever your situation, write down the details in this section, beginning with the highest level of education you received.
Example: High School Diploma, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, etc.
List your area of study and the school/institution you earned your degree(s) from. Be sure to include any minors and concentrations.
If you are a recent graduate, it is beneficial to list your GPA as well. You’ll want to remove it later on down the road. But right now, it could prove helpful in demonstrating your value to employers.
Example:
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
University of Missouri at St Louis, St. Louis, MO,
GPA: 3.8
Class of 2011
If you have supplemented your education in some way, add that information as well.
Example:
Licensed Electrical Engineer with the State of Missouri
2011
Additional Sections in Your Electrical Engineer Resume
Sometimes, not everything that makes you stand out as a candidate will fit with the typical sections on a resume.
If this is you, think about adding an additional section dedicated to special achievements.
This can be helpful if your work history is a bit thin as well.
You may also want to add more sections if you are just beginning your career and need to fill in some space where your work history is thin.
Example:
- Awards and honors
- Publications
- Noteworthy Projects
- Social Media Influence
- Speaking Engagements
- Hobbies/Interests
- Volunteer Work
What if You Have Little/No Experience?
Every career is different.
Maybe you needed to take a break.
Maybe you felt like a change was needed and so you switched fields.
Maybe you’re just starting out in your career.
If any of these situations fits you, your electrical engineer resume will have to be adjusted to your current circumstance.
Consider moving your education section so that it follows your summary and expertise points.
If you lack experience, your education is going to be your strongest selling point.
When writing your work history, emphasize relevant areas in your bullet points.
You’ll need to utilize what experience you do have.
For instance, consider what roles you’ve functioned in that could influence your future as an electrical engineer.
Are you familiar with schematics or 3D software?
Have you ever held a job that required attention to details and precision?
Have you ever been involved with construction or building layouts?
These skills and areas could count as valuable experience on a resume.
Resume Points to Remember
As you put the finishing touches on your electrical engineer resume, remember the following:
Leave a way to be contacted!
Your resume does no good if they cannot reach you for follow up. So put down your email address, LinkedIn profile, or other relevant contact info.
Use space wisely
Put your summary at the top of the page, followed by your expertise points, work history, and education. Alterations might be needed depending on your situation, but it’s important that you use space effectively.
Use power words
Power words convey strength. They give the language of your resume a boost that will please bots and hiring managers both.
Use a good proofreader
Mistakes are part of writing. It could be spelling, grammar, or sentence structure. We advise recruiting a proofreader to catch errors. You want your electrical engineer resume looking polished!
Resume “Don’ts”
Avoid the following:
No first-person language
Your electrical engineer resume is about you, right? True. But don’t use the first-person language when writing. It’s considered unprofessional and clutters your text. Keep it all about the skills.
Don’t exceed one page
Relevance is the key. And your relevant information should fit nicely onto a single page. No need for more. One page is simple to handle and simple to read.
Don’t repeat yourself
Repeating yourself is a sure way to get your electrical engineer resume passed over. Use variety in your language. And don’t forget the power words!
(We’ve put together a handy table of power words below to use for inspiration.)
Don’t use odd fonts or formatting
Remember readability and scannability? Fonts and formatting affect both, so use a simple and plain font. Stick to the formatting guidelines laid out in this article and you’ll be fine.
Some Helpful Tools
Electrical Engineer Resume Power Words
- Produce
- Observe
- Communicate
- Determine
- Complete
- Maintain
- Utilized
- Worked
- Provided
- Examined
- Configured
- Developed
- Met
- Assisted
Electrical Engineer Resume Skills List
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
| 3D CAD Software | Risk Assessment |
| C++ | Troubleshooting |
| Code Compliance | Teamwork |
| Project Management | Planning |
