CV for non-entry level position (structural engineer)

breadmonkey · 15-01-2013 10:42PM #1

I'm a structural engineer with about 16 months experience.

I've decided to look for a new job so I'm in the process of updating my CV. In the past I've been pretty happy with it and it got me my current job. My problem is that I now need to put together a non-graduate CV and I'm not really sure what it should look like.

For example, in the education section I currently have things like different modules I studied at undergrad and postgrad because at the time I was trying to show that I had specialised in the area I was applying to etc. That seems a bit silly looking now. Are leaving cert results out the window at this stage?!

I'm thinking of arranging it as follows. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

1. Work experience - current position
Brief general description of what I've been doing followed by a list of my top 3 or 4 projects with my duties/responsibilites.

2. Then education in reverse chronological order:
Masters
Undergrad

I'm not really sure what to put under each of the above. Aside from the institution, grade and dissertation topic. Is there any point in dwelling on this? I'm reluctant to go back to listing out choice modules but I do feel that doing so would partially plug some gaps in my experience and make me appear a little more rounded. i.e. I've been involved predominantly in RC and PSC bridge design but I studied a lot of steel-related subjects at postgrad.

Leaving Cert??? On one hand this seems a bit ridiculous to include but on the other I did well in a range of subjects (art, science/maths, language) and I've always felt this was a major plus for me.

3. Previous two jobs before (1) - general overview with main selling points. One of these is a job I had for about 4 years during college; the other is a full time job I held for about 15 months in a non-related field. I also have an engineering work placement from years ago. Is that worth including here? On the surface the answer would seem to be yes but I probably learned more in the first week of my current job.

4. "Interests and achievements" or some such.
I was involved in some clubs during college and that sort of thing. Is that even worth putting on?

As I said, any input would be great.

Thanks!

Turbulent Bill · 16-01-2013 11:51AM

I think the key thing is to build a generic CV and then tailor it for each application (i.e., specifically addressing the requirements for each job), rather than a one-size-fits-all.

My own CV starts with personal info, then education (postgrad, undergrad and Leaving Cert, only a line of two for each). Work experience is next, outlining roles, responsibilities, successes etc.

The biggest section is a "Skills Profile", outlining exactly what skills I have and practical examples of how they've been used, again tailored to each job. This was especially useful going from postgrad to employment as lots of employers don't appreciate the skills used/developed during a postgrad. Brief interests section at the end to prove you're a normal person and not some sort of robot!

This format works pretty well for me, and obviously you can change the balance of each section depending on your experience, education etc.

godtabh · 16-01-2013 10:26PM

I've been at it for nearly 9 years now.

My cv is formatted as follows:

Education & Qualifications:

Most recent first. Name and result of degree. Name of dissertation/final year project
Membership of profesional institution

Key Experience

List key experience

Work Experience/ Key Responsibilities:

Most detail on recent job/projects.
Exclude non engineering related jobs ie a stint in Tesco

Non Engineering Skills

Director of a management company

Skills Profile:

Engineering
HR:
Teamwork:
Leadership:
Interpersonal:
Communications:

Achievements & Interests:

Publications:
School:
Membership: Chartered Engineer, Institute of Engineers of Ireland
Travel:

16-01-2013 10:27PM

Yeah basically your CV will evolve with time. I'm always of the opinion after a certain amount of time after graduation that experience becomes more important than education. So a few years ago I changed my CV to as follows:

Name/contact details
Career Objective (showing what I'm working towards, linked to the position)
Professional Experience (starting with most recent first)
Education (Postgraduate qualifications, Undergraduate qualification)
I have 'Achievements' and 'Skills Profile' and 'Interests' and 'Contact Details' (normally available on request) but they are adjusted depending on the role.

Basically the reason I'd have work life first (on the first page too) is that you want to impress someone the person reading your CV. Lots of people have Undergraduate/postgraduate degrees. But they want to know if you can actually do the job - hence why I'd put what I have actually worked on first. I'm sure others will differ!

I've avoided mention of Leaving Cert, even though I too am very happy with what I got points wise! The simple answer is, well, no-one really cares what you got in your Leaving Cert.

