Lesson 2:

Resumes
ENCP6000: Career Management for
Engineers
 Learning Objectives

• Write a resume that is both grammatically correct and markets your

skill sets
 What Do Employers Expect
• Academic Proficiency
• You can read, write, and speak English and do basic math
• Speak Up, Slow Down
• Occupational Knowledge
• If you say you can program in JAVA, you can actually program in JAVA.
• Social Skills
• You play well with others, exhibit team skills and show respect, and
are engaged in your work and your team.
• Character Traits
• You do not lie, cheat or steal. You can pass a drug test
• You are punctual, meet deadlines, and are responsible. You are ”low
maintenance.”

Your resume is the first step in communicating this to employers

 Resume Basics
Keep it neat,
concise and 1 page!
appealing

Recent, relevant and

distinguishable!

Easy to No grammatical
follow errors or typos
 Components of a Resume

• Required Sections:
• Name & Contact
Information
• Education
• Skills & Certifications
• Experience
• Optional Sections:
• Summary/Objective
• Volunteer experience
• GPA, if over 3.5
• Relevant course work
• Cover letter
 Name & Contact Information

• Full Name - but keep it simple; use first and last names only.
• Simple: Laura A Meyer
• Not Simple: Laura Anna Maria Elizabeth D’Alessandro Meyer
• Local Address – city and state is enough
• YES: Boston, MA
• NO: Boston, USA or Boston, MA USA – NEVER use USA
• Phone Number(s)
• No country codes (+1)
• Professional phone message is a must
• no ringback tones!!!
• https://youtu.be/GBfBNrqqjUs (1:05)
 Name & Contact Information

• Email address
• School email for co-op is important!!!
• Use a personal email for your full-time search
• Must be a professional address – not [email protected]
(this was shockingly a real address a former student used on their
resume – Yikes!!)

• YES: Any other appropriate means of contact (LinkedIn, github, your

website)
• NO: personal information (marital status, age, etc.)
 Personal Contact Information
• String Format

Sally Smith
Boston, MA | 617.987.6543 | [email protected]
Linkedin.com/in/sallysmith18 | Github

• Block Format
Sachin Shah
Boston, MA
617-123-4537
[email protected]
Linkedin.com/in/johndoe
GitHub
 The Summary Statement:
… Should you have one? It’s up to you!

But consider:
• May be the only place an employer can see what you want
to do
• Quick view of your background and career interests
• Explain a change in focus, i.e. pediatric medicine to software
developer

• Short section, just below contact information

• Narrative (third party) not bullets
• Focus on what you have done
• State your professional interest if it is not otherwise clear from your
resume

• May be omitted if everything on your resume is clear and

consistent
 A Good Summary Statement Helps
Answers These Questions…

What is your What are your

professional main
identity? qualifications?

How do you fit

Why should they
the position
hire you?
applying for?
 Summary Statement Examples
(narrative)

Example 1
Front-end web developer with years of experience in a fast-growing technological
environment. Proficient in front-end web tools and a passion for technology and
ability to solve business problems.

Example 2
Software engineer with 7+ years of experience in SAP development and maintenance
projects in mining and public-sector clients. Possessing good understanding of
software development life cycle and IT infrastructure. Quick learner, confident, result
oriented, and a team player seeking a development role to utilize my technical and
interpersonal skills.

***NEVER write: Seeking a co-op***

 Education Section

• Colleges/universities graduated from and the degrees

earned
• List degrees – highest first
• Northeastern University - Show date of anticipated graduation
• Expected May 2024
• Only include other colleges that you graduated from
• Correct university name and degree

No schools below undergraduate!

 Education / Honors

• Start with Northeastern University, Boston, MA

• Degree and Program – fully spell it out
• Master of Science in Information Systems
• GPA (greater than a 3.5)
• Relevant Coursework
• List only courses that are relevant to your career
• Honors/Awards (Dean’s List, Honor Societies)
• Relevant, recent, distinguishable
• Certifications – AWS, Certified Scrum Master, Oracle, etc.
• Relevant, recent, distinguishable
 Education Section Examples

Northeastern University, Boston, MA

Master of Science in Telecommunication Networks Expected May
2024
Relevant Courses: Embedded Systems, Internet of Things, Advanced Java Programming, Project Management

Mumbai University, Mumbai, MH, India

Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and June
2022
Communication Engineering

Rose Hulman University, Terre Haute, IN

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering June
2018
Honors: Tau Beta Pi, Graduated Magnum Cum Laude
 Certificates vs. Certifications

• There is a difference between a “Certificate” and a “Certification”

