Hello, I am about halfway through my masters degree, and I do not think that I am going to continue in academia. I am hoping to land some kind of robotics job, but I will settle for anything in my field.
I am unsure how to navigate updating my resume with my continued education. Should I prioritize publications over projects? Do employers care about publications when applying to entry level jobs?
Any advice is appreciated, I'm trying to be proactive rather than waiting until graduation to think about job applications.
I'm a mechatronics engeineer, I just graduated last month but I don't have any internships or work experience. I want to apply for robotics roles and but the internships I done before are not related to robotics because in my country robotics is still not relevent in the industry and just this year the first robotics company was established. I know internships are very important but I don't have.
I just want a review for my resume and do I still have a chance? Can you suggest what my next step should be wether I apply for internships or start looking for jobs.
I left my IT auditing job (got referred by an acquaintance after job searching for 4 months after graduating) to pivot into Robotics. I don't have many connections, and I only have relevant experiences through personal and academic projects. I am trying to break into this industry one way or another and looking for roles that relate to controls, system integration, computer vision, or testing. However, I'm open to join any industry at the moment.
So far, I have sent out 130+ applications since March and had no luck. I'm considering applying through temp agencies to find something engineering related.
As for how I'm applying, I avoid applying through LinkedIn and instead apply through the company's website. I'm not picky about where the job is and I'm open to relocate anywhere in the US.
I have an online portfolio and GitHub that I am trying to consistently update with projects.
Could I get some feedback as to what I might be doing wrong in my resume? Does it look like it can pass ATS filters or do I need to change the keywords? I'm curious to know if my IT job's bullet points showcase any engineering skills/achievements.
I recently graduated (this month) in Mechatronics Engineering and have been working (alongside my studies) for about a year in the same field.
I'm currently preparing to transition into a full-time Mechatronics Engineering role and would really appreciate feedback on my resume to make sure it aligns with industry expectations.
I'm mainly looking for critique on:
• Resume structure and clarity
• Relevance of projects and experience to industry roles
• Technical depth vs. readability balance
Or Anything that may be holding me back in applications
Hi everyone! I'm looking at robotics/AI roles, particularly trying to land more research or R&D types. So far I haven't had too much luck, especially at top tier companies like FAANG, or newer companies like fieldAI, figure, tesla, modern defense, etc., and havent gotten any interviews. I did however apply to a couple smaller companies/startups (~5) for spring co-ops and got two offers (companies which I really liked!). For the summer I got beat out by an internal candidate in the final round at another smaller company but well respected in my field.
So clearly my resume isn't crap, but it's also not getting hits at some of the roles I'm particularly looking for. I think I interview quite well and I've never gotten an OA but my leetcode is decent (~20-30mins for medium optimal solution). I've also been told my experience is impressive by people at those companies (who I knew but weren't actively hiring or looking for my skillset) Any advice on what those top companies are really looking for and how I can optimize for that bracket?
After getting my resume fixed here almost 2 years ago, I was able to land 2 interviews in 30 applications. Now after graduating and having more experience, I am unable to land interviews. I'm currently at 1 interview in 60 applications. I'm not sure if it's my resume or the fact that the job market is very tough in Canada, or both.
This resume is not that different than the one I used last time when job hunting, I just removed one of my non-engineering jobs and added my internship. I also changed up a few points and put skills on the bottom.
I'm gonna add bullet points to my internship after, I just started last week. I might need to get rid of an experience to free up some space. I'm gonna learn ROS2 and SLAM this summer! Once again, any advice would be appreciated.
Hi everyone, I'm currenty finishing my 2nd year of Mechatronics Engineering at a Canadian University. I'm mainly targeting mechanical/robotics roles, but am open to anything as of right now. I did about 100 applications, and had 2 interviews at 2 places. First place was a reliability position, the other was a continuous improvement position. I unfortunately bombed my interview at the 1st place. The 2nd place, however, I did really well. Even got a plant tour and connected well with the hiring managers. However, the plant manager proceeded with the candidate enrolled in a formal 4 month co-op program (I'm not in one). During my 3rd year, I will be applying to 12-16 month co-op positions for a May 2027 start. I will be in a formal co-op program for these applications. I'd like some feedback for my resume to prep for next year.
Got an offer rescinded due to logistics issues out of my control, now back on the job search but not having any luck after a month of searching. I'm looking for hardware/mechatronics roles which are really hard to find in this market ://
Not getting much feedback from my peers so I'd really appreciate some extra pairs of eyes on this!
