One significant CV challenge you might encounter as an engineering student is demonstrating relevant experience in a specialised field like yours. Our guide provides tailored advice on how to effectively articulate your projects, internships, and technical skills to make your application stand out to potential employers.
- Design and format your professional engineering student CV;
- Curate your key contact information, skills, and achievements throughout your CV sections;
- Ensure your profile stays competitive by studying other industry-leading engineering student CVs;
- Create a great CV even if you happen to have less professional experience, or switching fields.
When writing your engineering student CV, you may need plenty of insights from hiring managers. We have prepared industry-leading advice in the form of our relevant CV guides.
Formatting your engineering student CV to meet the role expectations
Staring at the blank page for hours on end, you still have no idea how you should start your professional engineering student CV. Should you include more colours, two columns, and which sections? What you should remember about your CV format is this - ensure it's minimalistic and doesn't go over the top with fancy fonts and many colours. Instead, focus on writing consistent content that actually answers the job requirements. But, how about the design itself :- Use the reverse chronological order to showcase your experience, starting with your most recent role;
- Include your contact details (email address, phone number, and location) - and potentially your professional photo - in the header;
- Must-have CV sections include summary or objective, experience, education, and skills: curate the ones that fit your profile;
- Your professional engineering student CV should be between one-to-two pages long: select the longer format if you have more experience.
A little bit more about your actual CV design, ensure you're using:
- plenty of serif or sans serif font (e.g. Montserrat, Exo 2, Volkhov) as they are Applicant Tracker System (ATS) compliant. Avoid the likes of Arial and Times New Roman because most candidates' CVs are in this typography.
When submitting your CV, are you still not sure what format it should be? Despite the myth that has been circling around, most modern ATS systems are perfectly capable of reading PDFs. This format is an excellent choice as it keeps all of your information intact.
PRO TIP
Use font size and style strategically to create a visual hierarchy, drawing the reader's eye to the most important information first (like your name and most recent job title).
The top sections on a engineering student CV
- Education and qualifications detail your academic background because this is fundamental for the engineering profession, showing the recruiter your grounding in essential concepts.
- Relevant engineering experience showcases your practical experience in the field, which is crucial for demonstrating your ability to apply academic knowledge.
- Technical skills section highlights your proficiency in specific tools, software, and methodologies, which are essential in the engineering field.
- Projects and accomplishments demonstrate your involvement in engineering projects, underlining your hands-on experience and problem-solving abilities.
- Certifications and memberships indicate your commitment to professional development and recognition by authoritative engineering bodies, adding credibility to your expertise.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight any engineering projects, including those completed during university coursework, to showcase your practical experience and problem-solving abilities.
- Emphasise technical skills relevant to your engineering discipline, such as proficiency in CAD software, programming languages, or knowledge of industry-specific tools.
- Include any internships or work placements in the engineering field, detailing your role, responsibilities, and contributions to the team or project.
- Detail your educational background by listing your engineering degree, any relevant modules, and academic achievements that display your technical competency and dedication.
- Showcase any memberships in professional engineering societies or groups, as this demonstrates a commitment to the engineering community and ongoing professional development.
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What information should you include in your engineering student CV header?
The CV header is potentially the section that recruiters would refer to the most, as it should include your:
- Contact details - your professional (non-work) email address and phone number;
- Professional photograph - if you're applying hinting at the value you bring as a professional.
Many professionals often struggle with writing their engineering student CV headline. That's why in the next section of this guide, we've curated examples of how you can optimise this space to pass any form of assessment.
Examples of good CV headlines for engineering student:
- Graduate Mechanical Engineer | CAD Specialist | Renewable Energy Enthusiast | BEng Honours
- Junior Electrical Engineer | Embedded Systems Developer | IoT Innovator | MSc Graduate
- Civil Engineering Intern | Structural Analysis Contributor | Master's Candidate | Sustainable Infrastructure Advocate
- Software Engineering Student | Agile Development Practitioner | Machine Learning Aficionado | BSc (Hons) Computing
- Chemical Engineering Placement | Process Optimization Analyst | Environmental Solutions Pioneer | BEng, Year in Industry
- Aerospace Engineering Trainee | Aerodynamics Research Assistant | Space Technology Buff | MEng Aeronautics
Catching recruiters' attention with your engineering student CV summary or objective
Located closer to the top of your CV, both the summary and objective are no more than five sentences long and serve as an introduction to your experience. What is more, you could use either to entice recruiters to read on. Select the:
- Summary, if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience. Feature your most impressive accomplishments and up to three skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for;
- Objective, if you're just starting your career off. Provide your career goals and answer how you see the role you are applying for will match your professional growth.
