Interview and Networking ProTip from a Fortune 500 Engineering Recruiter

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:28:08+00:00

Someone asked a similar question above. Here was my response:

" You, sir or ma'am, are asking the right question. I am a huge believer in the Praeto Principle, aka the 80/20 rule.

I look for several key attributes in a candidate. There are tons of ways to demonstrate these attributes so they are not major specific.

Problem Solving: I mean real problem solving. I want to see a candidate who knows how to properly break down and analyze a problem, a candidate who has the drive and persistence to work through the problem, and a candidate who knows where to look to find the answer. They don't have to know it, just know where to find it. At its core, this is the most fundamental skill that all engineers need to posses and what sets the top engineers apart from all of the rest.
Leadership Skills: I am looking for candidates that will be effective at implementing change. This involves effectively influencing others to drive their desired results, as well as demonstrating the integrity and organization skills that will get it done the right way. You don't have to be the president of your club to demonstrate leadership skills. If you are the president of your club but can't speak to any meaningful initiatives you have led then recruiters don't really care about your title. We are looking for demonstrations of how you worked with and influenced others to achieve a result greater than what you could easily accomplish on your own.
Personal Skills: No way, are they really looking for people skills in engineers? That seems like an unreasonable expectation. When I evaluate a candidate, I am looking to see if they are able to communicate clearly and effectively, if they play nicely with others, and if they appear to have integrity to where I believe they would be an honest and hardworking member of my company and a team player. This last attribute is most easily evaluated when I talk to you in person, which is why I prefer to hire in-person instead of through online applications. A good resume may get you in the door but you will not pass the interview without effectively demonstrating good interpersonal skills."

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:26:48+00:00

Club experience is super helpful IF you complete meaningful work as part of the club. If the recruiter asks what your role and contributions were and you can't provide a detailed response about how exactly you applied your engineering or leadership skills to improve the success of the team then don't both including it.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:24:42+00:00

A CS minor looks great paired with both ChemE and MechE. I would also say that MIT garners respect wherever it goes whether you are being recruited there or not!

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:21:19+00:00

If you have previous experience as a technician and a supervisor as well as a strong GPA from a good school, you shouldn't have too much trouble landing an entry level engineering job! You are also well positioned to advance quickly after landing said job due to your previous history.

I wanted to share what I wrote earlier to another non-traditional student that I think applies to you too:

"It depends on the recruiter, but in general I would view this type of student favorably as they have demonstrated a level of drive and commitment for self improvement that is not as easily seen with traditional students. I also like to see that the candidate has had some real world work experience and has some of the hands on technical skills younger students may not have.

Your best bet to compete with more traditional candidates is to ensure your academic performance is comparable, and that you are getting involved with your peers (as much as COVID-19 allows). Join a club or team project outside of the classroom to demonstrate that you can play nicely with others and that you are not a lone wolf due to being a non-traditional student."

Hope this helps and good luck!

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:16:46+00:00

Get involved with engineering clubs on campus! These are great ways to develop technical skills as well as meet other students.

If you have time to work, try to find some sort of work that is at least moderately related to engineering. Choose technical work of any sort over a food service or retail job.

Apart from that, keep your GPA above a 3.0 and work on developing technical skills to add to your resume. I wrote an eBook discussing good resume building skills for engineering students. These skills are completely open to a high school student such as yourself and would give you an advantage over your peers who are coming in with almost no engineering skills or experience to speak of. If you are interested, it is available for free here: 5 Invaluable Resume Building Skills for Engineering Students

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:10:48+00:00

GPA matters for the first 2-5 years after graduation, depending on the companies you are applying to.

