How to Write a Mechanical Engineering CV or Mechanical Engineer CV
A mechanical engineering CV needs to be highly specific when it comes to technical information, but no less persuasive as a marketing document designed to gain you an interview.
This means you need to combine technical detail with plenty of information that highlights your individual strengths as an employee.
Our CV writing services can significantly improve your mechanical engineer CV and ensure you win the job interviews you really deserve.
Mechanical Engineering CV Profile
Your profile is a short paragraph of around 2 to 3 sentences at the top of your Mechanical Engineering CV. Rather than stating what you want to do, a Profile should be designed to tell the employer what you have to offer. In a very few lines, you therefore need to encapsulate your strengths as a candidate so that the engineering employer feels compelled to read on.
The only way to do this is to ensure it gives a sense of you as an individual professional. A dry statement about your qualifications will do little to motivate anyone reading it. You need to start off by stating your job title, how many years' experience you have, the industry you have it in and the sector of that industry.
Therefore, you should state your area of industry- medical, scientific research, construction, aerospace, acoustics, automotive engineering, transport, thermodynamics, materials science, structural analysis, kinematics and electrical engineering.
Next you should state your specialist area - project management, development, design, testing, computer-aided engineering, product life cycle, industrial equipment and machinery, medical equipment, heating and cooling systems, transport engineering, etc.
If you've worked across a number of areas, include two or three that are most relevant to the engineering jobs that you're applying for.
If you're a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, give your chartered level: Chartered Engineer (CEng), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Engineering Technician (EngTech). If you have an outstanding continuing professional development qualification that will be of interest to employers, include it here too.
Additionally, you should then mention two to three of your personal strengths in the Profile of your mechanical engineer's CV. Often you can express these in such a way that you describe the way in which you apply your specialist knowledge. The key to a good profile is integrating all the information so that the employer can get an idea of what you do and how you do it.
Personal qualities and strengths you might mention here and throughout your mechanical engineering CV, are analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, flexibility, adaptability, ability to work accurately under pressure, high motivation, creativity, perseverance, communication skills and teamwork.
If you are recently qualified, you can refer to your degree and to the placement or work experience you conducted while you were on that degree. At the start of your professional life, it is hard to draw on much career experience, so it is perfectly acceptable to use non-paid experiences instead.
Be prepared to rewrite your profile, and indeed all of your Mechanical Engineer CV, for each application. Even if jobs sound the same, employers aren't, so targeting your information for maximum relevance is worthwhile. Read various advertisements and job descriptions for inspiration.
Need help writing your Profile? Our professional CV writing services can produce a CV for you that will engage employers and make them want to interview you. Bradley CVs has considerable experience in writing CVs for mechanical engineers.
Achievements for a Mechanical Engineer CV
An achievement in your mechanical engineering CV shows how you made a difference through your contribution as an individual or as a team member. It usually includes an action and a result, as well as a brief outline of the problem, situation or challenge that was being addressed.
As a mechanical engineer, you should find it easy to provide quantification when writing of an achievement. This is a good thing, because an achievement carries far more weight if it includes numerical data. Being this specific elevates your achievement to the level of 'evidence'. This provides employers with a clear idea of how you might be able to further their interests were they to employ you.
The measurable outcomes of engineer jobs and projects may be of production output, time involved in projects, time saved, production costs saved, percentage improvement achieved, etc. You can also quantify other things, such as profit levels increased, new customers attracted, etc.
Your achievements on your mechanical engineer CV should be written up as sentences with bullet points. Throughout this section, you should ensure that the main requirements of the employer are reflected in what you're able to offer.
On a general level, the achievements should show that you're able to take a logical but innovative approach to solving problems, using excellent analytical skills. Numeracy and computer literacy need to be in evidence, as well as budgetary awareness.
Strong judgement, attention to detail and the ability to take responsibility for your work are important too. Communication skills need to be highlighted, along with your ability to work in a multidisciplinary team. Prioritising workloads, working under pressure and meeting deadlines is usually vital.
