Resume Template for Electrical Engineers
The right resume template will stand out your resume from the rest. Engineering recruiters usually allow a little creativity on a resume – make use of it with your layout.
Check out our ready-to-fill resume templates for electrical engineers to create your next resume fast.
However, if you prefer to do it yourself, here’s a general guide to create it:
- Choose font types and sizes for headings, subheadings, and text – keep the consistency throughout
- The color theme of the resume should match your personality and the industry. The safest way is to pick the brand colors of your employer
- Maintain consistent margins from all sides
- Save the final document in PDF and MS Word formats
Electrical Engineering Resume Format
A resume format determines how information in each section is presented. There’re mainly three standard resume formats:
- The functional format/ skill-based format: Most entry-level candidates use this type of format. Information is categorized based on the relevant skills.
- Reverse chronological format: Information is listed starting with the latest and going backward. Most popular resume format for any candidate.
- Hybrid (combination resume) format: This is a mix of reverse chronological and functional formats.
For an electrical engineer, we suggest using the reverse chronological format for your experience and education sections. Thus, your experience section will start with the most recent employment and the rest will follow the chronological order.
Most hiring managers in engineering fields are interested in the candidate’s latest experience as the knowledge, technology, and tools used in engineering often change. By writing your recent experience first, you make the hiring managers’ life easy by providing them with the information they seek.
Start Your Electrical Engineering Resume with a Header
Your resume header should consist of your name and contact information. Despite the fact that this section is straightforward, some candidates still make mistakes by including unnecessary information in the header.
We have highlighted those in the following example 👇
A good & a bad header
CORRECTElectrical engineer
dmaroles@gmail.com+1 234 24 76 23
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidb
INCORRECTElectrical engineer
Daryl Morales
darylmorales@ctelectricalsl.com+1 234 24 76 23
14, main street, apt 62,
Washington DC
USA
Write your header with the following points in mind:
- Start your header with your first name and the last name – use a larger font size for this
- Use a professional-looking personal email instead of your work email
- Do not write your full mailing address
- Put the link to your LinkedIn account or career blog
Is a photo required?
If you are applying for a job in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, or Ireland, DO NOT include a picture in your resume.
Some recruiters prefer to have a picture of the candidate in the resume. However, it is considered a form of descrimination in many parts of the world.
⛔ If you're not sure, leave it off your resume
An Electrical Engineer's Experience Section
This is the section where recruiters make their shortlisting decisions. Most hiring managers spend about 5 to 7 seconds on a resume and they skim through your experience section to see whether your application further interests them.
“I am an entry-level electrical engineer, am I screwed?”No matter whether you are a professional electrical engineer with 20 years of experience or an entry-level electrical engineer seeking your first paid job, we cover you.
We will show you how to write your experience section better than 95% of the other candidates – even without having years of experience in hand.
Keep reading!
Example Work Experience Section for a Senior Electrical Engineer Resume
INCORRECTAug 2004 to Present
Senior Electrical engineer
Department of Energy
- Participated in budget preparation for power plants
- Hired electrical engineers for the department
- Took part in sustainable energy projects and research
- Managed equipment maintenance procedures in plants
- Provided a high level of customer service
CORRECTAug 2004 to Present
Senior Electrical engineer
Department of Energy
- Developed budgets and plans for over 30 regional coal power plant projects worth $600 million.
- Hired 200+ electrical engineers and technical staff for the department in the last five years
- Sustainable energy research helped the department re-define their future energy sources, saving $2 billion in the process
- Introduced a preventive maintenance cycle for plant electrical equipment reducing the annual plant shut shutdown time by 3%
- Took part in maintaining high-quality service standards throughout the department increasing customer satisfaction by 14% in the last 5 years
- Negotiated contract terms, technical specifications, and deadlines with the client's team
Demonstrate your electrical engineering experience together with your achievements and accomplishments in your job. Make them relevant to the job you’re about to begin.
Use numbers to add credibility to your statements. Start each sentence with an action word to make it enticing.
Examples of Work Experience for an Entry-Level Electrical engineer
INCORRECTJan 2021 to Present
DTL Electricals
Apprenticeship
- Created hydropower project design drawings
- Carried out a laboratory test for plant equipment
- Read and understand technical manuals
- Analyzed malfunctioning systems
- Producing design drawings for power plants
- Read and understand electrical schematics
CORRECTJan 2021 to present
DTL Electricals
Apprenticeship
- Involved in the design drawings of a hydropower project worth $20 million
- Prepared a maintenance schedule for a wind turbine with the senior team
- Traveled 4000 km in an electrical cable laying project that took around 4 months to complete
- An analysis of system performance requirements of a hydropower project saved the client over $2 million for the equipment
- Carried out training of safety procedures and plant regulations introduction for 200+ plant visitors
- Managed technical deviations of the project with the help of senior technicians
Although you may have the right technical knowledge for the next electrical engineering job, the hiring manager will be concerned about your lack of experience.
Turn your duties and responsibilities in your previous workplace into achievements and accomplishments.
The hiring manager would still prefer a candidate who knows their stuff over a couple of years of experience.
Even if you’re applying for your first job or the internship without having any previous experience, do not keep the experience section empty – write about a project you carried out in the university. State the purpose, procedure, and outcomes of the project.
You may also name the section as “Project Experience”
Boost Your Professional Electrical Engineer Resume with Education
As in many engineering disciplines, recruiters expect a specific level of education from an electrical engineer. For example, an electrical engineer must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in electrical engineering from a recognized institution.
Your education section should include the name of the degree, the institution, the date, and the key learning outcomes. Use reverse chronological order.
