MEP EP#279: Avoiding The HR Pit of Doom, Resume and Interview Tricks for Engineers

MEP EP#279: Avoiding The HR Pit of Doom, Resume and Interview Tricks for Engineers

• Engineering Resumes
  • The main goal: To start a conversation
    • The resume is intended to give a snapshot of you not to be your autobiography
      • The person doing the interview probably has other tasks that they have to accomplish
      • Your interview is important but it is likely not their main focus, keep this in mind
    • Too much information is a bad thing - remember people hiring have to read lots of resumes
    • The 1 page rule
  • The HR pit of doom
    • There is a high likelihood that your resume will not go to an engineer when you apply via any portal/service/online app
    • Grammar/spelling/design/layout
    • You may be the best engineer out there but if you can’t get that across to a non-engineer then you are in trouble
  • Humble Bragging
    • You are not Engineering Jesus
    • Use tangible wording and describe cornerstones of your career
      • Example - I did X task and productivity increased Y%
    • Do not obfuscate your work with unclear words.
  • Be clear about your involvement in your tasks
    • Avoid the following
      • “Responsibilities included”
      • Collaborated
      • Think outside the box
      • Go-to person
      • Value add
      • Team player
    • Use Verbs to describe your work
      • Improved
      • Managed
      • Created
      • Designed
  • Do not Pad your resume
    • Shorter and clearer are much better than essays
    • Remember the HR pit and the person reading your resume
    • Control the white space on your page - This can be more powerful than writing a ton of fluff
    • Get to the point
    • Be proud and confident in what you have done and highlight it concisely
    • Use Technical Writing
  • Graduate resumes
    • Probably does not include much other than your schoolwork
    • Absolutely put anything other than school
    • Internships should be front and center
    • Anything that shows your passion for your degree
      • If you don’t have anything like this get on it
      • Describe how you used your degree to do something
    • Only put classwork that is relevant to the job you are interviewing for
    • Remember - everyone in your degree had to do the same thing, it doesn’t make you special
  • Objective statement - I can take it or leave it
    • Dont just put - looking for a job
    • See if you can make it interesting to read
    • Better to write a cover letter if you have something to say in an Objective Statement
  • How to describe things you can’t describe in detail on your resume?
• Engineering Interviews:
  • Research Research Research
    • The more you know the more you can be prepared
      • Remember that if you get this job you could spend 1/3rd of your life there
      • You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you
    • Dress appropriately
      • Under dressed is not helpful - Avoid if possible
    • Come prepared - No place is going to fault you for bringing things in
    • Bring multiple copies of your resumes
    • Bring your work
  • Personality Tests
    • How to prep for these kind of questions?
    • "What is your greatest weakness?"