Resume Questions 2

[Lion06]

I'm updating my resume right now - I'm looking to see what's actually out there, hoping to get a big jump in pay and have a much shorter commute.

I haven't really updated my resume since I finished school four years ago, so I'm struggling with what to put under my employment section. I've taken out a lot of the academic and internship bullets since that is far less relevant now.

When I think about the responsibilities I have, it seems absurd to try to list them all. A few of the items that I have come up with is noting design of deep foundations, analysis/investigation of existing structures, renovations/additions to existing structures, I noted two spreadsheets that I wrote that are now used office wide. I'm struggling as to what else to add. It doesn't seem realistic to add a bunch of design tasks. I was thinking about mentioning some projects and have some talking points ready if asked about them, but I'm not sure if I'm actually allowed to use project names. What do others do?

Also, I have listed that I'm in graduate school with an expected completion date. I have a vague recollection of a thread a while back about whether grad classes should be listed if the degree is not complete, but I can't find the thread and I don't remember the concensus. What is everyone's thoughts on that?

 

[abusementpark]

I would include a section called "Relevant Coursework" and list all the structural engineering classes you have taken including your grad school classes.

Also, some other items that may applicable for you to include would be construction administration experience (site visits, field reports, shop drawings review, etc.), technical writing experience (damage assessment reports, structural evaluation reports, specifications) and client interaction experience (direct correspondence by phone/email, consultant meetings).

 

[slickdeals]

It is common to list projects that you have had a very active role in. Obviously, do not list a lot of projects. List relevant courses. Make sure to put architects/contractors who can vouch for you. Be careful listing your bosses/co-workers for obvious reasons.

We are Virginia Tech
Go HOKIES

 

[msquared48]

SEIT:

Just a few thoughts...

List the TYPE of projects you have worked on in the resume, ie, commercial, retail, high rise, etc.

Develop a specific project list for use if requested, but not submitted with the resume. Tailor this list to the firm you are applying to.

List the computer programs you have used and are proficient with using.

Do develop a list of professional references with names, phone numbers and email adresses, separate from the resume, that you can submit if asked for. Personally contact these people and ask them if you can include their names on the list before sending out the list to prospective employers.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[Ron]

My resumes are mostly narrative forms of my experience. This came from one of my former employers, where all resumes were written primarily for marketing purposes, not seeking employment. When I actually started looking for another job (10+ years ago), I found the narrative form was received well, simply because it outlines my varied experience over 30+ years.

I now use two forms...one is a short form usually 2 pages. The other is a full statement of qualifications that lists project types, courses taught, seminars taught, publications, as well as the basic resume blurbs by subject area.

You can select whatever format you want to use, but above all, make sure that everything you put in there is factual and traceable. My basic format is:

Education summary (bullet items)
Organization summary (member of .....)
Career summary (2 or three paragraphs that give an overview since your career started)
Detailed subject area experience
Finally, give a bullet item list of things in which you have some additional proficiency (maybe 2 or 3 items).

Good luck. If you are in Western PA, there's a firm you should look at there. Post back and I'll get the name and contact to you.

 

[Lion06]

abusement and slick-
Would you just list all relevant courses (putting (Grad Course) in parentheses behind the grad school classes) or would you list the courses after each school? I'm guessing you stick with the design/analysis courses only and leave out the standards such as statics/dynamics/strength of materials?

Mike-
I have a section called Software Knowledge (maybe not the best title) that lists all software that I'm proficient at and others that I'm familiar with.

Ron-
You use bullet items in Education and straight up paragraphs in the work experience? Do you separate Employment from Career Summary since the Career Summary may not flow as nicely if you try to make it match the experiences at different places of employment?

Is the Detailed Subject Area Experience where you would talk about all of the design tasks (braced frames, wind moment connections, micropiles, drilled piers, involvement in wind tunnel study, etc)? How much do you actually list here, it almost seems like it could go on forever.

