How to make a great first impression? 20

[CivilTom]

This question is geared more toward senior engineers or people within management in engineering departments. How does a new grad give off a great first impression during thier first day or week at work? What would make you think "wow this candidate was a great choice I'm very happy with him"

 

[KENAT]

Only needing to tell them things once. (Hint, get a note pad and write everything remotely pertinent down).

Extrapolating what I tell them on one thing to apply another thing, and then checking with me if that makes sense if appropriate rather than just asking first off.

Rather than always asking questions instead proposing your idea and asking if that seems right.

Asking good questions when you do ask them.

Humility.

Confidence without any hint of arrogance.

No sense of entitlement.

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[MadMango]

1. When given a task, attack it thoroughly and pay attention to detail.

2. Don't be afraid to ask questions to get a better understanding of your task or reasons behind it.

3. Don't just sit at your desk waiting for work to come to you. Go to your supervisor and ask for work, if none can be found there, ask the person in the chair next to you. Repeat until you find work to do, and notify your supervisor that you found it on your own (ie I'm assisting Jim-Bob because I finished my last task).

4. Don't talk about your nightly conquests at the bar or party activities over the weekend. Chances are everyone is older than you, and has "been there, done that." Gentlemen never tell, and you might remind others of what they might be missing out on.

5. Pay attention to personal hygiene and wear conservative clothing.

You can adjust all the above behavior after you've been there for a few months and have figured out the company's culture.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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[TheTick]

As the late, great Frank Zappa might say, "Shut up and play yer guitar." Mouth shut, eyes and ears open, hands set to the master's work.

 

[CivilTom]

As far as behavior and appearence, I am not worried. I am well groomed and show respect to others, especially to higher engineers/managers. The main concern I have is not catching on quickly or asking a dumb quesiton (YES there is such a thing as dumb questions).

 

[GregLocock]

"show respect to others, especially to higher engineers/managers." Mind you brown nosing will get you less far than you might think. I can see no reason why you should treat anyone at work with exceptional respect.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[KENAT]

Just making sure you only ask each dumb question once is a step up from some folk!

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[djm883]

Try not to finish tasks as fast as you can to move on to your next task. Make sure all tasks given are done correctly before saying you are complete. I was told early on in my career that being correct is more important than being quick in completing tasks. Even if it is mundane work like data entry, check to make sure everything is correct. Now that I am beginning to supervise other engineers, I can't stand when simple tasks aren't being done correctly.

Kenat also mentioned in his first post to write down all pertinent things in a notebook when someone gives you a task. We had a junior engineer start and he wrote down each task in his notepad during our conversations to make sure he knew what was asked of him. This gave me a good impression of his organizational skills.

 

[berkshire]

Do not start coasting after you have been there a few weeks. This will be noticed, There is an old saying That " A new broom sweeps clean.", and senior staff are well aware of it.
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[SNORGY]

Remember the question, "What can I do to help?". If you ask that, and then do whatever it is that the person says will help, the rest falls into place.

But I have been spoiled rotten by the new people in my charge. My goodness, but they have been great young people.

Attitude is everything.

 

[ctopher]

I will also add...be creative.

Chris
SolidWorks 11
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[IRstuff]

I wouldn't get too hung up about asking questions; better that they know where your knowledge holes are than to surprise them with a serious faux pas because you were afraid to ask the question that would have prevented the mishap.

No one can be expected to know everything; I've found that being honest with your customers, which includes your management, tends to engender more trust, because they know you'll give them the straight scoop, regardless.

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[SomptingGuy]

Have the confidence to realise that you might just be right, regardless of experience.

- Steve

 

[Jboggs]

If you are working in an office that has a lot of old drawings around, take the time to study them in detail. Note the small things that make one drawing give a better first impression than another drawing. Things like proper lineweights, organization, clarity, neatness. None of that has anything to do with the content, but it gives the observer an immediate impression that the drawing's author knew what he was doing. Take the same care with anything else of a visual nature that your produce. Take that little extra time just to make it look nice. Make it pop. To be blunt, do something that frankly this new generation is not known for - take personal pride in your work.

While we're at it, you can also make sure you don't fall prey to another ALL TOO COMMON habit of the younger generation. They seem to think that all written communication is the same as texting. Many of them pay no attention at all to grammar, spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, syntax, etc. How did these folks ever get a degree? That tells me a lot about our schools.

I have numerous examples in my inbox. A graduate engineer recently sent me a request for information. His message was three sentences. It had one capitalized letter, five misspelled words, and one period. This young man is a competent engineer, but you would never know it by his communication. He is hobbling his own progress.

Oh, and one last thing - the fact that you are asking the question is very a good indication!

 

[Maui]

Learn from the mistakes of others who have been working there a while. You won't live ling enough to make them all yourself.

Maui

http://www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Remember - dumb questions prevent dumb mistakes. I beat that into my new engineers all the time!!

 

[MrHershey]

Be a sponge. Soak up anything and everything you can. While asking questions is good, be aware that other people have work to do too, so try and consolidate questions if you can. We have one guy who when he's doing something for me will ask questions a couple times an hour that last several minutes each. It's okay, but makes it difficult for me to get my work done. And some questions are better to do some research on your own first before answering. Example with this young engineer is usually on the order of 'how do I do this _________?' in whatever analysis package he's looking at. Play around, read the manuals, it's the best way to learn. Maybe you'll pick up some tricks that nobody else knows in the process.

And when you're slow ask people if they have anything for you to do. If the answer is no, then do something constructive. Don't just twiddle your thumbs or surf the Internet or leave early. Read journal articles or trade magazines. Find a textbook for something you're not good at or didn't cover in school and go through the basics and then some basic examples (for structural engineers, common examples of stuff we have to do ALL.THE.TIME that are not covered at all in school: slabs-on-grade under heavy loading, retaining walls, slender wall design, steel joists (specifying, detailing, reinforcing)). Go through tutorials for an analysis package you're not totally familiar with to make sure you know it when the time comes that you need it. There's tons all of us can learn and would love to learn, but just don't have the time. Take advantage of the down-time, you'll wish you had when you're swamped.

 

[pittguy12]

You are new so it's a given you will ask some "dumb" questions. Don't worry. We have all done it and anyone you are working for will expect you to do the same. Don't think of them as being 'dumb'...you are just green and it's OK to not know something. I would rather have 100 obvious questions asked to me than 1 that wasn't asked.

It's better to ask than to assume.

Great advice here already. Be a professional but don't be worried if you aren't 'catching on' right away. It's all about experience and, unfortunately, the only way to get experience is to put the time in. You will be overwhelmed but that's OK!

You will find it will take about 4-6 months before you are comfortable and probably 50 years beyond that to 'figure it all out'.

Good luck.

 

[JRESE]

Find out which professional societies / organizations the senior people participate in. Ask about helping with committee work. Get involved in a committee that you care about. Support and advance your profession.

 

[ScottyUK]

Ask if you can spend some time with the shop floor workers, the front line guys actually doing the work. Choose your moment to ask questions - halfway through a complex task is rarely a good time to distract someone! Never be afraid to get involved and get your hands dirty, but always check it is safe for you to do so before diving in. There are a lot of hazards in an industrial environment which school doesn't teach you much about - some are obvious but many are more subtle and you should learn to recognise them when they are pointed out to you. Things like unions, for example...