Are you a DevOps engineer who dreams of working for the likes of Apple, IBM, Amazon, CBS, Epic Games, or Western Union? 

Do we have news for you: These companies were all looking to hire DevOps engineers at the time of writing. 

It’s no wonder why the demand for DevOps engineers is growing not only at big-name companies, but also at SMBs. Companies are quickly catching on to the fact that having a reliable DevOps engineer on-site is integral to facilitating effective collaboration between development and operations teams. 

So what exactly is the difference between a typical software engineer and a DevOps engineer? Study.com summarizes that the biggest distinction between these two professions is their focus. While software engineers are primarily concerned with how well software suits a given client’s needs, DevOps engineers have a broader focus that encompasses “software development, how the software is deployed and providing operational support through the cloud while the software is continually functional.” 

If you’re not yet a DevOps engineer but have been considering switching to this profession, you’ll be happy to hear that there’s never been a better time to get your foot in the door. As Atlassian points out, the DevOps movement is relatively new as it only started between 2007 and 2008 after, “IT operations and software development communities got vocal about what they felt was a fatal level of dysfunction in the industry.” However, it’s only been in recent years that interest in hiring DevOps has reached new heights.

Whether you’re an aspiring or experienced DevOps engineer, you’re no doubt looking for the key to finally getting hired – either for your dream job or any respectable job.

The answer is the same for both circumstances: it all comes down to your resume. Applying with a well-written, well-formatted, and engaging resume that ticks all of the boxes recruiters are looking for is the surest way to capture a recruiter’s attention. To create a resume that’s strong enough to attract more job offers than you can handle, take a read of this DevOps engineer resume examples and writing guide. You’ll discover: 

• How to charm recruiters by addressing precisely what they’re after
• Expert tips for impressing during your interview 
• Which qualifications you should highlight in your DevOps resume
• Which skills will get you in recruiters’ good books
• How to quickly create a job-winning DevOps resume

1. Multiple Template Examples

2. How to Write a DevOps Engineer Resume That Will Get You the Job?

How should you format your resume?

Optimally formatting your DevOps engineer resume is one of the simplest but most powerful things you can do to aid your job search. Well-formatted resumes are easier to read, skim through, and ultimately, capture a recruiter’s eye. Therein, they help to ensure your resume doesn’t drown in the sea of resumes recruiters receive for every job they post. 

For this reason, it’s important not to think of formatting your resume as a secondary consideration. To be completely clear, doing so is just as vital to the success of your job application as the words that make up your resume.

So which resume format do recruiters prefer a DevOps resume to have? A reverse-chronological format. This format essentially: a) positions your professional experiences towards the top of your resume and b) arranges your professional experiences from most to least recent. In turn, a recruiter reading your resume will be left with the impression that you’re a DevOps engineer who offers an abundance of experience.

Needless to say, if you don’t have much or any DevOps experience, this isn’t the most ideal resume format for you to use. Instead, we recommend using a functional resume format, which positions your skills more prominently than your professional experiences. 

As you’re tinkering around with your resume format, there are a handful of critical layout considerations that you should simultaneously keep top-of-mind. Recruiters will be looking to see if you’ve followed them, so make sure that you don’t stray from the guidelines we’ve provided below:

• • Number of Pages: 1 page at most.
  • Fonts to Use: Legible fonts that promote comprehension, such as Arial and Calibri.
  • Fonts to Avoid: Any fonts that are used in programming or are otherwise difficult to read, such as Fira Code or Input Mono.
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

• Line Spacing: 1 or 1.15.

• Header size: 14-16 point size.
• Text size: 11-12 point size

What makes a great DevOps engineer resume?

There are numerous qualities that all great DevOps engineer resumes possess. To give you an insight into which ones are most critical to the success of your application, we’ve listed out 5 of the most important ones to keep in mind:

• Well-formatted: As we discussed in the previous section, correctly formatting your resume is crucial. To recap, experienced candidates should opt for a reverse-chronological format, while entry-level candidates should make use of a functional format. Great resumes also abide by standard layout guidelines, of which we’ve also listed above.

• Well-written: It may seem obvious to state, but one of the main differences that separates a good resume from a great one is the quality of writing – or lack thereof! A candidate may have all of the qualities a recruiter is looking for, but if they describe them in a lackluster way or their writing is riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, their application won’t go very far. That’s why the importance of writing your resume well cannot be overstated.

• Relevant: A resume may be considered great for one job but not for another. The reason is that a great resume highlights the most relevant qualities a candidate offers that would allow them to excel in that particular job – not every job out there. Therefore, if you want recruiters to be in awe at your resume, you need to target it to each application. To learn how to do this, make sure not to skip the next section of this guide.