Judging which one you need to add to your engineering student CV may at times seem difficult. That’s why you need to check out how professionals, with similar to your experience, have written their summary or objective, in the examples below:
CV summaries for a engineering student job:
- Recent Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Manchester with a First-Class Honours degree, bringing a solid foundation in thermodynamics, material science, and CAD. Key achievement includes designing an award-winning energy-efficient engine prototype during a capstone project.
- Electrical Engineer with 5 years’ experience, specialising in circuit design and electrical systems. Proficient in the use of SPICE simulation software with a proven track record of reducing power consumption for a leading tech firm by 15% through innovative design changes.
- As a former Data Analyst looking to transition into Civil Engineering, I bring 3 years of experience in data interpretation and advanced proficiency in statistical software. Actively pursuing a Master’s in Civil Engineering to contribute to sustainable urban development projects.
- With over a decade in software development and a recent diploma in Environmental Engineering, my goal is to apply my coding expertise and passion for sustainable technology to develop solutions that combat climate change and promote green initiatives within the engineering sector.
- As an ambitious individual with a strong passion for aerospace and a recent BEng in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London, my objective is to leverage my knowledge in fluid dynamics and propulsion systems to contribute to cutting-edge aerospace projects and research endeavours.
- Dedicated to launching a career in Biomedical Engineering with no prior industry experience, but a solid academic background in biological sciences and a BSc in Biomedical Science, aiming to utilise my skills in laboratory research to aid in the development of medical devices and diagnostic equipment.
How to meet job requirements with your engineering student CV experience
We've now reached the essence of your actual CV - your experience section. This is the space where you can list your career roles and on-the-job successes. Many candidates tend to underestimate just how much time and effort they should put into writing this CV section. Your experience shouldn't be a random list of your responsibilities, but instead:
- Match the job description with your skills, values, and accomplishments;
- Start each bullet with a strong action verb, followed up with one key skill and your outcome of applying this skill;
- Spotlight parts of your career history that are relevant to the job you're applying for.
Before we move on, make sure to check out some professional CV experience sections.
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Detail any relevant engineering projects you've worked on, including your specific role and the project outcomes. Highlight the engineering skills you employed, such as CAD design, simulation, or system integration.
- Include any industrial placements or internships, explaining the engineering problems you addressed and the value you added to the team. Mention any feedback or recognition you received for your work.
- Discuss your involvement in engineering clubs or societies at your university, detailing the technical challenges faced and how you contributed to solutions. If you held a leadership position, specify your responsibilities and any successful initiatives you spearheaded.
- List any research experience related to your engineering field, the research objective, and your particular contributions, such as data analysis or experimental design. Describe the research outcomes and any skills you developed through the process.
- Mention software proficiency relevant to engineering, such as MATLAB, SolidWorks, or AutoCAD, and provide examples of how you've applied these tools in academic projects or work experience. Focus on the complexities of the tasks you were able to overcome using these tools.
- Identify any hands-on technical skills, like circuitry, prototyping, or testing, and outline how you've applied them to real-world problems or course assignments. Describe the impact of your technical contributions on the project's success.
- Include any contributions to published papers, conferences, or technical journals if applicable, specifying your role and the subject matter. Elaborate on how your work contributed to advancements in the field or provided meaningful insights.
- Highlight problem-solving examples where you applied engineering principles to find innovative solutions, showing your analytical and creative thinking abilities. Describe how your intervention optimised processes or improved designs.
- Prepare a section for soft skills by including teamwork and communication examples, illustrating how you collaborated with peers or presented complex information effectively. Ensure to link these skills back to your engineering projects, emphasizing successful outcomes from good teamwork or communication.
- Contributed to a 15% increase in production efficiency by designing and implementing a new workflow automation tool for the assembly line at Jaguar Land Rover.
- Led a cross-functional team of 5 in developing an energy-saving program, reducing plant's energy consumption by 12% annually at Avery Dennison.
- Published a research paper on advanced composite materials which has been referenced in over 20 industry-related academic citations.
- Managed a campus-wide initiative to promote STEM education, engaging over 200 students at Siemens AG.
- Participated in the development of a prototype for a smart HVAC system, which resulted in a patent application by the research team.
- Assessed and optimized supply chain processes, contributing to a reduction in material waste by 10% at Bosch.
- Assisted in designing a new water filtration system for rural applications, projected to serve 1,000+ households within its first year at Dyson.
- Contributed to writing and executing validation protocols for product safety tests, enhancing team compliance with ISO standards at 3M.
- Conducted advanced data analysis for a major infrastructure project, improving project forecasting accuracy by 20% at Balfour Beatty.
- Supported the research and development team in improving drone navigation systems, increasing flight stability by 30% at Lockheed Martin.
- Performed complex simulations using MATLAB to refine aerodynamic models, which directly informed adjustments to new product designs at BAE Systems.
