The Best Engineering Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)

Unsure which skills to add to your resume? In a competitive field like engineering, you need more than just a degree to stand out.

Employers are looking for candidates with a diverse set of technical skills and expertise, and to get their attention you need to showcase your qualifications effectively on your engineering resume.

Technical engineering skills for your resume

Being a competent engineer requires hard skills, the things you’ve learned through training, education, and hands-on experience (like specific software or protocols), as well as soft skills, which determine how you approach work and interact with others in a professional setting (like attention to detail or communication skills).

Here are some common technical skills to highlight.

• Project management skills
• Computer skills
• Troubleshooting
• Mathematics
• CAD software (AutoCAD, SolidWords)
• Adobe Acrobat
• Microsoft 365
• Documentation
• Material and equipment lists
• Cost analyses
• Technical specifications
• Data analysis
• ERP software (SAP)
• Inventory management
• Process simulation and modeling (Aspen Plus/MATLAB)
• Safety standards and regulations

Of course, as an engineer you work in a very specialized field, and it’s important to show employers you have the skills you need for your specialization.

Here are some of the top technical skills across five key engineering fields:

Helpful soft skills for any engineering position

Engineering isn’t just about the technical aspects of your job. You also need to demonstrate a strong set of soft skills that help you plan and oversee projects, communicate effectively, and collaborate with others to produce a quality result.

Here are some soft skills to highlight on your engineering resume:

• Analytical skills
• Problem solving skills
• Communication skills
• Creativity
• Time management skills
• Teamwork skills
• Attention to detail
• Innovation
• Independence
• Work well under pressure/with tight deadlines
• Collaboration

How to highlight skills for engineering on your resume

Here’s how you can make sure you highlight all those engineering skills effectively on your resume.

1. Target skills in the engineering job description

The best way to ensure your resume gets a hiring manager’s attention is to include the skills they’re looking for by checking the job ad.

Here’s an example of a mechanical engineer job description:

By picking out keywords from the job description (underlined in blue) and highlighting your relevant experience on your resume, you can show employers that you’re a great fit for the position.

Here are some keywords that a candidate applying for this position should highlight:

• Computational fluid dynamics/CFD
• TileFlow
• Energy engineering/energy management/energy conservation
• Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS)
• Building automation systems (BAS)
• Certified Energy Manager (CEM) Certification
• LEED AP Certification

Below we’ll show you how to put keywords into your resume using these as an example.

2. Feature your strongest qualifications in your resume objective

Now you know how to scan the job description for keywords which makes writing your resume objective much easier.

Your resume objective is usually the first thing hiring managers read, so it’s important to use it to highlight your most relevant experience.

Here’s what you should include in your resume objective to make it stand out:

• How many years of experience you have, and in what areas
• Your top skills and qualifications, highlighted by a professional accomplishment
• How you can benefit the employer

Here’s an example of how to write a resume objective that matches the job ad from our example, with keywords in bold:

Using your resume objective to highlight your top qualifications for the job will draw employers in and make them want to learn more about you as a candidate.

3. Add engineering skills throughout your work experience section

You’ve given employers a standout resume objective, so your work experience section is the perfect opportunity to expand on those highlights and add a little more context.

When you write your work experience bullet points, it’s important to use action verbs that demonstrate the proactive role you’ve taken in your career as well as numbers to quantify any professional accomplishments.

Here’s an example of a resume work experience section that targets the keywords from our job ad (in bold):

Using action verbs and numbers to bolster your experience makes your resume more memorable and gives it a more powerful impact.

4. List your engineering certifications in a separate section

Engineers often need engineering certifications to show they can do the job. This is especially true if you are looking for a more specialized position.

Having certifications also enhances your credibility in the job market, opening doors to higher-level positions, and ensuring you meet industry standards.

List your certifications in a dedicated certifications section unless you only have one certification or license. If you only have one, you can add it to your skills section.

Here are some certifications that may be relevant for your engineering resume:

5. Highlight additional engineering skills in your skills section

The skills that aren’t demonstrated in your resume objective and work experience section should go in your resume skills section.

It’s good to include a mix of both hard and soft skills, but for such a technical job it’s best to focus on more hard skills.

Choose soft skills that you weren’t able to demonstrate in your other resume sections, but that support your ability to perform at a high level.

Here’s an engineering resume skills section that supports our example resume objective and work experience:

Skills

• Computational modeling & simulation
• Energy efficiency analysis & optimization
• HVAC system design
• Data analysis
• Energy management systems implementation
• Environmental impact assessment
• Technical report writing & documentation
• Problem solving
• Effective project management
• Strong attention to detail

Remember, don’t use this section to repeat skills you’ve already included elsewhere on your resume. Instead add hard and soft skills that complement your top qualifications and show employers that you’re a well-rounded candidate.

Engineer resume templates

For inspiration, here are two engineering resume templates you can use to write your own engineering resume.

Engineering student resume example

Download This Free Template

Electrical engineer resume sample

Download This Free Template