A network engineer is a high-level technical analyst who designs, plans, implements and supports LANs and WANs within an enterprise. Network engineers’ resumes must exhibit advanced technical skills as they are responsible for formulating, implementing and executing an organization’s computer network. Our set of guidelines, recommendations and examples will make writing an interview-winning resume easier on your path to achieve the role of your dreams.
Download one of our free resume templates or use our job-specific resume examples to write your next resume with high-quality professionalism.
Attention to Detail
Hard Worker
Before writing your resume, it is advisable to prepare well by understanding what to include in your document and gathering all the relevant professional details. Take a look at these pointers and suggestions to prepare to write your resume:
Now that you are ready to start writing, it is time to select how you will organize the sections in your resume. That’s where resume formats come in. By using the proper format, your document will appear professional, highlight your skills, experience and accomplishments while downplaying limitations.
Resume formats fall into three categories: chronological, functional and combination. Each format focuses on a different section (skills or work history) of your resume.
The format you opt for will depend on your level of experience and skills. Take a look at the three formats to get an idea of which one you should go with:
Discover the benefits and uses of each resume format in our resume formats guide.
Chronological
Functional
Combination
This step-by-step guide will help you write each of the essential sections that a resume should include. Read on to understand how to format each section of your resume and what information it should include to be convincing.
1. Prepare a strategy for the opening statement.
Your opening paragraph should give recruiters an insight into your skills, abilities, experience and achievements. You can use a career objective or a summary statement based on your experience level.
Career objectives on a resume are useful if you are an entry-level professional, a freelancer or switching careers as they showcase your capabilities and aspirations. In contrast, a summary statement is appropriate for an experienced professional as it provides more opportunity to showcase your skills and achievements throughout your career.
Here is an example of a poor and good career objective.
Poor example:
“Dedicated network engineer graduate looking forward to joining your reputed firm to sharpen my skills as a network engineer and learn more about network engineering to further my career.”
In the example above, the candidate mentions what they wish to achieve without giving any insight into their skills. The entry-level candidate must share their skills, especially technical ones, instead of focusing exclusively on their objective.
Good example:
“A skilled CCNA-certified network engineer with a 3.6 GPA in BE Computer Science. Strong knowledge of cybersecurity, network automation, troubleshooting and Nexus Operating System (NX-OS). Gained practical experience in IPv4 and IPv6 routing and infrastructure management in an internship with ABC Company. Looking forward to honing my skills at XYZ Enterprise and contributing to its growth.”
This career objective is a better example as it covers the lack of formal experience by mentioning:
If you are writing a summary statement instead, consider these tips:
Here is an example of a summary statement for your reference:
“Organized CCNP and CCIE-certified network engineer with two years' experience. Proficient at configuring routers and switches, administering firewalls and designing new network solutions. Possess strong knowledge of Cisco routers, Cisco technologies and VMware NSX. Has won seven employee of the month awards.”
2. Use your skills to the fullest.
Your relevant skill set can give you an edge over your competitors and have a significant impact on your salary. The skills section of the resume is where you’ll include the most important six to eight soft, hard and technical skills for the job. If eight skills seems too little, don’t worry, you can increase the number of skills on your resume by adding them to your work history and professional summary. Be cautious of repeating skills, though.
A combination or a chronological resume presents skills in a list format, whereas a functional resume allows you to describe three to four of your skills more in detail using descriptive bullet points that explain how you employed the skills.
Here is an example of an expanded skills section in a functional resume:
Skills
Leadership
To display the range of your capabilities, it’s important that you choose a balance of soft, hard and technical skills in your resume.
Soft skills are life skills that help an individual acclimate to the demands of the workplace, adapt to changing relationships with teammates and succeed in a fast-paced atmosphere. A network engineer’s soft skills include:
Hard skills are industry-specific knowledge acquired to perform a particular job well. These skills are learned in school or college, depending on your background. A network engineer’s hard skills include:
Technical skills are sets of abilities or knowledge used to perform job-specific practical tasks using digital tools, techniques and software. A network engineer may possess the following technical skills:
Learn more about network engineer skills with our Resume Builder. You can build your resume easily using our resume-writing tool by selecting from prewritten content and suggested skills.
By including a section on your work history, experienced candidates can show recruiters their capabilities. Be sure to incorporate specific details about your responsibilities and tasks relevant to the open role. List your work history in reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent. You may share details of your internship experience, volunteer work or projects you’ve worked on if you don’t have relevant work experience yet.
The following must be included in a bulleted list of three or four points in each job entry:
The following examples show a poor and good quality work history section entry:
Poor example:
Work History
It is difficult to determine the candidate's value and abilities in this example because they barely describe them. Instead of listing vague and generic tasks, focus on the specifics of how you performed the task.
Good example:
Work History
This example is deemed a good work history because the candidate's tasks and responsibilities are described in-depth along with their quantified accomplishments.
The following recommendations can help you create a more comprehensive work history section on your resume:
Devote a section of your resume to your education highlighting your academic accomplishments. Employers can use this information to determine if you possess the basic qualifications required for the role. Applicants for the role of network engineer should have a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or a closely related field to apply.
Start with your most recent or relevant academic degree in this section. Each entry must include the following information:
If you possess only a high school diploma or GED, you can omit the graduation date.
In a separate section, organize all of your additional certifications for the role of a network engineer. A network engineer's resume could include the following certificates:
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
With this reputed certification, you validate your capacity to manage and optimize the most advanced networks by applying skills and knowledge in networking fundamentals, IP services, security fundamentals, automation and programmability.
Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
If you have earned the CCNA certification, then you can choose to get this certification next. Prove your knowledge of enterprise infrastructure architecture, virtualization, network assurance, security and automation, plus choose from seven different CCNP specialization tracks.
Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)
Obtaining this prestigious certification can indicate that your end-to-end IT life cycle skills — from planning and design to operating and optimizing — are top notch.
AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty
With this certification by AWS, you can prove your expertise in designing and maintaining network architecture for a wide range of AWS services.
Some more certification options that you can consider are:
Contact details are non negotiable on your resume if you want recruiters to be able to get in touch with you for the interview. Include at the top of the resume your name, city and state of residence, phone number, professional email address and relevant links to professional profiles like LinkedIn.
Create a customized resume by using these free, downloadable network engineer templates. The sample content can be customized by simply modifying it with relevant information and formatting it.
The tasks that a network engineer performs every day require a combination of skills. Among these, the top three skills that every network engineer must possess are:
For a network engineer to stand out, you must exhibit strong business acumen. The competition is getting tougher day by day, so to be distinct, you have to constantly upskill yourself, gain additional certifications in the field and solve critical problems promptly and efficiently.
Some daily duties of a network engineer include:
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