• Evidence-based: If you make it to the interview stage of the recruitment process, you’ll get the opportunity to comprehensively explain all of the reasons why you believe you’re suitable for the role. However, when it comes to your resume, you’ll only have a very limited space to do so. The reason great resumes manage to be so convincing is that they provide relevant and quantifiable examples to showcase the candidates’ competencies.

• ATS-friendly: ATS, which stands for ‘Applicant Tracking System’ is a recruitment software that evaluates the suitability of your application based on the presence or absence of keywords on your resume. Keywords are words in a job ad that represent the specific skills, experiences, or qualities a recruiter is seeking from an ideal candidate.
  
  Great resumes need to be ATS-friendly, because if they’re not, the ATS will not pass them. If you want your resume to get the tick of approval from ATS, we suggest giving this article from Muse a good read. 

How to give recruiters what they’re looking for by targeting your resume to each application

As recruiters make their way through the sizable pile of resumes they’ve received, they’ll be taking note of whether each candidate has targeted their resume to align with the specific requirements of the particular job in question. Candidates who submit resumes that are customized to address such requirements will be far more likely to make it to the next round than candidates who hand in generic resumes. 

It’s therefore critical to target your resume to each application if you want to get hired. After all, why would a recruiter want to pay your resume any attention if it doesn’t present you as an ideal candidate for the job?

Remember, the whole point of a resume is to convince whoever’s reading it that you offer the perfect combination of relevant hard and soft skills, professional experiences, training, certifications, educational background, and any other qualities to completely smash the job. 

So how do you give recruiters what they’re looking for by targeting your resume to each application? It isn’t rocket science – you simply need to consult the job ad to identify what the recruiter is after and then touch on these qualities in your resume. Here is a handy 3-step process you can follow:

• Analyze the job ad: You can identify which qualities a recruiter is after by carefully analyzing the job ad for keywords. To refresh your memory, keywords are words that represent the very qualities a recruiter is seeking from an ideal candidate for the given role.

• Work out which ones apply to you: You should only target the keywords that are relevant to your professional profile. That’s why you need to spend the time determining which ones apply to you.

• Focus your resume around the keywords you wish to target: The final step is to focus your resume around the keywords that you wish to target. You can do this by incorporating keywords naturally throughout each section of your resume, where relevant. For example, if you identify the keyword ‘deploying cloud-based infrastructure,’ you should emphasize your skills and experiences doing so. 

What are ideal DevOps job qualifications and how to list them correctly?

Each recruiter’s idea of their so-called dream candidate will change depending on the nature of each job as well as their individual preferences. That being said, there are a handful of ideal DevOps job qualifications that any recruiter would be over the moon to see on a resume. Keep reading to find out what they are, as well as how to list them correctly in your resume.

Education 

In order to become a DevOps engineer, you’ll usually need to follow a specific educational path. While some workplaces may accept equivalent work experience, you will typically need to hold a Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to computer science, electronics engineering, or mathematics.

To add your education to your DevOps resume, you’ll need to create an “Education” section. But hold up before you start recounting the good ol’ days in college, like this candidate did:

EDUCATION

• I studied at the University of California, Berkeley, for four years, from 2016 - 2020. It was a great time, especially as I was able to complete my dream degree, a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science. I enriched my mind in so many ways, so I consider it a highly fulfilling time in my life. 

Recruiters only want to discover the cold hard facts about your educational background. Specifically, they want to see:

• The degree you obtained
• The educational institution you attended
• The state the educational institution is located in
• The years you studied your degree

So that you can get a clearer picture of the correct way to include your education in your resume, we rewrote the previous candidate’s “Education” section with this in mind:

EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2016 - 2020

Training and Certifications

Have you completed any in-house or external training that helped to build up your skills as a DevOps engineer? Or did you study for hours and hours to pass one or more DevOps certifications? It’s a good thing you did, because recruiters love candidates who have relevant certifications or training to their name.

In terms of ideal training and certifications, many recruiters consider an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer to be the gold standard. So if you are one, you’ll definitely want to feature this fact prominently on your resume. Even if you aren’t AWS Certified, recruiters will still be very impressed to see any DevOps related certifications or training you’ve undertaken. Some examples of useful ones to feature include:

• DevSecOps Engineering (DSOE)℠ Certification
• Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) Foundation℠ Certification
• DevOps Leader (DOL)® Certification
• Certified Agile Service Manager (CASM)® Certification
• DevOps Leader (DOL)® Certification

To list any certifications or training, provide the following information about each one:

• The name of the certification or training
• The name of the institution where you received it
• The state the institution is located in
• The year you received the certification or training 

For example:

• DevSecOps Engineering (DSOE)℠, DevOps Institute, FL, 2020

Which soft and hard skills should you mention? How can you do so correctly?

Every DevOps engineer has a unique skill set that distinguishes them from every other DevOps engineer out there. So which skills should you hone in on when you’re compiling your resume? 

