Engineering job seekers have the huge challenge of immediately catching the attention of a prospective employer with their resume. Though it’s tempting to include every aspect of your technical specializations and career history in your resume, there are factors that can lose a hiring personnel’s interest quickly and “kill” your chances of getting an interview.
Here are some examples of engineering “resume killers”:
- Not having a “Summary of Skills” section: The first part of a resume is prime real estate. This is where you can catch the attention of the reader, who are invariably scanning resumes for key skills they are looking for, and entice them to read on. Listing your relevant skills in a bulleted format (easier to read) will immediately highlight your relevant technical, and leadership skills.
- Not Enough Buzzwords: 90% of Fortune 500 companies use an Applicant Tracking System or ATS software to post open positions and evaluate job applicants. These software programs use keywords that are within the job description to match it with candidates who have similar keywords in their resumes. Only the resumes that include keywords get forwarded to be reviewed by hiring personnel. Listing technical and industry-specific power words can help resumes get through the ATS software and to human screening.
- Not defining the products being developed by current or past employers: Many resumes describe the candidates’ functional experience but do not describe the product or industry. This is a missed opportunity to help the reader connect the dots between candidates’ experiences and what may be in common or transferable to their own product or industry.
- Too Long: Most hiring personnel typically sift through hundreds of resumes for multiple positions at any given time. Due to the large volume, resumes that are more than 3 pages long or are written in paragraph format risk getting glossed over or put aside. Ideally, resumes should be kept around 2-3 pages long with each job experience being summarized in 3-5 bullet points.
Resume killers could put a halt to your job application process and keep you from getting hired at your goal engineering job.
Are you looking to revise your resume and start your career search? Check out SoloPoint’s optimized resume templates for direct jobs and mixed direct and contract work, or contact us today to speak with one of our technical recruiters: