/r/EngineeringResumes
A place to review and discuss engineering resumes.
/r/EngineeringResumes
I was given the suggestion to include a cover letter with my resume. I'm not really sure where to start with that.
What am I trying to convey?
Should I write a new one for every application? Should I create a general purpose one?
Any general advice for writing one?
I currently have a job, however, it's going incredibly slowly because we are working with another university and they are gathering data. As of right now, I am learning software and working on a 'sideshow' to the main project which also isn't turning any results.
How do I format this?
Hello everyone, I'd like to know if including bullet points relevant to the responsibility description, or the lack of it, affects my chances of getting an interview.
For example, the responsibilities include working with engineers from other offices in the Philippines and Indonesia. However, there is no mention of working with engineers from those countries as a requirement. If I add that point to my resume (I worked with people from Indonesia), will it strengthen my resume?
Please don't take my example too literally :) It is just an example.
Senior in Computer Engineering, applying for summer internships. For one particular internship I want to apply for, a term project my class has just begun working on is very relevant. The internship is focused on real-time signal processing in embedded systems; my term project is real-time signal processing in an embedded system.
So my question is, is it appropriate for me to put this project on my resume when applying for this job, considering that although isn't currently complete and no significant progress has been made right now, it will be complete by the time I start any internship?
Hello, I'm a Backend developer with 4 years of real job experience + 1 year educational project experience, looking for company change. I'm not sure my resume is okay or not. Please review my resume.
I read the wiki, it's not recommended to add summary, but I want to included it. Is summary okay?
I added my educational project experience as professional experience. Thanks.
After looking at success stories and their accompanying resumes (thank you all for sharing them!) as well the wiki, I made a lot of changes to my resume. Most notably, I was more okay making my bullet points longer than one line (but no more than two) to follow XYZ convention. The below is the result of my changes.
Before I had the summary profile, I had a lot of <10 person startups without full-time recruiters thinking I was a more experienced SWE than I actually was. I did one or two coding projects as a technology consultant so I figured I'd include them, even though the majority of the time I did business analyst work. Plus, the consistent 3 years will hopefully allay fears that I'm flighty.
I had a recruiter call that asked me why I left my previous companies, and that made me realize I should consolidate my shorter contracting experiences into a consultant role -- hence the first "Software Engineer Consultant" position. I was also barely getting recruiter calls despite referrals, and have gotten virtually no call-backs from cold-applies. I was originally targeting companies in the SF Bay Area, but because the market is rough and competition steep, I've started applying to more places in the Los Angeles metro area which is where I am currently.
I'm targeting companies larger than 500 people (ideally over 1000), so would appreciate advice tailored toward that goal. I would greatly appreciate feedback on the content as well as wording of my resume.
As the title says, I am a mechE at a state school not particularly known for our aerospace engineering.
I am currently a sophomore, and have had some bad luck trying to find internships for the summer. I just read through the wiki and tried to hit as many points as I could. Any feedback on my current resume?
Hi there! I went through the wiki and updated the format and wording for my resume as best I could for a first pass. I'm currently a mechanical design engineer that does design work for different clients in various industries, but I'm looking to relocate to a new state for some personal reasons. I've always been excited about space exploration as a kid and now as an adult. I've been applying to roles and reaching out to recruiters for the past few months, but I've only received one phone screening. I'm looking to get into adjacent companies that will have transferable skills down the road or companies that directly work in the space industry.
Currently, my 2 YoE have been at one company where I am gaining experience in the design, drafting, and manufacturing processes of different types of parts and assemblies. However, I am unable to include real results within my work experience because my job duties do not include testing or cost savings data. So, I feel like my resume is missing that WOW factor and only hits the surface. I welcome and appreciate any feedback on my resume, tips to break into the space industry, or advice on how to stand out as an out-of-state applicant!
Some extra context: The certificates I'm talking about are mini "work experience" courses made by a bunch of different firms and are hosted on Forage. Personally, I see them as fairly worthless since they don't give you any real "value", but some of them are decent learning opportunities.
Some of these certificates are usually free online courses that some people do to get up to speed with certain concepts before trying to apply them elsewhere.
