Car and vehicle mechanic CV: example and tips

What workshops look for

According to utdanning.no, a light vehicle mechanic repairs and maintains both older and newer cars. Typical tasks include finding electronic and mechanical faults with a PC and diagnostic tools, carrying out servicing and repairs, replacing parts, and diagnosing and repairing high voltage batteries in electric cars. Heavy vehicle mechanics work on lorries, buses and other large vehicles. Ads often distinguish between franchised dealer workshops and independent garages, and between light and heavy vehicles, so make it clear what you have worked on.

Use the same words as the ad where they fit. If the ad mentions “diagnostics” and “electric cars”, those words should appear in your bullet points, not just “repairs”. Several chains and car dealers use applicant tracking systems, and our guide to an ATS-friendly CV explains how they read your CV. These words come up often:

• Trade certificate (fagbrev) for light or heavy vehicles.
• Servicing and maintenance according to the manufacturer's service schedule.
• Fault finding and diagnostics with a PC and diagnostic tools.
• Electric cars, hybrids and high voltage systems.
• Brakes, chassis, wheel alignment and tyres.
• Air conditioning and electrical systems.
• EU-kontroll, the periodic roadworthiness test.
• Franchised dealer workshop, ideally with the name of the make.
• Independent, accurate, service minded and a category B driving licence.

Formal requirements: trade certificate, EU-kontroll and courses

Your trade certificate is the most important item in your CV. According to utdanning.no, completed and passed training in the light vehicles trade (bilfaget) leads to a trade certificate with the job title light vehicle mechanic. The route goes through the Vg2 vehicles programme, and according to utdanning.no the heavy vehicles trade takes two years at school and two years in a company. Write the certificate with its full name and year, for example “Trade certificate, light vehicles, 2022”. If you hold both, or have vocational college training in automotive technology, make that clear. If you have long experience without a certificate, you can take the trade test through the praksiskandidat scheme, with experience at least 25 percent longer than the normal training period. For a trade with two years at school and two years in a company, that means at least five years.

If you carry out EU-kontroll, your approval is something you need to show. Statens vegvesen, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, approves inspectors who hold a trade certificate suited to the vehicle group, a police certificate and completed inspection training with an approved provider, with 60 hours for light vehicles and 68 hours for heavy vehicles. The approval lasts five years and is renewed with refresher training. Write, for example, “Approved inspector for periodic roadworthiness testing, light vehicles, valid until 2029”.

If you work on car air conditioning, that should be stated too. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, a training certificate is required to recover fluorinated gases from air conditioning in passenger cars and vans under 3.5 tonnes. If you have it, list it under courses and certificates. If you have courses in working on electric cars and high voltage systems, include them with names and years. There are many electric cars on Norwegian roads, so such courses get noticed.

Example of a summary for a mechanic CV

The summary should state your trade certificate, which makes or vehicles you know best, and what you are strongest at. Here is a made up example:

Example: “Car mechanic with a trade certificate in light vehicles from 2019 and six years of experience at a franchised dealer workshop. Work independently on servicing, diagnostics and repairs, and have handled the workshop's most difficult electrical faults for the past two years. Hold a high voltage course and a training certificate for air conditioning, and am an approved inspector for EU-kontroll. Looking for a role where I can work more with electric cars and diagnostics.”

If you are an apprentice, your summary can cover what you have worked on and when you will take the trade test. You will find more examples in our guide to writing a CV summary.

Bullet points with results: weak versus strong

Workshops measure a lot: hours, jobs, cars that come back and customer satisfaction. Use it. A point that shows how many cars you handle, how quickly you find the fault, or how rarely customers come back with the same problem says more than a list of tasks. Ask the workshop manager for the figures if you do not have them.

• Weak: “Servicing cars.” Strong: “Carried out 6 to 8 services a day according to the manufacturer's schedule, with the car ready at the agreed time for almost every customer.”
• Weak: “Fault finding.” Strong: “Found and fixed electrical faults that others had given up on, and became the workshop's go to person for diagnosing electric cars.”
• Weak: “Worked on electric cars.” Strong: “Replaced and diagnosed high voltage components on more than 150 electric cars, following the manufacturer's procedures for safe work.”
• Weak: “EU-kontroll.” Strong: “Carried out around 900 periodic roadworthiness tests a year as an approved inspector, with no deviations at audits by Statens vegvesen.”
• Weak: “Customer contact.” Strong: “Explained faults and prices to customers by phone and at reception, and reduced the number of cars returning with the same fault.”
• Weak: “Heavy vehicles.” Strong: “Kept a fleet of 40 lorries and buses on the road with planned maintenance, and cut the time vehicles spent in the workshop.”

Courses, tools and systems worth including

Group courses and certificates in a separate section with names and years. Tools and systems can go under skills. If you have training from a manufacturer, state the make and level.

• Trade certificate for light or heavy vehicles, with the year.
• Manufacturer courses and levels, for example diagnostic technician, with the name of the make.
• Courses in electric cars and high voltage, with dates.
• Training certificate for vehicle air conditioning.
• Approval as an inspector for EU-kontroll, with vehicle group and expiry date.
• Diagnostic tools and workshop systems you have used, by name.
• A category B driving licence, and C or CE if you work on heavy vehicles.

Apprentice, or mechanic with long experience

If you are applying for an apprenticeship, say what you have learned in the Vg2 vehicles programme, what you did during in-depth vocational training (yrkesfaglig fordypning) and what you have done on your own. If you have worked on mopeds, cars or tractors at home, that is relevant, especially if you can say what you did. Also say that you are accurate, turn up on time and enjoy working out why something does not work. Our guide to a CV for recent graduates has more advice.

If you have long experience, your CV should show progression: from mechanic to diagnostic technician, workshop foreman, inspector or service adviser. List the makes and vehicles you know best, and highlight responsibilities such as training apprentices or running part of the workshop. Many of your manufacturer courses are worth including, but old courses for models that are no longer common can be shortened. Keep the CV to one or two pages.

Common mistakes in a mechanic CV

Read your CV with the ad beside it. These mistakes come up often:

• The trade certificate has no full name, so it is unclear whether it covers light or heavy vehicles.
• No makes or vehicle types, just “various cars”.
• Electric cars and high voltage are missing, even though you have worked with them.
• An approval for EU-kontroll with no expiry date, or one that has expired.
• Only tasks, with no number of jobs or results.
• No mention of customer contact, even though the job is at a small workshop where the mechanic also answers the phone.

Create your mechanic CV in under a minute with Selja

A franchised workshop asks for knowledge of the make and diagnostics, a tyre and service centre for pace and customer contact, and a heavy vehicle workshop for hydraulics and lorries. With Selja you paste in the job ad and upload the CV you already have. In under a minute you get a professional, ATS-friendly CV and cover letter tailored to the job, with words such as electric cars, diagnostics or EU-kontroll where they match what you have done.

Selja never adds certificates, courses or experience you do not have. If the ad asks for something your CV does not show, for example high voltage, Selja asks you first and only uses what you confirm. If you want to know how good your CV is right now, you can check your CV for free or take a free ATS check against the ad. Get started when you want to create your first application.

The application and next steps

The cover letter for a mechanic job can be short: why you want to work at that workshop, which makes and tasks you are best at, and when you can start. If it is a franchised workshop, say what you know about the make. See our example of a job application for a template you can build on.

In the interview you will often be asked how you find faults, how you work safely on electric cars and how you explain an expensive repair to a customer. Some workshops also give you a practical task. Practise with the interview questions, and check the offer you receive with the free pay check.