Mechanical design engineer CV example

Adding contact details to your mechanical design engineer CV

Mechanical design engineers need meticulous attention to detail, so hopefully, you’ll remember to add your most up-to-date contact information at the top of the page. While it might sound obvious, you’d be surprised how many people forget. This section is really straightforward – our only suggestion is to use a slightly larger and bolder font for maximum readability. Include:

• Full name – first name and surname
• Location – mention if you are willing to relocate
• Phone number – the best one to reach you on
• Email address – keep it work appropriate

Example of contact section for a mechanical design engineer CV

Start your mechanical design engineer CV with a personal statement

Want to impress the hiring manager? Pen a stand-out personal statement
for your mechanical design engineer CV. Also known as a personal summary, this short paragraph sits at the top of your CV, near the header. Usually just two to three sentences long, you need to sum up your professional background and position yourself as a strong candidate for the role.

Most recruiters will skim your personal statement before deciding whether to read on. That means it’s important to grab their attention by sharing your key skills and attributes – and don’t be afraid to show a bit of personality, too. Still unsure where to begin? The handy formula below will keep you on the right track.

Sentence one introduces who you are, including your years of experience, career focus, and place of employment, such as “mechanical design engineer with three years of experience in the building industry.” Sentence two explains what you can achieve, backed up by facts and figures. For example, you might have “trained ten employees in CAD software.” Finally, sentences three and four underline your unique skills and specialisms, such as “Revit” and “2D AutoCAD”.

For even more clout, follow the below tips for persuasive personal statement writing:

• Write in the third person to sound more professional
• Stick to the word count – don’t exceed four sentences
• Use positive descriptors like “dedicated” and “detail-oriented.”
• Avoid clichés and jargon – think about what makes YOU special
• Discuss what you can bring to the table – save career ambitions for the cover letter and interview

Example of personal statement for a mechanical design engineer CV

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How to present your work history on a mechanical design engineer CV

Like any good mechanical design engineer, hiring managers are detail-oriented and very particular – especially about your work experience section. To spark their interest, list plenty of applicable strengths, transferable skills (more on this later), and tangible accomplishments. As for formatting, start from your current or most recent role and list three to six key duties for each.

If you’re unsure whether to include information, ask yourself: is this recent and relevant? There’s no point mentioning a mechanical design engineer role from three decades ago if you haven’t kept up to date with best practices. Similarly, employers will probably struggle to see the relevance of last year’s bartending job.

Here’s a list of information to include:

• Job title
• Company name
• Company location
• Employment start and end dates
• List of responsibilities
• Achievements, awards, and promotions

Like the personal statement, be specific to stand out from the crowd, which means statistics, statistics, statistics. Let’s say you “recommended design modifications” – can you expand on this? Perhaps you “recommended 50 design modifications”. Or you could provide an outcome, such as “recommended design modifications that saved £300,000 in material costs”. You need to give the employer as much information as possible so they can decide whether you meet the job requirements.

Lastly, convey confidence by using positive adjectives and action verbs. The former describes your personality, which is essential because many companies now hire based on “cultural fit”. Examples include “enthusiastic”, “passionate”, and “helpful”. Action verbs are alternatives to “responsible for”. Some of our favourites for mechanical design engineers include “produced”, “devised”, and “imagined”.

Example of work experience for a mechanical design engineer CV

Top skills for your mechanical design engineer CV

If the recruiter is short on time, they’ll often head straight to the CV skills to assess whether you have the tools and knowledge to meet expectations. Additionally, ATS software fast-tracks CVs with plenty of scannable keywords and phrases, which correlate to the hard skills and soft skills found in the job advertisement. We suggest noting around 12 in total, split equally between the two.

What’s the difference? Hard skills are technical and learnt on the job or through education – think “CAD design,” “technical drawings,” and “carrying out risk assessments.” In contrast, soft skills are personality-based and intrinsic, therefore much harder to learn. Examples include “organised” “creative,” and “analytical.”

Our top advice? Don’t focus on one without the other. Experience doesn’t compensate for a bad attitude. Likewise, positivity is meaningless without the practical know-how to back it up. So, what skills should you include on your mechanical design engineer CV? Find out what your recruiter wants to see on your CV by reading our handy checklist below.

Outlining education on a mechanical design engineer CV

Education is often the deciding factor when you’re up against equally skilled and experienced candidates. You can discuss school, college, and university courses, extracurricular training, special licences, and memberships to governing bodies. Basically, anything that positions you as a brainiac in your field!

Similar to work experience, all information must be recent and relevant. Only mention courses that support your application (while lovely, the sommelier training you completed last summer has nothing to do with the job you’re applying for). Plus, don’t waste space on older qualifications, like GCSEs, if you’ve been to college or university.

What does it take to become a mechanical design engineer? Most organisations prefer candidates with a degree or diploma in a related subject, such as “Mechanical Engineering”, “Mechatronics”, or “Product Design”. However, some people climb the career ladder through apprenticeships and work placements. Ultimately, it depends on how you like to learn.

Here’s how to format this section:

• Name of school, college, university, or other awarding body
• Study start and end dates
• Subject title
• Qualification level – e.g. undergraduate degree or A level
• Qualification result – not essential but desirable

Example of education for a mechanical design engineer CV