Freelance HVAC Engineer 1

[Airforce2]

Hi,

I am keen to market myself to MEP Firms as a Freelance HVAC Engineer. So far, I have just e-mailed out my resume and a cover note. With the resume and cover note, I kept things simple and to the point. However, I am not having much success in Firms taking me up on the offer. Several people have commented on my impressive resume, but it does not seem to be enough to get me across the line with obtaining work.

It is my hope to develop a long term working relationship with a few MEP Firms and work with them as required on a regular basis.

What might I be doing wrong, or what can I do better?

Thanks for your advice and assistance.

 

[Airforce2]

I forgot to add that I am have been marketing myself all around the Country as well as a few overseas places with the intent to work out of my own office. I think this seems to put people off for some reason. Not sure why as I have completed designs quite adequately without ever having set foot in the MEP Firm's office.

Thanks,

 

[TheTick]

I forgot to add that I am have been marketing myself all around the Country

That's a lot of PE licenses!

 

[pittguy12]

This is an interesting concept. I am not a marketing expert nor do I work in the HVAC field but coming from my own perspective I would think some of the issue might be a reluctance by the companies to have someone from outside of an established relationship involved in projects.

For instance, they may feel as though you will require training to 'their' standards which wouldn't be worth the time and ultimately cost them more effort than having an employee on staff.

Also, how do they know that they could trust you to work on their projects? Would you pack it up as soon as another job came up? Would they be able to get ahold of you via phone/email when issues arisen? For instance, I am reluctant to hire contractors to do certain projects on my house due to instances of unreliability, over charging for services, lack of commitment, etc.

The answer to these might be in building relationships of trust first with clients...then expect the work to flow. For instance, you could offer to do a design or two pro bono simply to show them you are capable and serious about what you do. I would definately suggest face time with any potential clients instead of email/letters. People, while impressed with your credentials, would be unlikely to want a business relationship with someone based purely on a resume (again, without the security of knowing where to find you so to speak).

Overall though, it's a good concept and ideally suited for the present work environment. I work with a few guys here in my office that my company has actually hired as contractors out of retirement when big projects come along. Good luck!

 

[tygerdawg]

The commercial world is neck-deep in alligators of risk. No one wants to take a chance and risk their name/position/livelihood/company on some guy off the street. My opinion: it's all about reputation. You've got to invest your time and build one.

When I first started freelancing, my opening statement was something like "I'm looking to do the little jobs, the ones that are too small & bothersome for the big boys, the ones that fall through the cracks." And explained very clearly I was trying to start & grow a freelance business and support my family.

Do something similar, and someone may throw you a low-risk-to-them bone to test your work. Execute with perfection, and exceed all expectations if you are given that opportunity. Repeat, until you have a list of enthusiastic references.

This has been discussed many, many times before in these fora. You should do some research.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Agree w/ Tyger --- As a matter of fact I make a lot of money off of "side" business by doing (quickly) the "small" jobs!!

 

[Airforce2]

Thanks for your help guys!

I will look at and take on your suggestions/comments.

I was also wondering if a website (a good quality one) would help? At the moment I am just sending out e-mails with my resume. I do have several references already and could send out some examples of my work too.

Making myself known to a Firm 800 miles away is a bit of a challenge, but I see your point about putting a face to the name etc. Maybe a picture on my resume would help?

With the projects, I have found my niche with the smaller to medium type projects that others are not so bothered with doing.

Thanks,

 

[MintJulep]

I am keen to market myself to MEP Firms as a Freelance HVAC Engineer

You seem to have missed the significance of TheTick's earlier comment.

That's a lot of PE licenses!

Are you in fact a licensed Professional Engineer?

If not, and you are offering to perform engineering services then you are violating the law. Which would explain why no companies want to deal with you.

 

[patprimmer]

The advice about being a PE is sound if he is from the USA.

He does not say where he is from and the OP is not regional specific.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm

for site rules

 

[KENAT]

The misunderstanding may be because in previous posts the OP indicated he was US based, however if this has changed then you may have a good point Pat.

To the OP, are you sure you've 'saturated' your local market before trying to expand into remote markets? An impressive looking website won't hurt but I wonder if it will really be a silver bullet.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[Airforce2]

Thanks for your concerns about me being legally able to perform my occupation in certain states and places. Please rest assured that I understand the laws and do not offer any service where I am breaking the law.

