Include the essential resume sections
As you start writing your resume, you need to include the must-have sections. Our free template already has them, but if you'd like to customize it, make sure you don't forget the essentials.
Here is what your resume structure should look like:
- Contact Information. Place your full name at the top for better visibility. Include your city, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile link if you have it.
- Resume Summary or Objective. Add a 2-3 sentence summary highlighting your key skills and career goals. Tailor it to the specific mechanic job, mentioning the qualification the job description asks for.
- Professional Experience. List your work history, starting with your most recent position. Add job duties and professional achievements.
- Education. List your degrees and certifications. As a recent graduate, you might mention relevant coursework and high school/college awards.
- Skills. Highlight relevant skills for the position you're applying to, and use keywords from the job description here.
Optional sections include:
- Achievements and awards - if you can boast the Employee of the Year award and multiple professional achievements, you can list them in a separate section.
- Projects - if you handled auto repair and maintenance tasks individually, you can list them in the Projects section.
- Volunteer work - this section is perfect for beginning mechanics who cannot boast paid experience yet.
- Certifications and training - show your interest in the profession and passion for continuous learning.
- Hobbies - if you have unusual or creative hobbies, include them at the bottom of your resume.
Highlight your professional experience
The Experience section should showcase your automotive service excellence. List jobs chronologically starting with the most recent one.
For each job, write 5-6 bullets expanding on your duties and achievements. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to describe your responsibilities. It will give the hiring manager a bigger picture about your maintenance mechanic skills. Add numbers where possible to illustrate your impact (for example, increased repeat business by 17%, improved repair efficiency by 25%). Showing achievements will help both junior mechanics and senior specialists stand out.
Key skills for a mechanic resume
Your auto mechanic resume won't be complete without the Skills section. With it, you can kill two birds with one stone. This section attracts the recruiter's attention, and many recruiters read it in the first place. Moreover, you can list skills from the job description here and show your fit for the role.
Here are the hard skills to add to your resume:
- Engine diagnostics
- Diagnostic tools
- Oil changes
- Hydraulic systems
- Adherence to technical manuals
- Automotive maintenance
- Automotive repair
- Transmission repair
- Computerized alignment systems
- Preventative maintenance
Soft skills for a mechanics resume:
- Troubleshooting
- Attention to detail
- Customer Service
- Team communication
- Leadership
Action verbs for an automotive technician resume
The best mechanic resume examples use powerful action verbs. These verbs highlight your initiative, contribution, and add dynamics to your writing. Use various active verbs at the beginning of each bulleted statement to strengthen your resume.
- Diagnosed
- Repaired
- Troubleshooted
- Resolved
- Reconditioned
- Performed maintenance
- Installed
- Inspected
- Tested
- Trained
- Managed
- Improved