Any advice for a young engineer trying to land their very first job out of college?

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Years ago I had a new grad apply for a job in assembly with a manufacturing engineering degree because he couldn't find work in eng. He wanted to work assembly to get experience to use with his degree. He's now my engineering manager.

Maybe something to try. For me it showed an incredible amount of initiative and was one of my best hires.

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Wow that's actually so inspiring, thank you for sharing! I'll keep trying to make use of my degree for the moment but it's reassuring to know there's other paths available

If you have any former classmates who are currently employed somewhere in a field you are interested in, message them and ask if their company is hiring/if you can get a referral. Ideally they'd have a year or more experience - if they just got hired chances are their company isn't hiring another entry-level.

If you haven't taken your resume to your university's career center, do so. You may not have the most concise writing style yet, and there may be some minor grammatical/syntactical errors which will catch the eye of a hiring manager in a bad way.

Also, as soon as you see a posting open, apply as soon as you can. Being the first resume on someone's desk is a big leg up.

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I 100% agree with HDR 1. If you have the opportunity to, attend career events or webinars in the companies you are interested in. I wholeheartedly believe most of the recruitment game is who you know and not necessarily what you know. That bit you learn on the job 😂.

Also, don’t send the same standard resume to every company. Read the job description and tailor it to what they need. If you don’t have much internship experience, not a deal breaker. Just make sure your resume shows the skills you learnt through your discipline and quantify any achievements with numbers :)

If you have internships lean hard on what you did. If you have no exp don’t worry recruiters and other experienced engineers understand that. They are looking for someone with a lot of energy, a positive go getter attitude and someone who gets along with others.

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Hi There, I would start applying for roles in your field with companies of your choice and email recruiters about your interest in the job

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Oh I've been sending them applications believe me lol just been struggling to land an interview

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The best advice I can give is to network as much as possible and attend industry events. Start by reaching out to your alumni network and see if anyone in your field is hiring.

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Start by targeting companies that you would like to work for and do your research. Once you have a list of companies, reach out to them and express your interest in working for them. In your email, be sure to attach your resume and include a brief summary of your experience. Finally, be prepared to interview and sell yourself.

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Use LinkedIn to find people in your industry and reach out to them for advice or networking opportunities. Finally, attend industry events so you can meet people in person and build relationships.

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You need to have a portfolio of cool stuff you've done. Research the company and try to relate what you know to what they do. Pay the the $400 or whatever it is to Adam Karpiak to have him go through your resume and tailor it. I had gone through my resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn and had hits pretty much every day after that.

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Did you do any internships or get any research experience, or would this be your first time working on something?

Just a summer internship, but they're not hiring at the moment :(

Did you get started on building up your network? If not you should make a LinkedIn and start connecting with people in your industry as a starting point

I do have a LinkedIn but I don't give it too much love tbh I suppose that's a clear place to make some improvements on

How much help are you looking for here? Do you have a resume, cover letter, previous experience? if you have all that ready to go your goal should be to apply apply apply. It's a competitive field so you gotta get your name out there if you want to find a job

Get involved with industry groups and attend events where you can meet people in your field. Additionally, be sure to showcase your skills and accomplishments on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Be prepared for interviews and have questions ready to ask your potential employers. Get someone to help you role playing an interview so you can loosen up before the process. Best of luck!

Use your contacts as much as possible. Did you go to school with people who are now working in the industry? Ask them how they landed the job and see if the company might be hiring another.

Attend your college's career fair. Make sure your résumé is sharp - have friends who are practicing engineers give you feedback on it, and also have an English teacher look it over. Attend meetings of your local chapter of ASME and network there.

Internships is the way to go! But if not able to, I would recommend reaching out to your LinkedIn network and see if they know someone in the company you want to work at, that may have some referrals

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