A good mechanical engineer resume template can hugely impact your success when applying for competitive roles. Not only does it properly showcase your skills, but the formatting means your resume has maximum impact.
The engineering industry can be extremely competitive, particularly for high paying roles, so it’s important to stand out.
A well-crafted resume catches the attention of hiring managers and highlights the value that you offer as an employee.
So what exactly is it that makes a resume great?
Preparation and Formatting
Before you begin to write your resume, there are a few things you can do to prepare and make sure your mechanical engineer resume template is as effective as possible.
Keywords
Keywords are extremely important for your resume and shouldn’t be underestimated when applying for engineering roles.
When a business crafts a job outline, they include very specific language to highlight skills and experiences they need in new hires.
Before you begin to write your engineering resume, highlight keywords in the job description to use in your own writing. This will emphasize to hiring managers how suitable you are for the role. Try to reflect the language used in the job description in your own writing.
Bullet Points
Popular resume formats like the Harvard resume format and Google XYZ format effectively use bullet points to communicate key information.
When crafting a resume, it’s essential that every element is clear and easily readable. This is where bullet points become invaluable.
Bullet points effectively present your experiences and qualifications in a concise way. When used correctly, they can significantly highlight your impact and past achievements.
Here are a few things that you should consider for every bullet point on your resume:
- Action-Oriented: Start each bullet point with a strong action verb to clearly convey your accomplishments and responsibilities. Words like led, coordinated and orchestrated can clarify your role in an impactful way.
- Quantify Achievements: Whenever possible, include quantifiable achievements to emphasize the impact of your actions (e.g., “Managed a team of 10 engineers” or “Reduced production costs by 15%”). This helps hiring businesses to better understand where you would fit in their business and the potential impact you can have.
- Relevance: Ensure that every detail in your resume is relevant to the hiring business. You should tailor your resume to suit each specific job application. Not only will this show your attention to detail but it will also emphasize your dedication to the role.
Document Formatting
The formatting you use in your mechanical engineering resume is very important for landing an interview.
Many businesses use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to manage the application process and these systems prefer simple file formats like .docx or .pdf. It’s typically recommended to avoid heavily designed resume formats like those created in Canva or Adobe.
An ATS will scan the resume in the first instance and pick out any key skills or experiences that match the hiring company’s needs. The application will then be explored in more detail by the hiring team. This is why keywords are so important when applying for roles in highly competitive industries like mechanical engineering.
Do You Need A Resume Summary?
A resume summary is not always essential if the rest of the resume is strong. For engineering, it may be more important to focus on experience related skills.
When should you consider including a summary in your resume?
- Career Change: If you are moving into mechanical engineering from a different field, a summary can help to explain your background and how your previous experience is relevant.
- Too Much Experience: If you have lots of experience, and can’t properly highlight it all, a summary can succinctly present some accomplishments and areas of expertise. This allows you to focus on the most important information in your ‘experience’ section whilst still highlighting your other extensive experience.
- Highlighting Key Skills: A summary can be useful to immediately draw attention to specific skills or qualifications that are particularly relevant to the job you’re applying for.
The Mechanical Engineer Resume Template
With key preparation and formatting in mind, let’s explore the best mechanical engineer resume template for landing your dream job.
Contact Information
You must always remember to include your contact details on your resume. This allows hiring managers to contact you quickly and easily to follow up and arrange an interview.
Your details only need to be displayed in a small section at the top of your site.
In this section be sure to include:
- Your full legal name.
- Your phone number.
- A professional email address.
- A LinkedIn profile if it is professional, impressive, and up-to-date. (Optional)
Experience
The experience section is perhaps the most critical section of your resume. It demonstrates your qualifications and achievements and highlights your suitability for the role.
Use bullet points to present your responsibilities and accomplishments clearly and concisely. Begin with your most recent (or current) role.
- Employer: Name and location of the company.
- Job Title: Your position/role in the business.
- Dates of Employment: Start and end dates (month and year).
- Responsibilities and Achievements: Bullet points describing your key responsibilities and notable achievements.
Example:
Tesla, Las Vegas, NV
Design Engineer
Mar 2020 – Present
- Oversaw the design and production volume of 100K+ vehicles per quarter, achieving an 86% on-time delivery to customers.
- Provided liaison support between executive leadership and engineering teams to target and meet market strategy goals.
Education
You should also list your education in reverse chronological order, prioritizing your most advanced qualifications. Be sure to check the job description and include details that are required by the company.
- Institution: Name and location of the institution.
- Degree: Name of the degree obtained.
- Dates: Graduation date or expected graduation date.
- Academic Achievements: Any relevant or impressive achievements or grades.
Example:
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with Honors
Apr 2005
XXX Scholarship, Director’s List 2005 (top 10%)
Cumulative GPA: 3.93/4.0
Aeronautical Engineering Club (Board Member), Engineering Honor Society (General Member)
Additional Information
The space at the bottom of your resume should briefly highlight other achievements, skills and qualifications.
Include technical skills that are essential to the role and any relevant certifications or training that the hiring company may require.
This is also a good place to include any other beneficial skills like additional languages or awards.
Example:
Technical Skills: Advanced in CAD (PTC Creo 3.0, ProEngineer, Siemens NX, SolidWorks, AutoCAD), JavaScript, HTML/CSS; Proficient in MATLAB, Python
Languages: Fluent in French, English; Conversational Proficiency in Japanese
Certifications & Training: SolidWorks, AutoCAD, ProEngineer
Awards: Dean’s List Multiple Semesters (1999, 2000)
A Template For Your Mechanical Engineering Resume
A resume that is well-written and properly formatted can 10x your chances of landing an interview.
Here are some key takeaways:
- Use bullet points to properly emphasize skills and achievements.
- Focus on information that is relevant to the job role.
- Be sure to highlight key words and phrases used by the hiring business.
- Include quantitative examples to emphasize effectiveness.
Don’t want to craft your own template? Just use this one.
About the author
Kazuyoshi Fujimoto, PE
Founder | Engineering Career Coach | Principal Mechanical Engineer
Kazu oversees all of ultmeche’s engineering services. He provides consulting such as resume reviews, rewrites, mock interviews, and all services career related. Additionally, Kazu performs consulting work regarding Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense. Kazu is licensed as a professional engineer in the state of California and has 9+ years of experience in Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense.