Job opportunity at Southways Automotive
Discussion
Hi all,
I know it's a strange place to see this, but we're on the hunt for an additional member of the team. The sort of person we're after is likely to be the sort of person that frequents internet car-based forums, so it's not as daft as it sounds to post here.
For those that don't know, we're a small specialist vehicle workshop based in Fareham, Hampshire. We cater mainly in kit-car building/re-building and TVR chassis restoration & repairs. We have also been known to build the odd BMW here and there in the past, as well as putting engines in classic cars that don't strictly belong there.
The workload here is (literally) growing by the week. We have bookings taking us well into the summer, so we have decided to attempt to add to our small team to try and maintain the flow, rather than sitting and doing nothing and watching it take out a railway line in Devon.
The sort of person we're looking for is a tough person to describe. We're not after a mechanic as such, but more the sort of person who enjoys car restoration and making things. So somebody who builds or heavily modifies their own cars is preferable to someone who can swap clutches 10mins quicker than the book time. Experience and obvious demonstration of it speaks louder than qualifications. The sort of work we do isn't really taught in any colleges, or schools. There's no GNVQ in stripping and rebuilding TVRs and other hand-built cars.
The sort of traits we need are:
I know it's a strange place to see this, but we're on the hunt for an additional member of the team. The sort of person we're after is likely to be the sort of person that frequents internet car-based forums, so it's not as daft as it sounds to post here.
For those that don't know, we're a small specialist vehicle workshop based in Fareham, Hampshire. We cater mainly in kit-car building/re-building and TVR chassis restoration & repairs. We have also been known to build the odd BMW here and there in the past, as well as putting engines in classic cars that don't strictly belong there.
The workload here is (literally) growing by the week. We have bookings taking us well into the summer, so we have decided to attempt to add to our small team to try and maintain the flow, rather than sitting and doing nothing and watching it take out a railway line in Devon.
The sort of person we're looking for is a tough person to describe. We're not after a mechanic as such, but more the sort of person who enjoys car restoration and making things. So somebody who builds or heavily modifies their own cars is preferable to someone who can swap clutches 10mins quicker than the book time. Experience and obvious demonstration of it speaks louder than qualifications. The sort of work we do isn't really taught in any colleges, or schools. There's no GNVQ in stripping and rebuilding TVRs and other hand-built cars.
The sort of traits we need are:
- Someone who is mechanically minded. We're not expecting you to be a rocket scientist, but we would need you to know how an engine works!
- Someone who is bright, can think for themselves and is forward-thinking. So rather than somebody who can just diagnose a failed head gasket and change it, we want somebody who would also ask the question "why did it fail?" and makes efforts to prevent it happening again. They rarely fail for no reason!
- Someone who is self-motivated. Because we're paying you.
- Someone with attention to detail, and who takes pride in their work. You have to strike a balance between making things work, and making them look nice and work. We tend to edge on the latter of those two, so attention to detail and presentation in your work are important.
- Someone who is reliable. Naturally.
- Someone who is trustworthy. I get annoyed with people that aren't.
- Lastly, someone who is enthusiastic. Current TVR or kit-car owners and tinkerers would be good, but mostly importantly someone who is a genuine petrolhead. Many garages are run by people who don't really like cars all that much, it's just business (I can think of much better ways to make not a lot of money to be honest!) We feel we're different - we do because we like doing it. And we want to hear from people who would also.
Finally, a company who goes about recruitment the realistic way! It's good to see you guys looking for more than just bits of paper as we all know there's no substitute for getting stuck in.
Good luck in your search, this would be a perfect job for me but a bit too far to travel (about 90 miles each way lol) and you've seen my handy-work first hand...
So fingers crossed for you mate, I doubt you'll struggle to find someone, it's a great little business you have there.
Martin.
Good luck in your search, this would be a perfect job for me but a bit too far to travel (about 90 miles each way lol) and you've seen my handy-work first hand...
So fingers crossed for you mate, I doubt you'll struggle to find someone, it's a great little business you have there.
Martin.
10 years ago this would of been my dream job
What about Loud86, he was on the south board looking for automotive based work i seem to remember
Have you considered youth training type schemes, i left school in the late 90's and did one and it really set me up for life. Not sure if they exist in the same way the did 15 years ago. I sound old
Good luck
What about Loud86, he was on the south board looking for automotive based work i seem to remember
Have you considered youth training type schemes, i left school in the late 90's and did one and it really set me up for life. Not sure if they exist in the same way the did 15 years ago. I sound old
Good luck
martinrpeachey said:
Finally, a company who goes about recruitment the realistic way! It's good to see you guys looking for more than just bits of paper as we all know there's no substitute for getting stuck in.
Good luck in your search, this would be a perfect job for me but a bit too far to travel (about 90 miles each way lol) and you've seen my handy-work first hand...
So fingers crossed for you mate, I doubt you'll struggle to find someone, it's a great little business you have there.
Martin.
Hi Martin,Good luck in your search, this would be a perfect job for me but a bit too far to travel (about 90 miles each way lol) and you've seen my handy-work first hand...
So fingers crossed for you mate, I doubt you'll struggle to find someone, it's a great little business you have there.
Martin.
Yeah, we figured this might be a more realistic way of finding the right person, rather than just finding a person! It's actually how I ended up here many years ago!
Cheers!
Rich
mgbond said:
Wow,
I would love this. But for me it would be a bit of a learning exercise. I tinker and know what's going on but generally get specialist garages to do the actual work.
I would also have to take a pay cut
. Shame as if I was out of work I would be begging for this
Bondy
I think a lot of people would be in a similar situation to you there, where they know what's going on in their head. We also need someone who knows it and is good with their hands.I would love this. But for me it would be a bit of a learning exercise. I tinker and know what's going on but generally get specialist garages to do the actual work.
I would also have to take a pay cut
. Shame as if I was out of work I would be begging for thisBondy
And you're right, you probably would have to take a pay cut
Cheers
Spare tyre said:
10 years ago this would of been my dream job
What about Loud86, he was on the south board looking for automotive based work i seem to remember
Have you considered youth training type schemes, i left school in the late 90's and did one and it really set me up for life. Not sure if they exist in the same way the did 15 years ago. I sound old
Good luck
I know Louis already but employing mates can be risky!What about Loud86, he was on the south board looking for automotive based work i seem to remember
Have you considered youth training type schemes, i left school in the late 90's and did one and it really set me up for life. Not sure if they exist in the same way the did 15 years ago. I sound old
Good luck
YTS is a good idea, but I think we're a bit too small to handle something like that.
Cheers
on second thoughts maybe not 
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