Systems Engineer Resume: Examples, Template, and Resume Tips
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Have you ever wondered how a company stays well organized and functions properly let alone how it adapts to more and more technological advances of the modern age?
Because if you think of it, it must be hard to keep track of everything that is happening inside a company and having it all run through a wide range of systematic programs which run through a network of computers and databases.
That’s why there are job positions for systems engineers which get enrolled for their ability to solve software problems that might occur, successfully install, configure and maintain operating systems and also ensure the highest levels of systems and infrastructure availability.
And although this all sounds like rocket science to people outside of this line of work, there are hundreds of thousands of systems engineers who do this regularly and you can imagine how big of a demand their skills are.
Today we are going to see how you, a systems engineer, should write your resume to truly present your skills and experience to potential employers and we are going to walk you through every step at a time.
First, we will show you two samples of different resumes so that you get a picture of how a resume of such sort should look like and then we are going to be talking about each section of the resume so you get a better understanding of how to write your resume.
Also, if you have any additional questions after reading this article, we suggest you take a look at our resume template builder and there you will be provided with more additional information.
Without further ado, let us begin!
System Engineer Resume Example
Systems Engineer Resume Example
YOUR ENGINEERING BUSINESS CARD
Every resume you write should start with some information about yourself and this is not just so the employer gets to know you, you will have that opportunity at the job interview, but rather you need to provide some information so that they know how to contact you.
And you should treat this section as your business card. After all, this section contains everything a business card should contain such as your full name, home address, phone number, e-mail and so on.
If you want to be viewed as a professional systems engineer, you should pay close attention to what you write in this section and now we will show you what we mean by that.
Full Name
When writing your full name things are pretty straightforward. You should always use the name in your birth certificate and not some name your friends at the bar call you by.
Of course, if you’ve, for some reason, changed your name, you should use that name in your resume only if you’ve got an ID card with that name specifically.
This precaution should be taken care of to eliminate any potential confusion.
Profession
In this section, you should write your specific profession. If you are having trouble, you can use the subject you’ve graduated on, e.g. Engineering Management or you can put one of your job positions, for example, Systems Administrator.
Photo
In most cases, an employer will specify if you need to include a photograph in your resume and if that isn’t the case you have no obligation to provide one.
In the occurrence that you are asked to provide a photograph, do pay attention that you include a professional photograph, taken perhaps in a photo studio and that you look sharp and professional.
A bit of dressing up won’t hurt either. After all, how many high-paid systems engineers have you seen on a plain t-shirt?
Phone Number
Some might argue that a phone number is optional because most of the job applications are done through E-mail but because E-mails tend to get lost from time to time, you must provide a phone number so that your employer can get a hold of you if you’ve landed a job interview.
It is also better to provide your mobile phone number because, suspecting that you always carry it with you, your employer will be able to reach you instantly.
Address
Providing your home address is also optional but it won’t do any harm especially if the employer or hiring manager needs to know if you need transportation from your house to the office or if they need to send you something through the post office.
E-Mail Address
An E-mail address is pretty much a necessity in this day and age because you will be asked to send your resume through E-mail and also you will most definitely get a response there as well.
It’s never a good idea to use your private E-mail address for business purposes because you want to separate your private mail from business mail and also you want your E-mail address to look professional.
So always create a new E-mail address or use your old business one if you’ve already had it.
Social Media
If you are already a systems engineer and you know how much social media can influence a business, you are practically forced to have a LinkedIn account or at least a Twitter account. You can even create your website if you want to be even more professional.
Using LinkedIn is a great way to present your other skills or past work experience without overloading your resume, and believe me, employers do check it out as well.
So any web development, project management or systems advancement which you’ve done in the past but didn’t make it to your resume you can write on your LinkedIn account and you will be doing yourself a great favor.
Same goes with your website. If you’ve created a professional website where you showcase your work, an employer will be at least amused if not overwhelmed.
TO SUM THINGS UP, I’M AN ENGINEER
This heading should never be your actual summary and we hope that you know that it was a joke.
Jokes aside, your summary section should be a brief description of your experience and an introduction to the rest of your resume.
Two general rules of a great summary include:
- 2 or 3 sentences max, you have the rest of your resume to talk about your previous jobs
- Getting straight to the point by mentioning how many years of experience you have, your past work experience and why you want to get hired
If you are having trouble writing your summary section a great way to write a good one is to write it once you’ve completed all other sections.