I actually live in southeastern PA (5 minutes from DE, and 25 minutes from NJ). I appreciate the contact offer, though. I feel like engineers in general are underpaid, and I feel like I'm underpaid for an engineer on top of that. I'm trying to get my commute down to 30 minutes or less, and to increase my salary by about 20%. That might seem like a lot, but my salary is very low (< $55K) and I'm in a major metropolitan area (Philadelphia). On top of that, I routinely work >45 hours (most of the last 3 months have been 55-60 hours). Someone has to be making money on all those extra hours...... it certainly isn't me!

 

[msquared48]

As for the Detailed Project Section, I try to list what my research on the firm I am applying to told me they would be interested in - those projects first, others after. I try to limit it to a page or two, separating the psojects to those for which I was the Structural Project Engineer, and those for which I was not - just had design involvement.

I list the $$$ amounts of the projects, type of construction, special problems that were solved, not necessarily how though.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[abusementpark]

Would you just list all relevant courses (putting (Grad Course) in parentheses behind the grad school classes) or would you list the courses after each school? I'm guessing you stick with the design/analysis courses only and leave out the standards such as statics/dynamics/strength of materials?

Yes, I leave out the standards and usually start with structural analysis , reinforced concrete, etc. I'd try a setup similar to this:

Relevant Coursework:

Undergraduate:
Structural Analysis
Reinforced Concrete Design
etc.

Graduate:
Advanced Mechanics of Materials
Structural Dynamics
etc.

I actually live in southeastern PA (5 minutes from DE, and 25 minutes from NJ). I appreciate the contact offer, though. I feel like engineers in general are underpaid, and I feel like I'm underpaid for an engineer on top of that. I'm trying to get my commute down to 30 minutes or less, and to increase my salary by about 20%. That might seem like a lot, but my salary is very low (< $55K) and I'm in a major metropolitan area (Philadelphia). On top of that, I routinely work >45 hours (most of the last 3 months have been 55-60 hours). Someone has to be making money on all those extra hours...... it certainly isn't me!

Sounds like your situation is in need of improvement, especially for a young engineer like yourself with such a great attention for detail and level of technical competency.

Your salary is on par with the average starting salary for someone fresh out of school. Thus, couple your several years of experience along with your above average acumen and you are certainly under compensated. Now, I could understand if due to the current economic climate your firm was trying keep things lean to stay afloat. But if you have been putting in as much overtime as you assert, then something isn't right. Have you tried pointing out to your superiors how poor your compensation is? You could bolster argument with the recent ASCE salary data at hand. Has the salary of others in your firm been stagnant? If so, how have they responded?

Good luck with putting your resume out there!

 

[slickdeals]

SEIT,
I agree with abusementpark. List courses that are not run of the mill. For example, list timber/masonry/seismic courses if you have taken them. Also, list the computer programs you are proficient in. Listing the spreadsheets you have created for corporate use is very valuable.

I think the best bet would be for you to pass the upcoming PE in October. With that in your hand and with the experience you have, you will be a lot more marketable.

The construction industry is suffering now. It is hard to expect raises/bonuses. You can only hope to put in the hard work and expect the management to reward you when things pick up. Otherwise, pack up your bags and leave.

If you are leaving only for the money, then I strongly urge you to think again. The extra money you make in a career move in structural engineering will never be able to compensate the joy you get working on challenging projects with good co-workers. The formative years are the most crucial. I think company hopping to make more money is not a smart move. I am sure the people with 15-25 years experience who are in managerial/principal levels will attest to it.

Good luck.

We are Virginia Tech
Go HOKIES

 

[hokie66]

I disagree about listing specific courses on your resume. Take your transcript along to the interview in case that is something the interviewer wants to see.

I wouldn't list projects by name, but rather by description, e.g. 12 story office building, regional shopping center, coal washing plant.

Listing the materials you have used in design (reinforced concrete, post-tensioned concrete, precast concrete, structural steel, timber...) is important.

 

[Ron]

Agree with hokie66 on the listing of stuff. Agree with AbusementPark on the employment and compensation issues.

Yes, I separate employment from career summary. Employment is just a listing of positions. The career summmary is what you've been exposed to. You can do that with any employer, that's why I've kept those separate. The employer is irrelevant except for name recognition or references. The experience is what matters.

