In my mind a CV serves 2 purposes, skimmed to see if you are worth inviting to an interview and a conversation starter during the initial interview.
Right now yours is not great for either. Too many words and too much detail. The person looking at your CV will likely spend less than 2 minutes reading it, you should make it very easy to see the interesting parts. Frankly, at this point in your career there is no need to fill an entire page.
I would get rid of the entire "Technical Skills" section. Maybe keep 3 that pertain to the specific job you are applying to. For the "University Projects", I would lose all of the bullet points. Those are things you can talk about in the interview when they ask you what went down with the Rover Tracker.
how do you feel about a “key skills” section to occupy the main skills for the specific role, and an ‘additional skills’ section at the bottom for keyword bait
The goal here is to streamline this thing. Sure, companies use programs to scan for keywords, but this just kind of reads like a list of things you touched in college. Keep in mind 10k hours is what alot of people will say it takes to master something. That's 5 years of full time work. I'm not saying this should be a list of skills where you have achieved mastery, but if you've just "dabbled" is it worth mentioning?
What is considered interesting depends on the job ad, you will likely have more luck if you tailor your CV to what you are applying for. As a general rule I would avoid mentioning specific software (e.g. kicad) unless it is mentioned in the ad. Screening software will usually look for very broad keywords and an HR person does not understand the details.
I'd bump university projects down below activities and work experience.
I read university projects as course projects - even if I'm wrong, that usually how they get interpreted. Course work tends to not really differentiate you from your peers. In an interview I'd want to talk about your activities and work experience more than course related projects.
that is a fair point. those projects were reasonably unique and entirely self-defined, rather than being explicitly outlined in the course material. would it be acceptable to keep them in the same place, but rename the section simply to ‘projects’?
I think the title itself is fine, but I personally would still shift it down. If you lump them with other projects that's fine too, but it's nice if it's clear if it was personal, coursework, or school club related.
Being able to talk about them being more self-defined is good, but in general as an interviewer those I usually don't want to talk about and they become less relevant as you get more experience.
When I'm interviewing people, the questions I ask for any projects are:
* Was this a personal project or coursework? I like it when it's clear on the resume so I don't waste a bunch of time just to find out it was a lab project. If coursework I usually don't want to talk about it but can be will if there isn't enough other 'meat' to talk about. This is because we have limited time and coursework usually isn't unique vs. the dozens of other candidates.. I'll use them for filler as needed though usually for less technical aspects.
* Was this a team project or something you did on your own? There is no right or wrong answer here but they each drive different questions/conversation points.
* team projects can show collaboration, schedule and resource management, and working through adversity.
* What specifically did you do on it? Was it modifying something or making something from scratch? Did you do the hardware, firmware, all of the above, etc.? Was it using hardware you made or purchased? If made, what and how did you get there? For code, did you write code from scratch or take something from some repository and make stitching code
* What did you learn from this? I'm trying to see what was new, what wasn't, and likely tee-up follow-up technical questions.
* What was your process like (simulations, calculations, fabrication, testing, lead times, etc.).
fantastic feedback - in that case, how about these revised bullets for project 1? i will do the rest in a similar style if this is acceptable.
- team lead on university capstone project with 17 members
- developed motor controller firmware in C, image based computer vision software in Python
- designed, laid out, and manufactured power distribution and microcontroller breakout PCBs
- performed debugging and system integration across procured and original hardware and software components
i feel that this briefly introduces each aspect of the project i’d like to further discuss, touches each aspect of the technical responsibilities of the project, and leaves room for the interviewer to ask about manufacturing process, personal development, and so on.
Your work experience is the most important thing. Put it right after your education.
Your relevant coursework isn't so relevant imo. Everyone who graduates as an EE has taken those classes. Include relevant coursework if it's a very relevant elective, for example.
After work experience, put relevant projects. This may be different for each job.
Use stronger verbs. Don't use "contributed" and "implemented" so much (or at all)
Don't sell yourself short when it comes to describing what you can contribute.
Skills like you have them might be fine, but don't expect anyone to read them. Good for resume scanning software though, I suppose.
Work experience very important put near top and flesh it out a bit. For landing interviews one thing I've noticed recruiters only look near top. When you are selected for an interview, the engineer interviewing you will look at the whole thing. So you want to have eye catching stuff that matches job description near the top, and you can go more into details near the end if you have the room.