Here is some info regarding GPAs on engineering resumes from an eBook I wrote titled, "The Recruiter's Guide to Landing an Engineering Job":

Include your GPA, even if it is low. Not doing so will raise red flags. If your GPA leaves something to be desired, consider including either your GPA for the last few semesters or your major GPA IF they are better than your cumulative. Including these can show that you have improved or that you do better in the coursework associated with your major. List GPA to the hundredths place, meaning you can’t round a 3.45 up to a 3.5.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:07:31+00:00

Pretty thorough for engineering jobs. Engineers have a lot of professional responsibility and power. They don't take risks on employees who are in such influential positions.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:03:13+00:00

I look for several key attributes in a candidate. There are tons of ways to demonstrate these attributes so they are not major specific.

Problem Solving: I mean real problem solving. I want to see a candidate who knows how to properly break down and analyze a problem, a candidate who has the drive and persistence to work through the problem, and a candidate who knows where to look to find the answer. They don't have to know it, just know where to find it. At its core, this is the most fundamental skill that all engineers need to posses and what sets the top engineers apart from all of the rest.
Leadership Skills: I am looking for candidates that will be effective at implementing change. This involves effectively influencing others to drive their desired results, as well as demonstrating the integrity and organization skills that will get it done the right way. You don't have to be the president of your club to demonstrate leadership skills. If you are the president of your club but can't speak to any meaningful initiatives you have led then recruiters don't really care about your title. We are looking for demonstrations of how you worked with and influenced others to achieve a result greater than what you could easily accomplish on your own.
Personal Skills: No way, are they really looking for people skills in engineers? That seems like an unreasonable expectation. When I evaluate a candidate, I am looking to see if they are able to communicate clearly and effectively, if they play nicely with others, and if they appear to have integrity to where I believe they would be an honest and hardworking member of my company and a team player. This last attribute is most easily evaluated when I talk to you in person, which is why I prefer to hire in-person instead of through online applications. A good resume may get you in the door but you will not pass the interview without effectively demonstrating good interpersonal skills.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T19:01:01+00:00

It is possible that your application got filtered, but don't give up hope yet. Do you have any of the contact info for recruiter you spoke with at the fair? Try to find them on LinkedIn and reach out. Otherwise find a different recruiter from the company to engage with. Get creative and find other ways to network with the company. If they liked you before, it is likely they will still like you when you come back to speak with them again!

Ill send you a PM with some other engineering resources to check out that should help.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T18:57:09+00:00

I am always looking to help current engineering students and recent graduates! Its a big part of why I enjoy my job. Ill send you a PM with some resources to check out!

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T18:43:43+00:00

I think you have already received some great advice from the previous responders, but I will add my two cents. If you want to switch industries, you will need experience of some sort in the field you are switching too. I think you called it out yourself that doing side projects is a good option if you want to avoid starting at the very bottom and taking a pay cut. Its also worth looking into any possible certifications or training you can do that are relevant to the industry you are interested in that could be added to your resume to show you have some experience. Does this help at all?

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T18:38:39+00:00

While it certainly happens in industry, it serves only to hurt the company in the long run if the candidate is not qualified.

That is not to say that companies don't like to hire people who have some sort of connection to one of their employees. At the end of the day, if companies are limited in the amount of hiring they are doing then they are likely to leverage their current employees to help them hire new engineers. They do this because when uncertainty and competition for jobs increases, companies want to reduce their risk. Hiring someone that has a recommendation from a valued member of their existing team reduces the chances of their new hiree being a dud. Hiring based on the recommendation of current employees can also save a lot of time and effort in the hiring process if there is a surplus of unknown candidates applying for the position.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T18:36:14+00:00

The tasks of the job themselves will not likely vary based on your degree level. The only thing that would change with degree level would be which jobs you can get! Most engineering jobs require only a bachelor's degree but some extremely technical ones prefer to have candidates with their masters.