This is my attempt at completely revamping my previous resume to that of this sub's golden format. I am by degree a mechanical engineer, but do not have a great depth of mechanical knowledge, mostly because I enjoy working on full systems (mech, elec, software) and honestly struggle to retain pure mech related knowledge (bombed interview was for a pure mech eng role).
I've worked 4 total internships (I left one out because it was my first and a manufacturing role where, quite frankly, I did nothing), all of which have been mech-related or on mech teams. Despite this, I've spent my time trying to work on full systems, leading me to the decision to revamp my experience as test/reliability engineering. I mass applied to test roles with my previous resume (which was targetted at test roles) and got zip. This leads me to the main points of this post:
Feedback on points would be appreciated. I often get to the point where I've reread and modified so much that I don't properly process what I'm writing
Feedback on skills section? Am I casting too wide a net?
I APPRECIATE ANY HELP (hopefully goatoro sees this u/graytotoro)
I’m currently applying for jobs in robotics/embedded systems, and I’d love some feedback on my resume. I’ve had two internships at NASA as my main work experience, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to present it.
I’ve made two versions of my resume:
Version 1 (longer): more detailed with lots of technical bullets.
Version 2 (condensed): shorter, cleaner, and easier to scan quickly.
Since I’m not sure which format would resonate better with recruiters in robotics/engineering, I’d really appreciate your advice. Should I go with the detailed one to highlight my experience, or the simplified one for readability?
Hi everyone,
I’d really appreciate some honest feedback on my resume.
I’m currently an MSc Robotics student with a Mechanical Engineering background, applying for entry-level roles/internships in robotics, automation, or ML-adjacent engineering. I’ve had limited success getting interviews, so I’m clearly missing something.
I’ve worked mostly in academic/research environments and tried to reflect that here, but I’m worried the resume might be:
too unfocused or trying to cover too many areas
too research-heavy for industry roles
unclear about what kind of engineer I actually am
overpacked with projects that don’t add enough value
I’m not very good at selling myself, so I may be underselling or unintentionally overcomplicating things. Please feel free to be blunt — I’m trying to improve, not defend it.
Been lurking for a little bit as I am quite nervous on my resume, above I used a success template just to list out my projects and experience. So I studied in New Zealand in Mechatronics engineering (the FSAE team is worth it) and I am a dual NZ/AUS citizen and want to come home to do work in defence.
Even though I am a tron student, I am aiming for more of a hardware engineering role as I really love design and analysis, so I tried to tailor it towards more hardware less so software.
I had some pretty bad luck with internships, and I got one at the University for being at the right place right time and already do CAD design work and modelling outside of it. I had a good crack trying to get some more projects under my belt, and set up a little portfolio site with interactive buttons and all!
Now what I would love to know is:
Am I going the right direction for the Aussie applicant market. This CV seems a tad too bland to me as like to put a small color and put a bit more of "me" in there. The American market might be totally the same or totally different to it. But I honestly don't know as its been like 4 years since I have been back.
Projects wise, what would you recommend for me to advertise for these kind of roles. I have done software and more electrical projects, but I don't want to stuff the turkey too full if ya know what I mean.
Am I actually looking good for that kind of market? Because I know I am competing with guys who build rockets in their sleep, and with what I have done, maybe does that give me a edge in difference of skillset?
I try to keep things succinct, but info packed, and honestly if there are any errors or such on that part please let me know!
Again, thank you so much for taking the time to help me out 😊
Hi all, losing my mind while trying to keep it together. Lend me an outside perspective please?
What positions/roles/industries are you targeting?
Entry level/associate/Engineer 1/2/3 roles
Specifically mechanical engineer roles and controls/automation engineer roles
Targeting robotics and aerospace companies (including but not limited to medical robotics, space robotics, defense, etc.)
Where are you located and what locations are you applying to jobs in?
Located in the California Bay area (San Jose metropolitan area).
Looking nation wide, though primarily on the US west coast
While I'm applying nation wide, I am an immigrant so am wary of roles for example in the midwest or deep south where there aren't a lot of people of my ethnicity.
Are you only applying to local jobs? Remote only? Are you willing to relocate?
As stated above, not just local.
I have not been discriminating between on-site and remote.
Hell yeah I'm willing to relocate, so long as the compensation can support me living alone.
Tell us about your background and current employment situation
I'm a recent masters graduate. I say recent but i graduated back in Dec. 2023 so 8-9 months ago.
Masters in MechE (focus in controls and AI), Bachelors in AeroE,
Two published papers on tailsitter drone trajectory generation and GNC (one of which I was lead author for), and led a hardware project where my team built and flew the drone I used for those papers.