I am currently trying to focus on my local market. I am not sure I have saturated the market. Actually, I would say that I have just tested the waters somewhat. Initial feedback has been that my resume looks very good to impressive. What I show on my resume is authentic and reflects my skills in a true fashion. I am not interested in stretching the truth.

Maybe it is like people say? Firms are fearful of trying someone outside the fold. I understand this, but do very much hope to persuade that I can be trusted and that I do great work.

Thanks again.

 

[MintJulep]

Do you go to your local ASHRAE chapter meetings and schmooze?

Firing off blind resumes is unlikely to get much response.

 

[patprimmer]

People do not often change from suppliers they are happy with, no matter how good you look. They have what they want so they simply don't care.

However if they have a hiccup with their current supplier, then as all as you need to be to get the business is in their mind at the time.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm

for site rules

 

[pittguy12]

A website definately helps. That's the first thing most people do when they are working with someone or with a different company. It will help give you some credibility to have an established website with your picture, project experience, etc.

 

[TheTick]

A lot of people delude themselves into thinking "If I only do x and y, I am not breaking the law." A good example is freelance drafters. In my state, that is an activity specifically listed in the code as an "engineering activity".

People also like to ge creative with the "offering services to the public" thing. It doesn't really matter what you think. You better know what the board will think.

 

[Airforce2]

Thanks for your help. It sure seems difficult to even get people to consider you. I had one firm interested, but as soon as they knew I was not going to work in their office the negotiations ended.

 

[jmcoope3]

Culmination of advice from my friends who do free-lance work when I was asking about the same thing:

Practice saying these words "Design consulting services", you consult on existing/other peoples designs.

Don't provide original designs - suggest improvements to existing/their documented ideas.

Don't promise anything will work - provide supporting calculations or reference standards, however, if you do math ALWAYS SOURCE THEM FOR THE NUMBERS.

Don't provide full plans - provide preliminary details or a suggested path on how they should detail it.

NEVER SAY YOU ARE AN ENGINEER OR LET THEM SAY YOU ARE AN ENGINEER WITHOUT CORRECTING THEM UNLESS YOU HAVE THE STAMP. Make sure that you have a liable clause in your contract, make sure they know you don't have a stamp coming into this, tell them your value is the experience and quality of your product and that your job is to assist their stamping engineer.

As anything with contract work 90% of your effort should be covering your ass, 10% should go towards providing a quality, timely submittal.

As long as the implemented decisions are not made by you, or if they are they carry someone elses stamp/seal/name, I don't see how it's any different than being a regular employee without a PE licence (with the added benefit of not having to deal with the soul sucking corporate structure of most contracting firms).

Good luck buddy.

 

[KENAT]

Um, I think Pat may have a point, it's a shame the OP didn't clarify location, however I believe they may have moved back to Aus where some of the issues relating to what in the US is called PE will be different.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[TheTick]

I had one firm interested, but as soon as they knew I was not going to work in their office the negotiations ended.

I see that quite a bit in CAD design as well. Everyone wants to work from home. Most companies have had bad experiences with this.

For a while I had a pretty good gig as a have-gun-will-travel designer. I had my own seat of SolidWorks on a good laptop. I could go in and do work on-site for various clients (through an agency). The clients didn't have the burden of acquiring another CAD seat or workstation. I "rented" my workstation to clients for $5/hour extra.

 

[drawoh]

TheTick,

That makes sense to me. Very few mechanical jobs are suitable for someone to work off in a corner somewhere, disconnected from the world. You need good communications with co-workers, and that works a lot better when they are near at hand.

I have seen a couple of cases where someone sub-contracted work because they did not want to work with the design department, in-house. I am not sure of all the details. Maybe the in-house design group was too busy. Maybe they wanted more control than the in-house designers would give them. Maybe they did not trust the in-house design group.

The work handed in was awful, sometimes mind bogglingly so. There were no assembly drawings. In one case, every time we did a run of the product, an in-house designer spent weeks trying to fix the drawings.

If someone with access to an in-house engineering department, offered me a chance to do freelance work, I would want to know why. Perhaps a good strategy would be to inquire about the customer's in-house standards.

JHG