Agricultural Engineer Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Agricultural Engineer resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Agricultural engineers are in high demand these days. Agricultural engineering is one of the fastest-growing career fields, with employment expected to grow by 17% between now and 2022.
If you’re interested in working outdoors in a rural setting, or you like being part of the food chain—from farm to table—agricultural engineering might be the right field for you.
If you’re ready to start looking for your next job opportunity in this growing field, you’ll need a resume that showcases your engineering expertise and experience in agriculture. Here are some tips and an example to help you write yours.
How to Write an Agricultural Engineer Resume
Here’s how to write an agricultural engineer resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most important part of your resume because they’re the first thing recruiters will see. And they’re the best way to showcase your experience and qualifications.
So it’s crucial that you use them to your advantage. And the best way to do that is by using specific, detailed bullet points that clearly describe your responsibilities and achievements.
For example, rather than saying you “managed farm workers,” you could say you “managed 15 farm workers to harvest 15,000 pounds of tomatoes in 10 hours, resulting in increased yield by 15% over previous year.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides more detail about what exactly you did and the outcome of your work.
Related: What Is an Agricultural Engineer? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as an agricultural engineer, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. ATS programs rank resumes based on how many of the desired terms are present. So if you want your resume to make it past the ATS, make sure you include keywords like “crop management” and “farming” in all the right places.
The best way to identify keywords is to read through the job posting and take note of the skills and experience they are looking for. Then, use those same terms when you write your resume. Here are some common agricultural engineer keywords to get you started:
- Agricultural Engineering
- Agricultural Engineering
- Engineering
- Agricultural Sciences
- Agronomy
- Mechanics
- Agribusiness
- Farm Management
- Agriculture
- Crop Production
- Agricultural Consulting
- Agricultural Research
- Crop Science
- Irrigation
- Precision Agriculture
- Soil
- Drainage
- Plant Growth Regulators
- Machining
- CNC Programming
- MATLAB
- AutoCAD
- CNC Machining
- Microsoft Access
- Fieldwork
- Project Management
- Teamwork
- Public Speaking
- Leadership
- Project Planning
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As an agricultural engineer, you need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to effectively do your job. This might include agricultural management software, crop monitoring software, and GPS systems. Additionally, you should be familiar with CAD software, as you will likely use it to create designs for agricultural projects. If you have experience with any of these programs or systems, be sure to list them on your resume.
Related: How Much Does an Agricultural Engineer Make?
Remember The Basics
As you’re crafting your resume, it’s important to keep a few basic guidelines in mind.
Create Easy-to Scan Sections
There are a few things you can do to your resume to make it more readable and understandable. First, use standard fonts and font sizes. Left-align your text, and use bullets instead of paragraphs to list your experiences. Keep your bullets to 2 lines or less, and only use all caps and bold sparingly. Finally, try to leave some white space on the page to make the document less overwhelming.
Be Concise
When you are creating your resume, you want to make sure to focus on the most relevant information. A one or two page resume is usually the best length, depending on your level of experience. When you are trimming down your resume, make sure to remove any irrelevant information, filler words, and unnecessary details.
Check Your Work
Proofreading your resume is one of the best ways to ensure that it looks professional and error-free. Spellcheck is a good place to start, but it is not foolproof. Be sure to read through your resume yourself, as well as have someone else do so. Beware of easily confused words, and make sure that your tense is consistent throughout the resume.
Consider a Summary
Including a resume summary statement is an excellent way to ensure that your skills and experiences are properly highlighted and can be easily seen by potential employers. A summary can also help to show how your skills might be applicable to the role you are seeking. When drafting your summary, remember to keep it short and sweet, focusing on your top skills and experiences. If you can, try to target your summary towards the job you are applying for. Doing so will help to ensure that your skills are front and center and that you are putting your best foot forward.
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