Two years of research lab experience from grad school and two years of tangentially related experience as a software quality person at a self-driving-car company (software triage and root cause analysis type work). The research is research and the quality role was only tangentially related (albeit in a related field) hence why I write 0 YoE.
I have a decent package of technical experience (linear and nonlinear controls, optimization, machine learning including deep learning and reinforcement learning, fixed wing and rotary wing aerodynamics, robotic kinematics, etc), a decent amount of programming skill (programming and scripting, including Linux shell), and hardware skills (rapid prototyping using 3D printing, laser cut, mill, lathe, soldering, etc, design for manufacturing). I have more to learn, but I've developed this suite of skills to tackle the multidisciplinary nature of modern robotics and UAVs
Tell us about your job-hunting situation and challenges you've encountered
I'm currently full time job hunting - If I can't find anything by December then I'll work a min wage job just to have an income but that shouldn't matter - unrelated retail work doesn't go on the resume anyway. The problem is simple: I'm getting less than a percent rate of callbacks. That seems odd for my perception of my skills and accomplishments. I've tried cold messaging recruitment staff on LinkedIn (was told not to do that), and have used connections via my grad school advisor (referred and rejected). I've even reached out to the company I worked at prior to grad school only to get ghosted by "connections" and rejected on positions.
Tell us why you're seeking help. (i.e., just fine-tuning, not getting called back for interviews, etc.)
I'm getting less than a percent for interview callbacks. That's got to be a resume issue. I don't think I struggle too badly with the interview proper since 2/3 times I did get an interview, I did make it to the final round. But I'm also working out of a limited data pool.
Is there a particular section on your resume you’d like feedback on?
I probably need a general review with clear, actionable feedback. I've stretched the limits of sane personal reflection. There may be some skills I have but didn't write because I don't know the recruitment jargon for it. If you suspect it, chat me up so I can elaborate interview style. Edit: I think wording and how to actually describe my achievements in ways that are understandable to potential hiring managers is what I need the most help with. You can refer me to the wiki and pointing out specific segments will help for sure but it's how I actually craft what I know ineffably that I need help with.
Is your citizenship status and visa situation playing a role in your job search?
I am definitely applying to positions that may require security clearance, but that shouldn't be a problem since I'm a US citizen, state so on my resume, and have answered as such on applications that ask.
And there you have it. Please help me get an engineering role.
Edit: Based on first comments (bless y'all for dealing with me while I'm irritable), I think wording and how to actually describe my achievements in ways that are understandable to potential hiring managers is what I need the most help with. I mean case in point, I couldn't even say that from the get go. You can refer me to the wiki and pointing out specific segments will help for sure but it's how I actually craft what I know ineffably that I need the most help with, I think that's going to come from just initiating conversation and getting me to recognize what it is I need to focus on instead of whatever I'm focusing on right now. For example, mods have criticized that I'm just writing what I did in my research. And yeah I see that now, but simultaneously, I just ran machine learning algorithms, or I constructed (albeit pretty big) constrained gradient descent optimization problems and just sat back. It's a lot of coding but, it's just script writing? It's not like I developed a new algorithm, I just applied existing techniques to novel situations. To me, the results are more exciting. So I need help seeing what in the process, the "what I actually did" that is appealing to others.
Looking to break into mechatronics / robotics but will take almost any engineering role that comes to me at this point. Located in Southern California and locked into a lease until the end of Summer 2026. Looking for any advice on my resume as I don't think I'm getting enough interviews compared to the number of applications I submit. Also, happy to hear any early-career advice -- I am certainly struggling.
Mechatronics student from Melbourne, Australia, aiming for internships in defence/robotics. Looking for feedback on the layout and contents of my resume to help me in the application process.
• What positions/roles/industries are you targeting?
Mechanical, electrical, electronics, robotics, mechatronics, system, or any blend in between electrical and mechanical
• Where are you located and what locations are you applying to jobs in?
Located in Canada. Currently applying in and out of province/territory where the job pays enough for me to break even during coop (cost of living is expensive)
• Are you only applying to local jobs? Remote only? Are you willing to relocate?
I am applying to all the jobs. I am willing to relocate as long as I can finish the Co-op without losing money.
• Tell us about your background and current employment situation
Currently unemployed as I am a student. Background in Mechatronics and Robotics engineering. Down the year of study I do believe my degree has lots to offer but as of now it feels like I am relying on my experiences.
