Writing your own Technical Engineer CV or Resume requires a different approach from the way that many engineers go about preparing their jobs CV. Technical careers, although having many similarities to commercial careers, demand a different way of thinking and a better way of presenting your technical skills and experience.
The key issue is that it is important to remember that although you may be an engineer, you are also a person who must interact with other people in the workplace.
And without labouring the point, that sometimes seems to be forgotten.
The Rule Of Thumb
There is a simple rule of thumb that you can follow, which means that the underlying skills, accountabilities and authority of your job have to be equated to the job role you want, so that there is a clear fit upon which you base your job application.
But many technical people value their technical skills far more than their people skills and so are guilty of ignoring factors which could make them an outstanding candidate; when only the 'hard' skills are presented on their Technical Engineer CV, and any 'soft' skills left out or not given sufficient emphasis, an opportunity to be seen as a great candidate is missed.
I understand the precision of thought and the analytical approach required of an engineer, but you should consider that to be 'taken as read' and not expect your work to speak for itself.
It also needs saying that a good Technical Engineer CV, needs to be understandable by the reader, which means it should be free from the jargon and acronyms which are rife in many technical or engineering jobs.
Writing an effective CV for technical or professional engineering jobs can be quite difficult, because the emphasis needs to demonstrate specific capabilities and the delivery of added-value to the prospective employer's business.
Competency Criteria
When writing an effective Technical Engineer CV you must be aware of the demands and responsibilities required of the eventual job holder and provide tangible, quantified illustrations of fulfilling similar duties and responsibilities.
For instance the main competency criteria may include:
- technical excellence;
- communication skills;
- strategic thinking;
- commercial awareness;
- people management.
All of which need to be developed appropriately within your CV, so that the reader will understand your people and communication skills because the role may involve customer liaison for example. Be as specific as you can with numbers and timescales and include the numbers of employees you managed, where appropriate.
Balance some short 'competency' statements which demonstrate the more intangible qualities of 'communication' and 'strategic thinking' which will be helpful for an eventual interview, and can be translated into an information point on your technical engineer CV.
To help the reader even further with their understanding, try to say to whom and what position you reported, and identify their position in the organization. This helps to put a level on where you fit in and your respective status within your organization.
It's Not Just Responsibilities...
It is never sufficient when writing an effective CV to refer simply to responsibilities. You have to define the substance of the responsibility or the crucial purpose of the role and then place it into context. As an engineer it is obviously crucial that your design calculations are accurate, or that your hydraulic pump set is a commercial success, but you must also be seen as a real person who contributes more than simply technical knowledge.
Writing your Technical Engineer CV in this way removes any doubt about the true purpose of your ability to become a valuable employee who may grow with the organization.
Nothing makes it clearer to a prospective employer or recruitment consultant than specific, concise statements of purpose and delivery. It also makes for a very focused CV that works for all job applications because it wastes no time in getting it's message across to the reader. Which also says something about the job applicant - YOU!
Now, as well as using this Chief Engineer CV example as your technical engineer CV template, there are other ways you can get to use the expert's knowledge and experience and then quickly construct the Chief Engineer CV that you will be proud of and gets you to the interview. After all that is what you want it to do for you, isn't it?
But please don't forget the importance of a good cover letter.
There is an example of how you can write your own engineer's job application cover letter at engineering cover letter - use the example to get started but please customize it with your own details.
My Technical Engineer CV Writing Expertise:
Quite rightly, my clients demand quality CV writing services and I fulfill this demand by guaranteeing my work so that all my clients receive the highest quality.
My own background as a qualified engineer means that I possess more understanding of your issues than many other CV writers, and my approach is to focus your CV or Resume on your needs so that it is forward looking and demonstrates your potential as well as recording past achievements.
I also promise to work with each client until they are satisfied with their new CV.
Find out more about my Professional CV Writing Services, how you can use my expertise to prepare your CV, and what it all costs, by going to my CV Writing Services page.
If you are planning to write your own Technical Engineer CV or Resume, remember that it requires a different approach from the way that many engineers usually go about preparing their jobs CV. Technical and engineering careers, although having many similarities to commercial careers, demand a different way of thinking and a better way of presenting your technical skills and experience.
Soft Skills Are Important Too...
The key issue is that it is important to remember that although you may be an engineer and are good with things and how they work,, you are also a person who must interact with other people in the workplace. This means that presenting hard technical skills in your CV is only part of the story, you must also be able to offer a range of 'softer' people orientated skills.
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