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Former Community Member
Former Community Member
There are plenty of like-minded individuals within the IET Women's Network that may be able to help you with a query so, feel free to add to this thread.






  • Hello Qinxue Li,



    This is a great question that I am sure many
    graduates are facing now.



    I can answer by giving my personal
    experience. 



    My first job after graduating was in the local
    electricity distribution company where I benefited greatly in the
    piratical sense.  The department in which I worked was
    responsible for managing the existing system (maintenance,
    construction, testing, re-routing power in shutdowns, etc). 
    However, there was not much focus on actual design (although it was
    recommended that these analyses be performed to validate the
    physical work) it became more of a case of managing an existing
    system and there was another department charged with actual design
    (line routes, line loadings, transformer sizing, grounding mat
    design, etc).  Basically I understood the design component but
    gained the practical approach, whereas those who may have been only
    involved in design may not have had the exposure to the practical
    aspect of day-to-day operations and the problems that occur.



    I then switched to doing design later on (in
    another field: automation) and although it was a learning curve,
    the practical experience was a great benefit when required to
    design for an actual case as I understood typical problems what one
    would face in the field.



    My suggestion is to take the practical
    experience for the summer and then with that knowledge you will
    have a better appreciation in the design environment.



    Of course, if the consulting company is also
    allowing you to gain practical experience on the construction site
    then you can weigh this option.  However, in my experience,
    the culture and demands of the consulting company are different to
    those who are on site every day.



    Take care.












    Jason Robert Rameshwar MIET

    Email: jrameshwar@iee.org
















  • Hi Qinxue,



    Your colleagues are correct, however that issue
    mainly depends upon the specific construction company, the phase
    during the construction that you enter, the scope of the project,
    whether there are other types of construction activities occurring
    on the same site (or other sites being operated by the same
    company) and if the company is operating as a main general
    contractor or one of the sub-contractors responsible for a specific
    activity.



    I was fortunate in that on a construction
    project they had involved a few sub-contractors that were involved
    in many different activities and the project was not a large one
    (in terms of time and infrastructure so there was enough time to
    understand specific processes as well as see the project take shape
    during a few months).  It may not always be the same and some
    companies may specialise in certain aspects, thus repeat the same
    action in different locations.



    Unfortunately, only discussing your specific
    goal with the employer (or if you can find out first from someone
    who works in that company) would help you to know what to expect on
    that particular job site(s).  Just to be aware, you could also
    face the same type of repetition in the design company, especially
    if they focus on the same part of the job as a sub-contractor or if
    the design work is divided and your department is only doing a
    specific design or calculation.



    I am not sure if you would be able to do this in
    your country, but it may not hurt to ask. Whilst on the job site,
    ask to be able to shadow the project engineer, safety engineer or
    lead architect (someone who has the ability to move around the
    entire site and view all of the parts of the process as part of
    their responsibility) and ask them and the workers questions. 
    Even ask to be allowed to stay in a certain section for a few days
    just to understand the relationship between the different
    parts.



    I will still pick the latter and try to at least
    "see" different processes taking place.  As you are still in
    University, the aim is get a wider  exposure of the industry
    that you will enter.



    Take care.













    Jason Robert Rameshwar MIET

    Email: jrameshwar@iee.org











  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hey everyone

     

    This is Vijay pursuing my Bachelors in Electrical Engineering  


     I have some questions for everyone in this group . How you made your first job ? What are the skills that is required for a fresh graduate to stand out in the crowd ? How did you engage yoursef for professional development ? Is one have to be academically stronger ( like 4/5 GPA ) to get succeed in the job market ? I openly admit that I am not a bright student but I will try to pass the subjects...I often raise myself are you skilled ? I know the answer is not . Especially in India 80% of the engineering graduates are unemplyed ( striving hard to fetch their first job ) Please suggest me what would be the remedy for this crisis ?


    looking forward to reply to my queries
  • Hi Lois,

    this can be a particular confusion if you are working with non-English speaking colleagues.  My work name appears as Victoria Quinn in emails and in my email address.  But often colleagues address me as Quinn, because in their culture the FAMILY name is displayed first.

    So it may not be bias, but may be a genuine misunderstanding of the use of your name.

    there is also a tendency in some cultures to address unknown people as "Sir" - or thelocal equivalent, again not necessarily meant as an insult, but a local culture issue which does not translate into English very well.

    I tend to find that with Mother-tongue-English speaking colleagues they will err on the side of caution and not mention gender or titles.

    I often have an issue with colleagues in other countries trying to understand - what is the family name or forename, whether or not it is considered polite, or acceptable to use the forename or the family name, etc.  our company has started adding a "short name" to our ID's  - this at least lets us know what to call people.  So for instance my name would appear as Victoria (Vikki) Quinn.

    To be truthful, there IS a bias within engineering world, but I believe this is statistical bias, simply because the ratios are such that it is actually MORE likely that a person would be male rather than female in an engineering workplace.  Funnily enough, I actually raised the issue with the IET last year as I was getting mail (snail mail) address to Mr V. Quinn, and they have my gender on file!

    In the main I don't let it bother me, in some cases I will try to give gentle hints about the use of gender in communications if it is someone I will be in contact with a lot, e.g. a new colleague.  Often a phone call is enough.  I also keep a photo on our email server so that - internally at least - people can see a photograph.


    Hope this helps.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I agree with Victoria, in non-English speaking countries it is very likely to be confusion caused by culture differences etc. (I have been addressed as 'Munday' before and that dosent sound like an English first name!) and a friendly and understanding explanation is probably all that is needed.


