Stop Losing Civil Engineering Jobs to Resume Errors
Identify and correct the most common resume mistakes that keep hiring managers from noticing your expertise.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Chances
Each mistake includes why it hurts, how to fix it, and before/after examples
- Doesn't convey specific civil engineering focus
- Gets filtered out by ATS keywords
- Fails to capture hiring manager's attention
- Replace with a concise professional summary highlighting years of experience, specialties (e.g., structural design, site development)
- Include 2–3 key achievements with measurable results
- Embed relevant keywords like 'AutoCAD', 'PE licensed', 'project budgeting'
Objective: Seeking a challenging position where I can utilize my skills.
Professional Summary: Licensed PE with 7+ years delivering multimillion‑dollar infrastructure projects, expert in structural analysis, AutoCAD, and cost optimization, seeking senior civil engineer role.
- Creates noise, dilutes impact
- ATS may not match context
- Hiring managers can't see proficiency level
- Create a 'Technical Skills' section grouped by category
- Add proficiency level (e.g., Advanced AutoCAD)
- Mention software usage in bullet points with results
Software: AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit, SAP2000, Microsoft Office
Technical Skills: • Design Software – AutoCAD (Advanced), Civil 3D (Advanced), Revit (Intermediate) • Structural Analysis – SAP2000 (Advanced) • Project Management – MS Project, Excel (Advanced)
- ATS may misinterpret gaps
- Hiring managers can't assess tenure
- Inconsistent formats cause parsing errors
- Use month/year format (MM/YYYY)
- Align dates to the right
- If overlapping projects, list as concurrent with clear labels
Jan 2020 – Present June 2021 – Dec 2022
Jan 2020 – Present (Senior Civil Engineer, XYZ Corp) Jun 2021 – Dec 2022 (Project Engineer, ABC Ltd) – Concurrent role
- Resume reads like a duty list
- No proof of impact
- ATS often looks for numbers
- Add metrics (e.g., saved $X, reduced time by Y%)
- Start bullets with action verbs
- Tie achievements to project scale
Responsible for designing bridges.
Designed and supervised construction of three 200‑ft bridges, delivering projects 12% under budget and 3 weeks ahead of schedule.
- Reduces perceived leadership
- ATS may not prioritize action verbs
- Harder to scan quickly
- Replace with strong verbs (engineered, led, optimized)
- Write in active voice
- Keep sentences concise
Was responsible for the coordination of site surveys.
Coordinated site surveys for 15 projects, ensuring compliance with local regulations.
- Use a professional summary with keywords
- List achievements with numbers
- Group technical skills by category
- Standardize dates to MMM YYYY
- Keep resume to 1‑2 pages (or 3 for senior)
- Save as PDF with searchable text
- Include PE license number if applicable
- Proofread for spelling and grammar
- Convert generic objective to data‑driven summary
- Add proficiency levels to software list
- Insert quantifiable results into each bullet
- Standardize date format
- Replace passive verbs with active power verbs