That way you will avoid confusing your employer if perhaps something on your summary doesn’t match the rest of the resume.
EVERY COMPANY NEEDS A SYSTEMS ENGINEER
Yes, that is mostly true, a company most definitely needs a systems engineer to run smoothly and having worked for a good company shows that you have what it takes to be one.
By following these steps you will prove that you have what it takes to be hired and not only that but you will also show that you know what the employer is looking for and that won’t be overlooked.
Now, the general rule is that you start with your past work experiences reverse-chronologically from your last job to the first one.
And this is mainly because you want to show your employer how you worked up to the position you’re at right now.
Also, when listing the things you’ve done at the previous company, you shouldn’t write a description of your responsibilities but rather what improvements have you made in that company so that you show your employer that you’re the man for the job.
Side note: It’s not a bad idea to write some percentages for the things you’ve improved while working for your past company because not only number visible on your resume and will get the employer’s attention, but also you will show that you’ve made some improvements.
EDUCATION THAT’LL GET YOUR NEXT JOB
Being an engineer of any kind takes a lot of education and most companies won’t hire you if you don’t have at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering or computer science.
And although you will already prove that you are a good engineer when someone looks at your past work experience, having a master degree in Systems Engineering from MIT won’t hurt at all.
As with the experience section, you want to write your education reverse-chronologically because you want to show your latest academic achievement first. No one wants to know which high-school you’ve gone to, because if you have a master degree it means that you were a very good student.
Also, pointing out your GPA score and mentioning that you were involved in some extra-curriculum activity also helps a lot.
THESE SKILLS WORK IN 2020. TRY IT!
It’s not all brains when it comes to being a professional systems engineer because there are also some skills that you will have to acquire through working in this line of work for years.
And not all systems engineers have the same skills because there are plenty of programs and software you need to be familiar with and no one can know every one of them unless you’re a human cyborg.
If you want to land that sweet job you want, this is how to present your engineering skills.
When writing your skills section you should divide your engineering skills and your other skills so that you make a nice parallel and get your employer’s attention right away.
In the engineering skills you should include:
- The programs and software you are familiar with and at which level of proficiency you are with them
- Your management skills which might include time management, project management and your overall coordination with other employees
- Any engineer related skills such as hardware repair, software development, and even coding
Your other skills should include things such as leadership, work ethics, and communication skills.
Also, you should add a language section and list the languages you know and at which level, of course, if you’re a native English speaker you should list it as a native one.
TIPS ANY ENGINEER WILL FIND USEFUL
- Resume length – Always keep your resume short as possible and it should be 2 pages max because anything above it is just going to bore the hell out of your employer. Ideally, you would even write one page and if you can do it because employers and hiring managers don’t spend a lot of time looking at resumes and you can’t blame them, they receive hundreds of them daily.
- Bullet points – Remember, bullet points are your friend and you should use them so that you get the employer’s attention rather than making him search for keywords in a block of text. They are also a great way to emphasize the important stuff and make your resume easier to skim-read.
- Formatting – You should always convert your resume from a TXT format to a PDF one because nearly all computers will be able to open it. Also, always have a physical copy of your resume because you never know if you will need one on your job interview.
- Proofreading – Always proofread your resume not only to avoid grammatical errors which can seriously put your education into question but also to get an expert’s opinion on the resume as a whole and take their suggestion if something needs to be changed.
- Adaptation – You should always write a new resume for every job you apply for because different jobs require different resumes. Not all companies look for the same skills and you need to do some research on the company you’re applying for so that you know exactly what to put in your resume.
- Check your E-Mail daily – Always check your E-Mail at least twice a day because you don’t want to accidentally miss out on the job interview if they like your resume. And always check the spam box as well because many E-Mails get filtered out in the system.
- Resume template – If you have some trouble writing your resume, we advise you to check out our resume builder because you will find out everything you need to know about writing a perfect resume. You will be able to quickly add or delete sections which you need and will save you tons of your precious time.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it!
Today we talked a lot about how to write your very own professional resume and what things you should keep in mind so that you, as a systems engineer have an easier time emphasizing your hard work and why you deserve to be hired.
As we already said, if you still have some confusion about how to write your resume, please check out our resume builder and you won’t be disappointed.
Good luck with your job interview, we know you’ll get the job!
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