How to Improve Your Electrical Engineer Resume
The average Electrical Engineer resume scores just 51% on ATS. The pass threshold is typically 69%. That gap is almost entirely caused by fixable, structural mistakes — not lack of experience. This guide shows you exactly what they are and how to fix each one.
Average score
51%
You need to close a 18-point gap
The 6 mistakes below are responsible for most of this gap in Electrical Engineer resumes. Fixing them is straightforward — no extra experience needed.
Target score
69%+
6 Most Common Electrical Engineer Resume Mistakes
Each mistake below is drawn from analysis of thousands of Electrical Engineer resumes. For each, you'll see what the mistake looks like and exactly how to fix it.
"PCB design" without naming the EDA tool — Altium vs. Cadence vs. KiCad are different skill sets
How to Fix It
- ✓Audit your resume against the specific job description for this role. Ensure keywords like circuit design and PCB design appear in your bullets naturally.
- ✓Rewrite any bullet that doesn't include a measurable outcome. Add numbers, percentages, timelines, or revenue/cost impact whenever possible.
- ✓Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills) instead of creative alternatives — ATS parsers rely on exact heading recognition.
No simulation tool — MATLAB/Simulink or SPICE expected for power and signal roles
How to Fix It
- ✓Audit your resume against the specific job description for this role. Ensure keywords like PCB design and Altium Designer appear in your bullets naturally.
- ✓Rewrite any bullet that doesn't include a measurable outcome. Add numbers, percentages, timelines, or revenue/cost impact whenever possible.
- ✓Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills) instead of creative alternatives — ATS parsers rely on exact heading recognition.
Embedded vs. power vs. RF specialisation not clear — each uses different ATS keyword sets
How to Fix It
- ✓Audit your resume against the specific job description for this role. Ensure keywords like Altium Designer and EAGLE appear in your bullets naturally.
- ✓Rewrite any bullet that doesn't include a measurable outcome. Add numbers, percentages, timelines, or revenue/cost impact whenever possible.
- ✓Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills) instead of creative alternatives — ATS parsers rely on exact heading recognition.
Safety standard absent — ISO 26262 (automotive), IEC 61508 (functional safety) are hard filters
How to Fix It
- ✓Audit your resume against the specific job description for this role. Ensure keywords like EAGLE and KiCad appear in your bullets naturally.
- ✓Rewrite any bullet that doesn't include a measurable outcome. Add numbers, percentages, timelines, or revenue/cost impact whenever possible.
- ✓Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills) instead of creative alternatives — ATS parsers rely on exact heading recognition.
Certification not listed — UL, CE, FCC are often mandatory for product-facing EE roles
How to Fix It
- ✓Audit your resume against the specific job description for this role. Ensure keywords like KiCad and MATLAB appear in your bullets naturally.
- ✓Rewrite any bullet that doesn't include a measurable outcome. Add numbers, percentages, timelines, or revenue/cost impact whenever possible.
- ✓Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills) instead of creative alternatives — ATS parsers rely on exact heading recognition.
Programming language omitted — C/C++ for embedded, Python for test automation, VHDL/Verilog for FPGA
How to Fix It
- ✓Audit your resume against the specific job description for this role. Ensure keywords like MATLAB and Simulink appear in your bullets naturally.
- ✓Rewrite any bullet that doesn't include a measurable outcome. Add numbers, percentages, timelines, or revenue/cost impact whenever possible.
- ✓Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills) instead of creative alternatives — ATS parsers rely on exact heading recognition.
Step-by-Step Electrical Engineer Resume Improvement Checklist
Work through these steps in order. Each step typically adds 3–8 points to your ATS score.
Check your current ATS score
Upload your resume to GetShortlisted and run a baseline score check against a target job description.
Fix formatting issues
Remove tables, text boxes, headers/footers, and graphics. Save as a clean .docx or .pdf without embedded objects.
Standardise section headings
Rename non-standard headings: e.g., "Where I've Worked" → "Work Experience", "What I Know" → "Skills".
Tailor keywords to the JD
Mirror the job description's exact wording. Add missing high-priority keywords (circuit design, PCB design, Altium Designer) into your bullets.
Rewrite weak bullet points
Add action verbs, specific outcomes, and numbers. Use the examples on our Resume Examples page as reference.
Optimise your professional summary
Include your job title, years of experience, 2 core keywords, and one quantified achievement in the first 3 lines.
Re-run your ATS score check
Verify your score has crossed the pass threshold. Repeat targeted keyword additions until you hit your target.
How ATS Evaluates Electrical Engineer Resumes
Electrical engineering ATS (Workday, Taleo at OEMs and defence contractors) separates PCB design, power systems, embedded firmware, and RF engineering as distinct keyword clusters. EDA tool names (Altium, Cadence Allegro) and simulation environments (MATLAB/Simulink, SPICE) are primary filters. Safety certifications (ISO 26262, IEC 61508) are mandatory hard filters in automotive and industrial roles.
Common ATS systems used for Electrical Engineer roles in Engineering & Electronics: Workday, Taleo, iCIMS, SuccessFactors, SAP HCM.
Score Improvement Roadmap
Here's what typical scores mean for your job search as a Electrical Engineer:
Excellent
74–100: EDA-tool-specific, simulation-named, safety-certified, design metrics
Good
58–73: Core EE skills clear, gaps in simulation or certification keywords
Average
38–57: Engineering background present but specialisation and tools not ATS-readable
Needs Work
Below 38: Will not pass tool-specific or safety-standard ATS filters
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my Electrical Engineer resume failing ATS?▾
The most common reasons Electrical Engineer resumes fail ATS are: missing critical keywords that appear in the job description, non-standard section headings that ATS cannot parse, tables or graphics that obscure plain text, and experience bullets without measurable results. The average Electrical Engineer resume scores 51% — well below the 69% threshold most ATS systems use to filter candidates.
What ATS score do I need as a Electrical Engineer?▾
For Electrical Engineer roles, you need an ATS score of at least 69% to reliably pass initial screening filters. The average Electrical Engineer resume only scores 51%, meaning most candidates are filtered out before any human sees their application. Scores above 69% give you the best chance of interview invitations.
How long does it take to improve a Electrical Engineer resume for ATS?▾
Most Electrical Engineer resume improvements can be made in 20–40 minutes with the right tool. The highest-impact changes — tailoring keywords to the specific job description and rewriting weak bullet points — take the most time but deliver the biggest score jump. Using an AI-powered tool can compress this to under 10 minutes.
More Tools for Electrical Engineers
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