Resume guide · Job Zone 4
Electrical Engineersresume guide.
Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial A strong Electrical Engineers resume shows writing, critical thinking and reading comprehension, and names the tools you have worked with, such as The MathWorks MATLAB, Autodesk AutoCAD and Dassault Systemes SolidWorks.
See a sample Electrical Engineers resumeAnnotated against this guide · 3 templates↓Sample resume
This guide, on a real page.
A Electrical Engineers resume built in ResumeXRays, annotated against the data below. Flip the pages, try a template, then make it yours.
- 1Use the titles and tools postings use.Electrical Engineer and Electrical Project Engineer are titles this guide lists, and SKM Systems Analysis Power Tools and ETAP are in-demand tools. Power engineers for data centers and the grid are hard to find right now, so say that is your work.
- 2Show you finished on time and on budget."Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget" from the guide becomes a real date and a real dollar figure.
- 3Include one decision you made, and why.Critical Thinking and Complex Problem Solving rank high in this guide. Choosing the ring bus after modeling a failure shows judgment, not just design work.
- 4Turn a complaint into a fix.The guide lists investigating customer or public complaints as a task. Saying what caused it and that the complaints stopped makes it a result.
- 5Spell your license out exactly.Give the full license name, discipline, state and that it is active. Many power and utility jobs require a PE to stamp drawings, so make it easy to verify.
- 6Keep education to one line.Most roles in this guide ask for a bachelor's degree in engineering. The degree and school are enough here.
Sample resume. The candidate is fictional; the layout and templates are real.
01Also called
O*NETCircuits EngineerDesign EngineerElectrical Controls EngineerElectrical Design EngineerElectrical EngineerElectrical Project EngineerEngineerInstrumentation and Electrical Reliability Engineer (I&E Reliability Engineer)Project EngineerTest Engineer
02Skills employers expect
O*NETImportance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | Very high | Advanced |
| Critical Thinking | Very high | Advanced |
| Reading Comprehension | Very high | Advanced |
| Active Learning | High | Intermediate |
| Active Listening | High | Advanced |
| Complex Problem Solving | High | Advanced |
| Speaking | High | Advanced |
| Monitoring | High | Intermediate |
| Mathematics | High | Advanced |
| Coordination | High | Intermediate |
03Knowledge areas
O*NET- Engineering and Technology
- Computers and Electronics
- Design
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
04Common responsibilities
O*NETOrdered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.
- Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes.
- Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget.
- Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, codes, or customer requirements.
- Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications.
- Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks.
- Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products.
- Investigate or test vendors' or competitors' products.
- Inspect completed installations and observe operations to ensure conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with operational, safety, or environmental standards.
- Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems.
- Prepare technical drawings, specifications of electrical systems, or topographical maps to ensure that installation and operations conform to standards and customer requirements.
05Software and tools
O*NET120 tools across 25 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.
