It would be nice if people could give you a chance to work!!

[fullmonty86]

It would be nice if people could give you a chance to work in the industry !!!

Hi all im having a little bit of a rant !!
Someone once told me if you try hard enough you will get what you want, but after 5 years of trying to get into the Mechanics/ Motorsport industry as a trainee i have come to the conclusion that people don't like to give people a chance any more.
I am a 25 year old bloke who has had his fair share of bad luck.
I just have a love of Motorbikes & Cars.
I was reading a forum recently and a owner of a garage was saying if he knew anyone who showed willing for a job and not matter if they had a qualification or not he would hire them but then he went on to say the youth of today just want it handed to them on a silver platter.
I can honestly say I am not one of those people I have worked hard for everything I have done and for no reward all I have ever asked for is a chance to get my foot in the door and not get shot down straight away because I don’t have the qualification there and then they don’t want to know.
I have begged company's to give me a chance as a trainee and show them what i can do and in turn listen and take note of what there showing me but it is so difficult to even get a foot in the door .
I have a very keen interest in mechanics and have never been afraid of getting my hands dirty.
Like everyone they have bills to pay I would honestly love to work for free but it is so unrealistic everyone with a hand in your pocket.
Thanks for taking the time to read this !!!
RANT OVER !!!!

[8vFTW]

At the moment it is hard enough to break into a industry when you are qualified.

[rhinochopig]

If this is an attempt to attract some offers of 'I'll give you a chance', you might find a softer approach more successful. The sort of post that asks for a chance and then goes on to tell us what a good egg you are, rather than starting with a rant. Just a thought.

[J4CKO]

Hsve you considered setting up on your own, there are plenty of people out there needing, brakes, suspension, MOTs, clutches, head gaskets

[parapaul]

fullmonty86 said:

It would be nice if people could give you a chance to work in the industry !!!

Hi all im having a little bit of a rant !!
...blah blah blah...

Will someone please give me a job?

...blah blah blah...


Thanks for taking the time to read this !!!
RANT OVER !!!!

It's school holidays, isn't it? Have you just finished school with a dream of working in motorsport and thought PH would be a good place to start?

[fullmonty86]

It wasn't asking for a offer at all (even though it would be nice) i was just trying to say my experiences with even if you have got a passion for something and you show people that alot of people still wont give you a chance or the time of day i wished alot more people did have a helpful attitude.

I am going to college in September to study Motorsport Mechanics i really hope this helps me get a career in something i truly love doing and a chance to get my hands dirty and help out as much as i possibly can !!!

Sorry for the little Rant !!!

[monkey gland]

What work have you been doing for the past 7 years?

[fullmonty86]

parapaul


Actually I am 25 and when you get comments back like that let me think someone once gave you a chance and you proved yourself !!!

[fullmonty86]

monkey gland

Honestly anything i could get to survive.

Everything from Admin to working for a Coach Company in there garage as a trainee but they went bust and nobody else was taking on a trainee !!

[rhinochopig]

fullmonty86 said:

It wasn't asking for a offer at all (even though it would be nice) i was just trying to say my experiences with even if you have got a passion for something and you show people that alot of people still wont give you a chance or the time of day i wished alot more people did have a helpful attitude.

I am going to college in September to study Motorsport Mechanics i really hope this helps me get a career in something i truly love doing and a chance to get my hands dirty and help out as much as i possibly can !!!

Sorry for the little Rant !!!

This topic has been covered a few times - how to break into motorsport engineering - so do a search as there are some good tips from people who work actually work motorsport from clubman all the way up to F1 level.

A question though for you, what have you actually done to try and get some work?

[fullmonty86]

J4CKO said:

Hsve you considered setting up on your own, there are plenty of people out there needing, brakes, suspension, MOTs, clutches, head gaskets

I have looked into doing this but without getting costly business insurance and health & safety to come access your site they will not touch you with a barge pole.

I do try and fix friends and familys cars for them but there are only so many to be done at a time !!

[LuS1fer]

As Dragons' Den shows every week, no-one is that interested in passion as it doesn't make money. What they want is ruthless efficiency, brilliant ideas and unswerving devotion to the Pope...our three main weapons.....

My first job was selling motorcycles which allowed me to get my foot in the door based on my love of them but all it got me was the opportunity of being a doorstop.

It's a bit like X Factor - everyone wants it but there aren't enough jobs in a million universes to cater for the horde. Sometimes they just have to make do with the outstanding genius of the best applicant.

[fullmonty86]

rhinochopig said:

This topic has been covered a few times - how to break into motorsport engineering - so do a search as there are some good tips from people who work actually work motorsport from clubman all the way up to F1 level.

