Electrical technician CV example (2026)

Writing the CV for the electrical technician role

Start your CV with your inspection authorisation, for example for NEN 3140 (the Dutch standard for inspecting electrical installations), and your field. Then put the type of installations you worked on. The first lines then make clear what you are allowed to inspect and what you maintain.

In this role you work independently at the client’s site, solve faults and carry out inspections. Your inspection authorisation, your VCA certificate (the Dutch workplace safety standard) and the type of installations are concrete points you can name. Put them at the top.

What you do in this role

An electrical technician builds and wires distribution boards, measures and tests installations, and systematically traces faults. The technician also maintains installations according to a schedule and records the results in an inspection report. Working with drawings and measuring equipment is part of the trade.

Keep the CV to one or two pages.

How your CV matches the advert

Read the advert and note the inspections, the type of installations and the requirements for working independently at clients’ sites. Put in your CV only the inspections you are allowed to carry out, with their validity. A technician puts the authorisation at the top, so the planner sees it at a glance.

Electrical work is about working safely, tracing the cause of a fault systematically and reporting clearly to the client. Describe in your CV one fault in which you showed that: the measurement, the cause and the repair. That lets the reader see how you work, instead of only the word experience.

Check the standard names, the versions and the names of the systems. Read your CV aloud and cut every sentence you cannot explain. A short CV with authorisations and one clear fault shows more than a long list of installations.

A measurement report must match what was measured on the installation. Describe in your CV how you recorded measurements and what you did when a value deviated, for example by measuring again or checking the installation separately. That approach shows you work carefully, without your needing to claim it.

At a client’s site, good communication matters as much as the technical work. Describe in your CV how you explained a fault to someone without a technical background, and how you informed the client about what you had done. That shows you can pass on technical knowledge.

An installation is used after handover, and anyone who works on it later needs an overview. Describe in your CV how you recorded the handover, for example with a summary of the measured values and the changes made. That way the next technician knows what was done, and you show you think beyond the day itself.

Which layout suits the electrical technician CV

Choose one column, clear headings and a standard font. Tables and text boxes can cause errors when software reads a CV.

Keep the layout simple: one column, clear headings and short bullets. Put your inspection certificates and your VCA certificate in a separate block at the top. Name the type of installations per job, such as distribution boards or emergency lighting systems.

Save your CV as a PDF with a recognisable file name, such as firstname-surname-cv.pdf.

What to put on the electrical technician CV

Every CV contains at least your contact details, your work experience with dates, your education and certificates, and your skills and languages.

Name the installations you built or maintained, such as distribution boards, emergency lighting or motor controls. List your inspections, such as NEN 3140, and your knowledge of PLCs, for example in Siemens TIA Portal. Describe the faults you worked on independently. Include your VCA certificate. A category B driving licence goes in if you drive a service van.

Put your name at the top, with your town, email address and phone number. Your citizen service number (BSN), date of birth or marital status do not need to be on your CV.

Profile text: example (good and weak)

Below are two profile texts for the electrical technician, both written for a fictional person. You can copy the structure.

Electrical technician with six years of experience in industrial installations and control systems. I install, test and maintain control cabinets and PLC systems. I work safely in line with NEN 3140 and VCA, and help find ways to prevent breakdowns. I am looking for a role as an installation technician with a fixed schedule and room to learn.

Electrical technician with eight years of experience in commercial construction and industry, with NEN 3140 inspection authorisation. I build and maintain distribution boards, measure and test installations and trace faults systematically. I work safely according to the VCA and can work independently at client sites. I am looking for a role in which inspection and maintenance come together.

The first example names the inspection, the sector and the work. The second names the years, the measuring work and the independence. The weak version names no installation. What you are allowed to inspect and which installations you maintain belong at the top.

Weak version: “I am a handy electrical technician who is motivated, works safely and is willing to work extra hours.”

A profile text is short: four or five sentences. Write in the first person and say what you do, what you are good at and what you are looking for.

Making your work experience stand out

The example bullet points below belong to a fictional example CV. The figures are illustrative: use only your own figures, and only if they are accurate.

Start each bullet with an action word and state the result, not only the task.

• Building and connecting distribution boards for a commercial building, from drawing to handover.
• Inspection of low-voltage installations to NEN 3140, with the preparation of the inspection report for the client.
• Fault tracing on a production line: a defective motor protection found and replaced within the hour.
• Maintenance of emergency lighting and fire alarm systems at three sites, according to the maintenance schedule.
• A PLC adapted in Siemens TIA Portal during an extension of the production line.
• Supervised a trainee and handed over the measuring method for insulation and earthing tests.

For each job, give the job title, employer, place and period, and put your current job at the top.

No work experience?

Have no experience as a technician yet? A placement at an installation company or a school assignment counts. Describe what you installed, tested or wired yourself. A project of your own, such as a distribution board for a workshop, shows that you work safely and accurately.

Action words for your CV

Action words make your work concrete. A few that work well on a CV:

• Organised
• Supervised
• Improved
• Monitored
• Planned
• Recorded
• Consulted
• Delivered
• Coordinated
• Ensured

Use each word only once per job, and only if it matches your work.

Education on your CV

An mbo (senior secondary vocational education) course in electrical engineering, at level 3 or 4, forms the foundation. Name the school and the year of your diploma. A specialisation in installation technology or a follow-up course on PLCs goes in the same section. Name an inspection course in the education section. Name placements with the company name.

List older education more briefly, so that recent work gets more space.

Skills on the electrical technician CV

Hard skills

• Control cabinet building
• PLC (Siemens TIA Portal)
• Measuring and testing (NEN 3140)
• Fault finding

Soft skills

• Working safely and identifying risks
• Tracing faults independently
• Reporting clearly to the client
• Working together with the planner and on site
• Recording measurements carefully

Show independent working with a fault you solved on your own, and how you then informed the client. That shows what the word independent means in practice.

Choose five to eight hard skills that you currently use.

Give an example from your work for Control cabinet building, PLC (Siemens TIA Portal), Measuring and testing (NEN 3140) and Fault finding.

Certificates, languages and hobbies

The inspection authorisation, such as NEN 3140, is the most important certificate for an electrical technician. State the name of the inspection, the year and the body that trained you. Add your VCA certificate directly beside it. A PLC course or a certificate for work on high voltage, if you have one, also counts. Give the year of each renewal, because inspection authorisations must be current.

Put a certificate on your CV if it fits the role.

• VCA and NEN 3140 inspection (Techniek Academie, 2021)

Languages in this example: Dutch (moedertaal), English (basis).

Example electrical technician CV

This is how the example looks in a real template. It is a starting point: take over the structure, not the text.

The fictional candidate is called Kevin Smit and lives in Nijmegen. The example carries the headline: Electrical technician · industrial installations.

Common mistakes on the electrical technician CV

• Not stating your inspection authorisation, or not saying how long it is valid.
• Writing only “electrics” without the type of installation. A home, an office and a machine park call for different knowledge.
• Not naming the measuring equipment, although using it is part of a technician’s work.
• Leaving out your VCA certificate.
• Describing faults without the cause. Name what you found and what you replaced.

Check the names of inspections and standards. Write NEN 3140 exactly like that; a wrong standard stands out to a planner at once.

Key points

• Put your inspection authorisation at the top with its validity, so it is clear what you are allowed to do.
• Describe one fault with the cause, the measurement and the result, in three short sentences.
• Name the type of installation per job: home, office, industry or distribution board.
• State your category B driving licence and whether you can work independently at client sites.

Read your CV aloud before you send it.