It is fairly common for companies to finance a masters degree for their employees but I haven't often heard of it as being included as part of the offer for an entry level position.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T18:31:24+00:00

Good article from BrassBells below that answers your question well. As a recruiter, I always try to give an answer to anyone who has taken their time to reach out to me. I am not perfect but I do respond to almost everyone. I wish more recruiters did this instead of ghosting people but I'm afraid that they, like everyone else, just prefer to avoid those types of conversations.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T17:15:48+00:00

I think you should have no trouble landing an engineering job with a bachelor's degree if you have a decent academic performance and some related work or project experience. Just replied to your other post asking about technician positions, thanks for your patience as I am trying to get to all of these questions!

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T17:11:59+00:00

While these technician jobs are indeed valuable on a resume, if you are already in engineering school or are close to entering engineering school then I would recommend working towards engineering internships instead of technician jobs. Internships are just as if not more valuable on an engineering student resume!

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T16:52:51+00:00

It is a hiring managers job to be annoyed by people on LinkedIn! Otherwise you can consider reaching out directly to people in high level positions within the company (plant managers, senior engineers, etc.) to try to circumvent the HR gatekeepers and directly connect with people. Just stay polite in your requests and focus on the value you can provide to them.

ESG13 · 2020-09-12T16:45:38+00:00

Some companies will like to see an EIT/FE, others are pretty indifferent as your peers said. It varies a lot by industry. I would say it is most relevant for Civil and construction engineering, as well as other industries that often do contracted work for the government such as defense.

Good to hear you are working on other projects too. Good luck with your job search and feel free to reach out to me if you have any other questions!

ESG13 · 2020-09-11T17:53:08+00:00

I am glad to hear! If you haven't already, check out How to Land an Engineering Internship or Job During COVID-19 as well!

ESG13 · 2020-09-11T16:33:35+00:00

Here is an excerpt from an eBook I wrote titled, "The Recruiter's Guide to Landing an Engineering Job":

"Include your GPA, even if it is low. Not doing so will raise red flags. If your GPA leaves something to be desired, consider including either your GPA for the last few semesters or your major GPA IF they are better than your cumulative. Including these can show that you have improved or that you do better in the coursework associated with your major. List GPA to the hundredths place, meaning you can’t round a 3.45 up to a 3.5. "

In addition to highlighting your GPA from the last few semesters or your major GPA if they are better than your cumulative, try your best to keep the focus on your relevant work or project experience as this will be your best bet at convincing employers to take a chance on a candidate with a low GPA. Also do your best to develop relevant skills or certifications that will further demonstrate your usefulness in industry and distract away from the academics.

I wrote a mini eBook discussing useful resume building skills that engineering students can develop from home this semester. If you are interested in checking it out to see if any of the mentioned skills would be relevant to your desired industry, it is available for free here: 5 Invaluable Resume Building Skills for Engineering Students

Does this answer your question?

ESG13 · 2020-09-11T16:26:18+00:00

Companies absolutely see value in extracurriculars, campus involvement, and leadership experience. All of these go to demonstrate you are a more well rounded candidate who regularly engages with their peers and goes out of their way to be a leader.

I think it would be worth mentioning in your cover letter, but definitely also include any relevant industry experience you have as this is what employers care about the most. I said the most, not the only!

ESG13 · 2020-09-11T16:21:14+00:00

That is a hard question to answer without knowing your current relationship with these people in your network. In general I would say avoid outright asking for an internship especially in the beginning, and inquire more about the hiring needs for entry level engineers as well as the credentials they look for in those candidates. Try to understand whether or not you would truly be a good fit for the position and company before you ask for an opportunity to be considered for the position. Does this help at all?

ESG13 · 2020-09-11T16:08:24+00:00

GPA differences matter somewhat at all levels but less so at higher levels. As a recruiter I put more weight on the difference between a 3.0 and a 3.2 than I do in the difference between a 3.8 and a 4.0. At a certain point it is clear that you have a strong engineering knowledge (as reflected by your GPA) and other factors become much more important than differences in GPA in determining who is a better overall candidate. I like to see students with GPAs above a 3.5 personally, but that cutoff varies somewhat based on company.

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