Professional Electrical Engineer Resume Examples & Guide for 2023

Electrical Engineers seem to be running the world these days. From hair dryers to smartphones, telecommunication, transportation to power generation, transmission and everything in between.

We have Electrical Engineers to thank for making the world we live in possible.

It’s a profession with increasing demand and diversification as we continue to evolve and progress towards a digital future.

But before you get to share the glory, you first need to get hired.

Electrical Engineer resumes are more complicated because the field is broad, but job offers are usually specific.

A P&C Engineer working at an offshore wind farm and a PCB Designer for consumer electronics are both Electrical Engineers, but the work they do and skills they utilize are significantly different.

One of the major difficulties Electrical Engineers face when applying to jobs is keeping their resume relevant to each position.

Fear not! The following guide will teach you how to put together an effective Electrical Engineer resume and bring a positive shock to your employers.

Learning notes today

• Study 13 Electrical Engineer resume samples and draw lessons for your own.
• Keeping your Electrical Engineer resume brief and focused.
• Learn about writing an effective resume header and summary.
• How to create impact and keep the recruiter reading.
• Best practices when writing up your resume experience section.
• What skills and certifications are most sought after for Electrical Engineers.

Looking for related engineering resumes? Go through the links below

• Engineering resume examples
• Entry-level Engineering resume examples
• Industrial Engineer resume examples
• Mechanical Engineer resume examples
• Systems Engineer resume examples
• Project Engineer resume examples

How to write an electrical engineer resume that lands you interviews

Electrical engineering is one of the most highly regarded STEM fields. Merely comprehending the concepts and operating principles of electrical systems has proven too much for most regular folk.

Above all, your resume should demonstrate absolute confidence in your electrical engineering abilities.

• Have you designed industrial control and automation systems using OPC UA, cutting down machine idle time and improving efficiency of the entire product line?
• Did you work on a new starter motor for passenger vehicles, enabling engine start stop function and improving fuel economy?
• Did you eliminate blackouts in your local area by improving the substation architecture and performing load balancing at peak demand hours?
• Are your colleagues accessing the company’s assets easier and more securely thanks to the new RFID system you implemented?

Focus on your achievements. What difference did you make in your previous job?

Prove your value with your electrical engineer resume and soon enough recruiters will be calling to schedule your next interview.

However, be aware!

Properly presented technical skills will get you interviews. But electrical engineers rarely work in isolation.

Often, your job will involve communication with customers, project management, cost planning, collaborating with other engineers and possibly leading a workforce.

These activities require solid people skills and organization. If you want the job, you should integrate them in your electrical engineering resume.

This is not even an exhaustive list.

But the recruiter will only give you a couple of minutes at best during the initial screening. If you want to get through the first sift, your electrical engineer resume must use the proper format and layout.

How to make an electrical engineer resume header

Many electrical engineers underestimate how powerful the header section can be. It’s the first thing your recruiters see.

A well written header can make an impact. A bad header can send your resume to the rejected pile.

Let’s look at a few samples from electrical engineering resume examples.

2 Electrical Engineer Resume Header Examples

This resume header is incomplete. The address lists only the state of New York.

There is a vague title which doesn’t really give a lot of information. They can be a software developer or a controls engineer - both are electrical engineers.

If your title is more specific and relevant to the job offer, you will catch your recruiters’ attention.

This title is much more specific. The applicant instantly relevant to the job offer. At the same time, recruiters know that the candidate has formal education to back up their skills.

There is also a GitHub profile, where recruiters can find their code samples and programming projects.

For some hiring managers, this is enough information to set this resume aside for a detailed look.

This applicant is a PCB Designer, which means they do a lot of CAD and technical drawings of circuit boards. Setting up a portfolio at one of the popular platforms like Behance is a great way to showcase their work.

Keep your header section tidy and easy to read. Don’t go into too much detail - just enough to keep your recruiter reading.

The real impact comes from the electrical engineer resume summary.

