How to find a job for a new engineering graduate

[The Chevalier de Recci]

If anyone has any tips they would be hugely appreciated.

My son is graduating shortly and wants to find a job and I have no idea how to advise / help him. I've never applied for a job as my Dad got me my first nearly 40 years ago and I've always been quite happy to bumble along.

He has been fortunate to be blessed with his mother's intellect and has always been someone to who mathematics and exams generally were easy and will be graduating with a BSc in Aeronautics. He has been an A* student right through school and took his A levels early and then did some more. Stupidly he will probably end up with a 2:1 as he thinks he has messed up his last year project by following an interest rather than sticking to the brief and alienating his project tutor.

How can he get considered by some interesting companies. Should he just write to some or is it a case of looking at job adverts. If the latter then where is a good place to look. Do job agencies have any interest in fresh graduates or are they only looking for experience. Is it worth paying to have a CV written by a professional company even though there is not much to say as other than studying he just plays computer games.

What would get him noticed and invited for interview rather than just put in the maybe pile with hundreds of others.

It all seems very daunting and without any instruction manual.

Any insights welcomed.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

This differentiating factor might be a stretch as he found maths at school easy enough that his teacher remarked that he should try astronautics at uni, so he did. Otherwise he would probably have just done a maths degree. Spending the rest of his time playing games doesn't really sound great on a cv.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

kiethton said:

Potentially a stupid question, but....

Does he want to stay in engineering? A lot of the traits of an engineer (maths, logical thinking etc) are transferable to other sectors - accountancy, finance, banking etc.

He really just wants something which is interesting and not repetitive. He is not entirely sold on engineering but I think he needs something that will be quite intellectually hard or he would be bored. He definitely does not want to teach maths but other than that I've been trying to come up with ideas. Unfortunately google is too general.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

MattyD803 said:

I'm afraid I only have experience in the engineering consultancy world (think Arup, Jacobs, Atkins, Mott MacDonald, AECOM, etc)....but if that sort of thing tickles his fancy, I would suggest finding your local office, speaking with reception and asking for the name of the office / area director, who will more than likely entertain a direct CV - getting solid switched on engineering graduates is getting very difficult these days. Sadly not all offices cover all disciplines, but you can but ask - e.g. Derby office have a focus on Rolls Royce Contracts, Plymouth on Devonport/Defence etc.

What part of the country does he want to find work?

Thanks for replying.

Bristol and around ideally but he knows he may have to move out for the right job.

I'll start reading about engineering consultancies thanks.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

My shift is just about to start so will be back later, no phones on shift.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

Scrump said:

You have mail.

Thanks, Gradcracker seems the place to be. Can't imagine why all my Google searches have failed to find it before.
Looks like an ideal place to start searching.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

CoupeKid said:

Perhaps a daft question but has he been to his University Careers Service?

When I was a student the Careers Service did a brief presentation to us so he should be aware of the service. They do specialise in getting grads jobs after all and will have a library of companies that take on grads from his University. They might even be able to focus him on areas that would suit him.

I appreciate that the current situation makes it all a bit more awkward but there should be something they can do.

Unfortunately his uni careers department were not too helpful and so far have only issued an automated response saying they are busy and will get back to him when staffing levels increase.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

mikees said:

Have PMed some very interesting job links

Really appreciate you taking the trouble. I have passed them on to him.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

Benrad said:

Honestly, if you're having to help and he's got no outside interest then he wouldn't be getting to the top of my pile of applicants...

Gradcracker was a good website when I graduated in 2013

If he likes games then that's a huge industry in the UK (game design/development/testing) and he'd probably make a much more convincing applicant if he's actually interested

As said above Gradcracker is a great tip thanks.

I'm helping him because he is my son and I want to help him. I'm sure he would be okay without my help especially since he is far brighter than me but if I can come up with one extra lead then all to the good. We've discussed the games industry but not his thing it seems.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

Sporky said:

Ranger 6 said:

My son is hoping to get in to Loughborough to do Automotive engineering -n they were at great pains to highlight the support offered to students both for placements and post grad employment.

Your son's uni sounds pretty sh*t on that front - where is he?

I think they all say things up front that they don't back up later in that regard.

This does seem to be the case. Upfront there was a lot of talk about the university's connections with industry but nothing at the end. I don't think covid has helped as he didn't go to campus at all for the last 18 months and the staff support seemed to evaporate.
He did astronautics at Southampton.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. Gradcracker seems a goldmine of links and even where the actual jobs are not a good fit it gives him company names to work with etc.
The suggestions from others both on here and by pm are also looking good and have given ideas we would never have thought of.

He is going to be very busy writing cover letters and filling in applications for a few weeks now I think.

The suggestion given to actually get on the phone and follow up every application is also going to be used as I suspect with so many chasing the jobs every little nudge will count to get noticed.