The quick answer is those that are directly relevant to the particular job you’re applying for. Remember how we explained that keywords are the secret to targeting your resume? A huge part of doing so involves incorporating skills-focused keywords into your resume.

That is, you should identify skills-focused keywords in a job ad that apply to you and then: 

• Feature a few eye-catching ones in your “Resume Objective” or “Resume Summary.”
• List out 6 to 8 stand out skills in a dedicated “Skills” section.
• Incorporate the skills you mention in the above sections, as well as any other relevant skills, throughout your “Employment History” section. Ideally, every achievement should feature at least one skill.

So what types of skills-focused keywords can you expect to find in job ads for DevOps engineers? There are two types of skills you’ll come across: Soft and hard skills. To learn more about each type, keep reading. We’ve included a definition of each, as well as some typical examples that we identified by analyzing real-life DevOps job ads.

Soft skills

Soft skills are intangible skills that describe the way in which you work and interact with others. For example:

• Effective verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to grasp new concepts quickly
• Goal-oriented
• Naturally curious 
• Teamwork skills
• Solution-oriented
• Proactiveness
• Adjusts quickly to changing priorities and conditions
• Willingness to work hard

Hard skills

Hard skills are tangible skills that represent technical abilities that you can draw on to successfully complete the tasks that are assigned to you. For example:

• Building, maintaining, and improving AWS infrastructure
• Providing tools that help automate engineering workflows 
• Monitoring systems for health and availability
• Ensuring the companies systems are secure
• Conducting investigations into critical delivery issues
• Building, releasing, and configuration management of production and development systems
• Working with and supporting developers with their infrastructure needs
• Triaging and remediating production infrastructure, application, and database issues
• Applying knowledge of current industry trends and techniques to formulate solutions
• Reducing repetitive manual tasks performed by developers and scrum teams

In addition to the hard skills above, DevOps engineers also need to highlight their proficiency with certain operating systems, tools, cloud management platforms, and programming languages that are relevant to the given job. For example:

• Proficiency with developing in specific operating systems (e.g. Linux, Windows, etc)
• Proficiency with specific tools (e.g. Kubernetes, GitHub, Docker, Jenkins, SonarQube, Chef, Selenium, etc)
• Proficiency with specific cloud management platforms (e.g. IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, etc)
• Proficiency with specific programming languages (e.g. PHP, Python, Java, etc)

How to write a resume objective or summary and examples of both

A “Resume Objective” and “Resume Summary” both serve as an introductory section in a resume. The best ones manage to convey what an amazing hire a candidate would be in just 2 to 4 sentences.

So what’s the difference between them? A “Resume Objective” is designed for entry-level candidates looking to get their start as a DevOps engineer. In contrast, a “Resume Summary” is reserved for use by experienced candidates who want to stand out from other experienced candidates. You can learn more about how to expertly craft the one that’s appropriate to your circumstances below:

Resume objective

We recommend all entry-level and aspiring DevOps engineers to include a resume objective because it’s the easiest way to convince a recruiter from the get-go that you have undeniable potential to excel in a given role. 

To develop an understanding of how to write an excellent resume objective, it’s useful to learn what not to do first. To that end, take a look at this not-so-convincing example of a DevOps resume objective:

• I am after an opportunity to kick off my career as a DevOps engineer, and I believe that this role is an ideal place to start. While I currently have zero experience in this field, my experience as a software developer makes me a naturally strong hire. I already have most of the skills a DevOps engineer needs, so I would only require minimal guidance to polish these skills.

This example is representative of how many entry-level candidates write their resume objectives. On the whole, both the tone and content comes across as highly unprofessional. This was of course not the candidate’s intention, but it’s very easy to make mistakes with your resume objective if you don’t know what standard to aim for.

So what exactly about this resume objective screams “amateur?” The candidate attempts to establish themselves as a “naturally strong hire”, but doesn’t provide a skerrick of evidence to support their claim. For example, they claim to have “most of the skills a DevOps engineer needs,” but then fail to specify even a single relevant skill they offer. They also leave the impression that they want the role to further their own goals, rather than to help those of the company at hand.

Now that you have a firm idea of what to avoid, let’s take a look at an example of a brilliant DevOps resume objective:

• Aspiring DevOps engineer with 5 years of experience as a software developer, including 2 years as a manager. As a Junior DevOps Engineer at Hexagon Solutions, I plan to draw on my experience triaging and remediating production infrastructure and proficiency with developing in Linux. My strong communication and analytical thinking skills would also ensure I excel in this role.

Any recruiter would agree that this candidate paints a far more compelling picture of themselves as a future DevOps engineer than the previous candidate. As an entry-level candidate, your goal should be to reduce any doubts a recruiter has about your application. 