Analytical or scientific software43
- The MathWorks MATLABHotIn demand
- MathWorks SimulinkIn demand
- Simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis SPICEIn demand
- SKM Systems Analysis Power ToolsIn demand
- Minitab
- Finite element method FEM software
- Circuit simulation software
- Failure mode and effects analysis FMEA software
- Optimization software
- Fault tree analysis FTA software
- Reliability analysis software
- ReliaSoft Weibull++ 6
- Siemens ModelSim
- Test automation software
- Availability prediction modeling software
- Embedded systems testing software
- Failure mode effects and criticality analysis FMECA software
- Failure reporting analysis and corrective action FRACAS software
- Fault modeling software
- Finite difference time domain FDTD software
- Isograph Markov
- Life cycle cost software
- Logic synthesis software
- Mean time between failures MBTF software
- Mean time to failure MTTF software
- Synopsys Design Compiler
- Systems analysis programs for hands on integrated reliability evaluation software SAPHIRE
- Time and motion analysis software
- APLAC
- Automated material handling software
- Digital timing diagram editing software
- Dynamic object-oriented requirements system DOORS
- Electromagnetic analysis software
- Electronic engineering calculator
- Functional verification software
- Hewlett-Packard HP Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer
- Matrix calculation software
- Microwave circuit simulation software
- Power analysis software
- Powersim PSIM
- Signal integrity simulation software
- Synopsys PrimeTime
- Tektronix EZ-TEST
+ 38 more
Computer aided design CAD software23
- Autodesk AutoCADHotIn demand
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorksHotIn demand
- Bentley MicroStationHotIn demand
- Autodesk RevitHotIn demand
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3DHotIn demand
- Dassault Systemes CATIAIn demand
- PTC Creo ParametricIn demand
- Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
- Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
- Electronic design automation EDA software
- Field programmable gate array FPGA design software
- OrCAD Capture
- Cadence Allegro Design Entry Capture and Capture CIS
- Cadence Encounter Test
- Floor planning software
- Keysight Technologies Advanced Design System
- Mentor Graphics software
- Schematic design entry software
- Chip design software
- MAGIC
- Physical design software
- Printed circuit board design software
- Zuken E3.schematic
+ 18 more
Development environment software15
- CHotIn demand
- Microsoft Visual StudioHotIn demand
- Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBAHotIn demand
- Eclipse IDEHotIn demand
- Microsoft Visual BasicHot
- National Instruments LabVIEWIn demand
- VerilogIn demand
- Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition VBScript
- Integrated development environment IDE software
- Ada
- Very high-speed integrated circuit VHSIC hardware description language VHDL
- Hardware description language HDL
- Advanced boolean expression language ABEL
- Altera hardware description language AHDL
- Programmable logic controller PLC code generation software
+ 10 more
Object or component oriented development software6
+ 1 more
Operating system software5
- Microsoft WindowsHotIn demand
- LinuxHotIn demand
- UNIXHotIn demand
- Shell scriptHotIn demand
- BashHotIn demand
Industrial control software3
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Programmable logic controller PLC software
- AVEVA InTouch HMI
Geographic information system2
- ESRI ArcGIS softwareHotIn demand
- ETAPIn demand
Program testing software2
- Debugging software
- Defect tracking software
Project management software2
- Microsoft ProjectHotIn demand
- Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio ManagementHot
Requirements analysis and system architecture software2
- Unified modeling language UML
- Requirements management software
WAN switching software and firmware2
- ATD protocol
- X.25 Protocol
Word processing software2
- Microsoft WordHotIn demand
- Microsoft OneNote
Application server software1
- Microsoft Windows ServerHotIn demand
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software1
- Rapid prototyping software
Configuration management software1
- Perforce Helix software
Data base user interface and query software1
- Microsoft SQL ServerHotIn demand
Electronic mail software1
Enterprise resource planning ERP software1
- SAP softwareHotIn demand
File versioning software1
- Apache Subversion SVNHot
Financial analysis software1
- Oracle E-Business Suite Financials
Graphics or photo imaging software1
- SmugMug Flickr
Office suite software1
- Microsoft Office softwareHotIn demand
Presentation software1
- Microsoft PowerPointHotIn demand
Process mapping and design software1
- Microsoft VisioHotIn demand
Spreadsheet software1
- Microsoft ExcelHotIn demand
06Education and preparation
O*NETTypical education
Bachelor's Degree
82% of surveyed workers. Others report Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (11%) and Master's Degree (7%).
Preparation level
Job Zone 4 · Considerable preparation
Usually a four-year degree and several years of related experience.
07Putting it on your resume
ResumeXRays guidanceBEE · How to show it
Lead with what you built. For a Job Zone 4 role, hiring managers and parsers both look for outcomes before credentials. Put two or three results at the top of each job entry, with the scale or effect stated plainly.
Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "The MathWorks MATLAB, Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Bentley MicroStation" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.
Show critical thinking and reading comprehension, not just writing. Critical thinking and reading comprehension rank close to writing for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.
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