Thanks

[The Chevalier de Recci]

merlin75 said:

\Can you pm me i work for an engineering company and we have roles we urgently need to fill, based in hungerford so about an hr from bristol

Mail sent, thanks

[The Chevalier de Recci]

Dr Slotter said:

I believe the Aeronautics courses are BEng/MEng at Soton.

Yes my mistake it is a BEng

[The Chevalier de Recci]

GliderRider said:

Bristol is a good area to be in for a graduate scientist/engineer. As you are no doubt aware, you have Airbus, Rolls-Royce, MBDA, GKN, Atkins and Frazer Nash all in close proximity. Leonardo (Formerly Westland Helicopters).

Having done a degree in astronautics, it would be a shame for your son not to make use of the specific knowledge he has acquired. Have you and your son looked at the space careers website? Space Careers

Meeting and talking to people in science and engineering is a great way to find out what is going on and to make connections. Obviously Covid-19 restrictions will reduce the number of lectures going at the moment, however the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, (IMechE), Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) and the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) all have lectures (some on Zoom at the moment). I worked at Airbus Filton for a while, and regularly attended IMechE and RAeS lectures despite not being a member of either.

A list of space companies with UK sites can be found here: UKSpace

In addition there are companies such as Prismatic Ltd, which make high altitude UAVs, for which space knowledge is relevant. Most of their workforce is made up of recent graduates: Prismatic Ltd

For

Thanks for the tips and links. I'll pass them on

[The Chevalier de Recci]

DeejRC said:

Chev, you have mail.
Aeronautics out of Saints are the magic words for certain ppl in certain industries.
Their careers peeps are either being numpties or complacent. They are arguably the best connected ppl into an industry in the country, outside of Loughborough or Leeds.

Thanks for the PM, you should have his CV in your alternate inbox now.
Any tips, advice or leads much appreciated.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

snotrag said:

Crudeoink said:

HJG said:

People saying hard to get a job with 'just a BEng' etc...

All engineering sectors struggle to recruit. Don't fall down the 'I must get a masters or PhD' trap. It's not true. It hinges hugely on the individual.

A degree is a given on the CV. Every applicant is going to have one. You need to stand out and make yourself more interesting than the next person. Extra curricular projects at uni, private projects you've done yourself, problems you've solved, teamwork and/or leadership experience.
2 pages maximum in any CV and do not include the paper round at age 13.

I would agree with this, I graduated about 4 years ago with a BSc from a, at best, mediocre university. I have since gone on to work as a Design Engineer, Systems engineer and more recently Lead Systems Engineer. I've also had 3 offers of employment in the last 2 months without even actively looking to wanting to move from where I am currently. My other half who graduated with an MEng finds it no easier to find roles compared to me, and I have never had an issue with my degree being a BSc.

1000% Thirded the above. Engineering Student here - but also with th above 'mediocre' qualification from a former Poly technic. Graduated 2008, varied career so far, loads of interesting jobs, currently a Technical Training role in Aviation, very happy.

This is the bit that worries me regarding the CV:

The Chevalier de Recci said:

there is not much to say as other than studying he just plays computer games

This is my worry too. All the guides I've read online emphasise that a cv should shine a light on all your interests and how you've achieved so much despite still being young and academically brilliant.
He's not a computer gaming recluse who lives in a dark room and only emerges for a refill of pop tarts. He is very socially active with his friends and is very witty and just bonkers bright at maths.
His CV is therefore very plain and factual since he's never volunteered in the third world or built a working replica of Stephensons Rocket but he is not lacking in motivation or ability. (Obviously I'm hugely biased)

He chose Astronautics at Southampton because his maths teacher said it would be the hardest maths based course out there and Southampton had a great reputation.
His mum went to Cambridge and later did a DPhil at Oxford (she's the brains I just talk a good game) so he knew what was what in the University hierarchy but the Oxford course was too much Aerospace and too little Astro for his liking.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

CubanPete said:

PM'd

Thanks for taking the trouble to PM me the link. I'll pass it on. Certainly looks like the sort of company he should be contacting.

[The Chevalier de Recci]

pete_esp said:

I wouldn't worry too much about getting a 2:1. I got that as a BEng and decided that it made more sense to start working having achieved this as MEng etc didn't offer a sufficient increase in the starting salary to compensate against another year of student debt + the loss of earnings. Didn't stop me getting my chartership either.

As far as getting jobs is concerned, he should get a decent Linked In profile and put effort into his CV. This will attract recruiters, they will put him forward for jobs then it's up to him to build a rapport and impress. I presume assessment days are still a thing for new grads so that's his opportunity to stand out from the crowd but that's on him.

FWIW I work in the aerospace and defence industry writing code for FPGAs, which is the etherworld between hardware & software. If he learns how to code in VHDL or System Verilog or both he will be in great demand for quite some time. The companies I have worked for always have open positions for these skills and not a week goes by without recruiters making contact about other opportunities.

Thanks for your insights. He's currently working on his Linkedin profile as like you say it seems a resource that recruiters use.