How to make an engaging electrical engineer career summary

Most hiring managers will separate applicants based on their header and summary sections.

A professional summary will be brief, focused and packed with the most essential information about the candidate. It’s aim is to push through as much information as possible while recruiters are still reading.

Start by listing the following things about your electrical engineering experience:

• Years of experience
• Fields of practice and expertise
• Technologies you’re familiar with
• Software you use - CAD, programming, industrial controls, FEA or other

Analyze the keywords used in the job offer. Your recruiters will probably be looking for them in your resume, so add as many of them as you find reasonable.

In any case, you want to avoid unnecessary information. If there are no more good things to say, keep your summary short and concise.

Here are a couple of samples to illustrate the above.

2 Electrical Engineering Resume Summary Examples

This summary is not very good. While it does talk about the experience of the candidate it's awfully vague. A “few years of experience” means nothing really.

Furthermore, it would have been helpful to list which PCB testing technologies and design programs they are familiar with.

Right now, the recruiter has to guess whether or not you match their desired profile. Most of the time, the benefit of a doubt plays against you.

This career summary is much better. The applicant delves into the details of the job, citing commonly used circuit-board testing technologies, as well as industry-popular CAD software for PCB design.

The summary contains much more information. When coordinated with the job offer it will tick off the right boxes and keep the recruiter reading on.

Notice the second career summary lacks information about the candidate’s education.

Recruiters know where to look for your education. The summary should make an impact and impress whoever is reading with your skills and experience.

How to create a career objective for entry level electrical engineer resume

On an entry level electrical engineering resume your objective will look differently.

You likely have limited practical experience, so the focus will fall on your studies and extracurricular activities.

• Are you part of your college Robotics or Formula-E club?
• Do you work part time as a computer technician?
• Perhaps a hobby web developer?

These are all good things to mention on your electrical engineering resume objective.

It’s also important to set your expectations of your future employment. This will help recruiters judge whether you have the right vision and priorities for their company.

Let's look at a couple of examples.

2 entry-level Electrical Engineer resume objective samples

Okay, the thing that this student did right was list their priorities and passions.

However, they forgot to mention which college they are studying at and what year they are in.

Most importantly, they didn’t mention what programming languages they know, even though they are looking to become a software developer.

Now this is much better. This student has briefly mentioned their experience, putting focus on their programming abilities.

Having some work experience will greatly improve their chances of landing an internship. It also sets up the recruiter for the following experience section, where the student will surely expand on their job.

How to nail the electrical engineering resume experience section

If your hiring manager is reading your work experience, there’s a chance you’ve already made an impression.

The easiest way to ruin it is to post generic job descriptions, where you have a chance to shine with the work you’ve done.

This is a mistake both rookies and senior electrical engineers make.

Your work experience should resemble the summary section - short, focused snippets of information, carrying as much detail as possible.

Include both technical and soft skills which are mentioned in the job offer and tie them with your own experience.

Don’t forget to talk about the results! Recruiters are interested to know what impact you made on your previous job.

• Did you optimize a circuit board’s design to reduce cost and increase reliability? How much?
• Did your industrial controls software improve the efficiency of the production line? How much?
• Did you meet the construction milestones thanks to a last minute sprint by the electrical engineering team, overcoming a major hurdle?

These are the types of questions managers may ask during the interview. In order to get to that stage, you need to make a great impression with your resume.

Sharing the results from your work is the best way to go about it. Go through the samples below and see how they compare to your electrical engineer resume.

2 Senior Electrical Engineer Resume Experience Examples

Working as an engineer in one of the three major automakers in the US is certainly an achievement. And taking part in the development of next-gen EVs is twice as impressive.

But this electrical engineer managed to turn something cool into “whatever” by truncating all of the interesting details.

• What improvement in efficiency did they achieve?
• What CAD and FEA software did they use?
• How did the prototypes influence design revisions?
• Why were they named engineer of the month?

The sample below does it right by including all of the relevant information.