• Certificates are given for completing a course, workshop, doing a good
job, completing a training session.
• Getting a certificate does not mean you are certified
• Do NOT include in resume
• Professional certification, trade certification, or professional
designation, often called “certification” or “qualification”, is a
designation earned by a person that assures qualification to perform a
job or task.
 Technical Skills

• Provides a quick and comprehensive overview of your key skills,

competencies, and strengths
• ONLY list skills and expertise you actually have!
• Follows the Education section unless you have a summary then is
follows the summary
• List relevant, field specific skills
• Shows your transferable skills using industry “terms”
• To find relevant words … review your coursework and …
• Look at LinkedIn profiles and groups related to your field
• Review job titles and job descriptions within your field
• It is okay to state a ‘foreign’ language you are
proficient in, but do NOT state English
 Two Types of Skills Employers Look For

Soft Skills Hard Skills

• Integrity • Bilingual or multilingual
• Dependability • Database management
• Effective communication • Adobe software suite
• Open-mindedness • Network security
• Teamwork • SEO/SEM marketing
• Creativity • Statistical analysis
• Problem-solving • Data mining
• Critical thinking • Mobile development
• Adaptability • User interface design
• Organization • Marketing campaign management
• Willingness to learn • Storage systems and management
• Empathy • Programming languages (such as Perl,
Python, Java, and Ruby)
 3 Technical Skills Examples
Technical skills: Python, Java, C++, Angular

OR
Technical skills
Programing languages: Java, C#, C++
Operating Systems: Linux, Unix, Windows Server, Windows XP
Web Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jquery, PHP
Database: MySQL, Oracle 9i, 10g, 11g

OR
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Programming: SAP ABAP, SAP HR ABAP, SAP HCM, Java, Python, HTML, CSS, ASP.NET
ABAP objects: RICEF, ALE/IDOCs, BADI, SPAU/SPDD, PROXY, Webdynpro, BRF+
Database: MySQL, MS SQL server, Oracle 10g, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SAP HANA
Software/Tool: SAP ECC 6.0, SAP SuccessFactors, Solman, Talend, Alteryx, SSIS, Power BI, Tableau
Certifications: ITIL Version 3 (EXIN)
Training: SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and Performance Management/Goal
Management
 Experience

• List jobs in reverse chronological order - most recent first

• List the name of the company and location
• Brief description about each company is optional and only if
explanation is needed
• Use a consistent format for each position and dates
• Include the dates, titles, and locations for each position
• Describe relevant achievements and accomplishments
• what you did!
• List the most important accomplishments first
• Use numbers to highlight accomplishments
• E.g., money, time, amounts, local-regional-global, etc.
 Accomplishment Statements
(bullets)
• Something you did to help the employer and has measurable
results.

• Not just a list of tasks, duties or skills; not a job description.

• Use a variety of action words to describe experiences.

• Action Verb + (What/How) + Results

• Start with a good action verb – Bloom’s Taxonomy is very helpful for mixing up
your verb choices
• State specifically what you did and how you did it, including industry relevant
skills or tools.
• State the benefits of your actions. If possible, quantify the results.
Use one of these
to keep your
resume
distinguishable
and fresh

You can find this

in the Resources
module in Canvas!
 Examples of Accomplishment Statements

Software Developer
• Developed and tested back-end code in Java replacing previous implementation and
resulting in 20% improvement in transaction response times
Data Scientist
• Designed an inbound SPROXY interface for finance journal documents which
eliminated complete manual intervention and resulted in saving of 4hrs/man day
Network Engineer
• Configured 400 node satellite office network
• Ran three performance analysis assessments
• Tuned the network achieving 18% performance improvement on benchmarks

NOTE: There are NO periods (full-stop)

at the end of the bullet points
 Academic Projects

• Need to be significant if a substitute for experience, not a

homework assignment
• A case study or homework is valuable but is not
distinguishable and normally does not go on a resume.
• An engineering project could be defined as a collaborative
enterprise, involving research or design, that is carefully
planned to achieve a particular aim. An academic project
usually lasts an entire term or academic year. Typically,
these are either self-motivated, part of a graduation
requirement, an independent study, or a capstone course.
 Academic Projects

• Identify the project by name and include context (Senior

Thesis, Capstone Project, Course XYZ semester project, etc.)
• Include bullets that emphasize and show measurable
achievement of what you did, not what the project was
about.
• The bullets should highlight the following:
• The scope of goal of the project
• The skills and abilities you applied.
• The project results (what did you accomplish?)
• Written just like experience!
• Graduate Student Resumes: Highlighting an Academic Project
 Academic Project (example)