In the detailed subject areas, I don't get too detailed. I list projects and general scopes of involvement.

I would not list such things as working on braces frames. It is assumed you have had a lot of structural analysis exposure and that you're proficient in that. Leave the specifics to implication...after all, you wouldn't shy away from doing any type of analysis if confronted with such.

Remember...we are engineers. We are tasked with solving problems as they are presented. If we solved only those issues with which we had academic experience or minor project involvement, we wouldn't get challenged with other things. We are armed with a problem solving arsenal of physics, chemistry, mechanics, dynamics, materials and good ol' common sense. Use it!

I have no doubt whatsoever that you would be an asset to any organization. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress...after all, we'll probably start a lottery on what your new handle will be!!

 

[KENAT]

There are as many 'right' ways to do a resume as there are folks reviewing resumes.

There are several times more 'wrong' ways.

I've been given good and bad reviews based on the same resume. I've been told to change things in my resume, by people that format these things for a living, that were the very things previous managers said were the main thing that caught their attention.

I don't mean to be negative but the more I see resumes discussed the less consensus I see in what makes a good one.

Good luck, and if you find the secret of the perfect resume I'd definitely be interested to know it.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[MechEng2005]

If you're willing to spend the time, I think it would be best to customize your resume for each position. Find out everything you can about the position and company before submitting your resume. Then, list the duties and experiences that that you think that company would value.

For example, I have experience in natural gas combustion. However, if I were applying for a company that makes bicycles, I would opt to include more experience with stress and fatigue analysis, material specification, dynamics, ergonomics, etc. However, if I were applying to a company that makes gas fireplaces, it would certainly be a mistake not to include the experience with natural gas combustion systems.

-- MechEng2005

 

[IRstuff]

As a general rule, I would stay away "formatter" type people. As Kenat mentions, things that actual managers say are worth more than a truckload from a "formatter."

Similar things occur in RFP responses. I once wrote up a section in our proposal that told our prospective customer that his alignment requirements weren't adequate for the mission proposed. Our BD guys had a fit about that, arguing that we shouldn't be making waves. But, after we won, the customer told us that it was our expertise on the alignment subject was one of the main reasons we got selected.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[macmet]

I actually have two resumes. I have one that I'd submit to an HR department that is more generic and has things in simple terms that are easy to read. And I have another one that is very technical that I use if I'm speaking with an engineer and they ask me to submit it to them.

Basically I just think you have to know your audience. If you're submitting something to HR for a job posting where they are going to get a lot of resumes, they're less likely to actually read your resume if it's difficult to read. You want them to pick it up, read it, and understand what you have to offer.

I also have a separate document I call my 'project listing' which I include with my simple resume that has detailed information. I figure if I can get my easy to read resume through the first door and they pass my listing along to an engineer who will give the final review, he has both without the risk of boring the HR department to death.

I switched to this format after months of little activity with my job search. The feedback I got with this approach was positive, and I got several interviews with it. Of course, the market was improving, but I believe this approach still improved my chances with minimal work done customizing my resume for each position. All it took was a few hours one night and some descriptive file names.

 

[kacarrol]

I keep a "master resume" of everything I have ever done. From there I tailor my resume specifically for each job. I always spend a good deal of time reading up on the company and asking around with my friends to see if anyone knows about them. Always include a cover letter too.

A lot of pre-screening is done by computer, the more you repeat key words the more likely your resume is to be passed on to a person.

Don't be afraid to put more informal jobs in your cover letter. A lot of companies are interested in more rounded individuals. Many years ago I ski-instructed, I still put that in my cover letter to back up communication and leadership skills, and I've been told that this made my resume stand out. It's a big ice breaker, makes you more approachable in an interview.

Hope that helps.
K

 

[NomLaser]

I've been in the ME role in exempt industry for almost 10 years now so I dropped all of the coursework bullets from my resume. This has left me to expand more into my work history to show real world relevance. Coursework is good and all but unless you show that you can adapt that to actual value then I see no reason to describe it on a resume. IMO, the resume should be structured enough to get you into the door for an interview. From there, you can then describe what you can bring to the company. Just my opinion and has worked well for me over the years.