See how much better the above description is?

The applicant answers most questions we could think of by providing specific information about their work.

Even better, they demonstrate results achieved through a painstaking development process - over 100 design iterations. That’s quite a lot, but the rewards are clear.

Furthermore, the applicant shows they worked with a collaborative environment with at least two other departments both of which influenced their work significantly.

How to write an Entry-Level Electrical Engineering resume

Obviously, if you’re still a student or a fresh graduate, you haven’t worked on fancy electric motors or designed dozens of printed circuit boards.

You can still create a job-winning electrical engineering resume with no experience.

Ideally, you will have participated in some extracurricular activities in college.

If you played with Arduinos or Raspberry Pi and have a couple of successful projects, they will make great items in your experience section.

If you developed a website for your local charity or a purposeful cause, that’s worthy of being talked about as well.

Some of your university projects can also count, especially if you put in the extra hours to impress your professor.

Just follow the model we described in the previous section:

• Briefly describe the work done
• Give out details about the technology and software used
• Provide quantifiable results

How to make your skills stand out on electrical engineer resume

Your electrical engineering resume is probably getting a bit cramped already. But there are a few more sections you need to include.

A skills section is absolutely critical for electrical engineers. It lists your proficiencies clearly for all to see.

ATS software scans resumes for specific keywords and weeds out the ones that match the profile wanted.

The rule of thumb when listing your skills is to always match them to the job description.

Where possible, try to integrate the most desired skills in your summary and work experience sections as well to give them more context.

How to make sure your tech skills are prominent

The job offer will likely not call for technical skills from all sides of the spectrum, so keep your list focused.

Check out the list below for more ideas and inspiration.

What’s the best way to represent my soft skills on the resume

Remember that you won’t work in isolation.

Technical skills may get you hired, but it’s soft skills that will help you keep your job. You should consider dedicated a small space on your resume for your top soft skills.

Ideally, you would have integrated some of them into previous sections like your work experience. So, only pick a couple of your best soft skills, which you could back up with a relevant experience.

Check out the resume sample below.

You may be underestimating the importance of your education section

Electrical engineers can’t work without a proper university degree. Ensure you’ve listed all education details, including:

• Title
• Level of degree
• Graduation date
• University
• State

If you have years of experience, obviously keep this section down to the bare essentials.

If you’re an electrical engineering student or a recent-graduate, the education section will take a leading role. Successful university projects will serve as proof you can walk the walk.

If you’re really into electrical engineering, you already tinker with electronics and code in your own time. Organize these experiences in order of relevance to the job offer.

Supplement each one with the relevant course in electrical engineering you have completed.

The electrical engineering resume sample below is an innovative way of presenting university projects and courses at the same time.

Should you add a certificate section to your electrical engineering resume?

In the US, Electrical Engineers need a PE (Professional Engineer) license to practice their profession on their own, consult private parties and submit formal documentation to the public authorities.

The PE license is issued by each state and requires the following things:

• A Bachelor’s engineering degree
• 4 years of experience working under another PE
• Passing the official exam

A PE license will set you apart from other engineers. This is by far the most valuable credential you can have. Obviously, it's something you want to mention in all sections of your electrical engineer resume.

The lower-tier certificate - FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) is also immensely valuable.

Depending on which specific field you advance in, there are numerous relevant certificates and standards which will make you a better electrical engineer.

That’s what it takes to create a job winning Electrical Engineering resume

• A great electrical engineering resume is just one page long but packed with information about your skills and experiences.
• It all starts with the right format and resume layout.
• Electrical engineering student resume will focus on their university projects and their ambition going forward
• Seniors will rely on their work experience and skills
• The header is an underestimated tool for capturing attention
• A well crafted summary section will produce an impact and keep the recruiter reading
• Your work experience will backup your claims and solidify the positive impression
• A skill section with the relevant technical and soft skills will fill all the gaps
• Education and certifications are critical for electrical engineers