A question though for you, what have you actually done to try and get some work?

I have tried anything i could possibly think of from going to talk to companys to show willing to searching the net to learn about as many different areas as possible and search and apply for work.

Any other help would be greatly appreciated.

I know the country is in a financial rut but there are still plenty of vehicles that need someone to do the basics on.

[martin84]

A strange way of putting it but there definately is an issue of people, specifically younger people not being 'given a chance' anymore. My parents keep telling me about how 'when i left school i went straight into work' etc etc but 99% of the time now, employers dont take school leavers seriously and most now go into higher education and its quite common for people to not enter the workplace until they're 21-22 ish, rather than the 15-16 of bygone years. Couple that with employers now having the pick of the lot (with so many people unemployed, plenty of them skilled people, employers can afford to be picky) and demanding an endless list of criteria even for basic jobs and still high competition for them its difficult for anyone to get a foot in the door in anything.

[MarJay]

I think you're going about it the wrong way. What you're asking for is to be allowed into the top echelons of an industry and completely bypassing the rest.

Why not start as a normal mechanic in a normal business? Why does it have to be motorsport right away? Why not gain experience doing the mundane crap that all mechanics have to go through before they do anything interesting?

The way I see it, trying to break into the motorsport industry is the same as trying to break into any 'dream' job. Hundreds of people want to do it, so you've got to have something that stands out from the rest. Take Audio Engineering for example. Thousands of kids have a dream of entering the music industry doing audio engineering, but only a few ever make it. A lot of kids will work for free, for ridiculous hours etc etc just to get their foot in the door.

Are you prepared to work for free? If not I'd suggest working your way up from an ordinary garage business rather than repeatedly trying and failing to go straight into your dream job.

You clearly DO want it all on a platter!

[rhinochopig]

fullmonty86 said:

rhinochopig said:

This topic has been covered a few times - how to break into motorsport engineering - so do a search as there are some good tips from people who work actually work motorsport from clubman all the way up to F1 level.

A question though for you, what have you actually done to try and get some work?

I have tried anything i could possibly think of from going to talk to companys to show willing to searching the net to learn about as many different areas as possible and search and apply for work.

Any other help would be greatly appreciated.

I know the country is in a financial rut but there are still plenty of vehicles that need someone to do the basics on.

Join your local motor club - ask if anyone needs a hand spannering. Get yourself to some circuits / rallys at the clubman level, where enthusiasm is high and budgets are not and ask if you can help.

If you come across as polite and enthusiastic and offer to help for free, you will get an offer eventually. I appreciate working for free is crap, but see it as a hobby and a stepping stone. Build up a reputation from there and then start tapping up the companies that do it professionally.

There are two routes into any type of engineering - academic and practical - and at the moment it seems you have neither. So unfortunately, you offer practically no value as an employee, which is why I suggest you start offering your time to people who are time rich, who you can learn from, but who are cash poor.

Good luck.

[waterwonder]

I don't really understand this being given a chance thing?

As with any job you apply for what you're qualified for. If that's nothing then you join as an apprentice on ten pence a year. Then if you don't fk up you're away.

A very quick google would suggest Halfords and Ford are recruiting.

If you're not successful ask for feedback. If the reason is something you can address do so, if it's not and you getting the same feedback maybe you should consider something else.

In today's job Market asking for a chance is pointless, you need to be selling yourself and telling prospective employers why they should employee you. What can you do for them, not what can they do for you. Cheesy and cliched but true.

[J4CKO]

fullmonty86 said:

J4CKO said:

Hsve you considered setting up on your own, there are plenty of people out there needing, brakes, suspension, MOTs, clutches, head gaskets

I have looked into doing this but without getting costly business insurance and health & safety to come access your site they will not touch you with a barge pole.

I do try and fix friends and familys cars for them but there are only so many to be done at a time !!

Perhaps cast the net a bit wider, get some cards printed, go kind of semi legit until you get up to speed and then go full time, the work is out there, drop leaflets, perhaps approach local garages and ask if they want to send any work they cant do your way.

My dad did "Foreigners" for years and made good money, had a few regulars, a local sales place and a taxi firm, in fact the Cortina knocking cam issue paid for our holidays for a few years, he got them down to a fine art, say £50 back then for a couple of hours, taxi back on road earning so worth it to the taxi co.

No point moaning on here, come up with some ideas and pursue it, it wont come to you, as long as you have somewhere to work you are sorted, perhaps document what you have doen and build a portfolio of what you have done to show potential employers that are more in the field, read everything you can about motorsport engineering, the info is out there, now more than ever. Could you do night school at college ?