JOHN MICHAEL LIM

Senior Mechanical Engineer

[Include professional title and postnominals to highlight your qualifications and certifications.]
+60 12 XXXX XXXX • [email protected] • Malaysian
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• IES-registered professional engineer specialising in overseeing construction projects, quantity surveying, engineering site
management, and creating innovative, cost-efficient designs. [Engineering is a varied field with many different disciplines.
It's important to establish that your professional background matches what the company is looking for. After all, an
electrical engineer probably can't do a civil engineer's job very well!]
• Innovative and creative professional possessing extensive technical background with wide-ranging experience in driving
continuous production improvement projects, shaping system architecture design, and managing a diverse range of
mechanical engineering related operations for major projects in the high-volume consumer electronics field. [This client also
specialised in process reengineering on top of his professional experience. I felt that this was a particularly good selling point
as many firms will won’t to find ways to improve on what they're doing and thus become more efficient. If you hove
'general' skills like this, include them, even if they're unrelated to your profession. Afterwards, I again highlighted his
engineering-related expertise and project management knowledge.]
• Solid expertise in applied research, prototype development, new content design, simulation, testing, and validation,
Extensive theoretical experience in engineering mechanics, principles, and materials, as well as hands-on experience on
actual machining, brazing, soldering, adhesive bonding, and welding. [This client was preparing a general CV and he
mentioned that he was considering returning too more research-focused role as opposed to a practicing role. As such, I
included a bit of detail on his past research-based knowledge and R&D domain experience. Including such info is a case-by-
case sort of thing. Domain knowledge is almost always good to include, but be sure to review the relevancy of the points
you include and ensure good relation to your target role (if you have one in mind.)]
• Skilled analyst with highly effective problem-solving skills, adept at preventive problem identification and resolution.
Capable of facilitating all aspects of the problem resolution process, from design of experiments to solution validation and
implementation. [Engineers must be prepared to solve problems of all sorts. Projects rarely go smoothly — plans are only
guidelines! I would have liked to further substantiate this point with some concrete examples, but unfortunately his projects
were all confidential. If you hove examples which you can share, be sure to include them. It helps a lot]
• Highly regarded and well-respected leader, noted for hands-on leadership philosophy and for readily supporting and guiding
team members on the ground. Team-oriented and deeply invested in team members' professional development and personal
growth alike. [This client was gunning for a more senior leadership position. As you climb the ladder, leadership skill gets
increasingly important. As such, I chose to dedicate a point to this here. If you are looking at on entry-level or middle-
management role, it may not be necessary to dedicate a full point. You can implicitly demonstrate your leadership experience
through your job experiences (later on in the CV)]
[This section gives a good helicopter view of the candidate. Mentioning that you are both knowledgeable at engineering
principles and hove hands-on experience will make you a more competitive applicant. So make sure to include important
details of your technical skills and knowledge under the executive summary.]

KEY SKILLS
Mechanical Engineering • Quantity Surveying • Site Management • Project Management • Quality Control •
Workplace Safety & Health

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
SENIOR MECHANICAL ENGINEER Aug 2010—Present
Global Engineering Pte Ltd, Malaysia
• Lead engineer responsible in overseeing design of electronic power supply products for well-known brands including Cisco
Systems, HP, and Microsoft, with full managerial oversight over interdisciplinary engineering team of 20.
[Here, I've summarised his role as far as possible at a top-down level. In addition, I've also highlighted his team size, to
demonstrate the level of responsibility (and hence seniority) he has. Nowadays, we are seeing a lot more horizontal
organizational structures (i.e. no 'direct in charge'), so it's not a must to have. Include it if possible though - it's a nice bonus
to have.]
• Manage design of products from conceptual design to end product and safety approval and production. [This is related to
the first point; I'm going into more detail on his general duties and responsibilities. I could have included this in the first
point as well, but l didn't want to make it too long. Keep your points to 3 lines or less as for as possible. If it's too long, it
becomes intimidating to read. We want to keep the render engaged!]
• Oversee Imaginative, 30 modelling and assembly of entire product in Pro/E, and Thermal Analysis in CF Design. Produce
BOM and drawings after design is finalised. [Toss in some mechanical engineering-related jargon here, to reinforce the idea
that he has the theoretical knowledge to handle his potential future role.]
• Supervise design of sheet metal chassis parts/assembly/plastic parts and packaging design [Mention tools and products
you're familiar with to give hiring managers an idea what you're capable of working with. This is similar to what I did in the
executive summary, except at o more day-to-day level. The executive summary is a more 'general' or macro level.]
• Liaised with suppliers, visiting potential partners to assess and analyze partners' capabilities and providing input on supplier
selection. Acted as SPOC between internal teams and suppliers, managing and resolving all issues arising. [I've talked a lot
about his 'internal' roles, so I also bring in some external duties here. This gives a more complete picture of his abilities,
given that stakeholder management/engagement is a key part of almost every role.]
• Regularly communicate with customers to solve technical problems for products and understand customer needs and
requirements [Customer service and communication skills are reflected here. Both are soft skills which ore highly
transferable. Recall that I'm writing a general CV which needs to work for multiple industries; a Jack of All Trades of sorts.
I've therefore chosen to add several points which would be valuable in as many industries as possible, to help John cover
more possible bases.]

