How do I write the PERFECT Engineering resume using ChatGPT? Step-by-step instructions...

Hey everyone, I'm Alex, a professional engineer, Certified Professional Career Coach, and Certified Professional Resume Writer. Today, I'm here to guide you through writing the perfect engineering resume with the help of ChatGPT to write your resume. Whether you're a civil, mechanical, electrical, or chemical engineer, this article is your blueprint for landing your dream job. Let's engineer your career, step by step!

The first thing to start with your resume with is to select the right template. Now there are a huge number of resume builders and beautiful templates created by designers. Many of them look very nice. But there is one problem, they do not work. I am a Certified Professional Resume Writer and I can say with confidence that no Professional Resume Writer will ever use such resume templates. And when people use a scale to rate their skills in their resume, it looks unprofessional. So to be short, don’t use these templates with diagrams and graphics. Which template is better to use I will tell you a bit later in this article so keep reading.

The first section is called Header and it’s quite simple, you don’t need to put here any useless information about your age, nationality, marital status, desired salary and so on. Just write your name surname, the exact position you are applying for, key credentials to highlight, telephone number, email, LinkedIn hyperlink, and location. You can also add QR code to your LinkedIn page or any other website or portfolio. So to fill in the header we don’t need Chat GPT, right?

But the next section is usually a Summary. Most Professionals write a Summary at the end when all resume sections are completed — why? Because Summary is a summary of your resume so it’s easier to write it when a resume is ready so you can pick the key points.

Into ChatGPT, you can insert something simple like: Write resume summary maximum 500 characters based on the following information: Drilling engineer with 12 years in oil and gas industry, offshore experience, drilled vertical and deviated wells (J, S, Horizontals), H2S experience, shallow and deep measure depths (MD) up to 6000 m, saved $120,000 and reduced the well construction time by 15% by introducing new types of PDC drill bits, safety is my priority.

You can play with different requests and get the desired result based on your profession, industry, and experience — that’s one way to tailor your resume properly.

The next section and that is the most important section of any engineering resume is Skills and Competencies. And here is one problem — if you ask Google or Chat GPT to list the TOP-10 skills, for example, for a Drilling Engineer, mostly you will see soft skills like Communication Skills, Negotiation Skills, Project Management, Time Management, and so on. Unfortunately, this is bullshit! This is one of the main differences between an engineer's resume and the resume of a sales manager, a bank employee, and many other professions. Experienced and competent engineers are distinguished by hard skills, not soft skills. I also used to say myself, that communication skill is one of the most valuable skills in today’s world, but that's why it becomes like a basic skill for any good specialist.

Ok let’s come back to Chat GPT and other sections of your resume.

Down below your Skills and Competencies section could be a Key Achievements section, where you can list all your achievements. There is a certain rule of writing stunning achievements. Start with a Verb in the past tense as it’s usually something that is completed, right? Describe just in a few words the main subject, don’t be too long, and express the result of this achievement in numbers. Make your achievement measurable.

Example request: Write 10 measurable achievements in one sentence starting with an action verb in the past tense for Drilling Engineer, following sentence structure: Action Verb + Object + Context + Results Produced.

The next section is your Work Experience. We can ask Chat GPT with such an easy request like: Write 10 job description responsibilities for Drilling Engineer. All jobs are different so you can send a general request into ChatGPT like this and then make any changes you need based on your responsibilities. On EngineerNow platform, you already have predetermined job responsibilities for many different professions.

There are many other sections available so I will not explain every one as they are all similar. Chat GPT will not be very useful for you in sections like your education, patents and publications, certifications, training and courses, professional affiliations, etc. All you need is just to fill in the required fields with your data.

There are many other tricks on how to write a good engineering resume and how to avoid common mistakes. I explained it in more detail in another article — 5 Resume Mistakes You MUST Avoid.

Make sure your resume is clear, tailored to the job, and passes the applicant tracking systems that companies now use for initial resume screenings.

Good luck with your job search, and I hope this guide will make a real difference in your career journey.

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