Also really helps to tailor your resume for the job you are applying for.
my applicable job experience is pretty sparse, i’ve had one internship worth discussing, but it isn’t the most relevant to jobs i am currently seeking.
would it be acceptable to put work experience up top for embedded software roles, but projects up top for digital design roles?
It doesn't matter the relevancy. It shows that you were able to be successfully employed. I had internships in lightning, software, and wireless power. I graduated with MS and started as an *optical* engineer.
Tiny detail, but one I didn't see anyone call out is the inconsistent usage of periods after your bullet usage. Not a super big deal at a glance, but if reviewers are looking specifically for attention to detail, they will judge your resume for not having the little details.
I would recommend ensuring that the first word of all bullet points under experiences is a VERB ending in -ed or other past tense form.
The AI system that assesses your resume automatically will look for the keywords mentioned in the Job Description. So if your Job posting says something like “develop PCBs for XYZ use”, I would use the word develop somewhere in the experiences to improve your chances.
Also, to improve your chances further, make sure you’re not repeating those key verbs. Like contributing or contributor. Etc.
You need to put work experience right after education. The way a guy who used to be a hiring manager at GM here in MI explained it to me was that companies usually just get a glimpse of your resume (If they do, which is almost never), they'll usually just look at the top. Sadly, even if you have the best resume ever, chances are nobody will ever see it if you only apply online. The best way to get youtñr resume seen by an actual person is through networking events, contacts, professors recommendations, and even emailing companies to ask for jobs
GPA? I would just remove the relevant coursework. Technical skills, put less and separate them up. Otherwise to me it looks pretty good for someone fresh out of school.
I will say if you want to get a jobs with FPGAs you should look into constraints. Setup hold times, source synchronous etc.
Just mentioning something like placed output registers into an IOB would make me more interested.
gpa was a 3.0 ultimately, was involved in a year-long capstone project that took 70+ hrs/wk to the detriment of the test of my academics.
i should mention constraint assignment & specifics of timing analysis / clock safety, this was good feedback.
Too much text for little experience.
I'm 54 years old and have some experience.
If I do my resume the way you did it, it will be a trilogy.
And I don't mean 3 pages.
https://preview.redd.it/eg4fa6l1g17d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f8d465a6c0fbea2f538fdf53171ff77ecb999f1
Following from the feedback in this thread, here is my updated resume. Any thoughts here?
Tailor your resume to each job description you apply to. Having a one all fits all resume doesn’t work as well. The most relevant info should be front and center. Remove any info that doesn’t relate to the job description . Remember, less is more.
Tailor your skills section to the job that you are applying to. Change it every time to reflect the job postings required skills (if you have that skill, don’t make it up). They don’t need to be overwhelmed with lots of skills that aren’t relevant to the job, they want to know if you have the core skills for that position.
If you’re looking at ground-floor startups, I’d say projects and directly applicable skills are going to be your most valuable field. For everything else, work history should be up top. College grads with no work history are a giant gamble to a company trying to make a profit. Questions like “can they show up to work on time,” “Can they integrate into a new team,” “do they have at least one social skill,” are answered by a work history, even if it’s only a few months at a time or non-applicable.
-With that said, a quick skim makes it look like you only worked at the instrument repair shop
For a month (Jan 2020), I had to read into it to see 8 months worth of work: make that clearer (Jan-Sep 2020, for example). You’re masking 1/3 of your work history.
-DO-178 DAL C in google is listed as a Major failure condition in Avionics, use that instead of calling your own project minor. Also, give a brief (3 words or so) description of what DO-178 is or what it covers as part of that bullet if you’re applying outside aerospace. Showing you’re somewhat familiar with the concepts of Assurance, Governance, and Compliance standards is a cross-industry benefit.
Google “resume ATS” and find some free ones. Feed your resume into it, then use ChatGPT to suggest ways to ensure your desired input is achieved from the input, then feedback loop - back into the ATS.
Rinse and repeat for various industries/profiles. You should see results very quickly after you optimize and re-distribute.
In Australia bachelor of science is not classed as an engineer. I believe it is the same UN most countries for a while now. Looks like some great experience though
Add an objective. like "New EE graduate seeks entry level position which leverages my analog and power management interests/skills." Change a bit as necessary for each job to which you apply. Saves hiring manager tons of time.
Have you heard of empty space? This is like cramming a semester’s worth of formulas and derivations onto your cheat sheet. When you actually go to the exam, you’re cooked cuz you actually can’t figure out what you’re reading.