No harm in detailing specific structural work if relevant to the job you're applying for. I've mentioned specific modules in my postgraduate course that I did which were relevant to the job I am now in.

Engineering Work Placement I would say is important to keep on. I have something from 8 years ago on my CV as I spent a full year of my life doing it, even though it's not Engineering related it shows transferable and management skills.

3 pages in total by the way. For some jobs I've applied for I have reduced it to 2.

One final thing - format is important. It should stand out. It should do you proud. You should be proud to see it and talk about it!

godtabh · 16-01-2013 10:31PM

PS with 16 months experience you are still very much a graduate. Its unlikely that your next role would expand on what you are currently doing.

If it was mean (and it was me 7 years ago) I'd be looking for at least 2 years experience before looking for my next role. With 2 years experience I was a bit of an all rounder. Some what useful but was very useful was having that grounding and specializing. Was great experience later on to run projects. You knew enough to lead projects and then delegate work

breadmonkey · 17-01-2013 12:00AM

Thanks for all of the advice.

Education & Qualifications:
Most recent first. Name and result of degree. Name of dissertation/final year project

Membership of profesional institution

Got it!

Key Experience
List key experience

Work Experience/ Key Responsibilities:
[*]Most detail on recent job/projects.
[*]Exclude non engineering related jobs ie a stint in Tesco

Non Engineering Skills
Director of a management company

Skills Profile:
Engineering

HR:

Teamwork:

Leadership:

Interpersonal:

Communications:

As you've said subsequently, I'm basically still a graduate so I don't think I can apply your general "template" so easily. I've basically been trying to demonstrate everything you have above in brief descriptions of the key projects I've been involved in. I think it's likely to get very waffly very quickly if I was to try to apply all or most of the sections above. How long would you say the quoted section above would typically be in your CV?

Also, in relation to non-engineering jobs: I mentioned that I had a job for a good few years in college. Although this is non-engineering, I do think it's pretty good for demonstrating "soft skills" and also to demonstrate that I can stick somewhere for a while! There is a bit of jumping around in my timeline over the last few years but a lot of that is out of my control. I realise that trying to leave this place after 16 months appears to not be helping my case but I'll come to that later! What do you think? Axe it anyway in favour of the engineering work placement?

I've avoided mention of Leaving Cert, even though I too am very happy with what I got points wise! The simple answer is, well, no-one really cares what you got in your Leaving Cert.

Yeah I see what you're saying. It wasn't exactly being happy with the points but rather that I had a good mix of subjects across the board. Anyway, it's gone now!

No harm in detailing specific structural work if relevant to the job you're applying for. I've mentioned specific modules in my postgraduate course that I did which were relevant to the job I am now in.

Thanks. I briefly included something like this as I feel it would be important for the company I'm targeting.

Engineering Work Placement I would say is important to keep on. I have something from 8 years ago on my CV as I spent a full year of my life doing it, even though it's not Engineering related it shows transferable and management skills.

I really don't know what to do with this one. It was three months 5 or 6 years ago and I learned more in the first two or three weeks of my current job. Skills/experience gained has all been massively superseded by now and it looks to me like it's just taking up space on the page. I kind of want to put my non-engineering part-timer in its place but not sure if that's madness.

3 pages in total by the way. For some jobs I've applied for I have reduced it to 2.

One final thing - format is important. It should stand out. It should do you proud. You should be proud to see it and talk about it!

I think I'm going to keep it to two pages. And I'm pretty anal about the formatting so I won't stop until its a work of art!

godtabh wrote: »

PS with 16 months experience you are still very much a graduate. Its unlikely that your next role would expand on what you are currently doing.

If it was mean (and it was me 7 years ago) I'd be looking for at least 2 years experience before looking for my next role. With 2 years experience I was a bit of an all rounder. Some what useful but was very useful was having that grounding and specializing. Was great experience later on to run projects. You knew enough to lead projects and then delegate work

Yes I see what you're saying. I'm aware that two years seems to be the magic number but for various reasons (including, but not limited to, my own career advancement), I really feel I need to move on. I'm aware that it will (hopefully) be a sideways move in terms of my day to day work but in many ways it will improve my quality of life. I also genuinely believe that I've been exposed to a huge amount in the short time I've been working and I would be confident I could match most people with two years experience from a technical point of view. That's not being cocky or anything; I'm just being caned most of the time!

