Mechanical Engineer Resume Sample

Let’s do a very DEEP dive of a mechanical engineer resume sample.

Are you a mechanical engineering student or already an engineer?

Doesn’t matter, keep reading below, you’ll likely need these tips to improve your resume.

I remember in the beginning of my engineering career, I had a horrible resume. I would literally apply to hundreds of jobs and only hear back from a few employers. Thought these numbers were normal, but these type of results are not. My resume sucked and I didn’t even know that it sucked.

With a good resume, you should expect to apply to a few jobs (10~15) or so, and begin to start hearing from recruiters.

It was like getting my resume sucked into a black hole.

February 29, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

Mechanical Engineer Resume Sample

A mechanical engineering sample resume needs to include the following:

• Experience
• Education
• Projects (If Still In School + No Experience)
• Leadership Activities (If Still In School + No Experience)
• Skills

Check out: Mechanical Engineering Resume Review

Experience

Experience trumps education. You will learn more from 1 year of school compared to 4 years of academic experience, in my opinion. When you work in the industry, you get a feel for engineering in a business sense. You’re responsible for projects that generate revenue, develop social skills, hold meetings, collaborate, to get the job done.

If you’re a student, then your education comes on top. The next section you should put is then education.

The bullet points under your experience should be quantitative, meaning that you have results with numbers. Numbers will give employers a tangible value of how you have contributed and how much revenue you generate as an engineer.

Education

Recommended to go to a target school, as employers do look at where you went. If you went to a top university, you’ll have a significantly easier time finding a job than if you didn’t. If you went to a state school, you have to understand that you’re going to have to work harder to get into target companies.

Don’t know what to do or where to apply?

The companies that you should try to get jobs at are FAANG or big Aerospace. These companies pay the best and while FAANG pays significantly more, big Aerospace is a great name to have on your resume.

Projects

This is the most important section to read, especially if you’re a student with no experience. If you have no experience and don’t know what to put, you need to specify projects that you’ve worked on.

Projects that you’ve worked on can include CAD modeling, Mechanical Engineering lab courses, programming, and even activities like Formula or BAJA.

For students, I highly recommend getting into Formula or Baja.

For those in the industry, you should have enough bullet points under your experience and won’t need this section.

Leadership Activities

This section is only for students – undergrad or grad school. If you’re in the industry, just focus on experience and how you drive results and make money for the company.

Good memberships to strive for are Society of Automotive Engineers – Formula / BAJA, Tau Beta Pi, ASME, ASHRAE, and the like.

A huge benefit to joining these clubs are that you get to network with like minded individuals You’ll hear about internship opportunities, make friends, and have other students to study with. Don’t be a loner in school as you will not develop proper social skills and be effective as an engineer.

Skills

Include a skills section at the bottom of your resume. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student or an engineer in the industry, put skills at the bottom.

Common must-have skills in engineering include CAD, FEA, and programming. List which specific softwares you’ve used.

A good tip is to scan job descriptions for the skills that they require, and put those skills in your resume. This is how you ensure that you capture keywords from the job description.

Conclusion

Your resume needs to include the above sections. Adjust your resume as needed whether you are a student or an engineer.

What does your resume ultimately need though?

Your resume must have the three following things:

1. Be clear and concise
2. Display quantitative results and accomplishments
3. Include keywords from the job description

I can’t stress the importance of those things on your resume enough.