Resume Skills For A Network Engineer: Meaning And Examples

Updated 30 September 2022

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Network engineers use a variety of technical and soft skills to perform their duties well. If you are interested in pursuing a career as a network engineer, there are a variety of skills you can develop to help you become more proficient in your role. Knowing about these skills and mentioning them on your resume is important to portray yourself as a suitable candidate.

In this article, we define resume skills for a network engineer, share a few examples, discuss how to improve your skills, outline some ways to use them in the workplace and provide tips to highlight them during the job application process.

What Are Resume Skills For A Network Engineer?

Resume skills for a network engineer are a range of hard and soft skills that help them design, implement, monitor and manage the local area and wide-area networks of organisations and businesses. They also rely on soft skills such as organisation, teamwork and communication skills to be successful in a variety of work environments. This profession commonly requires abilities like software development, computer systems management and mathematical skills. Different employers may require network engineers to have specific skills that align with the objectives of the organisation.

5 Important Resume Skills For A Network Engineer

Below are a few important resume skills for a network engineer:

1. Teamwork

Network engineers may work with different professionals from various departments within an organisation to ensure efficient workflow. This makes it necessary that they can collaborate with teammates effectively. Employers often look for those network engineers who they believe can work alongside and also lead teams of systems analysts, software developers and various other information technology (IT) professionals to achieve company goals.

2. Written communication

Network engineers may commonly document systems analyses, testing, processes and other technical operations in writing. This makes written communication a skill that these professionals may often rely on to be successful in their roles. For instance, a network engineer might convey the technical processes of managing and troubleshooting a wide area network for a large corporation so the IT department has a manual of operations for what the engineer initiated into the system. The ability to communicate technical and performance-based work tasks in writing is a desirable skill for most employers.

3. Problem-solving

It is important for network engineers to solve highly complex mathematical and technical problems, such as troubleshooting issues within an organisation's networks to optimise performance. Problem-solving also includes the ability to apply new and innovative solutions to work through challenges in the workplace. These may include managing IT security networks or working in a team to complete a company-wide project.

4. Organisational skills

It is important for network engineers to give proper attention to detail. They also require the ability to organise and display information, data and processes they use for the different work projects. Employers typically like those professionals who can demonstrate the ability to organise documents, data files and other processes.

5. Time management

Network engineers frequently take on systems development and management projects that require the ability to prioritise important versus urgent tasks and manage their working hours in the most efficient ways possible. This makes time management an important part of the job. Many employers want network engineers who have an exceptional capacity for managing and fulfilling their responsibilities punctually on busy workdays.

How To Improve Network Engineer Skills?

The following steps outline several ways you can improve your network engineer skills and advance in your career:

1. Learn from more experienced professionals

Always take the time to speak with professionals who are more experienced and hold more qualifications. These senior-level professionals can offer insights into growing in your career. They may also offer valuable resources and tools to help you develop your skills and perform more advanced tasks at work.

2. Stay updated with new advancements

Join networks for network engineers, subscribe to industry journals and stay up-to-date on new and emerging trends, software, applications and other technical aspects of the industry. It is essential that you learn about and understand how the field of network engineering, information technologies and computer science is advancing to enhance yourself as a professional and increase your employability. Having this understanding helps you in learning and applying new strategies and skills to your job to improve workflow efficiency.

3. Pursue an advanced degree or a professional certification

Consider pursuing an advanced degree or specialised certification in network engineering. For instance, certifications in the network field like the Cisco Network Certification (CCNA) are desirable credentials to have that demonstrate your expertise and professional qualifications. Certifications for network engineers you may be interested in learning about include the Oracle Certified Expert (OCE), Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications. There are many more network certifications that you can pursue, but these are some of the most well-known.

4. Take on more complex projects at work

You may offer to take on more responsibility in your role at work. Try requesting to take on several more complex tasks, like setting up an entirely new local network for the company's sales department, besides your regular responsibilities. As you continue to demonstrate your ability to improve and advance your skill set through your work, you can ultimately advance to more senior-level roles in the company and, subsequently, your career.

5. Participate in open-source projects

Practice integrating network configurations, applying testing protocols or developing firewalls and security networks in open-source projects. These types of projects are available through forums and technology platforms for network professionals and can help you further develop your network engineering skills. You can also use these projects to build an informal portfolio that can show your skills and proactive nature to keep developing your proficiency.

Network Engineering Skills In The Workplace

The following tips offer approaches you can take to show your capabilities and proficiency in your role as a network engineer:

Implement organisational skills. Demonstrate your ability to organise information, documents, files and other aspects of your work.
Seek or volunteer for opportunities. Search for opportunities to communicate and collaborate with IT teams and offer to assist with the development, structuring and implementation of system standards across company departments to grow your skill set.
Demonstrate analytical skills. Show team leaders your ability to plan, develop, design and integrate network technology that furthers the goals of the company.
Convey technical proficiency. Show your employer that you understand the range of technical tools you require to complete company projects and meet objectives.
Be collaborative. Work with IT teams to support network performance across the departments of the organisation.

Ways To Highlight Network Engineer Skills

Below are the ways you can highlight your skills as a network engineer during the different stages of your job application process:

On a resume

One of the first things an employer typically looks for in a network engineer resume is technical skills. Include your specific technical and transferable abilities and give examples of how they helped you in your previous employments to achieve their objectives. You can do this by highlighting major achievements within your professional resume summary and within the skills and work experience section of your resume.

In a cover letter

In a cover letter, elaborate on your relevant technical abilities and experiences that can help the company achieve its goals. For instance, successfully integrating and configuring a new company network that increases the organisation's overall productivity. Employers generally like to see how your strengths and skills have helped you achieve business goals because it gives them an insight into how you may benefit the company after getting hired.

During an interview

Interviewers may generally ask questions that require specific examples of the tasks you have completed or examples of your success in past roles. Highlight how your technical skills helped you complete a project by its deadline or how your analytical and problem-solving skills led you to develop an innovative way of monitoring network security systems. The more specific you can be in an interview, the better the chances that the interviewer can understand the depth of your expertise and understand your suitability for the role.

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