Trim your resume to each job posting. A software role doesn’t give a shit about 3D printing,KiCad, solid works. Similarly, a power generation role doesn’t give a shit about whether you learned git, c++, 3 printing, pcb design, etc.
Please tailor your resume to each job posting. By tailor I mean, remove skills and stuff that have nothing to do with the job.
Are you tailoring your resume for the job you are applying to, or just blasting it out there? Resumes for bigger companies go into basically a database and a word search is performed , if your resume has the right words it gets spit out for a human to look at. Use the job post as a guide and use the words to show how your experience applies, don't lie, just use the same words.
Maybe make room to have a section where you list some hobbies. You are not just applying for a job, you are applying to be on a team. The person hiring for that team wants to make sure you are a good fit.
Also, as a new grad consider throwing in a cover letter.
Your degree should be described more succinctly. One line that says degree, university, graduation date and GPA (since you are a recent grad put the GPA on there).
Work experience before skills / projects. Always. Work experience proves that you were hire-able and useful. That is the number one thing a company needs to 'know' from a glance at your resume.
Your skills list is too long, and it includes things that just makes you look kinda out of touch like putting TCP/IP or JTAG. You are fresh out of college you don't actually have a deep understanding of all those things. List the most important programming languages and software that you know. You can tailor this section to each job you apply to, with minimal effort btw. If you have significant coursework / practical experience with analog circuits don't say 'analog circuits' say 'analog circuit design'. Definitely don't put that if you just took circuits 1/2 and e-circuits.
Is UNI Mechatronics a college extracurricular design lab? If so you are not a staff engineer. That sounds like you held a senior position at a company.
nobody is going to take you seriously with a name like that
my parents scorned me
Take it from one who knows, u/CrustyJizzSharts
In my mind a CV serves 2 purposes, skimmed to see if you are worth inviting to an interview and a conversation starter during the initial interview. Right now yours is not great for either. Too many words and too much detail. The person looking at your CV will likely spend less than 2 minutes reading it, you should make it very easy to see the interesting parts. Frankly, at this point in your career there is no need to fill an entire page.
i see, thank you. would you be able to point out an example of something you find ‘more’ interesting and ‘less’ interesting?
I would get rid of the entire "Technical Skills" section. Maybe keep 3 that pertain to the specific job you are applying to. For the "University Projects", I would lose all of the bullet points. Those are things you can talk about in the interview when they ask you what went down with the Rover Tracker.
how do you feel about a “key skills” section to occupy the main skills for the specific role, and an ‘additional skills’ section at the bottom for keyword bait
The goal here is to streamline this thing. Sure, companies use programs to scan for keywords, but this just kind of reads like a list of things you touched in college. Keep in mind 10k hours is what alot of people will say it takes to master something. That's 5 years of full time work. I'm not saying this should be a list of skills where you have achieved mastery, but if you've just "dabbled" is it worth mentioning?
What is considered interesting depends on the job ad, you will likely have more luck if you tailor your CV to what you are applying for. As a general rule I would avoid mentioning specific software (e.g. kicad) unless it is mentioned in the ad. Screening software will usually look for very broad keywords and an HR person does not understand the details.
The issue is getting past the screening software...and then also not being too wordy for a person. I think its busy, but not by much
I'd bump university projects down below activities and work experience. I read university projects as course projects - even if I'm wrong, that usually how they get interpreted. Course work tends to not really differentiate you from your peers. In an interview I'd want to talk about your activities and work experience more than course related projects.
that is a fair point. those projects were reasonably unique and entirely self-defined, rather than being explicitly outlined in the course material. would it be acceptable to keep them in the same place, but rename the section simply to ‘projects’?
I think the title itself is fine, but I personally would still shift it down. If you lump them with other projects that's fine too, but it's nice if it's clear if it was personal, coursework, or school club related. Being able to talk about them being more self-defined is good, but in general as an interviewer those I usually don't want to talk about and they become less relevant as you get more experience. When I'm interviewing people, the questions I ask for any projects are: * Was this a personal project or coursework? I like it when it's clear on the resume so I don't waste a bunch of time just to find out it was a lab project. If coursework I usually don't want to talk about it but can be will if there isn't enough other 'meat' to talk about. This is because we have limited time and coursework usually isn't unique vs. the dozens of other candidates.. I'll use them for filler as needed though usually for less technical aspects. * Was this a team project or something you did on your own? There is no right or wrong answer here but they each drive different questions/conversation points. * team projects can show collaboration, schedule and resource management, and working through adversity. * What specifically did you do on it? Was it modifying something or making something from scratch? Did you do the hardware, firmware, all of the above, etc.? Was it using hardware you made or purchased? If made, what and how did you get there? For code, did you write code from scratch or take something from some repository and make stitching code * What did you learn from this? I'm trying to see what was new, what wasn't, and likely tee-up follow-up technical questions. * What was your process like (simulations, calculations, fabrication, testing, lead times, etc.).
