I have recently graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree. I feel that my resume is heavily lacking in relevant work experience. I have been told to emphasize my academics because that is my strongest attribute, but I am not really sure how to go about doing that in a resume format. My questions are:
- Does anyone have a resume format they would recommend that would allow a little more room for description? I find it difficult to build up my resume within a rigid structure.
- What parts of my education should I emphasize and how do I go about doing this? I find it difficult to be descriptive, yet short and concise.

Thank you and I am appreciative of any help you can give.

Relax.  You're a new grad, of course you don't have work experience.  If you did any projects, include those.  Also, if you used any CAD programs or FEM's put those in.

Look at each job req you're applying for and see what they want.  Include any particular course work that applies.

For an engineering job, you're really trying to get your rez past the IHR screen to the hiring manager.  If they list a lot of buzzword, try to include them in you rez.  If they say they want experience with the DOORS requirements management software and you've never heard of it, do a search, find the vendor (IBM) and learn a little about it.  Then, state you are 'familiar' with it.  That gets the buzz word past the auto screen. 

You know if you do your rez in just about any word processor, you can simply add a string of buzzwords at the end, then delete them.  Open the file in a txt viewer, you'll find they're still there, just not displayed.  I'm not sure, but I'll bet that gets picked up by any auto screen program.

 

Thank you very much for your response. It was quite helpful in giving me a sense of direction. It was also quite a relief to be told to relax. Being a student is all I have ever really known, so it's a little stressful and nerve-wracking to move into something foreign - plus I'm broke! lol
-Grace and Peace JohnGalt

Hi crhaney,

JohnGalt's advice to you is perfect.

I recently wrote a resume sample for an entry-level mechanical engineer that focuses on education and school projects. Here's the link:
Sample Resume for an Entry-Level Mechanical Engineer

You can download the Word doc from the link provided. I hope this is helpful!