Support Engineer Resume Example

After reading this article, you'll feel confident creating a support engineer resume that effectively showcases your relevant skills and experience. You'll learn how to show employers you've got the relevant qualities, skills and experience for the job, all presented in a format that employers prefer to see. The article also includes tips for formatting your resume according to your experience and strengths. Continue reading to find the best support engineer resume tips from careers experts at Jobseeker.

What to include in a support engineer resume

Most resumes contain similar key sections, with a support engineer resume being no different.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header with Contact Details

Your support engineer resume header is the place to add your contact details. Start by adding your full name and underneath, include your email address, phone number and location. Adding your LinkedIn profile, if you have one, can help the employer get a better insight into your skills and industry expertise. You don't need to include any additional personal information or a photo. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.

Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

Your resume personal profile is a short, concise paragraph to highlight two or three key skills and achievements in support engineer roles. You may also see this section named as 'resume summary' or 'resume objective'. Resume summaries tend to focus on your career experience, while resume objectives cover your ambitions and plans for the future. Additionally, make sure your resume summary reflects the job description and focuses on qualities that are relevant to working as a support engineer.

Alternatively, write a paragraph that concentrates on your career objectives and how this role fits with your wider ambitions and progression.

A good resume summary is short and snappy, and focused on the skills and experience listed in the job description, with evidence to back it up. It will also help the reader to form their first impressions of you by providing an insight into your personality and unique qualities. See below for some great examples of how to approach your support engineer resume.

On the other hand, an unsuccessful resume summary is one that mentions irrelevant skills, qualities and achievements and fails to differentiate you from other candidates. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your support engineer resume summary.

Work History

In your work experience section, list any previous relevant roles you've worked in, as well as your key achievements as a support engineer. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.

In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a support engineer resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. See below for some good examples of what to include in your resume work experience section.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. Less effective resume work experience sections might take a more vague, descriptive approach to previous jobs. They focus on responsibilities and everyday duties rather than referencing career achievements and the value you've added for previous employers.

Education

Your resume's education section provides space for you to list your highest and most relevant qualifications for support engineer roles.

Opportunities as a support engineer and similar roles in the sector usually require a specialist degree. If you have a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree, be sure to mention this in your resume. You might also want to list any qualifications that highlight your API integration knowledge or network troubleshooting skills.

For each entry in this section, add the name and level of your qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study. Include bullet points to show any specialist modules you studied, awards or exceptional grades and achievements that can set you apart from other candidates. These will all contribute to creating a positive impression on employers.

If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.

Hard and Soft Skills

Listing your key skills can help to prove your suitability for support engineer jobs. These could be scripting (Python/Bash), team collaboration or various other relevant skills. Additionally, read the job description to make sure your skills match those required for support engineer positions. You could also include some unique skills that help you stand out as a candidate.

How to list hard skills on your support engineer resume

Hard skills are specific skills related to the job you're applying for. They include particular abilities, technical skills and industry knowledge that relate directly to jobs as a support engineer. Furthermore, these skills are essential for a support engineer resume as they showcase your expertise in the field. It's best to aim for four or five key hard skills that match the job description. These can really showcase your suitability for the job.

You'll make more impact with your resume hard skills list if you focus on technical skills that reflect your unique expertise and specialism, and that match the key requirements in the job description. See the graphic below for some tips on hard skills for a support engineer resume.

Showcasing your best soft skills

In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a support engineer job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. Indeed, transferable skills are growing in importance in the modern world of work, so make sure you include several of these in your resume. In this section, add four of five transferable skills that match the job description.

The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for a support engineer resume.

Certifications and Training

Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional support engineer certifications, licenses or qualifications. You could list accreditations for certain professional roles or licenses for certain activities that help to make you a strong candidate. Therefore, add any professional licenses or certifications, along with valid dates that show they're still valid.

See below for some suggestions of relevant certifications for a support engineer resume:

Additional Information

In addition to the core sections of a support engineer resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for support engineer jobs.

Hobbies

Listing your hobbies and interests can reveal key qualities that some employers may value. Hobbies can help you show different sides of your personality and make your resume more memorable to hiring managers. They're ideal to include if you're a junior candidate who might lack real world support engineer experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Voluntary Work

Listing volunteer work is another useful way to prove your relevant experience for support engineer roles. Include the title of your volunteer role, who you volunteered for, as well as the dates you carried out the work. Provide brief details of your responsibilities and the impact you made.

References

Although it's rare to include references on a support engineer resume, some employers may ask for it. Don't add references unless they're specifically mentioned by the employer in the job advert. Include a maximum of three professional references, being sure to check with your referees before including them in your resume.

Best action words for your support engineer resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Add strong verbs from the list below to create a greater impact with your work experience section.

Jobseeker's clean, attractive resume formats can help your applications make a strong impression on employers. Check them out for help designing a winning resume, and see our cover letter templates to help win over recruiters and hiring managers.

Example of a support engineer resume

Now we've covered the main sections to include in your support engineer resume, let's take a look at how it all comes together in the example below:

How to make an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to streamline their hiring process. They can store and process data, including applications and applicant data, quickly and efficiently. One of the jobs ATS applications are increasingly responsible for is initial candidate screening. The systems can quickly scan and rank resumes based on how closely they match the job description. If you follow a few simple tips when writing your support engineer resume, you'll give yourself a better chance of ranking highly in the ATS screening and progressing to the next stage.

Here a some simple tips to follow for an ATS-friendly resume:

• Opt for an established, traditional resume format such as a reverse-chronological or functional structure. These will ensure your resume includes all the necessary details ATS systems scan for.
• Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
• Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
• Adopt a clean, unfussy design that gives your content enough white space to breathe. Use professional, readable fonts and subtle use of color and other design elements.
• Adopt simple, professional language to keep your resume as concise as possible. This tends to make your document more readable, and easier for ATS software to scan.

Takeaways for a winning support engineer resume

The best resumes focus on your skills and the value you've added to previous roles, rather than focusing on your duties and responsibilities. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

HR-approved resume templates and other tools by Jobseeker are the easiest way to create a winning job application. Sign up and follow the simple instructions to complete a resume that stands out from the crowd. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.

Sources:

(1) Tips for Writing a Federal Resume, U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume

(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/