I graduated last july with a 2.2 hons. I've looked around and applied to 5 or so places since then that look interesting and good to work for, however i usually don't even get a single response, i've worked on my CV and covering letter in an attempt to improve the situation and that has'nt helped. Its soon going to be a year since i graduated and i'm beginning to feel incredibly worthless.

It feels like having a 2.2 Beng won't get me on any graduate scheme i look for, any advice how i should proceed in beginning a career?

I applied to
SSTL
Qualcomm
Nuclear Graduates
Siemens
RIM

and got no response.

Edited: 14 March 2012 at 04:42 AM by BenignIndividual

How about the other 100 or so applicable companies out there?

Presuming an E/E BEng how about, BT, Veolia, EDF, UKPN, Laing O'Rourke, Murphy, selex galieo, network rail, etc etc

There is always job adverts on the IET website as well.

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Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine....

Every man has to know his limitations- Dirty Harry

One year is far too long to be out of a job and it's going to get tougher competing with the next batch of newly qualified graduates.

My suggestion would be to forget looking for graduate type jobs and start concentrating on getting a job in engineering(?) of any description. Otherwise you'll end up stacking shelves at Tescos for the forcible future.

Once you get your foot on the ladder, you can progress onto better things. Job opportunities at graduate level will start coming your way. Initial experience is the key to success. Go to your local Job Centre.

Good luck.

So you've only made 5 job applications in 7 months? What have you been doing with the rest of your time? I would suggest you need to be applying to a lot more companies to stand a decent chance of getting an interview.

Speak to your university careers service. They usually provide some assistance to recent graduates.

Upload your CV to national job websites. Search job websites specific to your areas of interest and location. Search the jobs section of local and national newspapers.

Go to conferences and exhibitions and speak to potential employers. Take copies of your CV. Make up business cards.

Consider studying for a postgraduate qualification. This will keep you busy and motivated and may provide
more opportunity to find suitable work.

Consider doing volunteer work to maintain a routine and sense of purpose. Losing motivation will likely put you in a downward spiral which you have to fight to avoid.

Don't be too proud to take a job you may consider beneath you. As well as occupying your time it may lead to opportunities you might never have thought of. It always seems it's easier to get a new job when you're already working.

Consider jobs such as the Armed Forces or emergency services where a degree is not a prerequisite.

Most importantly, don't lose hope. Keep focused, keep putting in the hard work, and remember that something will turn up in the end. Good luck!

I'd echo all the comments above (from memory I applied to about 200 companies when I graduated and got 1 job offer).

But also, why is there nothing in your first posting about what your degree was in, what experience you had during your degree etc? Every time you meet an engineer (including on forums) you need to have a one sentance statement ready of who you are, what you've done, and what experience if any you already have. If your first posting had started

then maybe someone here might have dropped you a PM giving you a lead. You just need to get into that way of thinking: 99 times it won't get you anywhere, but the 100th it might, and - to be honest - that's how many people find jobs these days, by letting everyone around them know what they can do and that they are looking.

So if anyone is looking for a keen, experienced, professional innovation manager across a range of engineering disciplines PM me

Hope that makes sense, and good luck!

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

Hi, I've been working for about a year now, i graduated in 2010 summer and didn't manage to get a job for 6/7 months.

It was really difficult finding motivation but it sounds like so far you've gone down the route of just applying for grad schemes. This creates all manner of problems, first, everyones applying for them, the number of places is trending down and they have very specific things that they're looking for.

Unfortunately with a 2.2 with not much experience they are probably for the most part going to pass on you. This is not a comment on you or your ability, merely a reflection of how many applications they get relative to the available places on the scheme.

I went down that road for months with a 2.1 meng but would either not hear back or get turned down at phone interview/ assesment centre.

However I went through a strategy re-think, I started just putting my CV up on Monster/ Cv- library etc and found that suddenly I was in demand, recruitment companies then start doing the work for you hooking you up with numerous companies and I ended up with multiple job offers from various really respectable companies! You can argue the merits of job v graduate job but talking to friends that are on them I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything and am certainly earning as much as them!

I had a friend get back from spending a year in canada /Ibiza recently after his degree with a worse grade, put his cv up on the various websites and within a month had a really good job offer.

