Petroleum Engineer Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Petroleum Engineer resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Petroleum engineers work in the oil and gas industry, where they help to find, extract, process, and distribute natural resources. They’re tasked with ensuring a steady supply of oil and gas for consumers around the world—a job that’s becoming increasingly important as we rely more on fossil fuels to power our lives.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a petroleum engineer or just want to add it to your resume, here are some tips and an example for reference when writing your own resume.
How to Write a Petroleum Engineer Resume
Here’s how to write a petroleum 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 oil drilling projects,” you could say you “managed oil drilling projects for major oil company, overseeing all aspects of drilling operations including budgeting, scheduling, and personnel management.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides more detail about what exactly you did and the results of your work.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as a petroleum engineer, your resume will likely be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. These programs look for specific terms related to the job, like “oil exploration” or “drilling” in order to determine whether your skills are a match for the open position. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right terms, the ATS might discard your application before a recruiter ever sees it.
To increase your chances of landing an interview, make sure to include relevant keywords throughout all sections of your resume. You can find a list of common petroleum engineer keywords below, but be sure to add in other terms that are specific to your experience:
- Petroleum Engineering
- Oil & Gas
- Oilfield
- Upstream
- Engineering
- Drilling
- Gas
- Oil & Gas Industry
- Offshore Drilling
- Petroleum
- Onshore Operations
- Energy
- Upstream Engineering
- Oil & Gas Exploration
- Project Engineering
- Geology
- Subsea Engineering
- Petroleum Geology
- Energy Industry
- Drilling Engineering
- Energy Trading
- Oilfield Services
- Gas Processing
- Project Management
- Oil & Gas Industry Standards
- Petroleum Engineering Management
- Project Planning
- Refinery Engineering
- Economics
- Reservoir Engineering
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a petroleum engineer, you need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to do your job effectively. This might include programs like ProMAX, WellView, and PetraSim. Additionally, you need to be able to use technology to communicate with other members of the engineering team, including geologists and geophysicists.
Some of the programs and systems that petroleum engineers are typically expected to be proficient in include: reservoir simulation software, production optimization software, well logging software, and drilling software.