Do you think these are worth keeping in? Or do they just add extra clutter to a resume? I see them as fairly worthless since they don't give you any real "value", but some of them are decent learning opportunities.
Have been working on my resume for a while thinking this is good, appreciate any help. I'm interested in software, hardware,data, finance, and other roles that include tech, open to anything right now to advance my career. I'm located in Canada, applying for Canadian positions, hopefully getting a US visa and will be able to apply to jobs in the US for more opportunities. Looking for any advice about my resume or any other things i can do to improve my resume or skills to be a better candidate. I get very nervous in interviews and tend to forget who i am and what i am capable of. I believe this is the best version of my resume I have made and want something solid to try my best by practicing leetcode, interview questions and being the best candidate. I've been lost for the last couple of months due to my mental health and other surrounding problems so any steps to help and be better are appreciated.
Prefacing this to state that I have read the wiki, and have made significant changes to my resume.
I'm currently a first-year student looking for spring week and internship opportunities. I was late to most applications since I started properly getting my head down and working on applications ~ in December.
I am targeting backend software engineering roles, or anything as close to that as I can find. I am only applying to roles that are remote, or London-based. I am a British citizen, with a common foreign last name, but every application I've done has asked for my right to work, and I naturally answer "Yes".
Been rejected for most, if not all opportunities I've applied to and am looking for feedback, I'm just trying to make sure it's not my resume that's holding me back.
I really appreciate any help you can provide. Thank you in advance!
My current resume draft, after using the wiki to refactor accordingly.
Hello! I've attempted to follow the wiki and used the provided template to update my resume in preparation for a job/career change. I have added "2 YoE" of experience to my title due to the software-hybrid roles I've had over the years. I have 8 YoE total.
My formal education is in mechanical engineering and I have worked at the same company for 8 years. I've had 3 roles with this company and I would characterize each role as being "multi-discipline"; meaning a combination of mechanical and software engineering. My goal at this time is to transition into software engineering/software-mechanical hybrid full time. Mostly targeting .NET jobs, but I do have experience with MATLAB and C++. I was/am fortunate enough to work for a company that really let you take ownership of your career path and allowed for a ton of cross-functional responsibilities. Unfortunately, they will be downsizing in 3 months and I will no longer be employed there.
I started out as a test engineer in a laboratory environment. This was mostly working with MATLAB, designing testing fixtures for reliability testing, and writing a few small C++ libraries for data processing.
My second role had the title "Mechanical Engineer" and focused a bit more on "mechanical-things", but there was a solid amount of MATLAB involved. This is where I began to learn C# and started creating personal projects and a Github.
My current role is where I really started to use C# and .NET. The role title is "Senior Test Engineer", but this role really wasn't too mechanical based. I worked primarily with software. In this role, I maintained a legacy .NET Framework app, developed a few applications with .NET Core that actually provided value to the company. C# became a hobby of mine and I spend significant time learn and practicing it outside of work.
I've only recently started applying to jobs. Currently, I have not heard back from any I've applied to (only about 10). I do modify my resume to target specific jobs. What I have attached is my base resume. I'm wondering what improvements I could make to my resume? I started to include a brief summary to indicate I am looking to make the transition from mechanical to software. I'm assuming I am at a disadvantage with a degree in M.E. even with actual work experience?
This is definitely a tough market and I still have time before I really need to ramp up the search. I appreciate any feedback!
I'm a citizen of Canada. I've been primarily applying to aerospace, mechanical, mechatronics, robotics, and space industry positions. I'm currently waiting to hear back about a journal paper but since it isn't confirmed I don't have it listed. I had a couple of interviews at the start of the year, but recently I've had no luck. I know the co-op experience could use improvement, however, I don't have much more that I can squeeze out from those experiences since it was early in undergrad.
Hi! I'm a statistician with a little under 2 years of experience, looking to bring my expertise to a different industry that better aligns with my interests. I'll be applying to roles with titles such as quantitative researcher, data scientist, and research scientist. I'm located in the United States as a US-born citizen, and am planning on moving in-person to wherever my next job is- hopefully in one of the financial or tech hubs in the Northwest, Northeast, or Midwest. I'm currently employed, but I have started applying to roles- I've gotten some rejections already, and have an interview scheduled(!)- so I'd love to make sure my resume is polished.