This candidate does this by not only showcasing their relevant hard skills (triaging and remediating production infrastructure and developing in Linux), but also their relevant soft skills (communication and analytical thinking skills). This is notable because many aspiring candidates forget that soft skills are just as important to bring to the table as hard skills. 

The candidate also reassures the recruiter that they’re ready to take the leap to this new job by emphasizing their relevant professional experiences as a software developer and manager. 

Resume summary 

The key to writing a strong resume summary is to figure out which of your qualities a recruiter will be most interested to learn about. Above all else, you should emphasize your experience and skills as a DevOps engineer. After all, your primary aim is to persuade them that these qualities make you a shoo-in for the role.

That’s why it’s vital to convey what a professional you are. The last thing you want to do is miss the chance to impress, like this candidate did:

• Experienced DevOps engineer who is looking to start a new role where my strong skill set and professional experience will be genuinely valued. I previously interviewed at Google, so I know that I am an in-demand candidate. If you are looking for an amazing DevOps engineer, keep reading to discover more about my impressive professional profile. 

The reason this resume summary would leave a sour taste in a recruiter’s mouth is that it makes the candidate seem like they’re all talk. Notice how the candidate vaguely states that they have many attributes that make them “an amazing DevOps engineer,” but then doesn’t offer any clear examples of their supposed attributes.

The fact that they mentioned their interview at Google would also rub a recruiter up the wrong way. After all, a recruiter wants to know why you would be a perfect fit at the company they’re hiring for, not anywhere else!

So what does a fantastic resume summary look like? Take a look for yourself:

• Goal-oriented DevOps engineer with 5 years of experience who wishes to apply their superior skills building, maintaining, and improving AWS infrastructure at Silver Spoon Enterprises. With a history of resolving complex technical problems, including one which saved my current company over $30K, I also offer proven problem-solving skills as well as Kubernetes and Python expertise.

This resume summary looks a million times better than the previous one, right? There are numerous reasons for this, but let’s highlight the major ones. The candidate expertly sells themselves as a highly-experienced DevOps engineer who has the right mix of skills and competences to excel in the given role. 

They do this by emphasizing their hard skills (building, maintaining, and improving AWS infrastructure, resolving complex technical problems, as well as Kubernetes and Python expertise) and soft skills (goal-oriented approach and problem-solving skills). These aren’t just any skills, either; they’re the precise ones the candidate identified in the job ad. 

Another noteworthy thing about this resume summary is that it features an eye-grabbing achievement that quantifies the candidate’s skills (the $30K the candidate saved their company). If you can create a similarly well-written resume summary, we have every confidence that recruiters will be lining up to interview you!

How do you make your resume stand out?

While the increasing demand for DevOps engineers is certainly favorable news for you, keep in mind that this demand is coupled with greater competition. As such, it’s integral to make the extra effort to distinguish your resume from the pack. Here are some quick ‘n easy tips for doing so:

• • Include a resume header: This one-line, eye-catching summary of who you are as a professional can capture a recruiter’s attention instantly.

  • Don’t list duties, list achievements: A surefire way to send a recruiter to sleep is to list the job duties you completed in your “Employment History” section. Instead, phrase them as achievements that showcase how much value you brought to the given company.

  • Mention relevant open source projects you’ve contributed to: The fact that you’ve done so shows that you’re active within the engineering community, which is considered a major plus by recruiters. To learn how to do so properly, we suggest taking a read of Open Source’s article on the topic.
     

• Ensure your resume is 100% free of spelling and grammatical errors: Recruiters can’t stand seeing spelling and grammatical errors in resumes. Some ideas for detecting errors include running a spell check, using Grammarly, and asking someone else to read through your resume. 

How to prepare for a job interview as a DevOps engineer?

If you have one or more DevOp interviews locked in, congratulations! This means that your application left a strong impression on the right people. So how do you ensure that your interview further solidifies the fact that you’re the very best candidate for the job? It all comes down to careful and strategic preparation. Here are our experts’ top tips for preparing a job interview as a DevOps engineer:

• Be prepared to talk the talk: In order to answer any questions an interviewer throws at you with ease and confidence, you will need to put in hours of interview prep. One of the most effective methods is to practice your answers to common interview questions.
  
  We’ve listed out 30+ common questions in the next section that cover not only your professional experiences, skills, and qualities, but also your general DevOps knowledge. Also included are commonly asked questions about the company and position. Keep in mind that to prove that you really want a given job, you’ll need to show that you’ve done your research about the company and position.

• Engage in technical interview practice: The interview prep doesn’t end there. You also need to prepare to ace any technical questions you’re asked. Whether you get asked just a handful of technical questions or need to engage in a more extensive technically-focused interview, you won’t want to miss a beat. You should brush up not only on your coding, definitions,
  
  Fortunately, there are tons of innovative online resources to help you prepare for your DevOps interview. For example, Code Signal allows you to complete real-world assessments in an advanced IDE, while Pramp will pair you with an optimal peer to hone your interview answers.