It depends what you want to do with your career but theres nothing to stop you getting your cv up on as many sites as you can, an interview if anything would be good practice

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Andrew Packwood MEng

Hi

There is an engneers job exhibition on at NEC in Birmingham on the 27th and 28th April, this would be a great opptunity to take a hand full of CVs too.

This would get you talking to the right people and also talk to other people in your situation!

Hope to see you there

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Fail to prepare...Prepare to fail!

Adam

Hi,

I'd agree with the above - get your CV on Engineering websites (the IET, The Engineer Magazine, Just Engineers, Gradcracker etc.) as well as recruitment agency websites.

I'd also recommended creating a LinkedIn profile, then joining a few LinkedIn groups relevant to your discipline/field. There are usually several vacancies advertised via the groups, as well as Recruiters that look out for new members.

As previous posters have already mentioned, keep actively looking for experience. Get involved in the local IET network if you can - if you have the time to volunteer and make yourself known to local engineers/companies, it may help you to stand out from other applicants.

Good luck.

My advice, if you are trying to cherry pick particular companies/graduate schemes, would be to try and pick up any relevant work experience for the time being and study a relevant MSc part time.

Meaning by the time you finish your qualification, you have a couple of years work experience under your belt and an MSc which, hopefully, would overshadow your 2:2. This would put you in a far better position when applying for graduate schemes.

Also, a lot of the more bigger/reputable companies will want you to be educated to Masters level as their graduate schemes will be tailored for people working towards CEng (where the academic requirement is Masters level).

JBB

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JBB IEng MIET

imo graduate schemes are overrated, from my experience too much soft skills and not enough practical experience, get out there and get applying for as much as you can

I find that employers in engineering kept failing me on experience or not even giving me an interview.

The big problem with engineering training is that it is not integrated in terms of gaining experience and they have trained too many engineers for the companies out there.

There are still conflicts between educators and employers in terms of the engineers that need to be produced to match requirements.

There are also too many closed shops which need to be opened.

If you can't get into engineering try and move into another industry with your degree. Engineering skills are transferrable. Typical industries are Banking and Finance, NHS Healthcare, Teaching, retail and tourism.

It my be possible to retrain into a more integrated career path, nursing, radiography, Medical Engineering. These careers offer burseries and a 99% success rate in gaining employment because of their integrated training.

My son thinks that the entire process of educating and training engineers needs a complete shake up but neither industry, the education system, nor the IET has the will or the desire to make any changes.

Engineering in the UK is not a real profession due to the lack of clearly defined entry routes and training. The overseeing body is actually a charity and is not comparable with other organisations that oversee professions in medicine, law, and financial services. The closed shop environment of a significant proportion of the British engineering industry is another issue that needs to be addressed but management will not appreciate meddling and interference by the government.

Maybe this is because on the whole they think it is ok as it is. Does your son somehow think that shaking things up would make every single person happy and that there would still not be winners and losers? I think you are correct to suggest and look for improvements but let's not fool ourselves that some kind of major shake up would leave everyone happy.

What would be your suggestions to resolve this and fix all the issues as you see them?

As I understand things the BMA is a voluntary organisation and the General Medical Council is a registered charity. So please explain how it is not comparable, as you made the point about charity?
Also, how did the financial services governing body get on with governing during the recent economic woes, which I believe were caused primarily by the financial industry? How did the GMC get on with their governing of MD Harold Shipman and then of course there was also the recent case of the German MD who was brought into the UK and prescribed the wrong drugs which killed a patient. Maybe we need to maintain a perspective? Improvements can be made of course, all round.

Which parts are a closed shop, as you see things, and what would your suggestions be to open them and how do you feel this would improve things?

Regards.

You better look for any kind of job. Just as long as you dont sit around there. But dont settle for underemployment as well. Good luck!

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Link removed

There is some truth to what you say about you can't please everyone and that there will be some losers. Even my son thinks that he may be vulnerable if certain changes in legislation are implemented.

He believes that engineers would be better served by more practical training courses with considerable input from those who work in the engineering industry rather than by traditional academic courses. He also thinks that universities should offer a better selection of short courses than they currently do. The only explanation he can come up with why universities are reluctant of offer such courses is financial in that they bring in less revenue than 3 year degree courses do. It's a bit like how many furniture retailers in the pre war years were reluctant to sell individual pieces but would much rather sell a whole suite of furniture for a room to quote an analogy. Some individual degree modules would also make good short courses but they are rarely available separately.