I've done a good amount of work on my resume since the last time I posted it here, and have gone over the wiki and recommended templates before re-posting. Still, I'd like to keep on seeking feedback. I have tried to improve readability, diversified my use of verbs, and moved university-funded research projects to "Experience" rather than "Projects".
Here's the current state of things:
Thank you to everyone who responds!
Posting as a discussion based on a conversation I was having.
What do you think about using the verb 'Architected'? When and where is it appropriate to use? Is it even a grammatically sound word?
I think 'Architected' fits well in resumes for systems design/architecture roles, but in other cases 'Designed' or 'Wrote' might be better.
For example,
versus
Edit: Also, what do you think about using the verb "Wrote" in the context of "Wrote a program" as opposed to "Created a program"?
I'm mid level front end and mobile developer will start looking for remote jobs in the EU and the US, I have been diving in the wiki, please review my resume and give me your comments I would really appreciate it, I also removed the mid level title based on a team lead who's advice was No need to tell people the precise positions until you get to senior/lead, Thanks in advance
Hey engineers!
I've been reading this subreddit a lot for the past year or so, and I wanted to take an opportunity to thank the people that contribute. Your advice has continued to be incredibly helpful for both the people who post and hopefully for the rest of us that lurk too.
Anyway, I have a bit of a weird situation that I think you can help with. I've been studying for interviews, building out some projects, and trying to eat my engineering knowledge vegetables as it were to try and become a better, more well-rounded candidate to convince some company to take a chance on me despite my non-traditional Data Science-y / Finance background.
My university helped put me in touch with a mentor, and since I've graduated we've had a lot of long conversations about what I've been doing, his work, and just life in general, and to my surprise, he was incredibly nice enough to find some space for me in the department he heads for a small-ish local company.
I came in for a sort of cursory behavioral interview, met some of the other members of the team, and then a few days later he texted to let me know that I got the job. I'm beyond excited, and know that I am ridiculously lucky, but I'm sort of left with the dilemma of not knowing whether my resume is any good or not. I'd feel weird asking now that I've been hired, and resumes somehow never came up naturally while I was still looking, plus I really value a lot of the advice I've read from experienced folks here. So, while unconventional, I was hoping that a few of you guys may be open to helping make sure my foundation is level here, so to speak.
Some thoughts:
Anyway, wow that's a lot, what started email-like quickly turned into a wall of text, thanks for reading all of that if you did. Nitpicks and constructive feedback of all kinds is welcome, thanks again.
TL;DR found a job somehow, don't think my resume was really looked at, want a sniff test to see where I'm really at with it
I've tried to build this resume based on the wiki guidelines and have been tweaking it for the past few weeks but I haven't gotten any success 😭. I feel like maybe this might be due to me not listing any job experience. I used to work as a cashier at a mom-and-pop convenience store every summer for a couple of years but idk whether or not I should put that on my resume, since I don't seem to have any room for it. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!
Hello everyone,
I'm currently seeking a junior software engineer position and have created a resume by using tips from the wiki page and insights from various posts and comments on this subreddit. I aimed to implement as many of these tips as possible while adding my own personal touch. I'm in the final stages of completing my degree, with two exams and my bachelor thesis remaining. Also, I have provided assistance to teaching assistants on the object-oriented course at my faculty, I am not sure if it is good idea to add that to experience part of my resume?
I am eager to receive feedback and suggestions to fine tune my resume. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!
Being in Engineering Physics, Optical Engineering has always interested me as a career path down the line. Summer 2023 provided me with the opportunity to really lock in and apply to Co-op placements in my City. I wanted to make sure that my resume was in tip-top shape before applying anywhere, so I'd have the best chance possible at receiving an offer.
After posting here for the first time, I must admit I was quite humbled by the quite blunt feedback I received. Although now, I am thankful for the feedback. After tweaking my resume, I was overwhelmed by the amount of interviews I received (7 total) and in the end received three offers, now working with arguably one of the bigger optical engineering companies in the world!
Seeing as I did little networking and basically applied resume-only, I have a attribute some of my success to the feedback I received here, and am very thankful for the help :)
current resume (including current co-op)
p.s. if you do see something off about my current feel free to let me know!
