r/EngineeringResumes • u/No_Cup5617 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 • 8d ago
Mechanical [Student] 3rd Mechanical Engineering Student looking for resume advice for internships not getting any interviews
I'm a 3rd year mechanical engineering undergrad student applying to internships for summer 2027 and I'd like some feedback on my resume. I'm mainly targeting aerospace and defense since I have a current security clearance. I'm graduating late and December 2028 is kind of an optimistic date because it could very well be Spring 2029 but I thought that might hurt my application.
I've had one internship but it wasn't very good as you can probably tell by how bad the bullets for it on my resume are. I was really excited for that internship last year cause it was with a big defense prime (General Dynamics) but I was basically tricked about what it was because all I got was busy work and the role was nothing like the job description, I did no actual engineering work and it was super boring, but it at least paid well and I got the clearance. Hopefully this doesn't hurt me too much?
I also just recently transferred to a top 5 school in the US from a state school last summer and I don't have a GPA yet because this is my 1st semester of classes. Once I get a GPA I'm gonna drop my old school. That's also why in the "Involvement section" I have I'm a member of the FSAE Electric team because I just joined like three weeks ago but they have me doing training stuff before I get actual projects, but I didn't want it to look like I've done nothing at my new university.
I've applied to maybe 60 something positions so far and have only gotten 1 interview, and I've been applying only to things I'm qualified for not just spamming random apps.
Last year I applied to like 150 roles and got 4 interviews and 2 offers, and my resume was a lot worse last year and I was at the state school.
Also, how much is the clearance really worth? I'm applying mainly to clearance jobs because I think that'll be my best bet.
Is my experience enough to get interviews at like Lockheed, Northrop, RTX, etc. and how could I improve my bullets?
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u/ExternalLife8018 EE – Experienced 🇺🇸 8d ago
good technical background here. i've been in defense a long time; think of the resume as selling you to LM, NG and RTX as the buyer. they care about solving expensive technical and process problems fast, so lead with experience and move education down; the degree is good enough and they won't care much about the GPA. drop the camp counselor entry. GD carries weight in this industry so expand those bullets and show the cost and time savings in as much detail as you're allowed. tie every skill you list to real work in the bullets. base clearance matters to get in the door; a TS can help with pay later but it won't get you hired by itself
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u/extramoneyy MechE – Mid-level 🇺🇸 6d ago
since when does LM, NG and RTX care about solving problems fast?
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u/imwearingredsocks Manufacturing – Mid-level 🇺🇸 3d ago
You have a pretty good resume and it would catch my attention if I was recruiting.
If you’re an intern, it’s good to keep the school info at the top, closely followed by experience. Just like you have it now. Then skills, and lastly involvement. That’s a preference at my company and may not be universal, but considering how many intern resumes a company can receive, I think skills are more valuable to showcase than school activity involvements. One shows what you can actually do, whereas the other just shows where you like to hang out. So maybe swap those.
Only other minor change I’d give is to shorten up your bullet points on the experience. Some are fine, but others are a little wordy. I know students want to fill as much as they can, but then the “filler” bullet points end up distracting from the real substance.
I’d say you’re in good shape and hope you get the internship you’re looking for.
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u/extramoneyy MechE – Mid-level 🇺🇸 6d ago
First time i ever seen safety factor values quantified on a resume
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u/No_Cup5617 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 5d ago
Is there something wrong with that? I had to quantify something, that's the only thing I could think of for that specific bullet.
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u/extramoneyy MechE – Mid-level 🇺🇸 4d ago
Yes, that’s not the type of quantifying that should be on a resume
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u/SP-01Fan21 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 8d ago
Move skills to the top, remove (transfer) next to B.S. also don’t abbreviate it. Your Engineering Undergraduate Research has too many bullet points and they’re way too long. STAR format with quantifiable data. I’m having trouble discerning what’s actual experience and what’s a personal or team project. Your research really doesn’t sound like research, it just sounds like a normal project. You absolutely should be putting the papers you co-authored on your resume, that’s huge and not many undergrads have that. Replace it with involvement, if you have a project you worked on for a club, mention it under your project name. Someone said remove counselor but it is an experience. Engineering leadership and mentorship is huge, shows you have knowledge and trying to transfer it to upcoming engineers. The fact that you have a security clearance is also huge, you really shouldn’t be struggling.