• Get your clothes in order: As a general rule of thumb, you should always dress to impress as an interviewee. While the company you’re interviewing with may indeed allow its employees to wear anything short of a shower curtain, remember that you’re not yet working there. Interviewers expect interviewees to be neat and professionally dressed. Anything short of that may in fact cost you the job.
  
  So what exactly should you wear? Susan Hosage, Senior Human Resources Manager recommends that men wear a sports coat, dress shirt, and khakis and women wear a straight/A-line skirt, dress pants, blouse or sweater, and jacket. Make sure to get all of your clothes in order well before your interview so that you don’t end up scrambling to find this and that item. And don’t forget to iron your clothes!

Pro tip: Don’t forget to plan how you’re getting to the interview. Working out your route and in advance will ensure that you get to your interview on time. It’s considered best practice to arrive around 10 minutes early. Be sure to factor in additional time on your journey so that you’ll still be able to arrive on time should any unexpected obstacles crop up. 

Which questions are likely to be asked during the interview process?

As we explored above, preparation is key to impressing during your interview. Knowing which types of questions are likely to be asked during the interview process before the fact will allow you to refine your answers and reduce the chances of being caught out. Below, we’ve shared some of the most common questions candidates can expect to be asked at DevOps interviews: 

About Your Professional Experiences, Skills, and Qualities

• Can you give a brief overview of your work history to date?
• Why do you think we should consider you for the role?
• Describe yourself in three words.
• What about the position interested you most?
• What qualities do you believe make you stand out as a DevOps engineer?
• Why do you think you’ll be a good DevOps engineer even though you have no experience?
• Why do you want to change jobs?
• What are your pet peeves?
• How would you describe your communication style?
• How would your previous colleagues describe you?
• What is your proudest professional achievement to date?
• What do you need to improve?
• Describe a time when you encountered conflict within the workplace.

About Your DevOps Knowledge

• How would you describe DevOps to someone with no knowledge of it?
• What are some key DevOps KPIs?
• Can you name the different phases in DevOps?
• What are the main advantages and disadvantages of DevOps?
• What is the purpose of CI?
• Which DevOps tools do you believe are most valuable?
• What is the difference between git fetch and git pull?
• Describe how you would resolve a merge conflict in Git.
• Which commands can you use to restart Jenkins manually?
• Can you explain virtualization with Nagios?
• What is a virtual private cloud?
• Do you believe more companies should promote a DevOps work culture? If so, why?
• What are the primary challenges DevOps engineers face when fostering collaboration?

About the Company / Position

• Why do you want to work here?
• What do you think our company does better than our competitors?
• What do you know about our company?
• Which areas do you think we could improve on?
• Who is our typical customer?
• When were we founded
• Who are our biggest competitors?

3. How to Make a Superb DevOps Engineer Resume Using Resumebuild.com’s Resume Builder Tool

Remember how we said that top-tier companies are actively looking for DevOps engineers? These companies – and all companies for that matter – aren’t willing to hire an entry-level or experienced DevOps engineer unless they know that they’re completely committed to the job. 

If you’re lacking the time or motivation to get your resume in order but still want to impress recruiters, you’ll be glad to hear that there’s an easier way to make a superb DevOps engineer resume. We’re referring to none other than our feature-packed resume builder at Resumebuild.com.

Our resume builder is so easy and effective to use that you can even make an impressive resume in only a couple of minutes! Wondering how this can even be possible? For starters, our resume builder will completely handle all of the time-consuming formatting and layout considerations you’d usually need to configure on your own. It does this by offering you a variety of HR-aligned resume templates to choose from and make use of. 

You also won’t need to waste hours upon hours trying to figure out what information should go in which section. Instead, you can follow our resume builder’s clear step-by-step resume making process. We’ve included a plethora of inspiring pre-written examples throughout the builder, so you won’t need to rack your brains in order to make the perfect resume. 

If you want to show recruiters what they’ve been missing out on, create a brilliant DevOps resume at Resumebuild.com.

Getting hired as an electrical engineer may seem straightforward, you either have the education and credentials or you don’t. But getting the job you want requires demonstrating you have the kinds of skills that make a truly excellent electrical engineer. You need to be able to not just design complex systems, but help communicate those ideas.

What you need to remember is that a resume, even an electrical engineer resume, is all about communication. Engineers are not exactly known for their communication skills, so this is your chance to stand out from the competition by designing the perfect electrical engineer resume. Luckily for you, you’ve already found a complete guide to show you how.