Education
Master’s in Electrical Systems, 2014-2015
Stanford University
- Programmable logic controllers (PLC)
- Computer engineering
- Engineering system design
GPA- 3.8/4
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, 2015-2018
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Electrical engineering design
- Electrical operations
- Human machine interface
GPA- 3.8/4
Top Electrical Engineering Resume Skills
An electrical engineering skills section is an important part of your resume since the discipline involves many technical skills – electrical engineering encompasses a wide range of specializations.
Power generation including hydro, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy sources, including wind and solar is one main segment. Electric engineers are integral to all of these.
Electrical installation in building construction is another main segment. The electrical service market size in the US is about $100 Billion in 2020 (Global market insights).
For the recruiter to determine if the candidate is right for a particular role, they will glance at the skills section.
You should write a mix of soft skills and hard skills in your electrical engineering resume.
Many construction companies and electrical service providers use the applicant tracking system to shortlist hundreds of job applications. Use the job advertisement to find the keywords they will be searching for in the resumes – include them naturally.
Soft skills: Non-measurable skills
- Attention to detail
- Leadership
- Effective communication
- Problem-solving
- Willingness to travel
- Presentation skills
- Analytical skills
- Teamwork
- Organizational skills
- Interpersonal skills
Hard skills: Measurable skills
- Electrical system design
- Electrical drawing
- Hydropower turbine maintenance
- Electric power generation
- AutoCAD Electrical, Ansys SpaceClaim
- Programming using Java, C++, Python
- MEP installation
- Microcontrollers
- PCB and PLC designing
- Electrical systems
- Engineering equipment handling and maintenance
About Me: Summarize Your Professional Profile
It’s a standard resume practice in many regions to write a summary of your key skills, achievements, and experience at the top of your resume just below the header.
This section is the first thing a recruiter reads on your resume and acts as a sales pitch to convince them to read more.
There is a logical sequence to writing a great professional summary. Describe your greatest work achievements and how they benefited your former employer in the first sentence, and describe how your professional expertise will benefit your future employer in the second sentence.
Read the examples below to see if you can spot what makes a good professional summary👇
Examples
CORRECTA dedicated electrical system engineer with over 5 years of hands-on experience in construction electrical installation seeking to enhance my career to the next level with a pioneering company in the MEP sector. In my previous position as an electrical project manager at GSK global – managed the electrical sub-contract of a construction project worth $600 million which was successfully concluded in the last year.
INCORRECTElectrical engineer with over 5 years of industry experience in MEP looking to join Global electricals to hold a position as an electrical project manager.
Electrical Engineer Resume Objective
You should either write a professional summary or a professional objective statement on your resume.
If you possess the required industry experience, you should go for a professional summary highlighting your key achievements in the previous electrical engineer jobs.
You may write an objective summary highlighting your passion and interest in the company and the job role if you are in a career transition or applying for an entry-level position.
Nevertheless, this section should entice the hiring manager to read further into your resume.
Additional Sections for Your Electrical Engineer Resume
Most resumes end in the skills section.
Our objective here is to write a resume that is better than 95% of the resumes recruiter receives. Additional sections play a major role in this. These are short sections with specific details of your relevant skills and achievements – showcasing them separately enhances their visibility.
Here are a few sections we recommend adding to electrical engineer resumes👇
Computing Skills & Certifications
Some electrical engineering tasks need mandatory skill certifications. Check with the professional bodies and authorities for the required skill certifications and acquire them. Candidates already having these skill certifications are highly employable in the industry at higher average salaries.
The courses and certificates you have earned related to computer programming and information technology will add value to your profile. Also, certificates that represent your technical expertise such as CAD/CAM design, programmable logic controllers would set you apart.
Languages
Your language fluency is a valuable input in your resume.
Why?
Because most electrical engineering jobs involve traveling to long distances – that involves dealing with people who talk multiple languages.
Make your language skills appear more professional and detailed with one of our beautiful resume templates. Our resume builder allows you to indicate the languages you speak with the level of fluency.
Publications
If you think your academic background would interest the recruiter, you may list the research papers and publications on your resume.
They reflect your analytical skill and subject expertise, even if they're not directly related to the position you're applying for.
Hobbies and Interests
Whether you include this section on your resume depends on your hobbies and interests. If they are irrelevant, non-value-adding activities, you better avoid them.
For example, interests such as watching Netflix and playing poker would add no value to your profile as an electrical engineer.
Start an online course about the subject on a platform such as Udemy or Coursera. Mention that in your resume as an additional section.
Eg:
CoursesFollowing an online course on Electrical system design using AutoCAD electrical
The Best Resume Tips for Electrical Engineers
Here are some Pro Tips to help you improve your next electrical engineer resume:
- Make sure your resume is free of grammar and spelling errors.
- Use numbers to add credibility to your experience section and professional summary
- Use a modern resume template and edit it to match your personality
- Read the job description to determine what skills the recruiter is seeking and use the keywords naturally throughout your resume
Electrical Engineer Resume Summary
- Start your resume with the header – include the name you use and the contact information
- Write a professional summary or objective summary highlighting your key skills and achievements
- The experience section is the most critical part of your resume. List your achievements and accomplishments in the previous job rather than your duties
- State your academic background: the name of the degree, year, institution, and a couple of key learnings
- Write a combination of soft and hard skills in the skills section – give priority to hard skills
- Provide a pleasant surprise to the hiring manager by adding a couple of additional sections
Reinforce Your Resume with A Cover Letter
After creating your perfect electrical engineering resume, you’re not done, since some recruiters expect a cover letter together with your resume
Write your cover letter to complement your resume.
A cover letter is a short statement that expresses your professional experience, skills, and passion for the new position. This is especially important if you’re applying for an entry-level electrical engineering job or you’re in a career change.
Use the first paragraph to write about your key achievements: the second paragraph to demonstrate how your skills and expertise will benefit the employer: the third paragraph to express why you chose to apply for the particular job.
