Electrical Engineer CV—Examples and 25+ Writing Tips

Why is it so hard?

You understand and design circuits that would give most people migraines.

But writing an electrical engineer CV makes your teeth click.

The reason?

You don’t know which things employers care about.

Take heart. Plug in the right discrete components and your job search will light up like a Christmas tree.

In this guide:

• An electrical engineer CV sample better than most.
• How to write a CV for electrical engineer jobs that works.
• How to fine-tune the electrical engineering job description in your CV.
• Why you can’t just list electrical engineer skills (and what to do instead).

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Electrical Engineer CV Sample You Can Copy and Use

Here’s how to write an electrical engineer CV that gets jobs:

1. Choose Your Electrical Engineer CV Format

Let’s lay the groundwork.

CV formatting matters to employers.

Do it wrong, and your electrical engineer CV will wind up in the waste bin.

Use these tips to start off right:

Electrical Engineer CV Format

• Create a 1-page CV unless you’ve had a long career.
• Add negative space and 1-inch margins to make your CV easy to read.
• List past jobs in reverse-chronological order.
• Use one good CV font like 10–12pt Garamond or Arial.
• Add these common CV sections: Heading, Objective, Experience, Education, and Skills.
• Send a PDF CV. PDFs don’t degrade across different devices.

Expert Hint: According to the National Careers Service, this sector is growing: there will be as many as 2,576 new electrical engineering jobs by 2027. That's a lot of opportunities, but also plenty of competition to outrank, so target your CV to cut through the hiring static.

2. Write an Electrical Engineer CV Objective or Summary

Warning:

Most recruiters spend six seconds with a CV.

But—

You can get more time for yours.

Start your electrical engineering CV with a CV objective or CV summary.

It’s a short overview that gets attention.

Include:

1. One adjective (licenced, results-driven)
2. The title “electrical engineer”
3. Years of experience (3+, 4+)
4. Who & how you’ll help (increase efficiency by 25% at Aitchersys)
5. Best electrical engineering moments (slashed costs 15%...)

Psst—write it last to zap the stress.

These electrical engineering CV examples show the diagram:

Electrical Engineering CV Summary—Example

Licenced electrical engineer with 4+ years of experience. Seeking to increase efficiency by 25% at Aitchersys Ltd. At Terrtamil NDC, designed electrical circuits that created a 30% efficiency boost to our assembly and installation process. Worked to client requirements to slash costs 15%, resulting in £50M in new contracts and work.

Experienced electrical engineer, skilled in CAD design, reverse-engineering, and circuit development. Recognised for ability to work with other engineers in a team environment. An efficient PLC programmer. Well-versed in using Linux to write and test keyboard drivers.

Major difference.

That first sample crackles with details.

But—

An electrical engineering CV with no experience must show achievements too.

Entry-Level Electrical Engineer CV Objective

Results-driven electrical engineer and certified EIT with strong CAD design skills. Seeking to improve production flow at Terrtamil NDC. As assistant plant engineer at Robinsys Keyboards, reverse-engineered a popular bluetooth keyboard and received a 4.5-star Amazon rating with 1,034 reviewers. Product earned £30M+ in revenue.

Entry-level electrical engineer, seeking full-time engineer position. Highly skilled in PLC programming, reverse-engineering, and circuit design. A strong team player with solid CAD design skills. Have not yet worked as an electrical engineer but I’m smart, efficient, and a hard worker.

The second of those entry-level electrical engineering CV examples is a dud.

The first shows drive and competence—with proof.

One caveat:

Engineers won’t read your CV. Recruiters will. So—

It’s critical to show you’ve helped the bottom line.

3. Recharge Your Electrical Engineer Job Description and Skills Section

Good news:

Most electrical engineer CVs are generic.

Dodge that, and you’ll stand out like Albert Macovski.

To write a great electrical engineer job description:

1. Look in the job ad for the right CV skills.
2. Those are your CV keywords. List times you used them.
3. Add numbers to show your work mattered.
4. Look again at step #3. Believe it! Recruiters with no engineering knowledge will hire you (or not). You must show them how you moved the needle.

Do it like the first of these electrical engineer CV samples:

The job ad wants these electrical engineering skills: CAD, developing circuits, gathering requirements, PLC.

Electrical Engineer Job Description for CV [Sample]

Experience

Electrical Engineer

Terrtamil NDC

Sept 2015–present

• Used CAD to plan, design, and develop 100+ electrical systems and installation processes for critical broadcast equipment.
• Re-developed electrical circuits for scientific instruments. Worked with operators to achieve 30% efficiency increase.
• Gathered requirements from clients to cut costs 15%. Contributed to additional awards of £50M in new contracts.
• Programmed 50+ assembly-line machine processes with PLC.