What this guide will show you

• Electrical engineer resume template examples to get you inspired
• How to navigate ATS
• What you can do to appeal to a hiring manager or recruiter
• The proper format for an electrical engineer resume
• The ideal length for your resume
• Which sections you should consider including
• The best licenses and certifications to have and how to include them
• How to include skills on your resume
• The best hard and soft skills for an electrical engineer
• How to highlight your achievements for maximum impact
• How to decide whether to include an objective or summary and how to write either
• How to write an electrical engineer resume when you have little or no experience
• How using a resume builder can help you succeed

Electrical engineer resume template examples

Imagine being asked to design the electrical system of a sportscar without having ever seen one. Needless to say it would be difficult. A good electrical engineer knows that studying existing designs and the principles they’re based on is the basis for quality work. Creating your resume isn’t any different.

Before you start filling in your information, it’s smart to look at quality electrical engineer resume examples to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. That’s why we’ve put together these examples to get you started. Have a look at them and begin taking notes about which elements you’d like to incorporate into your resume.

[Examples]

How to write a job-winning electrical engineer resume

Any electrical engineering project begins with a brief. You need to know what the requirements are before you begin designing. A resume works the same way. Creating a generic resume without any thought for the specific role it’s intended to apply for is like building an electrical grid for a town without knowing its climate, number of residents, industry, etc. True there are similarities across all such grids but the devil is in the details.

All that is to say, before you begin writing, you need to carefully study the job ad and think about who your resume is for. Treat it like fulfilling a brief. After all, that’s one of the key skills you’ll be demonstrating with your resume!

Who is your resume actually for?

While you may be tempted to begin by considering the job requirements, we recommend starting with the “clients.” It’s rare that resume writers consider who, or what, will actually look at their resume. Understanding the answer to this question is a key to success, so let’s begin there.

Your first audience is actually an algorithm

In most cases, the first hurdle your resume will need to overcome will actually be an algorithm. This is because most large employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to pre-scan incoming resumes. These tools use artificial intelligence to look through huge numbers of resumes quickly to establish whether you have the skills, experience, and qualifications they need.

All that sounds fine until you learn that ATS are full of errors and as many as 75% of resumes get rejected for all kinds of reasons. This is because there are dozens of different ATS companies out there, each with a slightly different product. Fortunately, there are some simple rules to follow that should ensure you can get through any of them. Let’s go over what these reasons are and what you need to do to ensure your resume makes it to a human recruiter:

1. Submit your resume in the right file type. This one is easy, simply make sure the resume you send in is a .pdf, .doc, or .docx. Don’t be tempted to think “Oh, wouldn’t it be clever if I created my resume in AutoCAD?” or something similar. In a world dominated by ATS, you need to stick to a standard format.
2. Use a resume builder to ensure your file is easily read by ATS. Not all .pdfs are created equal. The way the data in the file is structured can have a huge impact on whether an ATS is able to accurately read it. That’s why your safest bet is using a resume builder specifically designed to create ATS-friendly files.
3. Use keywords well. Maybe you’ve heard of how websites carefully use keywords to rank in Google. ATS scan resumes in a similar way to how Google would scan a website. That’s why you should use similar keyword optimization techniques. This involves studying the job ad and taking the requirements it lists and trying to include as many of them in your resume as possible. Phrasing your skills, experience, etc. using the same phrases you found in the job ad well helps ensure the ATS connects the two.

With these 3 techniques you’ll have a significant leg up on the competition who are far more likely to make a basic mistake that gets their resume automatically rejected by ATS.

How you can appeal to recruiters

Once you make it past ATS you still need to convince a recruiter that you’re the right electrical engineer for the job. The trick here is understanding their perspective and goals. In a perfect world they would simply hire the best engineer, but human psychology is much more complicated. Fortunately, you can use that to your advantage.

Besides having the right skills, experience, etc. you increase your chances of getting the job by making it as easy as possible for the recruiter to choose you. Make yourself the path of least resistance. But how can you do this?

That recruiter has their own brief for a candidate. They’ve got a set of criteria that they need to be able to fulfill in order to hire someone. Fortunately, you’ve almost got access to those criteria in the form of the job ad. Analyze it closely and list all of the skills, experience, ect. you think the job requires. Then try and ensure your resume clearly shows you have as much of it as possible. This will make it easy for a recruiter to look at your resume and say “yes.”

Besides that, the other main thing you can do to appeal to recruiters as an electrical engineer is write well. There’s no getting around the fact that engineers are not known for their writing, so you can bet that recruiter is reading through a lot of poorly written resumes. So put some time and effort into your resume’s writing. Get a friend to help or even pay a professional to get it just right. An exceptionally well written electrical engineer resume is sure to stand out from the competition.

How should you format your electrical engineer resume?

You know you can’t start designing or building the components of an electrical system until you’ve worked out its overall structure. The same approach is ideal for your resume. Start by deciding which sections you want to include and how long it should be.