    However in the UK and some other countries I think that although gender bias proably is a factor in some cases an even bigger factor will be laziness. People do not seem to consider that the same care should be taken with emails as we usually take with snail mail. The number of mis-spelt and ungramatical emails that I recieve from my collegues for whom English is their first language highlights this!!!


    Personally I don't advise taking this sort of thing to much to heart and would just correct it in a polite and not-too-serious manner. After all it is a little confusing - I personally find it difficult when you have an email that comes in 'Vincent, Lewis' (for example) to remember that 'Lewis' is the guys first name! I would always stop and think about it and check my email carefully, but as I have said I don't think many people treat emails with the care they should.
  • @Vijay, re "What are the skills required for a fresh graduate to stand out in the crowd?"

    As you mention, you will be competing with many people who will have the same qualifications as you, so if your qualifications are equal, then you will need to stand out in another way. 


    Make the most of any volunteering or part time employment opportunities that you have had and the transferable skills you have gained from these experiences. (For example, my first part time job (when I was still at school) was as a waitress - transferable skills include dealing with the public, customer service, handling money, flexibility to work at short notice or to stay late on unexpectedly busy days). 



    Could you volunteer in a local school helping to teach and promote STEM to the pupils? (This would not only demonstrate that you are engaged with engineering, but also that you are a self-motivated, well organised, engaging person who is engaging with the subject and with the next generation).


    A "Hobbies and Interests" section on your CV may help to show that you are a well-rounded individual that can get on with people. Do you play any sports? Team sports such as football, rugby, cricket, hockey, basketball, netball etc. show that you can work well as part of a team. If you are a coach or captain of a team, this also demonstrates leadership skills.


    If you haven't already, I would suggest creating a profile on LinkedIn. Adding details of projects to LinkedIn is useful (it is easy to forget dates when you are trying to remember something years later, so good to keep a record as you go). As well as projects and experience, you can also list your skills on here and people can endorse you for these skills or write a written endorsement of what you are like to work with. You can also connect with people through this site, and you could connect with recruitment agents or hiring managers for the companies you would like to work for (which will show that you are a go-getter who takes the initiative). Search by job title for the job you would like. Take a look at the profiles of people who have these jobs and see what they are listing on their profile pages (and this might help to give you ideas when drafting your own CV). Connect with your tutors/professors and your classmates, as this shows that you are a good networker (another good skill to have). You can also join various groups, and sign up to receive job advert alerts.


    And most importantly - make sure your CV is well presented with no sloppy spelling mistakes or other errors. If everything is equal on two CVs aside from the spelling - this could be the only distinguishing feature between you and your competitor. If you are not confident with your spelling, ask a friend, colleague, tutor, or family member to cast an eye over it too.


    And if you are called for an interview, make sure that you are prepared. Think about what they will ask you and make sure that you have an answer that you can give. Make sure you research the company interviewing you. Common questions might be
    • What do you know about our company?

    • Why do you want to work for this company?

    • What attracts you about this particular job role?

    • Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

    • What motivates you?


    ​They might also ask for examples:


    • Give an example of when you have worked well as part of a team



    • Give an example of when you have worked well on your own 

    They may also ask you for less than positive examples

    • Give an example of a project that you worked on that went wrong

    • Have you ever been in a situation when you haven’t worked well with a colleague? Give an example of when you’ve had to deal with a difficult person/customer

    (make sure you include in your response a positive ending to the story and how you turned the situation around!)

    It is good to be able to think on your feet, but being prepared in advance certainly makes this a lot easier, and nobody wants to be sitting in an interview saying “umm, er, umm, can’t think of anything, don’t know”!

     
    I hope that these suggestions are useful and wish you all the best in your search for a job.

    With good wishes,


    ​Amber


    athomas@theiet.org

    www.linkedin.com/.../amber-thomas-00480929
  • And one more thing... Always be as nice and as helpful as you can to everyone. The kid in your class that you think is slow, might end up with a job before you. If the hiring manager says to that person "You studied with XXX, what were they like?", think about the answer you would want them to give:

    "XXX helped me to understand my assignment when I was struggling" or "XXX used to call me stupid for not understanding my assignment straight away".


    And don't stop being helpful and kind once you start getting ahead. A friend of mine went to work at a new company. Shortly afterwards, her former line-manager was made redundant from his previous role and applied for a job at the same company that my friend now worked for. The person hiring saw that they worked together previously and asked my friend what sort of a manager he was and what he had been like to work with. I won't say whether or not that person was shortlisted for an interview, but I will say that my friend's comments did influence the hiring manager's decision.
  • My eldest son is 5 and came home from school with a science book he chose from his school library but promptly told me he had looked through all the science books and not one has a picture of a girl on the front like you mummy! I think the IET should take some initiative here and see if we can do something to recommend to schools particular titles that feature girls on the front????
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hi, my company has recently held a event where around 60 teenage girls come to visit our factory and talk with female employees about the possible career path towards engineering job. Apart from others who have a relatively vague understanding about STEM, there was one girl, who has a very clear view and could talk logically about her plan and idea for future career in STEM industry. And it turns out that one of her close relative is working in STEM and influences her a lot. So, yes, definitely, to provide more information/materials to those adolescents will have a great impact one their view of career and their understanding of gender equality in engineering area. I would like to help this ''Women in STEM bookclub for primary schools'' if anything can be achieved!
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hi Edelia ,

    I am eager to help if you want to extend our previous talk . You can contact me on the Community forum or on my email : Grazyna.Whapshott@tiscali.co.uk


    Best wishes

    Grazyna