- Collaborated on a carbon fibre composites project that yielded a 5% weight reduction in aerospace components at Rolls-Royce.
- Assisted with the upgrade of telecommunications infrastructure, enhancing network capacity by 25% at Nokia.
- Developed software scripts to automate routine data analysis tasks, saving 100 hours of manual work per year at Ericsson.
- Implemented a new testing framework for mobile applications that reduced the average bug discovery time by 40% at Huawei.
- Engaged in a project to modernize legacy systems which improved operational efficiency by 20% at General Electric.
- Conducted thermal analysis on a new line of industrial refrigerators, informing design tweaks that increased energy ratings by one tier at Samsung.
- Created detailed CAD models for a new automotive part which was later manufactured and tested with a 99.5% success rate at Nissan.
- Implemented a small-scale solar panel array for an academic project that successfully powered a section of campus street lighting at SolaX Power.
- Designed an award-winning tool for circuit debugging that was later incorporated into the university's engineering curriculum.
- Created a proof-of-concept for a wave energy converter, leading to a grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
- Participated in conducting material stress tests, contributing to the development of a new bullet-resistant vest material for use at DuPont.
- Assisted with the transition from 2D to 3D CAD modelling, streamlining the product development process by 15% at Autodesk.
- Developed a software plugin for automated structural analysis that was adopted by the firm, increasing project delivery efficiency by 13%.
How to ensure your engineering student CV stands out when you have no experience
This part of our step-by-step guide will help you substitute your experience section by helping you spotlight your skill set. First off, your ability to land your first job will depend on the time you take to assess precisely how you match the job requirements. Whether that's via your relevant education and courses, skill set, or any potential extracurricular activities. Next:
- Systematise your CV so that it spotlights your most relevant experience (whether that's your education or volunteer work) towards the top;
- Focus recruiters' attention to your transferrable skill set and in particular how your personality would be the perfect fit for the role;
- Consider how your current background has helped you build your technological understanding - whether you've created projects in your free time or as part of your uni degree;
- Ensure you've expanded on your teamwork capabilities with any relevant internships, part-time roles, or projects you've participated in the past.
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PRO TIP
Talk about any positive changes you helped bring about in your previous jobs, like improving a process or helping increase efficiency.
Key engineering student CV skills: what are hard skills and soft skills
Let's kick off with the basics. You know that you have to include key job requirements or skills across your CV. For starters, take individual skills from the job description and copy-paste them into your CV, when relevant. Doing so, you'll ensure you have the correct skill spelling and also pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. There are two types of skills you'll need to include on your CV:
- Hard skills - technical abilities that are best defined by your certificates, education, and experience. You could also use the dedicated skills section to list between ten and twelve technologies you're apt at using that match the job requirements.
- Soft skills - your personal traits and interpersonal communication skills that are a bit harder to quantify. Use various CV sections, e.g. summary, strengths, experience, to shine a spotlight on your workspace achievements, thanks to using particular soft skills.
Remember that your job-winning CV should balance both your hard and soft skills to prove your technical background, while spotlighting your personality.
Top skills for your engineering student CV:
Engineering fundamentals
Mathematics
Programming (e.g., Python, C++)
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
Circuit analysis
Data analysis
Problem-solving
Prototyping
Project management
Technical writing
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Critical thinking
Time management
Adaptability
Creativity
Attention to detail
Work ethic
Interpersonal skills
PRO TIP
Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
Listing your university education and certificates on your engineering student CV
The best proof of your technical capabilities would be your education and certifications sections. Your education should list all of your relevant university degrees, followed up by their start and completion dates. Make sure to also include the name of the university/-ies you graduated from. If you happen to have less professional experience (or you deem it would be impressive and relevant to your application), spotlight in the education section:
- that you were awarded a "First" degree;
- industry-specific coursework and projects;
- extracurricular clubs, societies, and activities.
When selecting your certificates, first ask yourself how applicable they'd be to the role. Ater your initial assessment, write the certificate and institution name. Don't miss out on including the completion date. In the below panel, we've curated relevant examples of industry-leading certificates.
PRO TIP
If you have received professional endorsements or recommendations for certain skills, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, mention these to add credibility.
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Key takeaways
Your successful job application depends on how you well you have aligned your engineering student CV to the job description and portrayed your best skills and traits. Make sure to:
- Select your CV format, so that it ensures your experience is easy to read and understand;
- Include your professional contact details and a link to your portfolio, so that recruiters can easily get in touch with you and preview your work;
- Write a CV summary if you happen to have more relevant professional experience. Meanwhile, use the objective to showcase your career dreams and ambitions;
- In your CV experience section bullets, back up your individual skills and responsibilities with tangible achievements;
- Have a healthy balance between hard and soft skills to answer the job requirements and hint at your unique professional value.