I might stick it up here when I get something decent. Maybe you guys wouldn't mind having a quick look.

breadmonkey · 17-01-2013 12:05AM

I think the key thing is to build a generic CV and then tailor it for each application (i.e., specifically addressing the requirements for each job), rather than a one-size-fits-all.

Yes I agree. I have a specific company in mind but if that falls through I think it would be readily applicable to other targets. I'm definitely trying to tailor it.

My own CV starts with personal info, then education (postgrad, undergrad and Leaving Cert, only a line of two for each). Work experience is next, outlining roles, responsibilities, successes etc.

This is the rough outline I've adopted. Since I work on a project basis, would it be worth giving this section a hefty chunk of the document, even as much as 50%?!

The biggest section is a "Skills Profile", outlining exactly what skills I have and practical examples of how they've been used, again tailored to each job. This was especially useful going from postgrad to employment as lots of employers don't appreciate the skills used/developed during a postgrad

Hmmmm. I've never really had anything like this on my CV. Would this information not be communicated in your "work experience" section?

godtabh · 17-01-2013 10:09AM

My skills profile/key experience

Project Management
 Engineering
 Consulting
 Auditing
 People Management
 Financial Management including account and debt management
 Learning Development & Management Systems

I have qualifications in some experience in others

Work Experience/ Key Responsibilities sample

more recent wrote:

Senior Engineer – XYZ Company
Project A – Mobility Management Plan for proposed mixed use development at Project A examining existing accessibility and travel

patterns and putting in place mobility management measures to create a more sustainable development

Project B – Responsible for traffic management design for tender submission at A Street, B Street, Sometown and Othertown Stops

Forgein Metro Phase 3 – Project Manager/Lead designer track and stop drainage at Stop 1, Stop 2, Stop 3 and Stop 4

Town Centre Development – Project Manager responsible for the compiling of the road infrastructure element of the planning submission. Project Manager for the compiling of a Request for Additional Information form X County Council and subsequent Second Party Appeal to An Bord Pleanála for internal and external road design elements of the project including

car parking. Lead Designer on the internal and external road design elements of the project of the project. Client key contact.

Town Centre Development – Review of existing non-car infrastructure to integrate into proposed development to encourage a modal shift from car to non-car means of transport. Review of development catchment area with local service providers to determine the suitability of providing shuttle bus service and sought tenders for same.

CHP PLant: Project Manager for Transportation Chapter of EIS prepared under

Strategic Infrastructure Development Regulations. Client key contact.

General – Project Manager/Lead Designer on several small/medium scale planning applications

Long time ago wrote:

Summer Intern- (White Plains, New York)
G
eneral – Engineering Intern involved car park layout out design, CAD design using

MircoStation, quantity take offs and document control.

This is how I have set up my cv.

The more recent work has a lot of detail that is specific to the job I am applying for (in the case above a transport engineer).

In your case I would be looking at picking 3-4 key projects you have worked on an expand on them like I've shown above.

Your CV is meant to be short and brief. I wouldnt go over 2 pages. Your cover letter is also equally as important

If you want I can you review your CV?

17-01-2013 07:45PM

breadmonkey wrote: »

Leaving Cert??? On one hand this seems a bit ridiculous to include but on the other I did well in a range of subjects (art, science/maths, language) and I've always felt this was a major plus for me.

If you have a masters the leaving cert becomes irrelevant IMHO. Employers want a "punchy" CV, inserting details about your Leaving cert in this case may appear as padding.

However if you are proficient in an other language I think that would be worth stating.

The HR department at my work update all CVs. I was amazed at how much they condensed them, there are certainly no leaving cert details for anyone included.

Dónal wrote: »

Yeah basically your CV will evolve with time. I'm always of the opinion after a certain amount of time after graduation that experience becomes more important than education.

+1

At my last client interview (I work for a large engineering consultancy) their only questions were about previous projects that I had worked on.

CV for non-entry level position (structural engineer)

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