Just Accepted a Full Time Entry Engineering Position at Blue Origin!!
With this resume I received 3 offers from major aerospace companies, and I accepted a position at Blue Origin doing work on Lunar Transportation!! I’m super excited to get started with my engineering career :)
I did in fact read the wiki before posting.
Currently looking to get into software engineering - I graduated this past year but did not major in CS (long story). I realize that the field is really tough for juniors right now, I've been told "just wait it out, now isn't a good time" a lot over the past few months. I recall getting more interviews before I graduated last May than I am now, and I was far less skilled and experienced, working on a degree completely unrelated to software.
This is an anonymized resume - I edit the objective statement, experience details, and skills based on any given role that I'm applying to. Is the objective statement worth it? Should I expand on my situation more? If so, I'd love suggestions on how to word it, I've had some people say that I should explain my motivation despite the unrelated degree, others have told me that it's a waste of time.
Currently near Washington, D.C., applying to both remote and in-office roles across the U.S. - **absolutely** willing to relocate. Currently employed as a manager at a restaurant I've worked in since end of high school, and unsure of how to navigate the market with how SWE seems to be these days. I've also applied to IT positions with a slightly different resume that aligns better with those skills. I have a Google IT Certificate and will likely get CompTIA A+ soon if I can, which would hopefully make those easier to achieve.
I'm absolutely willing to put in work - I've got a project in Go that I just started but I am not confident enough in it to put the project or GoLang on my resume just yet. I admit that I've felt a bit directionless lately but I try and keep learning no matter what.
I have a foreign-ish sounding name, would that cause any concerns? I'm a permanent resident and should be getting my citizenship in a few months (lived here since I was 3). Should I put that info in the header, or is it not as important as I may think? Most apps ask about work status up front as it is.
I'd love any and all advice on what roles I should be applying for or what I can do to strengthen my resume - I'm willing to put in work on new or interesting projects if the ones I have are considered lacking. I know that my resume is nowhere near as impressive as some others I've seen here, so any advice or harsh truths to that effect are welcome.
I had an unpaid internship in a chemistry lab that I worked in for a summer while I was still a biochemistry major, is this worth stating/replacing something else? I also modified my espresso machine using an STM32 - rewired the internals and giving it a touchscreen interface. It’s not quite software as it involved more electrical and electronics work, but maybe that’s also worth putting on there (going to do a write up of it soon regardless).
Any advice or criticism welcome
I feel like I've already damaged my opportunity by sending a totally crap CV to a couple of research lab directors. Hopefully, they just trashed my emails and didn't block me or blacklist me. I am shaking my head in shame and hope that they just pitied me and moved on. Can I have a straight answer? Do I really need to keep it down to a 1-page resume? I thought for sure a Ph.D. program would want to know what I've been doing for 10 years and I did not see applying to grad school in the wiki,
Is there a subreddit specifically for CV because I need help, like one-on-one help. If anyone out there is gracious enough to do that, it would resolve a lot of my stress even if it's just a small improvement. I can write research papers, but this CV is killing me. I've been practicing STAR and CAR for several days. I have spent weeks on this CV endeavor. I feel guilty for how much time I've spent on it. The soonest I can get an advisor now is 2 weeks out and I am 3 months behind on applying for positions. I have even built a website portfolio displaying my work just to have a portfolio listed in my contact information section.
Thank you kind souls for reading,
Please offer guidance. I am exhausted and weary.
Applied to 100+ positions so far on Linkedin, Indeed, Handshake and have been rejected/ghosted by most.
2 interviews and both rejections, but both in fields I'm not particularly interested or experienced in. Mainly seeking positions in the aerospace/defense industry.
I've edited my resume a lot using the wiki and STAR/ xyz. I would really appreciate any tips or suggestions, thanks in advance![Student] 2nd-Year EE desperately looking for a summer internship.
📷
NEW resume attached after receiving advice from my previous post here (thank you!).
Old post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringResumes/comments/1atd26w/student_masters_2_years_of_applying_0_interviews/
I followed the STAR method like the wiki recommends - what do think?
Applying to 10 jobs / day using LinkedIn "easy apply" - any other suggestions on how to apply?
