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| please help with my CV |
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| vixo:
Hello everyone, I've been applying for jobs of late but I'm finding that a lot of jobs that I thought I would be suitable for aren't getting back to me. My experience is a little patchy - I have a BEng and a PhD in sensor technology but I haven't worked a "proper" industry engineering job before. I worked as technical staff in a recording studio and also had my own small company where I design musical hardware which involves a lot of analogue design / simulation (ltspice - by no means an expert), a bit of digital (working with STM32), PCB design (which I really don't know how to do properly but I am familiar with most of the main software packages) and A LOT of debugging which is probably my strong point. I would say I'm pretty capable at what I do and could with just a little experience do a lot more, but as of now I'm not exactly sure what to put on my CV to highlight my skills. It seems that I'm always going for opening positions (even though I've been working with electronics for years) and I'm losing out to university graduates with less skills than me, meanwhile I can't apply for mid level positions because I don't have experience doing key things How can I fashion my CV to maximise my skills? Thankyou in advance! |
| jwet:
First- you need to think through your objectives and what your applying for. Engineering today at least at large companies is somewhat specialized. An analog, digital, software, PCB, debug and project engineer is not a common job. Any company of any size (with a 10+ engineering team) would have specialists that do each of those things. Your skills would fit well in a small company with perhaps one or two engineers. It would be good to put your experience in the context of the skills you used. The last ten years is project engineering in a small company atmosphere where you did it all. You might bring out a bit of specifics of the kind of equipment- sound mixers?, low noise analog processing, DSP? You can also explain roles, project engineer- customer contact, reporting to outside customer, supervising people. Resumes are scanned by key word searchers- designing X-Ray detectors doesn't mean much- ultra low noise analog design, complex filters, digitizing one time events, etc are the core skills required. People making first passes on resumes can't figure this stuff out. Finally, its easy to crank out custom CV's these days tailored to an opportunity. I wouldn't try to shoot for a "universal" CV. Good luck. Don't get discouraged. "Getting back to people" is not done much these days. I think with ease of emailing resume's etc, companies are bombarded with low quality candidates and generally don't even log them into their system. Do something to stand out. Perhaps send a well thought out cover letter tailored to the job requirement in a real envelope with a stamp- you can back it up with an email so they can forward it around and file it. |
| jpanhalt:
I am not an engineer and was waiting for someone to point out what I saw immediately in the CV. 1) Is it a CV or resume? In my experience, CV's are much more detailed. 2) There are gaps in employment. At the start, 2 months with a university research group, a gap of 6 months, then 7 months in another job, then self-employer/unemployed. Those are flags. The university gig is not too worrisome in isolation, but coupled with the second job, it becomes more significant. If possible, you might explain why each job ended, e.g., the university grant expired. 3) The problem is getting past a heartless screener. More detail about your success as an entrepreneur would help. In particular, I would ask, "After being an entrepreneur, why are you looking for a job?" 4) You have a Ph.D. and are looking for a starting position. In my field (chemistry/biology/medicine), that is another flag. I have heard that some Ph.D.'s save that information once they get past the screener. Don't hide it in any interview. Again, you need to get past a screener, so write your resume to match the low-level position to which you are applying. That may be futile. Have you considered university or college appointments? |
| rstofer:
There was a time back in the late '70s where PhDs were unemployable in Silicon Valley. They were simply overqualified for most openings. As a result, laws were created that allowed candidates to omit the PhD on their resume and just specify their BS and MS degrees. They couldn't lie but they didn't have to tell the whole truth. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-career-killing-mistakes-phds-make-4-very-common-hankel-ph-d- https://www.zipjob.com/blog/excluding-education-from-resume |
| rstofer:
'Sensor technology' sounds like avionics to me... Are you considering the defense contractors or government agencies? There's no 'country' flag next to your user name so it's pretty doubtful that any of the replies will actually work. The US is pretty flexible. |
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