How to write an engineer's CV

An engineering CV is read twice: once by a recruiter checking the basics, and once by an engineer checking whether you can do the work. This guide covers what both look for — registration, projects, software, codes and certifications — and how to present each one so it holds up in a technical interview.

Professional registration comes first

In several Arab countries the right to practise depends on registration with a professional body, so employers look for it early. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Council of Engineers states that all engineers who practise in the Kingdom must be registered with it, and it classifies members into professional grades such as Engineer, Associate, Professional and Consultant. In Jordan, the Jordan Engineers Association states that no one may practise engineering in the Kingdom before completing registration with it. In Egypt, membership of the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate is required to practise engineering, as NCEES notes. In the UAE, registration runs at emirate level: Abu Dhabi's municipality has urged engineers working in the emirate to register in its Engineers' Registration System.

• Put your registration near the top: the body, your grade, and your membership number if you are comfortable sharing it.
• If registration is still in progress, say so plainly — for example, "Saudi Council of Engineers: registration in progress".
• If you are applying in another country, check which body registers engineers there before you apply.

Projects: your role, the scope, the result

Engineering work happens in projects, so describe projects rather than duties. MIT's career office suggests starting each point with a strong action verb, followed by the project and then the result, and making the scale clear with figures such as the size of a budget or a data set.

• Name the type of project and its sector — residential, industrial, infrastructure — and the client where confidentiality allows.
• State your own part: designed, calculated, supervised, reviewed, tested. The team's work is not yours to claim.
• Give the scale with numbers you can explain: floor area, budget, length of pipeline, number of units.
• End with what actually happened: handed over, passed inspection, commissioned.

Site Engineer — [Company], [City]

Supervised the structural works of a [number]-storey residential building, from the foundations to the roof slab; reviewed shop drawings and checked the reinforcement before each pour.

Order and length

The National Careers Service advises listing the most recent experience first, and Prospects recommends reverse chronological order, so the recruiter sees your latest achievements first. Give recent, relevant projects the most space and keep older or unrelated roles to a line or two.

Software, codes and standards

List the software you use at a level you could defend in a technical interview — for example AutoCAD, Revit, ETABS, SAP2000, MATLAB or SolidWorks, depending on your field — and name the codes and standards you have designed or built to. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Building Code Center is the legislative authority for the minimum building codes, so work to the Saudi Building Code is worth stating if you have done it.

Certifications

Write each certification with the body that issued it and the year. For example, the PMP is the project management certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), as Northeastern University's careers service notes, and NEBOSH is a UK-recognised awarding body for health and safety qualifications. List only what you hold, or mark a certification as in progress.

Architects and designers: add a portfolio

For architecture and design roles, the CV leads to the work itself. Prospects notes that employers are likely to require an architecture degree supported by a portfolio of work, and RIBA advises that a portfolio can prove your experience more powerfully than words on a CV. Put a link to your portfolio in the header of your CV, and check that it opens.

Doing it in Tabhar

• Start from a template and set the CV's language.
• Add your registration and certifications in the certifications section, each with the issuing body and the year.
• Save the job you are applying for and let the tailoring tool suggest changes, on a paid plan. It flags any skill it took from the job posting, so you keep only what is true for you.
• Check the CV in the ATS panel before you apply online.
• Download a PDF for email, or a Word file when a portal asks for one.

Before you send it

• Your registration body and grade are written exactly.
• Every project says what you did, not only what the team did.
• Every number is one you can explain in an interview.
• Software levels are honest, and each certification shows its issuer and year.
• The portfolio link opens.

Hiring practices differ between employers and change over time. When a job posting gives instructions, follow them.