Graduate engineering resume advice

Applying for graduate roles needn't be overwhelming. A good resume can help you to successfully market yourself to employers. Here are some resume tips that will help you to land an interview for your dream job:

1. Research – before you begin updating your resume, understand the role and the employer. Research the key skills, attributes and experience that the employer seeks.  Carefully review the job ad and selection criteria, research the company and seek expert assistance from your university and industry contacts.
2. Tailor the content – one resume does not suit all jobs! The content in each resume you submit should be tailored to meet the requirements of the role and the expectations of the employer.
3. Career objective – tell the employer what sort of work you seeking and what you can give as well. Show that the role you are applying for is related to your career goal.
4. Be a STAR – identify the 4 to 6 key skills sought by the employer and link your experiences with the employer’s requirements.  Use the STAR (situation, task, action result) technique to formulate examples to demonstrate that you have the key skills sought by the employer. 2 or 3 lines for each example. Use a wide range of contexts (e.g. You could use your final year thesis as an example of project management or a fundraising event you arranged for your sports club could demonstrate good planning and organising).
5. Clean, concise and clear – assume someone only has 20 seconds to review your resume. Make it a summary of your relevant work experience, skills, strengths and achievements. Ensure that the layout is professional and easy to read using appropriate headings and consistent formatting. Avoid borders, photos, fancy fonts and underlines.
6. Positive language – begin sentences with positive, action words, demonstrating results you have achieved, problems you have dealt with and important learning experiences. Use language that is appropriate to your profession and the employer.
7. Get a second opinion - to ensure that your resume is error free and ready for submission.

For more information on creating a resume, visit the Resume Builder website.  Resume Builder is a custom tool that you can use to prepare a professional resume, and the information is stored so that you can update your content throughout your studies. 

Careers and Employment offer resume workshops and resume checking services on each campus. Resume checking for off-campus students is also available.