Environmental Engineer Resume Examples and Templates for 2023

Environmental Engineer Text-only Resume Examples

Years of Experience

1. Delete info that doesn’t apply to your engineering goal

Some professionals make a point to update their resume annually or every time they start a new job. That’s a good habit, but it usually ends up making their resume too long.

If you’ve been updating your resume and only adding to it with each new position or at the turn of the year, chances are your document contains unnecessary information. The following exercise will help you figure out which details you should keep and which you can toss.

For each piece of information on your resume, ask:

Don’t worry if this method causes you to delete work details that are recent, extensive, or even objectively impressive. The only criteria that matters is relevance. If the detail in question doesn’t have relevance to your target job or employer, it doesn’t need a place on your resume.

2. Tell the story of your engineering career

You may have been told to avoid passive phrases like “Responsible for” or “Tasked with” on your resume. But that’s hard to do when you’re unsure of what the active alternative would be.

For an active tone in your writing, always think in terms of a story that describes characters and their actions. (For more on this all-important principle, see Joseph Williams’s popular writing book “Style: Toward Clarity and Grace.”)

And who’s the primary character of your resume? You, of course.

Your resume may contain many details of various jobs and projects, but you should ensure these details highlight you and your past actions in relation to them. A simple way to make sure you’re doing this is to begin every job description sentence as an “I” statement, then take out the “I” and leave the rest of the phrase on your final resume.

3. Avoid non-engineering jargon

Jargon is using a long word when a short word would do. Here’s a classic example: using the words “utilize” or “utilization” when they should use “use.” Utilize has its place, but it’s misused more often than not.

It can be especially tempting to use jargon in the engineering field, where plenty of technical terms don’t actually have a shorter option. These terms have a place on your resume, as long as they’re relevant to your goals. The problem is when you let terms that should be short and simple become words (often ending in “tion” or “ment”) stay long and clunky.

Companies and other authorities use jargon all the time to soften the blow of bad news. For instance, General Motors once described a plant shutdown as a “volume-related production-schedule adjustment.” (You’ll find this and many other examples of corporate jargon in William Zinsser’s classic book “On Writing Well.”)

Take the opposite approach on your resume. Your goal with this document isn’t to conceal bad news but to shed light on the good news of your candidacy. Any time you find yourself using a long word, stop and ask: Is there a shorter synonym? This habit will help you as you craft your resume into a clear, concise record of what you offer to employers.

Key Skills Hiring Managers Look for in Environmental Engineer Resumes

For a better environmental engineer resume, include a “Key Skills” section (as modeled in the resume examples above). This section can help you focus a hiring manager’s attention on your relevant strengths. It can also help your resume perform better in ATS scans. Consider including any of the terms below:

NOTE: As the above list indicates, you should stick with nouns and noun phrases in this section. Reserve personal attributes and adjectives (like “Resourceful,” “Inventive,” or “Service-oriented”) for your profile summary.

Common Action Verbs Used in Environmental Engineer Resumes

It’s important to have a variety of verbs on your resume. You want to avoid repeating the same generic verb (e.g., “manage”) too many times because it can distract the hiring manager and fails to reflect the dynamic nature of your work. Below are 20 verbs you can use to help you vary the language in your environmental engineer resume:

How to Align Your Environmental Engineer Resume With a Job Posting

When you find a job posting that intrigues you, focus on the details provided about the hiring organization. What are the employer’s stated values? Do they overlap with your own? If so, mention that in your resume’s profile section. Doing so will make your resume that much more specific to the job at hand and will increase the likelihood of attracting the hiring manager’s notice.

More Resume & Cover Letter Resources

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that jobs for environmental engineers will increase by about four percent between 2021 and 2031. For more insight on finding opportunities in this field and related fields, check out the links below: