Mistakes to avoid in a Chemical Engineer Resume

Are you an engineer looking for a position that makes you look good? If so, you need to provide a resume that is worthy of your professional rank. Recruiters can’t make up what you don’t know or what you have that is authentic compared to other candidates. Normally, chemical engineer resumes should show mostly technical knowledge and problem-solving abilities. So here are the mistakes not to make in your resume.

A CV that is not updated and is too long

The first thing that could make a recruiter recoil from a CV long before reading it is its length. If you send them a CV that is too long, they might get angry too soon and throw your application in the garbage can even though you have all the required qualities. A CV that is too long means that you have not updated it. Yes, if you have reread and checked everything, it should not exceed a page or 2 at most.

To make sure that everything is there, you should check by rereading your resume several times. Alternatively, before writing, you can list all your skills or qualities on a draft to sort them out. This will also help you to stay within the one-page limit. In a chemistry resume samples, for example, it is not useful to list all the chemical experiences you may have had. Mention only the essential ones.

In short, keep in mind that it is not an engineer like you who is going to read your CV but rather a professional in Human Resources. So it is better to focus only on the important points and projects. The rest you can include in your cover letter or talk about during the interview.

A poorly structured resume

Continuing with presentation, a winning engineering resume should not be poorly structured either. With your 9 years of experience, you should probably know how to present them one by one without any of them being left out. The fact that you yourself manage to give a nice structure to all the headings composing your CV makes it easier for the recruiter to sort out and choose you.

It is therefore essential that the layout is clear and that the information is presented in the best possible way. Moreover, a well-structured CV says a lot about you. It is the irrefutable proof that you are a person worthy of taking on high responsibilities such as engineering tasks.

A CV that is too colorful or too fancy

Engineer that you are, you should know that fantasy is not at all professional. Therefore, your CV must be as “clean” as possible. What does that mean?

This means that you should not be fancy in the presentation of your resume. Adding too many colors or cluttered designs is not the right way to stand out from other candidates. On the contrary, you should keep it as simple as possible without leaving out the essentials.

You can play with colors but only 2 to 3 and choose sober colors like black and white, for example. You should also use bulleted lists if necessary instead of long sentences. Use professional fonts like Arial or Times New Roman. And choose a legible font size between 10 to 12 for the content and between 14 to 16 for the title and subtitles. Take 2 cm margins for each side.

Forgetting the introduction

Yes, recruiters prefer candidates who present themselves in a few lines in their engineering CV. This is the header and hook of your resume. This means that you need an introduction to your CV. How do you do it?

Introduce yourself in the simplest way possible and add 2-3 personal qualities that you have. As an introduction sentence, you can use this example: “I am a mechanical engineer specializing in electrical design with 5 years of experience.” It’s very simple but very interesting in the eyes of the recruiter to make them want to work with you.

For qualities, you can choose from:

– Interpersonal communication skills;

– Attention to detail;

– Leadership;

– Teamwork;

– Synthesis skills;

– Etc.

You can also distinguish yourself with something special like “outstanding communicator”, if you want to stand out from the rest. You can also add what you plan to do through your application or the studies you have done to apply for this position.

If you are a member of your local or national engineering association, be sure to mention it. This will increase your chances of being accepted, especially if you are applying internationally. You can also mention that you are fluent in foreign languages, as this is useful in your sector of activity.

In any case, you should not put too much into your application. You have to be clear, simple and precise. There is no room for guesswork in your CV as the recruiter does not have time for that as he receives nearly 300 applications for a single engineering job offer.

A CV that is not adapted to the expectations of the target company

Be careful with the information you add to your CV. It must correspond to the expectations of the target company. Therefore, only say what they are looking for in you.

To avoid making mistakes, try to modify the title by using the terms of the ad. Also, avoid listing your objectives as they may not work with the company’s. Keep them to yourself and don’t make any mistakes. Keep them to yourself and only mention them if you are asked at the interview.

The main thing is to stick to the job description and the addition of keywords (those of the advertisement) to allow the robots or software used in the recruitment procedures to recognize and read your application.

References

Contrary to what you may think, references are not necessary to mention in a CV. It is only at the next stage, during the interview, that candidates are asked for them. Including references in your CV only gives them room for other more important information.