How do I network with engineers? 2

[AhmedNajam]

First off, I'm extremely glad to have found this forum, I had been lurking for well over a year now and learned a ton of helpful advice and now finally decided to join and make my first post:

Since the beginning of my university career, I have been applying to numerous internship/co-op positions (atleast 1000+ by now). I am now in my third year of Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University(Ontario, Canada) and yet to find a job. I've tried asking my professors, family friends who are engineers themselves, previous summer job employers for any potential engineering intern position but nothing seems to be working. I've tried my university's job board, indeed, wowjobs, talentegg....you name it, but I've yet to find a job.

Any advice on how I can get my foot on the ground and land an internship/co-op would be highly appreciated. I'm sure many of you guys went through this exact phase that I am going through right now so please feel free to share your experiences.

 

[FastMouse]

I've tried my university's job board, indeed, wowjobs, talentegg....you name it, but I've yet to find a job.

Two cents worth coming right up!

(1) Read the university job board. Do not apply via the job board. See (2).

(2) Don't apply via a website. Write a letter or make a phone call and if you get a response (expect a circa 10% response rate, including the ones where you get "no thanks"), go from there.

(3) If you have a dream sector that you want to devote your career to, you don't need me to tell you to focus on that. But if not, read the free industry rags to see what is hot. Or at least warm.

(4) Improve your LinkedIn profile.

(5) When you make it to an interview, what you have learned at uni is extremely important. But what is most important to the interviewer is probably the answer to "Does this person look like they will fit in around here?"

 

[fegenbush]

I agree with everything FastMouse said. In addition, I would like to offer the following:

- Don't think that because it's not an "engineering" job that the experience will not be valuable. I recommend looking for jobs at machine shops and welding/fabrication shops. This experience will prove to be invaluable later.

- Show up, in person and ready to work. I am aware that cold calling is not desirable to either party, but there are some small companies who are too busy to even take out a classified ad. You showing up at their door looking to work could be the answer to their prayers.

- Let them know that you are not afraid of hard work, and be willing to show them. There is a perception that young people do not know what hard work means. You can show them that you do not fit into this stereotype.

I wish you luck in your search. There are jobs out there, but you have to dig to find them.

 

[IRstuff]

Often, it's the message or lack thereof, i.e., have you had anyone review your resume and cover letters? Is your message too diffuse? The general recommendation is that cover letters and resumes need to be tailored for each given opportunity. Obviously, you've not got much to work with, but even minor wording changes could make your message more overt and more noticeable.


Hackathons are kind of THE VEHICLE for EE/CS types to get noticed, not sure about MEs, but there's lots of activity on the web:

https://www.google.com/#q=upcoming+hackathons

I've heard of students organizing their own hackathons and soliciting support from companies; that'll definitely get you noticed by someone looking for a go-getter.

TTFN
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[oldestguy]

One option is to associate with those engineers. You can do that as a member of a student section of such an engineering society. Here is just one such professional group.

http://www.csme-scgm.ca/

Notice that they have something for students.

Check to see if a society of professional engineers also is in your area. Attend their meetings if you can and it certainly won't hurt to let it be known what your wishes are. Most of these groups will welcome interested students. Your university may have a student group also. The more active yuo are in these groups, the more likely you will find the job you want.

The lazy way via Internet won't cut it. It takes some real effort.

 

[zdas04]

ASME and SPE (Petroleum Engineering) both have really active University and new graduate programs right now. If you are not a member of ASME, fix that today. If you have any interest in Oil & Gas, join SPE today. Student memberships for both organizations are offered at discounted fees.

A lot of my clients are smaller companies and two of them have summer interns working this year. Just a few years ago companies this size would not have considered intern/co-op programs, but today they have them.

Two things that hold most people back: (1) too much focus on staying in a geographic location; and (2) refusal to even consider employment in an industry that the mainstream media is currently denigrating (e.g., Coal, Oil & Gas, or mining).

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice Frédéric Bastiat

 

[IRstuff]

Some companies treat internships as slave labor; my son got paid all of about $1500 for the entire summer after sophomore year. Luckily, the experience was worth way more than that.

TTFN
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[GregLocock]

On that last point, 36 years ago I started working for the British car industry. Since then I have been (more or less voluntarily) unemployed for maybe 2 months, in total. I have worked for 6 companies, at least 5 of which have undergone great financial strife or disappeared in the time I was working for them or soon after (hopefully not cause and effect).

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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

 

[Ron]

Greg...there's a reason for that...you're not "average".

 

[kacarrol]

Ahmed,

I graduated in mechanical in Ontario also and have not been without a job (for what that is worth). I would mostly agree with a lot of the information here, and disagree with some of it too. Ie, FastMouse has some great tips, but I've managed to land interviews (and jobs) using websites. Networking and in person stuff definitely helps but don't rule out job boards.

When I read your post and you write that you have applied to 1000 or more jobs I hear alarms going off in my head. Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like you're spamming the job community. Employers can tell when you do that, it tells them you aren't putting in the effort to learn about them and their job. You need to put in effort. Tailor your resume to the job you are applying to and write a cover letter (usually the body of an email not an attachment to the email). Get someone to look over your resume, your university probably offers help in this area, if they don't pony up the money and get it professionally done.

And any experience can be used on your resume. Get out there and volunteer for things at your university, not only does it bulk up your resume but you usually get a free meal out of it ;-) Join the debate club! You can then tell prospective employers about your great oral skills and critical thinking skills. Be captain of a team, your can trump up your leadership skills on a resume. It's all in how you spin it!

Good luck,
K

 

[SomptingGuy]

I'm guessing that most companies have some kind of graduate intake/recruitment these days still, which will be advertised on their own

http://WWW site.

Before the days of the

http://WWW (not

that long ago), they used to visit universities en masse - indeed most of my contemporaries got their first jobs through this method. Hardly any went for direct appointment. I went through the "milk round", but I still see a new herd arriving late summer most years, dissolving off into their first placements.

- Steve

 

[SomptingGuy]

more...

I just did a simple Google search using (with quotes):

"graduate recruitment" engineering

One of the first-page hits was this:

http://www.siemens.co.uk/careers/en/graduate/graduate.htm

I don't work for this company, but the page thrown up looks very familiar. A company spending its own money to attract graduates (not a recruitment agency). Many do. I'm sure I could find similar pages for most of the interesting engineering employers.

- Steve