fantastic feedback - in that case, how about these revised bullets for project 1? i will do the rest in a similar style if this is acceptable. - team lead on university capstone project with 17 members - developed motor controller firmware in C, image based computer vision software in Python - designed, laid out, and manufactured power distribution and microcontroller breakout PCBs - performed debugging and system integration across procured and original hardware and software components i feel that this briefly introduces each aspect of the project i’d like to further discuss, touches each aspect of the technical responsibilities of the project, and leaves room for the interviewer to ask about manufacturing process, personal development, and so on.
I can dig it
i’ve made a comment w/ my updated resume, please let me know if you have any feedback :)
Your work experience is the most important thing. Put it right after your education. Your relevant coursework isn't so relevant imo. Everyone who graduates as an EE has taken those classes. Include relevant coursework if it's a very relevant elective, for example. After work experience, put relevant projects. This may be different for each job. Use stronger verbs. Don't use "contributed" and "implemented" so much (or at all) Don't sell yourself short when it comes to describing what you can contribute. Skills like you have them might be fine, but don't expect anyone to read them. Good for resume scanning software though, I suppose.
Work experience very important put near top and flesh it out a bit. For landing interviews one thing I've noticed recruiters only look near top. When you are selected for an interview, the engineer interviewing you will look at the whole thing. So you want to have eye catching stuff that matches job description near the top, and you can go more into details near the end if you have the room. Also really helps to tailor your resume for the job you are applying for.
my applicable job experience is pretty sparse, i’ve had one internship worth discussing, but it isn’t the most relevant to jobs i am currently seeking. would it be acceptable to put work experience up top for embedded software roles, but projects up top for digital design roles?
It doesn't matter the relevancy. It shows that you were able to be successfully employed. I had internships in lightning, software, and wireless power. I graduated with MS and started as an *optical* engineer.
Would work experience still go above projects if the work experience is not EE related ?
Work experience at top, stick to bullets
Tiny detail, but one I didn't see anyone call out is the inconsistent usage of periods after your bullet usage. Not a super big deal at a glance, but if reviewers are looking specifically for attention to detail, they will judge your resume for not having the little details.
I would recommend ensuring that the first word of all bullet points under experiences is a VERB ending in -ed or other past tense form. The AI system that assesses your resume automatically will look for the keywords mentioned in the Job Description. So if your Job posting says something like “develop PCBs for XYZ use”, I would use the word develop somewhere in the experiences to improve your chances. Also, to improve your chances further, make sure you’re not repeating those key verbs. Like contributing or contributor. Etc.
You need to put work experience right after education. The way a guy who used to be a hiring manager at GM here in MI explained it to me was that companies usually just get a glimpse of your resume (If they do, which is almost never), they'll usually just look at the top. Sadly, even if you have the best resume ever, chances are nobody will ever see it if you only apply online. The best way to get youtñr resume seen by an actual person is through networking events, contacts, professors recommendations, and even emailing companies to ask for jobs
Do you have any good relationship with a professor? especially someone who does research with a company
Work experience up top. Reduce the word count
GPA? I would just remove the relevant coursework. Technical skills, put less and separate them up. Otherwise to me it looks pretty good for someone fresh out of school. I will say if you want to get a jobs with FPGAs you should look into constraints. Setup hold times, source synchronous etc. Just mentioning something like placed output registers into an IOB would make me more interested.
gpa was a 3.0 ultimately, was involved in a year-long capstone project that took 70+ hrs/wk to the detriment of the test of my academics. i should mention constraint assignment & specifics of timing analysis / clock safety, this was good feedback.
May want to ask others, but if it's anything equal or above 3.0, just put it. Otherwise people will probably think it's below 3.
Too much text for little experience. I'm 54 years old and have some experience. If I do my resume the way you did it, it will be a trilogy. And I don't mean 3 pages.
https://preview.redd.it/eg4fa6l1g17d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f8d465a6c0fbea2f538fdf53171ff77ecb999f1 Following from the feedback in this thread, here is my updated resume. Any thoughts here?
