leonard_barra:

 I've rang a few local companies but I always end up being directed to emails to no avail. 

Hi Leonard,


In addition to the excellent advice from Roy and Alasdair, don't give up on contacting companies! You are just trying to hit the one moment when they need extra help and have found the funds to bring it in, so don't take it personally if you get a negative or no reply, just move on to the next one. You're acting as a salesperson for yourself, and the sales advice applies: keep following every lead you can, and don't get knocked back by a hundred closed doors - the hundred and first may be the one. (Equally don't waste your time banging at doors when you know they're closed.)


Use LinkedIn. You might not find many new graduate jobs (but you might!), however if you see an interesting company advertising several roles then it will be worth getting in touch.


Don't be afraid of applying for positions which are "recent graduate with 1-2 years experience". Most won't be interested in you, but some might - and you only need one. The point is that sometimes companies simply can't find applicants with the right experience, so half way through the recruitment process they can change their mind and decide to take an inexperienced graduate who they can train up. Don't worry about your lack of experience when making such applications, and don't keep mentioning it. The recruiters can see your application, and they can decide how to manage this - they'll have a better idea of the training and development you need than you do. 


Try and find someone who works in engineering (friendly past lecturers?) who will give you honest advice as to how you come over in your applications. Are you sounding too needy? Are you underselling yourself? Are you talking about what the employer can do for you rather than what you can do for them (very common)?


Personally I wouldn't worry too much about aiming for a graduate training scheme, many - possibly most - engineers don't go through one. But that's very much a personal choice, some people like the very structured and guided approach of graduate training schemes (and I certainly wouldn't knock that!), others find that developing their skills in a small company suits them better. Horses for courses.


Following on from that, think about the answer to the questions (which you are very likely to be asked) "why do you want this job?" and "where do you see yourself in five years time?" * Be honest. They'll give you clues as to where to look - and if you can find an adviser (as above) those answers will really help your discussion with them.


And as Roy says, and we can't over emphasise this, use every contact you possibly can. I spent very many years recruiting engineers, it's a tedious time consuming process, so when we had a vacancy we loved it when we were recommended someone who we could appoint without the hassle of advertising, interviewing etc. As is always said, the majority of positions are never advertised, for exactly this reason. So you want to do your best to be the person who's recommended! But equally (coming back to the start of this post) if you're lucky then if you send enough emails one will arrive at that point where a company have just thought about taking on a graduate. This whole recruitment game is about weighting the probabilities.


One final bit of advice, where possible apply to companies which align with your interests outside work. You'll come over as much more passionate and interested - and therefore valuable to the company. 


Good luck,


Andy



* Yes, the "five years time" one is a horrible question, but it's a really revealing one from the interviewer's side (and yes we can spot when the candidate's BSing the answer!) Be honest, there is no right answer, for some roles employers are looking for fast track management ambition, some are looking for you to spend your life travelling the world and living out of a suitcase on their behalf, some to just keep your head down and get the basic job done. If you and the employer have different aspirations for the role you are going to get very frustrated with each other.