As you make these decisions though, there’s one rule to follow: more important information goes at the top. Remember that your goal is to make the recruiter’s job as easy as possible and that requires getting them the most critical information about you quickly. So, keep this in mind when arranging your sections and use reverse chronological order when listing your work experience.

How long should your resume be?

If you’re looking for your first electrical engineering position or only have a few years of experience, the answer is: one page. If you have more experience and useful information to include, you can go up to two pages. The thing to keep in mind is that a recruiter doesn’t want to spend more time than necessary reviewing your resume, so try and make it as concise and short as possible while still providing valuable information about you as a candidate.

If you need help, this is an excellent time to bring in a friend. If they’re a fellow electrical engineer, they can help you with wording your achievements in the field. But even if they’re not, they can help you go through and ask “do you need to include this?” or “is there a way to say this in fewer words or more clearly?” This kind of help will make it far easier to get your resume more readable and manageable.

What are the most important sections to include?

• Resume objective or summary
• Work experience
• Licenses and Certifications
• Achievements
• Projects
• Education
• Hard skills
• Soft Skills

How to list licenses and certifications as an electrical engineer

The biggest initial piece of information you need to get across is whether you’re licensed. You need to make it clear upfront whether you’ve passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) or Professional Engineer (PE) exams. That’s why you should put EIT (Engineer in Training) or PE (Professional Engineer) after your name so it’s immediately clear. If you’re actively pursuing one of these licenses, you can mention this in an objective or summary (more on that below).

Beyond the basic licenses, adding certifications can show that you have special knowledge and have gone above and beyond to expand your skills. Having a certificate acronym next to your name adds professionalism and communicates that professionalism efficiently.

But how should you show off those certifications? Simply start with the certification followed by the organization which granted it and the year you obtained it.

Certified Energy Manager (CEM), The Association of Energy Engineers®, 2017

Licenses and certifications to consider including

• Energy Efficiency Management Certificate
• Key Accounts Certificate
• IPC-A-600 Acceptability of Printed Circuit Boards Certification
• Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) (various certification levels)
• Electronics in Traffic Signal Technician Certification
• iNARTE Electrostatic Discharge Control (ESD) Certification
• Certified Energy Manager (CEM)
• Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional (CLEP)
• Certified Power Quality Professional (CPQ)
• Certified Sustainable Development Professional (CSDP)
• Distributed Generation Certified Professional (DGCP)

How to include your skills

Listing the right skills (and listing them correctly) is critical to both get past ATS and appeal to recruiters. Choosing the right skills comes down to carefully analyzing the job ad. Then, remember to list those skills the same way they’re listed in that ad.

But beyond choosing the right skills to include, it also comes down to how you show that you really have those skills. A simple list is great, but you’ll want to give examples of instances when you concretely demonstrated that you possess those skills (especially for soft skills, which are harder to prove). This can be down in a skills section, an achievements section, or in your work experience. Let’s look at some examples to see why this is effective:

Excellent presentation skills

There’s nothing inherently wrong with listing a skill like this, but you can do better.

Excellent presentation skills, presented my work on advanced RFID systems and subsequently presented my findings at 2 conferences and 3 other universities.

In this case, the reader can clearly see that you have extensive experience presenting your ideas and work. This description gives much more confidence in your presentation skills than the first example.

The best soft skills to include on an electrical engineer resume

• Presentation skills
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Working well in teams
• Attention to detail
• Self-motivated
• Emotional intelligence
• Conflict resolution
• Adaptability
• Patience

The best hard skills to include on an electrical engineer resume

• PLC
• EIT
• Linux
• Circuit designing
• Microcnotrollers
• Schematic entry
• Auto CAD
• NFPA Standards
• Linear systems theory
• Preparing and executing operational plans

Just bear in mind the precise skills you’ll want to emphasize will vary tremendously depending on which type of electrical engineering position you’re applying for, so always use the job ad as your guide.

How to highlight your most important achievements

Whether something you achieved on a job or perhaps something you did in your free time, showing off your achievements is an excellent way to reinforce your skills and make a strong impression on a recruiter.

In particular, electrical engineers are expected to show their work and prove their conclusions. Being vague about your conclusions or designs simply isn’t going to cut it. Because your resume should work to demonstrate all the qualities expected in you as an employee, you need to be specific about your achievements.

The same rules that you used for your skills apply here: be specific and connect your achievements with the electrical engineering position you’re applying for. This could also be a great place to show some personality and make yourself more memorable.

Rebuilt the electrical system of a Ford Mustang GT 5.0.

An achievement like this shows that you’re a talented electrical engineer, capable of complex problem solving, while also making you sound like an interesting person to work with.