Northeastern University, Boston MA June 2022

HDR Quality Metric Review and Development (Senior Project)
• Led a three-person research team to establish scope, terms of reference,
timeline and budget considerations with supervisor and Industry
Representatives from Awesome Company
• Applied programming competency in C++ and MATLAB in addition to
efficient hardware calibration skills to test and evaluate published video
quality metrics
• Designed and implemented an algorithm that accurately estimates quality of
high dynamic range, exceeding Industry Representative’s expectations and
earning an A+ for the project
• Results are under review by Supervisor for publication in Computers and
Electrical Engineering

**NOTE: This section should look like your experience section

Sample Resumes
 Resume Format

• Start with a blank document with 1” margins; adjust as needed; do

not use editing formats
• Type in your information and then format it
• Times New Roman or Arial font is best
• Font sizes no bigger than 12 and no smaller than 10
• Be ready to adjust as items are added

Using formatting or inserting tables will make your document difficult

to modify later so avoid these!!
 Formatting Q & A
*Consistency is Key*
How long should my resume be? 1 page per 10 years of experience
How many bullet points per job? 3-5 (more for more relevant
experience)
How should I order my resume? Reverse chronological order
Should I use my photo? Never!
Should I use colors and design It depends on the job and the
formatting? industry
What verb tense should I use? Present tense for current
employment & past tense for past
employment
Are typos or errors ok? No! Never! Nada! Nope!
Should I include references? You will be asked for them separately
 Resume Checklist
• Has the correct sections
• Consistency, alignment, spelling, grammar
• Contact information is accurate, complete, and clear
• Has a concise summary that shows experience and the value you can bring to a
company
• Skills are present - easy to read and understand
• Education
• Experience
– Work experience first; the largest section; most recent first
– Academic projects if they add value and skills to the story
• Certifications and publications only if relevant
Use the Resume Checklist in Canvas (Resources Module)
to make sure you are on point!
 Before You Apply for that Job…

• Look at the job description and your resume: do your listed

skills fit the requirements?
• Assess your soft skills: do you possess the requirements
mentioned in the posting?
 Required skills:
Required, Desired, & • Also called "minimum qualifications"
Preferred • Meet 100% these standards to be
What’s the difference? considered for the position

Desired skills:
• The “nice to have” skills that make up a
recruiter's wish list
• Least critical, and proficiency in these
areas will give your application a nice
boost
• Recommend taking the chance and apply

Preferred skills:
• Abilities employers want to see in a
potential new hire, but they may not be
deal-breakers when it comes to landing
an interview
• If you have at least half of the preferred
skills listed in the job
description, don’t think twice. Apply for
the job!

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 Preferred Skills
• Analyze
• Circle any competencies that are repeated multiple times
throughout the job description, as well as those that are described
as "highly desired" or "strongly preferred."
• Hopefully, you already have some experience with the circled skills,
even if only in passing.

• If you are inexperienced in any of them, you could consider an online

course to demonstrate basic knowledge and a willingness to continue
learning while employed.
 Tailoring Resumes
• Reorder the keywords
• Rearrange your bullet points
• Revise your Summary (if you have one)
• Dig through the job description to learn the critical aspects of the job

Helpful Hint
Have a master resume with everything on it and then pick and choose,
reorder and rearrange as needed for each position you apply to.
 Resume Wrap-up

No smaller than ½” Reverse Chronological 1 Page ONLY!

Master of Science vs Consistency! References

MS or Masters
separate
 From a Google recruiter:

“As a recruiter I “I spend 30 sec

spend the first 30 to 3 minutes on a “If you have
seconds looking resume.” spelling mistakes,
for school, your resume isn’t
degree, graduation going to make it
date, and very far.”
experience.”

“A really long
“If I don’t see resume doesn’t
those items work in your favor.
easily, I don’t 1 page for 10 years
move forward of experience is
with your the common rule of
resume.” thumb.”

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 RESUME PEER REVIEW WORKSHOP
Work in Groups
• Using the resume checklist evaluate each person’s
resume
• Start with one group member’s resume
• Review individually and make a few notes about the
resume
• As a team, provide verbal feedback to the group
member
• Where can it be improved, clarified?
• What can be added, removed, changed?
• Resume owner take notes on suggested improvements
• Move on to the next group member’s resume

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 Resume Basics
Keep it neat,
concise and 1 page!
appealing

Recent, relevant and

distinguishable!

Easy to No grammatical
follow errors or typos
 Assignments

See Canvas and your Syllabus for assignments,

instructions, due dates and times.