As with your profile, each achievement should also include the personal strengths or skills you engaged. You can also include industry buzzwords - this not only shows you are up to date with your profession, but it will improve the chance of your Mechanical Engineering CV being selected by automated scanning software.
Career or Contract History for your Mechanical Engineering CV
How you write up your career history in your mechanical engineer's CV depends on the shape your professional life has taken. You may have had a series of permanent jobs for a few employers, or you may have worked on a string of shorter contracts for many employers. In some roles, you will have worked on a string of projects for permanent employers.
If you've held permanent jobs, then you can present these in the regular fashion used on CVs: presenting the jobs in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent first. Present your job title, the employer's name and your inclusive dates of employment on one line.
Beneath each position, you should then write up your duties. Focus on what you actually did, rather than your job description. For maximum impact, write each bullet-pointed sentence up as an achievement, using active language and, where possible, quantification. Include four to six points.
In most instances, you only need to include jobs from the past 10 years on your mechanical engineering CV, as any earlier than that is usually considered to be of less interest to the employer. The technological changes that have happened in the past decade go a long way to explaining this.
If you've held many short to mid-term contracts, do not feel that you have to include every single one. In this case, you need to select those that are relevant to the vacancy you're applying for. In other words, you will need to change this list frequently, instead of relying on a single version of your CV (unless the vacancies you apply for are identical).
Once you've decided which to include, list them in reverse chronological order and present them in the same way as described above. Always mention the project outcomes and point out key reasons for their success.
For contracts within the last 10 years that were less relevant, only add a listing - i.e. the line of information about the job title, employer and employment dates. A single line beneath that describing the nature of the work is usually sufficient.
Depending on your roles, the areas that you might cover on your career history section of your mechanical engineer's CV may include:
- Client requirements and budgets.
- Project duration, timeline, scope and monitoring.
- Different stages of the projects.
- Budgets and costs (where this isn't confidential).
- Materials, machinery and equipment involved.
- Size of team, who you reported to or who you managed, or both.
- Suppliers and other parties negotiated with and co-ordinated.
- Technologies involved (not in great detail - that is why you have a Skills section).
Always ensure that you use active language and demonstrate your involvement throughout this section. Starting every bullet point with an active / action word helps to ensure that you include yourself in the description - it's all too easy to describe the work without referring to your contribution on an individual level.
Mechanical Engineering Skills
On a Mechanical Engineer's CV, a Skills section can help to define and clarify your application by presenting your experience, skills and training in an 'at a glance' format. This is particularly useful if you have worked on a string of contracts where responsibilities have been basically similar.
The most effective presentation is in a table with three columns and a number of rows. Don't take up too much room on your CV with this - while it's important, you don't want to squeeze all your work experience onto the second page, where it's less likely to be read. Training and qualifications shouldn't be presented here.
Qualifications and Training for a Mechanical Engineer's CV
If you are a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, then this information should come first on your mechanical engineering CV.
Likewise, if you are currently an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Engineering Technician (EngTech), write your membership details and accreditation first.
These qualifications are internationally recognised as showing your proficiency in this industry and so override all other qualifications.
Your Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree and, if you have one, postgraduate degree (MEng, MEM, MSc) come next. List the title of your degree, the classification you achieved, the awarding academic institution and the date you graduated. If you only recently graduated, include a line or two describing any special projects or traineeships you completed as part of your studies.
Another qualification at technician level might be a Higher National Certificate or Diploma (HNC/HND) with further accredited workplace learning. Include this if it's your highest level of qualification.
Finally, list any other certifications you have acquired since leaving education.
Other pages a mechanical engineer may want to look at:
- Need a good mechanical engineering CV? Our professional CV writing company can dramatically transform your CV, leading to you winning more mechanical engineering job interviews.
- CV Examples
- Free CV Review
- Engineering Jobs
- Engineering CV
- Civil Engineering CV
- Site Manager CV
- Civil Engineering Jobs
- Construction Manager Jobs