Significant Achievements
o Led redesign of service station subsystem and streamlined manufacturing processes that resulted in 25% savings in cost.
o Successfully designed complex electro-mechanical subsystems and transmission subsystems, directing design projects
valued at a combined total of over USD 5M.
o Singlehandedly troubleshot various products such as 4000W product for Microsoft and 900W for HP; identified
problems and suggested solutions for fan failure, insulation damage, shock and vibration failure and thermal failure.
[Always try to find ways to include actual numbers in your resume. It's very important to quantify achievements so that
hiring managers can see the impact of your work, the scope of your responsibilities and can relate your past work to their
business. It shows how you have added value and contributed to the company, and thus how you might contribute to your
potential employer. This is much more effective than general statements about job duties.]

ASSISTANT SITE ENGINEER Jan 2006—Dec 2009

Venture Corporation Ltd, Malaysia
• Collaborated with Project Planning Engineers in managing construction works according to engineering drawings and
specifications. [This is o brief but concise description of o previous role. Notice also how the remaining bullet points are
written briefly. Because the role is old, we don't need to spend as much time discussing them.]
• Drove effective resolution of technical issues and performed quality checks with suppliers, subcontractors, statutory
authorities and client representatives. [Again, a bit of variety with the roles. I included both internal and external duties in
this one point. Since it's old, I don't want to 'spam' the CV with too many different points. Try to keep the older roles as
short as possible. The older the role, the less points you should be using. Keep the space for the more recent roles.]
• Oversaw and enforced compliance with prevailing workplace safety requirements and regulations on all engineering sites.
[These roles might seem more mundane or 'junior. That's okay — this is an old role which is more junior in level. The skills
gained from these duties are transferable though —in every engineering discipline, safety and OSHA regulations are very
important.]
• Supervised and mentored junior and trainee Site Engineers, equipping them with knowledge of industry best practices and
ensuring delivery of quality work. [Because he's looking to move up the ranks, demonstrating that he's supervised and
trained junior team members is a good way of showing he knows how to develop his subordinates. It's a desirable trait in
senior management.]

Significant Achievements
o Headed team of 3 in developing new GSM mobile phone variant, driving design and analysis with full responsibility and
oversight of rear housing and acoustic chamber component design.
 o Designed color LCD module capable of being adapted for use in future products, surpassing reliability standards and
becoming a de-facto standard across multiple key products.
o Conceptualized, developed, and implemented a revolutionary new metal-to-plastic bonding process in order to achieve
client's aesthetic and cosmetic requirements while simultaneously attaining established reliability standards.
[For roles without quantifiable metrics, speak about notable contributions you have made. Note the title of this section is
different — I've used Significant Projects instead of Significant Highlights. This is because I'm choosing to focus on the
major projects he's headed up. They don't necessarily have numbers or stats tied to them, but ore valuable nonetheless. This
is an alternate approach you can take if your role does not have many quantifiable metrics.]

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science (Hons)
• Mechanical Engineer • University of Malaysia • Malaysia • 2005

Member
• Institute of Engineers • Malaysia • 2006

P.Eng
• Professional Engineers Board • Malaysia • 2006
[lf you have membership in any industry-based organisations or accreditation bodies, be sure to include them here. In
Malaysia, engineers come under the purview of the Institute of Engineers Malaysia, and/or the Professional Engineers Board.
Even if you are still registering, you can include the title followed by 'In Progress' or similar.]

TECHNICAL SKILLS
Languages
SQL (Oracle, Teradata)

Software
MS Office Suite • MS Project • Autodesk • AutoCAD • Mathcad • LabVIEW • MATLAB • Mathematica • Solid Works

Research & Design

Project / Quantification Planning • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) • ISO & Safety Compliance • On- and Off-line Test
Development • Statistical / Process Analysis • Design & Validation • Manufacturing Specifications

Others
Teradata FSLDM (Financial Services Logical Data Model)
[A couple of these software suites ore well known and frequently used in the industry (e.g. Autodesk and AutoCAD). It's good
to include your knowledge of such areas if you have it — it sets you apart from a candidate unfamiliar with them, as it means
the company won't have to invest as much in your training and that you can immediately start contributing. I included R&D
knowledge because he may wish to transit back to on R&D role. Choose the technical skills you include carefully. Be sure they
are related to your field - e.g. I wouldn't include knowledge of a financial or accounting software suite here.)]

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
Nationality: Malaysian
Languages: Fluent in English, Bahasa Melayu and Chinese
Availability: Immediate
[If you are fluent in multiple languages, include that. If you've taken formal certification courses like the APT, you can odd
that in as well. While on engineer isn't as 'frontline' or client facing, fluency in multiple languages is always a nice plus in
today's world.]

REFERENCES
Available upon request
[There's no need to list your references; if HR is interested in you they will ask you for them.]