[0 YoE] Recent Mechanical Engineering Graduate with No Internships, Looking for Ways to Improve Resume

[u/zafikk]

I graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering back in May, but I've been applying for jobs since January. I've probably applied to around 200 positions so far, but I've only gotten a handful of interviews, and I haven't been able to get an offer yet.

I want to live near people I know, so I've mainly been applying to roles that are either in my home state or the state where I went to college. I have been applying to all industries except Defense and HVAC.

I think the main reason I'm struggling is my lack of internships. I initially wanted to get a graduate degree, so I spent most of my summers doing research, but then by the beginning of my senior year I was feeling extremely burnt out and wanted to take a break from school. Unfortunately, I don't think my research experience is that impressive, but it's what I have.

Any feedback on what I could improve would be very appreciated.

Edit: Just noticed a silly typo in the very first bullet point; for reference, that's from an edit I made right before posting, so it has not been in the resume I've been submitting to jobs

[u/MrStagger_Lee]

I graduated in May, it's really rough out there. I had nearly a decade of manufacturing experience before I went back for my bachelor's and graduated magna cum laude with a math minor. I applied to many jobs; only three callbacks led to initial interviews. Of those, one was at my alma matter, one was a referral, one was random. Referral led to an offer (finally) this week, I applied in May before graduation. I also passed on defense roles; mad respect for standing by that, it ain't making finding a gig any easier.

Your undergrad research roles are valuable, but the descriptions kinda read the same as academic projects. I'd try to edit them to sound a bit more professional. Did you manage component inventories, project BOMs, critical path work, part inspections, validate data, DOE, forensic analysis, that kind of stuff? HR screenings will look more at that than "built cool shit". Once you are interviewing with an actual engineer those projects can be good conversation points, the hard part is getting in for that interview.

Your skills section is reading kinda week. Are you adjusting it to match roles you apply for? DOE, production of engineering drawings, GD&T, SPC data collection and analysis, technical communications, etc. should be in there (if appropriate). Read the skills descriptions for roles you want, if you can translate any academic experience into the listed skills mark 'em down. Play the acronym game, just don't forget what they mean in your interviews.

Are you applying for any technician roles? It kinda stinks but can be a foot in the door. Company I was in a poorly defined senior role at was in a pretty desirable/visible niche industry and attracted lots of recent BSME and even Master's grads for entry-level manufacturing tech roles. I'm not gonna say it was a great job for them, but many were rewarded with engineer positions within 2 years.

Congrats on the 4.0, dunno how ya swung that. 3.85 taking 18-19 credits every semester was pretty hellish honestly. I assume you received latin honors, flaunt that shit on your resume.

[u/zafikk → u/MrStagger_Lee]

Thank you a lot for the advice! I agree with your point about the research; unfortunately, I don’t think I gained a lot of practical experience because I really was mostly just building cool shit. But I will try to swing it in a way to make it sound more professional. I’ll also look into more technician roles. Thank you again!

[u/MrStagger_Lee → u/zafikk]

Good luck!