How to write about your work experience

One error many people make when listing their work experience is focusing too much on responsibilities. Listing responsibilities doesn’t tell a recruiter anything about what you are capable of or even whether you met the expectations for those responsibilities. For example, you could write:

Responsible for ensuring electrical system safety requirements were met.

If you were the person in charge of safety at Chernobyl you could write on your resume that you were “responsible for safety” and be telling the truth. In other words, the responsible party isn’t what recruiters are concerned with. They want to know what the results of your work were.

Ensured that all 4 generators met safety guidelines resulting in no workplace accidents involving electrical systems in 5 years.

This example really shows that you did your job and got results. This kind of writing will make a far stronger impression.

Why your resume should start with an objective or summary

You only get one first impression with your resume, so you need to control it and make it count. The best way to do that is with an objective or summary. Both are ways to quickly get the most important information about you as a candidate across and to give important context for the rest of your resume.

The difference is mostly in length. A resume objective will usually be a simple sentence explaining who you are and what you aim to achieve with your resume. A summary by contrast can be a few sentences long and use the extra space to explain something like a gap in your work history or your motivation for applying to a position. Now let’s see what each should look like.

How to write an electrical engineer objective

The idea here is to cram as much valuable information as possible into a short, but well written, sentence. 

I’m an experienced and qualified electrical engineer looking for a new job.

Remember, the worst thing you can do with your resume is waste a recruiter’s time and this resume objective does just that. “Experienced” and “qualified” are too vague to mean anything to a recruiter and the fact that you’re looking for a new job is already obvious. Let’s see a better version:

EIT with background in large electric motor design looking to expand skill set at Elettra Technology Inc.

This example gives the reader a lot of crucial information quickly. Right away they know you’re an EIT, what your specialty is, and that you wrote this resume specifically for their company (meaning you took the time to do it right).

How to write an electrical engineer summary

The key thing to keep in mind here is that just because a resume summary can be longer, doesn't mean it should be. You still need to be economical in your language.

I recently finished one year of physical therapy and recovery after my car was T-boned by a drunk driver. I now feel it’s time to return to the workforce. I believe my previous experience working in magnetic resonance engineering is still highly relevant and I would be a great addition to your team. Thank you for your consideration.

This example shows you exactly how a poorly written resume summary can make a bad first impression. First, it’s written in the first person and resumes are generally written in the third person. But more than that, it wastes precious space going into details about a car accident, which could be interpreted as either fishing for sympathy or simply bad social skills (not knowing when to talk about something). It then takes more space to do things like “thank you for your consideration,” which is polite, but not really necessary. Let’s see a better version now:

PE specialized in magnetic resonance engineering looking to join the team at GE Healthcare after taking 1 year off to recover from a car accident. Passionate about MRI development after the technology helped save my life and particularly interested in GE Healthcare’s latest advancements in the SIGNA™ line.

This version switches up the gap in your work history due to an injury and emphasizes a passionate interest in a specific subfield of electrical engineering. This shows genuine motivation and being specific about a line of MRI machines gives a feeling that you are already familiar with the company as well as its products. Together, these make for a much stronger resume summary.

How to write an electrical engineer resume when you have little or no experience

If you’re applying for an internship or an entry level position as an EIT, showing you’ve got relevant skills and achievements is harder. This is when it’s important to remember that while companies can teach you plenty of the skills you’ll need, teaching the attitude needed to be a successful electrical engineer is much more difficult. So, in these cases it can make sense to emphasize relevant soft skills like attention to detail or problem solving.

In addition, obtaining certifications can show that you’re self-motivated enough to be trusted despite having less experience. Even if you’re in the process of obtaining a certification, mentioning it can be helpful. Just be sure to be honest about your experience and resist the urge to lie or bend the truth. Getting hired for a position you’re not ready for is not going to help your career in the long-run.

How to make your resume stand out: customize

While all of the advice presented here can help your resume stand out, if there’s one overriding piece of advice we would emphasize it’s customization.

While we’ve hinted at this above, it’s worth pointing out that few things will make a stronger impression on a recruiter than a resume which has clearly been written for this exact position. Mentioning the company name and position shows a recruiter that you took the time instead of simply sending off dozens of identical resumes to every job position you could find.

For electrical engineers, considering you’ll be expected to take the time to really get things right and focus on details, this leaves a strong impression.

Why a resume builder is an essential tool

You wouldn’t start designing a circuit board with 90s tech, so why would you create a resume the same way they did decades ago? Now, you can skip all of the frustrating formatting and design issues that come with building a resume in a word processor. These days, to stand out, you need great design and to reach a recruiter you need an ATS-friendly file. Fortunately, modern resume builders provide both and more.

With Resumebuild.com’s powerful resume creation tool you can feel confident that you’re ready for any ATS or recruiter. With plenty of expertly-curated examples to get you started and clean, modern designs to work with, you can easily create a resume that stands out without distracting from the content.