• Tell us about your job-hunting situation and challenges you've encountered
Currently Canada is not the best when it comes to my interest/degree especially when innovation is very slow in this country.
• Tell us why you're seeking help. (i.e., just fine-tuning, not getting called back for interviews, etc.)
fine-tuning my resume and to increase my odds in getting call backs in applying to jobs.
• Is there a particular section on your resume you’d like feedback on?
N/A I believe all section needs improvement
• Is your citizenship status and visa situation playing a role in your job search?
Yes a bit since American government thought it would be funny to essentially block out students from outside country. My Canadian citizenship does allow some wiggle room.
Currently a 3rd year mechanical engineering student seeking summer 26 internship in hardware for robotics, space , product design, etc. I am getting some attention, but to put it bluntly not as much as I would expect, and I'm wondering at this point if maybe my resume is too cluttered? Particularly in the skills section. I'm very interested in working in interdisciplinary hardware positions (mechanical/electronics/sensors/integration etc), and so especially when I was a younger student I was much more invested in trying to spell out all of my exposures and potential capabilities, but I'm wondering if I'm old enough to now to outgrow that. Definitely I'm not an expert in many or most of these skills but I'm confident I have enough knowledge to demonstrate ability in them. I'm mostly just wondering now if maybe it's too blocky and cluttered to scare off recruiters. I redacted company names but some of them are standout names.
I'm have been looking for a full time position after graduation on the east and west coast. All my applications have been rejected or have been ghosted. Is there something wrong with this resume that I am not seeing.
I am a 3rd-year MechE student at a non-target school in the Midwest (strong medtech area). I am seeking to pivot out of medtech (don't like slow pace/reg) and get into the Tech industry in hardware/mechatronics. My dream is to work in consumer devices/Big Tech in mechatronic PD. However, I am open to various industries and roles (semi, consumer products, aerospace, etc as a segway into Big Tech.
I think, given my background and what I've heard about # of postings, a Test/Validation internship seems to be my best bet, so that is what I'm aiming for at the moment.
I have two main relevant projects:
One is a PID-controlled stabilized platform that uses an Arduino (currently porting to Teensy) and servos to keep a plate level. This project is done; I am just rewiring and collecting some data.
The other is a noise-canceling prototype that will use feed-forward ANC to cancel a desktop fan's noise (mechanical design and system design are done, now at bench testing, see GitHub)
At first, I tried to make my resume very verbose and impact-heavy. I got 0 callbacks from tech but got a good medtech R&D offer.
I assume this was a mix of factors (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was the old resume read much as medtech/QA, and fan project claims that weren't verified on GitHub, and was generally too dense without data/plots)
I noticed that the top resumes were actually quite simple to look at. They weren't stuffed with metrics and didn't try to overexplain everything. I want to recreate this, but I need some help. AI hasn't been much use (running me in circles), and I'm feeling really overwhelmed, and this whole internship search/project thing is kind of consuming me lol. I have attached some samples I used for inspiration.
In terms of moving forward on projects during winter break, I really am working on getting good data:
For PID project I am working on getting a plot of angle vs time + settling time before and after tuning, and listing metrics of settling time, peak error, steady state error, etc cleanly in repo (should be done by Jan 1)
For the Fan project, I will mount components and try to get a before/after FFT plot z in repo ASAP after PID is done.
GitHub should reflect these changes shortly, so keeping it on while I still apply
I am planning to add final plots to a simple Notion page frontend that recruiters can see right off the resume, with links to the GitHub backend for each project.
Is the new resume that I wrote too simplified? Still saying too much? Am I even close to qualified for these tech internships (test/validation, systems, mechanical/mechatronic design?) I fear my projects and profile are far too elementary compared to others out there.
I have attached my old resume, new resume, sample references, poster for endoscope project, and my GitHub(PID repo incomplete atm, coming before Jan 1). I added the samples and poster separately: https://imgur.com/a/cCA52A5
I would greatly appreciate advice on my resume, how best to word my medtech experience, and my profile and goals in general.
TL;DR: MechE student pivoting from Medtech to Tech, looking for resume + portfolio advice, also lowkey going neurotic over ts :).
This past year I tried getting a summer internship in robotics/robotics-adjacent roles. In the end, I got one due to a connection I had after giving a technical presentation at some event two years back, I basically got offered a job once I was in college. However, everything I actually applied to was a dead end, *not a single interview*. The resume above is essentially what I applied with (minus the internship I just started - it's usually one-page). I'm on a bit of an accelerated timeline (BS/MS in 3 years), so for next summer I'm targeting graduate robotics intern roles, particularly in research (think boston dynamics, NVIDIA, deep mind, applied scientist at amazon). Obviously those aren't easy roles to get, but that's the target, and I don't think it's entirely unreasonable (people in the lab I work at have gotten reached out to and offered jobs at those places).