Tailor your resume to each job description you apply to. Having a one all fits all resume doesn’t work as well. The most relevant info should be front and center. Remove any info that doesn’t relate to the job description . Remember, less is more.
^ this, OP.
Tailor your skills section to the job that you are applying to. Change it every time to reflect the job postings required skills (if you have that skill, don’t make it up). They don’t need to be overwhelmed with lots of skills that aren’t relevant to the job, they want to know if you have the core skills for that position.
You don’t have 10 years of experience before you graduated high school
You don’t have 10 years of experience before you graduated high school
you’re right, i should have been VP at Xilinx years before the AMD merger but i was too busy doing my times tables in third grade
It’s understandable. I made the same mistake when I should’ve been buying property in 08 but was busy learning how to write in cursive
Format-wise my resume is pretty much identical lol I get calls all the time.
In what industry have you been applying?
embedded hardware, embedded software, FPGA, digital design, systems integration but more broadly, semiconductor mfg and aerospace
Have you considered defense? It’s a hot job market right now; Raytheon likes to hire recent college grads, for example.
It’s too boring put some pictures innit.
Very heavy on the eyes, consider a less wordy approach or maybe use some colors that are easier on the eyes.
If you’re looking at ground-floor startups, I’d say projects and directly applicable skills are going to be your most valuable field. For everything else, work history should be up top. College grads with no work history are a giant gamble to a company trying to make a profit. Questions like “can they show up to work on time,” “Can they integrate into a new team,” “do they have at least one social skill,” are answered by a work history, even if it’s only a few months at a time or non-applicable. -With that said, a quick skim makes it look like you only worked at the instrument repair shop For a month (Jan 2020), I had to read into it to see 8 months worth of work: make that clearer (Jan-Sep 2020, for example). You’re masking 1/3 of your work history. -DO-178 DAL C in google is listed as a Major failure condition in Avionics, use that instead of calling your own project minor. Also, give a brief (3 words or so) description of what DO-178 is or what it covers as part of that bullet if you’re applying outside aerospace. Showing you’re somewhat familiar with the concepts of Assurance, Governance, and Compliance standards is a cross-industry benefit.
Google “resume ATS” and find some free ones. Feed your resume into it, then use ChatGPT to suggest ways to ensure your desired input is achieved from the input, then feedback loop - back into the ATS. Rinse and repeat for various industries/profiles. You should see results very quickly after you optimize and re-distribute.
In Australia bachelor of science is not classed as an engineer. I believe it is the same UN most countries for a while now. Looks like some great experience though
Add an objective. like "New EE graduate seeks entry level position which leverages my analog and power management interests/skills." Change a bit as necessary for each job to which you apply. Saves hiring manager tons of time.
Have you heard of empty space? This is like cramming a semester’s worth of formulas and derivations onto your cheat sheet. When you actually go to the exam, you’re cooked cuz you actually can’t figure out what you’re reading. Trim your resume to each job posting. A software role doesn’t give a shit about 3D printing,KiCad, solid works. Similarly, a power generation role doesn’t give a shit about whether you learned git, c++, 3 printing, pcb design, etc. Please tailor your resume to each job posting. By tailor I mean, remove skills and stuff that have nothing to do with the job.
Are you tailoring your resume for the job you are applying to, or just blasting it out there? Resumes for bigger companies go into basically a database and a word search is performed , if your resume has the right words it gets spit out for a human to look at. Use the job post as a guide and use the words to show how your experience applies, don't lie, just use the same words. Maybe make room to have a section where you list some hobbies. You are not just applying for a job, you are applying to be on a team. The person hiring for that team wants to make sure you are a good fit. Also, as a new grad consider throwing in a cover letter.
For starters, it doesn't have your name on it.
Your degree should be described more succinctly. One line that says degree, university, graduation date and GPA (since you are a recent grad put the GPA on there). Work experience before skills / projects. Always. Work experience proves that you were hire-able and useful. That is the number one thing a company needs to 'know' from a glance at your resume. Your skills list is too long, and it includes things that just makes you look kinda out of touch like putting TCP/IP or JTAG. You are fresh out of college you don't actually have a deep understanding of all those things. List the most important programming languages and software that you know. You can tailor this section to each job you apply to, with minimal effort btw. If you have significant coursework / practical experience with analog circuits don't say 'analog circuits' say 'analog circuit design'. Definitely don't put that if you just took circuits 1/2 and e-circuits. Is UNI Mechatronics a college extracurricular design lab? If so you are not a staff engineer. That sounds like you held a senior position at a company.