Engineering CV—How to Write & Templates for 2024

140,000 new engineering jobs will emerge in the next 10 years. Great news! You can write your engineering CV on the back of a wiring diagram and still get the job, right?

But you don’t want a job. You want the perfect one: £100,000+ annual salary, 25 days of paid holiday, and a comfortable office where you feel welcome.

To get that job, you’ll need a top-notch engineer CV. And you came to the right place to make one.

This guide will show you:

• A sample engineering CV better than most.
• How to ace your engineer job description on a CV.
• How to write a CV for engineering jobs that gets the interview.
• Why picking the right few achievements is the #1 key to get hired.

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What users say about ResumeLab:

I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your CV.”
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My previous CV was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
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Need help with a different kind of CV? Explore our other guides:

• Civil Engineer CV
• Electrical Engineer CV
• Entry Level Mechanical Engineer CV
• Entry Level Software Engineer CV
• Engineering Student CV
• IT CV Sample
• Technical CV
• Mechanical Engineer CV
• Network Engineer CV
• Software Engineer CV
• Technical CV

Engineering CV Template You Can Copy, Adjust, and Use

Now, let’s walk through the most important strategies for writing an equally good engineering CV yourself.

1. Use a Professional Engineer CV Template

On average, corporate positions attract 250 CVs.

Do you think recruiters read all of them? Of course not.

They look for reasons to toss a CV as soon as they take the first glance.

Make them want to give your whole CV a read. Get your value proposition across fast.

Start by dividing your engineer CV into sections.

Engineering CV Template

1. Contact Information
2. Summary, Objective, or Profile
3. Experience
4. Education
5. Skills
6. Additional Sections

Also, remember to keep your formatting elegant and legible. Attention to detail is key in engineering after all, isn’t it?

How to Format an Engineering CV

• Pick a visually appealing CV template or a free Google Docs CV template. 
• Use the reverse-chronological CV format, this way your most recent position gets the most attention.
• Pick one of the professional CV fonts: the font size should be 11–12pt for all entries and 14–16pt for your name and section headings.
• Set 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Use a lot of white space: but blank lines before and after every section heading and between entries.
• Make your CV one-page long if you have less than 5 years of professional experience. More than that? Two pages tops.

Expert Hint: Once done, save your engineering CV in PDF. But double check with the job ad—some employers still expect Word CVs.

2. Write a Well-Designed Engineering CV Objective or Summary

This part, most likely, is the first thing recruiters will look at: a brief snappy paragraph at the top of your CV explaining why you’re *the* candidate they’ve been looking for their whole lives (or, at least, the last couple of months.)

Got oodles of relevant engineering experience? Write an engineer CV summary. Outline your career and show off your proudest wins.

Writing an entry-level engineering CV? Pick a CV objective. Discuss what technical engineering skills you’ve mastered and how well you’d fit in.

Whichever one you go for, keep this in mind—

Always make an offer.

Don’t just say what you want out of the job. Be specific and show how you can contribute to the company’s success.

See these mechanical engineer CV examples for reference.

Mechanical Engineering CV Examples—Summary

The difference is clear, right?

The good example provides proof for the candidate’s expertise and makes a clear offer.

The bad one? Not awful, but it’s super generic. It actually says little more than “I am an engineer.”

Now, let’s see two very different entry-level engineering CV objectives.

Mechanical Engineering CV Objective Examples

Expert Hint: Although this section comes at the top of your engineering CV, write it last. First, outline your experience and skills. Choose the best bits and put them together in a CV summary or objective.

Do you need to see more CV examples? Check out our full collection. 

3. Write an Engineering Job Description for a CV

Brace yourself. This is the crucial part.

The truth is, employers ask for CVs pretty much for the sole purpose of reviewing your work history.

So here’s how to describe your experience on an engineering CV step by step:

How to List Engineering Experience on a CV

1. Read the job ad carefully.
2. Jot down the most important responsibilities and duties.
3. Use those keywords: tailor your CV to the job description.
4. Don’t just list duties. Focus on your achievements.
5. Use action words and verbs, e.g. “developed” and “designed” instead of “responsible for the design and development.”
6. Quantify whenever you can.
7. List experience in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent position, follow it with the one before it, and so on.
8. Include your job title, company name, and dates worked in each entry.
9. Use up to 5 bullet points for each job.
10. Add a “Key Achievement” subsection at the bottom. Showcase your best win.

See these engineering CV samples.

The job ad requires someone experienced in: (1)optimising efficiency, (2) preparing wiring diagrams, and (3) production testing.

Here’s a tailored electrical aerospace engineering CV:

Electrical Engineering CV Example: Job Description

Little or no experience to put on your engineering CV?

If you’re an engineering student, in the experience section include volunteering, part-time jobs,  engineering projects you had to do for class or even hobbies and interests.

How to Plug Skills Into Your Engineering CV?

Here’s how:

• Again, go through the job description and jot down keywords related to engineering skills.
• Include some of these skills in your engineering job descriptions.
• Add a few others to your CV summary or objective.
• Finally, pick the most job-relevant skills (eg outstanding computer and software skills relevant to the position) and list them on your CV in bullet points. 

For reference, see the list below.

Engineering Skills for a CV

Expert Hint: Don’t even think of skipping your soft skills section. A recent Harvard study has shown that employers increasingly value workers who have both social and technical skills, rather than technical skills alone

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your CV in our CV builder now.

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Nail it all with a splash of colour, choose a clean font, highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You’re the perfect candidate and we’ll prove it. Use the ResumeLab builder now.

4. Turn Boring Education into a Reason for Hiring You

Good news!

Putting education on a CV is usually easy.

If you have more than a year of professional experience, include only:

• Degree
• University
• Graduation Date

Like this:

Engineering Graduate CV Example: Education

Not much work experience?

If you’re writing an entry-level engineering CV, take advantage of those university courses you slaved over!

Add some of the following to your education section:

• Relevant coursework
• Favourite fields of study
• Grade (if you achieved first-honours)
• Dissertation title
• Extracurricular activities and achievements

Expert Hint: Still at school and struggling to figure out what sort of engineering career would be best? Not saying that money is everything, but… According to the BLS data, the best-paid engineering professions are: Petroleum Engineering, Computer Hardware Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Nuclear Engineering.

5. Supercharge Your Engineer CV With These Extra Sections

So far so good. You’ve got your summary, work experience, skills, and education listed.

Decent. But hey—

A decent CV doesn’t land you that dream job. You’ll need to add something extra.

What do I mean?

A tangible proof that verifies your qualifications. Such as?

Sample Engineering CV Additional Sections

• Industry Awards
• Professional Certifications
• Conference Participation
• Industry Blog
• Additional Activities
• Volunteer Work
• Extra Training

Expert Hint: Can’t showcase any of the above yet? Well, get active! Apply for additional training, consider taking certification courses or start a blog where you’ll share your industry insights! Will it be easy? No. But it won’t take you more than a couple of months.

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

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Want to try a different look? There’s 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

Here’s how to write an engineering CV, in a nutshell:

• Use a proper engineering CV template, divided into the right sections.
• At the top put an engineering CV summary or objective.
• Tailor your engineering job descriptions and skills to the job ad.
• Focus on your achievements and the impact of your actions, don’t just list engineering tasks and duties.
• Add extra sections such as certifications, conference participation, or additional training
• Do write an engineering cover letter!

Have more questions? Could use a chat about writing your engineering CV? Drop me a line in the comments and I’ll get back to you right off.

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