• Planned, designed, and developed electrical systems and installation processes for critical broadcast equipment.
• Worked with operators to improve production efficiency.
• Collaborated with clients on a project to cut costs facility-wide.
• Programmed assembly-line machine processes.

The second of those electrical engineering CV examples lacks:

1. The skills in the job ad.
2. Numbers for scale.

Other than that, it’s the same CV.

This entry-level CV sample does the same thing:

The job ad wants these electrical engineering skills: reverse-engineering, CAD, Linux.

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Entry-Level Electrical Engineering CV Job Description [Sample]

Assistant Plant Engineer

Robinsys Keyboards

July 2014–Sept 2015

• Reverse-engineered popular bluetooth keyboard. Product achieved 4.5 star Amazon rating and £30M in revenue.
• Used CAD to assist with development of circuits for 15 keyboards.
• Helped write & test 25 keyboard drivers with Linux with 20% less errors.

Assistant Plant Engineer

Robinsys Keyboards

2014–2015

• Assisted with planning, design, and development of popular bluetooth keyboard.
• Responsible for contributing to circuit development for products.
• Helped write & test keyboard drivers.

Notice:

Applicant #2 had the right components and didn’t instal them.

Remember—use their skills, plus numbers for evidence.

Start with these electrical engineering CV skills:

Electrical Engineer CV Skills

Hard Skills	Soft Skills
Microcontrollers (PIC, 8051, etc.)	Communication
Programming Languages (C, Java)	Collaboration
Linux	Problem Solving
Reverse Engineering	Leadership
Circuit Design	Travel
PLC	Precision
CAD	Organisation
NFPA Standards	Decision Making
Revit	Active Learning
PCB Design	Mentoring

Expert Hint: What certifications look best on an electrical engineer CV? CAD and safety can help. But make sure your chosen employer cares about them.

4. Turn Boring Education to a Reason to Hire You

Here’s a tip:

If you’ve got lots of experience, your education can get by with school, degree, and dates.

But—

An electrical engineering student CV must stretch its CV education section.

Add:

• Academic projects
• Favourite classes
• Awards or fellowships
• Relevant coursework

Follow this electrical engineering CV sample:

Electrical Engineering CV Example—Education

Education

MSc Electrical Engineering, Manchester University

2013–2014

Completed a 30-credit project to reverse-engineer a smartphone

BSc Electrical Engineering, Manchester University

2010–2013

Pursued a passion for CAD and PLC coursework.

Expert Hint: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, IBM, Google, Apple, and GE are hiring electrical engineers. For more, search “electrical engineering jobs” + [your location]. Then click Google’s big blue bar.

5. Add Your Certifications to Your Electrical Engineering CV

“Is he certified in CAD?”

Don’t make employers ask that.

Instead—

Put your relevant certifications in a separate CV section to make sure they get noticed.

Add other sections to show you’re no mere robot.

Try a couple of these:

• Association memberships
• Conferences (especially if you spoke at them)
• Programming languages (Linux, Java, C)
• Certifications (PLC, CAD, safety)
• Foreign languages
• Groups & clubs
• Volunteering
• Freelance work
• Publications
• Personal projects
• Additional activities
• Fitness

These electrical engineering CV examples show the schematic:

Electrical Engineer CV—Extra Sections

Certifications

• CAD - Autodesk
• PLC - PLC Technician Training Centre

Additional Activities

• Member, Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Mentor 20 electrical engineers per year.
• 2019 IEEE Conference in the U.S. Gave session on CAD.
• Avid road cyclist.

Additional Activities

• Avid cyclist
• Attending music festivals.

Night & day.

They’ll fight to hire the first of those electrical engineer CV examples.

Expert Hint: Add a cover letter to your CV. CVs for electrical engineers without cover letters have more than a 40% chance of getting skipped.

Double your impact with a matching CV and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

Key Points

For an electrical engineer CV that flows:

• Use the electrical engineer CV template up top. It plugs in your best career moments to get you hired.
• Source CV keywords from the electrical engineering job description online.
• Write these CV sections: summary, licence, experience, education, and skills. Pack them with proof you’ve already done their job.
• Add other sections to show you’re a living, breathing human being.
• Write a engineering cover letter to increase your odds of getting invited for an interview 

Got questions on how to write great CVs for electrical engineering jobs? Want to know how your electrical engineer CV can stand out from the crowd? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!

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