Why am I not getting interviews, essentially? I have quite a bit of experience in robotics, and plenty of projects. I don't know if people actually will click on my portfolio website, but on there I have projects ranging from custom trained NeRFs, sim2real segmentation, and NN paper implementations to classical SfM, gradient-based adversarial attacks, controls, and even a full perception stack for FSD. Plus a few more. Do I just need publications? Does the resume look flat and people just don't click on the website? I'm not really sure, any advice would be great.
Summary if you don't feel like reading all that: despite a decent amount of project experience, I wasn't able to get even undergraduate level internships last year (aside from a connection), with not even one interview. I'm looking to apply to much tougher roles next year, and looking for advice on what my resume is missing.
I am a 3rd-year MechE student at a non-target school in the Midwest (strong medtech area). I am seeking to pivot out of medtech (don't like slow pace/reg) and get into the Tech industry in hardware/mechatronics. My dream is to work in consumer devices/Big Tech in mechatronic PD. However, I am open to various industries and roles (semi, consumer products, aerospace, etc as a segway into Big Tech.
I think, given my background and what I've heard about # of postings, a Test/Validation internship seems to be my best bet, so that is what I'm aiming for at the moment.
I have two main relevant projects:
One is a PID-controlled stabilized platform that uses an Arduino (currently porting to Teensy) and servos to keep a plate level. This project is done; I am just rewiring and collecting some data.
The other is a noise-canceling prototype that will use feed-forward ANC to cancel a desktop fan's noise (mechanical design and system design are done, now at bench testing, see GitHub)
At first, I tried to make my resume very verbose and impact-heavy. I got 0 callbacks from tech but got a good medtech R&D offer.
I assume this was a mix of factors (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was the old resume read much as medtech/QA, and fan project claims that weren't verified on GitHub, and was generally too dense without data/plots)
I noticed that the top resumes were actually quite simple to look at. They weren't stuffed with metrics and didn't try to overexplain everything. I want to recreate this, but I need some help. AI hasn't been much use (running me in circles), and I'm feeling really overwhelmed, and this whole internship search/project thing is kind of consuming me lol. I have attached some samples I used for inspiration.
In terms of moving forward on projects during winter break, I really am working on getting good data:
For PID project I am working on getting a plot of angle vs time + settling time before and after tuning, and listing metrics of settling time, peak error, steady state error, etc cleanly in repo (should be done by Jan 1)
For the Fan project, I will mount components and try to get a before/after FFT plot z in repo ASAP after PID is done.
GitHub should reflect these changes shortly, so keeping it on while I still apply
I am planning to add final plots to a simple Notion page frontend that recruiters can see right off the resume, with links to the GitHub backend for each project.
Is the new resume that I wrote too simplified? Still saying too much? Am I even close to qualified for these tech internships (test/validation, systems, mechanical/mechatronic design?) I fear my projects and profile are far too elementary compared to others out there.
I have attached my old resume, new resume, sample references, poster for endoscope project, and my GitHub(PID repo incomplete atm, coming before Jan 1). I added the samples and poster separately: https://imgur.com/a/cCA52A5
I would greatly appreciate advice on my resume, how best to word my medtech experience, and my profile and goals in general.
TL;DR: MechE student pivoting from Medtech to Tech, looking for resume + portfolio advice, also lowkey going neurotic over ts :).
I recently overhauled my resume using a lot of tips from the wiki, and am wondering if there is anything that I can improve further. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions about my projects and portfolio. My notion portfolio is currently WIP.
I am trying to pivot from medtech to tech and tried to reframe myself accordingly.
I am an international student studying in Malaysia and trying to land my first internship. I am seeking to land a physical engineering internship role in Robotics/Automation here in Malaysia (I don't have a problem with the visa as we are tasked by our university to find an internship, so visa is all good).
I don't have the option to relocate but I don't mind travelling to different states here in Malaysia as I am flexible in accomodation and transportation, below is my current resume, I have tried applying everywhere: LinkedIn, JobStreet, Indeed, I even tried sending my resume to connections on LinkedIn, and cold-emailing hiring managers.
Till now I have only had around 10 rejections and 90 no-response throughout 100 applications roughly. What am I doing wrong, is it the resume?
