What should a graduate engineering resume include in Australia?

A graduate engineering resume has a hard job to do. It needs to show an employer that you can apply what you learned at university, even if you have little or no local work experience yet. The good news is that engineering degrees produce plenty of evidence: design projects, a capstone or thesis, lab work, software skills and teamwork. This guide explains what to include in a graduate engineering resume in Australia, how to describe projects so they read like experience, and the details worth checking before you apply.

What should go at the top of a graduate engineering resume?

Keep the first section simple and easy to scan:

• Your name, phone number, email address and suburb or city.

• A link to your LinkedIn profile, and to a portfolio if you have project work to show.

• A short profile of two or three lines that names your discipline, such as civil, mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering, the type of role you want and the strengths you will prove further down.

You do not need to list personal details such as your age or marital status. Under the Fair Work Act, an employer can't take adverse action against a prospective employee, including not hiring them, because of protected attributes such as age, marital status, race or family responsibilities. The Fair Work Ombudsman's page on discrimination at work lists them all.

How should I list my engineering qualification?

Give the full degree name, the institution and your completion date or expected completion date. If you have a major or specialisation, include it.

Some job ads ask for a degree accredited by Engineers Australia, so if yours is accredited, it is worth making that easy to see. According to Engineers Australia, it is the approved accreditation body for engineering education in Australia, and it assesses programs at the levels of professional engineer, engineering technologist and engineering associate. You can check whether your program is accredited in its accredited programs search. If you studied overseas, Engineers Australia points to the International Engineering Alliance qualification checker.

If you are a member, list it. Engineers Australia says Graduate membership is open to people who have completed an accredited Australian or recognised course in engineering, and it comes with post-nominals such as GradIEAust for professional engineering graduates. Only list a membership or post-nominal you actually hold.

Which skills should a graduate engineer highlight?

Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer describes what is expected at the point of entry to practice. It groups 16 elements of competency into three areas:

• Knowledge and skill base, such as engineering fundamentals, specialist discipline knowledge and design practice.

• Engineering application ability, such as problem solving, using engineering techniques, tools and resources, design processes and managing engineering projects.

• Professional and personal attributes, such as ethical conduct, written and oral communication, managing information, self-management and teamwork.

You do not need to quote the standard on your resume, but it makes a useful checklist. For each area, ask yourself where you can point to evidence, then make sure that evidence appears in your skills, projects or experience sections.

Technical skills

List the software and tools you can genuinely use, grouped by type: drafting and design tools such as AutoCAD, analysis or simulation tools used in your discipline, programming languages, and spreadsheets. If you have worked with drawings, say whether you can read and interpret technical drawings and which standards you used.

Professional skills

Pick a few that match the job ad, such as report writing, presenting to non-engineers or working in a project team, and back each one with an example rather than listing it on its own.

How do I describe university projects so they count as experience?

For a graduate, strong projects can say more than unrelated part-time work. Give your capstone, thesis and best design projects their own section and describe each one in two to four bullet points:

• The problem or brief, in one line.

• Your role, especially if it was a team project.

• The methods, tools and standards you used.

• The result, with numbers where you can, such as cost, weight, time saved or test results.

For example: "Designed a pedestrian bridge concept in a team of four; led the load calculations and produced the general arrangement drawings in AutoCAD; presented the final design to an industry panel." Be specific, and only claim work you did.

What experience counts if I have never worked as an engineer?

• Internships, vacation work and industry placements, even short ones.

• Part-time or casual jobs, framed around skills employers value, such as safety awareness, customer communication, reliability or working to deadlines.

• Volunteering, student engineering teams and competitions, where you can show teamwork and project delivery.

If you are offered an unpaid placement or trial, check the Fair Work Ombudsman's guidance on unpaid work so you understand when unpaid arrangements are allowed.

Site-based roles and safety

If you are applying for site engineer or construction roles, mention your construction induction card if you have one. Safe Work Australia says workers must have a construction induction (White Card) card before they can start working on a construction site, and the card is obtained through the training course "Prepare to work safely in the construction industry".

How do I tailor my resume to each engineering job ad?

• Read the ad closely and match its wording for the skills and tools you genuinely have, so both a recruiter and any screening software can see the fit.

• Move the most relevant project to the top of your projects section for each application.

• Keep the layout clean, with clear headings and simple formatting, and save it as a PDF unless the ad asks for another format.

• Keep it concise. For most graduates, two pages is plenty.

• Write a short cover letter for each role, and keep your LinkedIn and Seek profiles consistent with your resume.

How Job Ready Master's Junior Engineering Program can help

Job Ready Master's Junior Engineering Program is designed for students who lack local engineering experience across disciplines such as civil, electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering. It runs in two steps:

• Practical training: resume enhancement with industry-relevant keywords, a cover letter you can adapt for different applications, LinkedIn and Seek profile setup, job interview skills tailored to your major, mock interviews with feedback, foundational and advanced drafting skills including Australian technical drawing standards and hands-on AutoCAD projects, and an introduction to project engineer duties such as site engineering, WHS systems and project management.

• Personalised interview coaching: support from trainers as you prepare for your interviews, with further resume refinement if needed.

You can also download our free engineering ebook. Want feedback on where your resume stands? Book a free consultation with our team.