Should I write "Canadian citizen" on the top header of resume? (last name might be foreign sounding)
Disclaimer: I have read the wiki and updated my resume according to it. My previous post is here link where it gathered dust, not sure why :)
I am targeting remote senior software engineer/developer positions in Canada (and understand that fierce competition exists). I do not have any issue with citizenship.
I have got 2 callbacks out of maybe 70+ cold applications.
I am looking for feedback for
Hi all,
First time posting here (yes, I read the Wiki and prepared as much as I could), and am looking for constructive feedback on my resume. Long story short, I was laid off from a private company (for financial reasons) less than a month ago and have been updating my resume and applying to companies via most of the common job-searching websites (without any responses yet) for entry-level positions in manufacturing.
My experience for the companies I've worked for has been 70% process and equipment deployment and 30% part/fixture design. If it isn't obvious, programming is not my jam as it doesn't come easy based on undergrad so I haven't attempted to progress in any language. What I'm looking for here is feedback in any aspect. I found this thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/7y8k6p/im_an_exrecruiter_for_some_of_the_top_companies/) then followed some of the suggested guidelines but am willing to improve on any areas if needed.
I'm looking for an onsite role preferably in CA but am open to relocating anywhere within the U.S. Some extras, I was born in the U.S., and fluent in Spanish. If I missed anything, let me know and I'll follow up ASAP.
Thanks
Hi there, I posted here about a month ago, and received some great feedback. I'm hoping for more feedback as I still don't seem to be converting applications into interviews. I have applied to around 700 places in total over the past year and a half. And have used this resume for my most recent 50 applications.
I am targeting a broad range of companies. I'd like to work for a small-med sized company that is involved with web/mobile applications, AI, blockchain, game development, mental health, health, or robotics, and I'd like another full stack role. However, I am trying not to be picky as my current city does not have many opportunities for any of these roles, and the remote market is extremely competitive. I currently live in Western Canada, which has decent tech opportunities outside of my current city, especially in Alberta and Vancouver, but even though I'm willing to relocate I don't get many responses.
Here is my last post for context. The TLDR is I left my first job where I was trying to balance 60 hour work weeks while assisting my mom who has late stage MS through a divorce. Afterwards I tried to do a startup with friends and made a PoC for a mobile app, but we never could get funding. I took time off afterwards to try to recover from burnout, and started applying again when the tech job market began having troubles. I accepted my current position under the guise of working on web and mobile applications, but my actual job has only been mainly IT help desk support, database administration, and Business analytics.
https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringResumes/comments/1avn8m5/4_yoe_700_applications_having_extreme/
Some notes on this resume:
- I have read the wiki
- I have included a summary even though the wiki says not to unless you're a senior or transitioning into a different type of work, because through the advice of my peers, family, and old coworkers everyone told me to include one. I have tried removing cliched and overused phrases from the advice I received from my last post.
- My bullet points aren't perfectly aligned with what the wiki states. Generally I have the most substantial ones at the top, but I kinda disagree with how they should all be ordered by most impressive to least impressive. I have attended resume workshops that instructed me to not follow this order rigorously to make it less boring. Whether this is true or not I don't know but I try to have important ones at the top, and a few more intermixed throughout the rest of the bullets. To me it reads better like this.
- The order of my sections isn't exactly what the wiki wants and I know that. Maybe I'm wrong but I generally feel this is better for the 5 second rule that Recruiters give resumes. Rather than having to find my skills nested in the resume, they can quickly see them if they glance at the bottom. However, I am open to changing it.
- I try to tailor my summary and bullet points for each job. This resume was from the last job I applied to, which works in the telecommunications space, and had Rest APIS and message queues in their job requirements.
I posted here yesterday, but my post was removed after a few hours. I messaged with the mod team and they told me to repost. I changed my resume drastically since my first post a month ago, the template has changed to a modified Jake's Resume template, and I've changed my bullet points dramatically. I have reviewed the resume checklist. I've read success stories but I'm looking for feedback on my resume. I have read the wiki, but have chosen to include things like a phone number and a linkedin because I have gotten phone screening calls still and resume advisors at my university still tell me to include those details.