How To Write A Graduate Engineering CV

Engineering is a great career choice, offering excellent starting salaries and plenty of opportunities for professional development. So it’s no wonder that you’re determined to secure your first role as soon as possible!

But if you’re applying straight out of university, you’re up against plenty of other bright and tenacious graduates. Not to mention the candidates who’ve been working in the industry for a number of years.

Landing an interview for your dream job can be challenging if you have limited experience in the field. But with some great tips, we’ll show you how to write a CV that stands out from other applicants!

CV Structure

The structure and format of the document should lead to an engineering CV which:

• Looks professional and well thought-out
• Helps readers to navigate to the information they’re looking for
• Is easy to read and not time-consuming for recruiters

Use lists, bold anything that’s important and be sure to highlight your strong skills and qualifications.

Secondly, don’t overwhelm the page with information. While your entry-level engineering CV should be detailed, you need to leave some white space to ensure it’s easy on the reader’s eye.

Lastly, think about the structure before you start writing. Consider building your CV around these headings:

Contact details

Personal statement

Work experience

Education

Interests

Lead with a strong personal statement

In your personal statement, you should provide a compelling and clear picture of who you are—and why this is someone the company would want to hire.

Summarize your skills, knowledge, education, and career goals in one powerful paragraph.

In this section, you can offset your lack of experience by showcasing the skills you’ve picked up at school and expressing your passion for the field.

Showcase your education

Although you may not have much work experience, the skills and academic projects that you’ve taken part in are still relevant to most jobs.

In addition to stating your degree and graduate-level title, include more details about the work you did during that period.

Also make sure to highlight any impressive grades or findings. If any of the modules link well to the position you’re applying to, make these the star of the education section.

Show off your work placements

If you’ve recently graduated from university, it’s unlikely that you’ll have much full-time work experience—use your placements to showcase the skills and qualities needed for the job.

Think about what you learnt during your placement. How did you help the business, what did you gain from the experience and what skills did you develop.

Part-time jobs or roles outside of the industry may be worth mentioning too, as long as you can note down transferable skills that would help you in your new role.

Tie in relevant hobbies and interests

If you have any interests or hobbies related to the industry or have attended any industry conferences or events, it could be worth including them in your CV.

However, you should only include interests which allow you to utilize engineering or project management skills, a technical mind, or focus.

Ready to perfect your entry-level engineering CV?