Engineering Professionals, Engineers Jobs, Engineering Employment, Professional Engineer, Engineering Career, WA, Australia

 

Career Guidelines for Engineering Professionals

 

Your professional engineer career

 

Unlike many other engineering employment agents we focus exclusively on the professional engineer, engineering technologist and engineering associate, and we provide HR consulting services to companies with engineering jobs in their targeted industry. We therefore have firsthand knowledge of the many variants that make up an engineering career.

 

Our engineering recruitment consultants are adept in being able to interpret the selection criteria for engineering jobs, and they work closely with our clients to account for all relevant elements derived from four main classifications (occupational category, engineering discipline, job function and industry background). We cannot guarantee you success in applying for engineering jobs, but we see it as an obligation to provide constructive feedback and guidance in terms of your engineering career in relation to current and upcoming engineering employment opportunities as well as a more in-depth appreciation of specific requirements for positions available.

 

Whether or not you are ready to move on our role in your engineering career starts right here and we have developed the following information and resources specially designed to promote better engineering employment outcomes.

 

• Tips on applying for engineering jobs
• Preparing your CV
• Conquering the selection process
• Candidate resources
• Professional Associations
• Information for Overseas candidates

 

Applying for engineering jobs

 

• Your engineering employment application should include a covering letter or email clearly stating the position you are applying for (use the job reference number quoted on the advert). Be sure to include your contact details and preferred method of correspondence. Advise if you do not want to be contacted at any specific time or place (e.g. by email at work).
• Make sure that your CV is in a clear and concise format. MS Word? document files are preferable when making electronic submissions.
• Your CV should include a brief overview of your qualifications, professional engineer status and experience. Present a snapshot of your work experience for each job / employer working backwards in time. Highlight your core competencies and detail your experience, accountabilities and achievements. Pay particular attention to the job criteria described in our advert. Where possible highlight specific achievements that address these criteria.
• Include at least your highest qualifications earned with details such as date obtained and institution attended. Also provide appropriate accreditation details (professional engineer affiliations).
• Provide a list of at least two suitable referees with full contact details (include an email address if possible), place of employment and their previous or current position in relation to your job.
• Contact the recruiter if you do not get a prompt acknowledgement of them receiving your submission. Posted mail and even email sometimes goes astray.

 

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Preparing Your CV

 

This document is a story about your engineering career both in terms of history and ongoing objectives. It will have a significant impact on the extent of success in applying for engineering jobs.

 

Opinions differ on what is the correct format for Curriculum Vitae (often referred to as resumes in the USA and Australia - technically a resume is a summarised version of a CV). Don’t get too hung up on actual layout, just keep in mind what it is that you are trying to achieve. The content should be accurate, relevant, concise, easy to read and presented in a structured, neat, clear and logical format. Here are a few basic guidelines.

 

Format and Structure

 

Keep in mind that the objective is to draw attention to your key attributes (qualifications, professional engineer or other affiliations and skills) and major achievements before the reader loses interest, so do this first. Follow with a complete but concise description of your experience and achievements for each position held. This is an effective way of combining a functional format (focusing on achievements) with a chronological (logical presentation of experience from one position to another). A suitable format may be presented as follows:

 

• Personal Details
• Professional Profile / Overview and Core Competencies
• Career Summary (presented in reverse chronological order)
• Details of Experience and Significant Achievements
• Qualifications / Formal Training / Professional Affiliation
• Referees

 

Use a standard font, large enough to be reproduced (by fax or scanning for example) without losing legibility. Arial 11 or Times New Roman 12 fonts work well. Use short paragraphs and generous spacing. Avoid unnecessary borders, frames and underscoring. Bold highlighting for headings make them look neat and they are less likely to become distorted when copied.

 

Footnotes can be used for page numbering and to attach identity to each page. Include the date that the CV was written.

 

"Download sample CV (PDF Document)"

 

CVs with a conventional and clear style are generally more effective. It is important to eliminate all the typing, grammatical and spelling errors!

 

Covering Letter (or email)

 

The covering letter serves as an introduction to your application and should include details such as the engineering job you are applying for (or type of engineering employment you are interested in), how you found out about the job (place and date of job advert) and reference to specific details of your engineering career that are pertinent to the job. It is also your opportunity to demonstrate your sincere interest in the position and that you understand the requirements of the job.

 

The letter should be less than one page long and not just repeating the CV:

 

• Start by just saying what you want to say in plain English.
• Be natural - don't try to sound like someone else - and use language and words that you normally use!
• If possible personalise the letter, rather than "to whom it may concern".
• Include information on how, when and where you can be reached.
• Always type rather than hand-write your letter. It is a business leter and should be as professional and polished as possible.

 

Professional Profile/Core Competencies - Present Your Strongest Selling Points First

 

Your strongest attributes (In particular those most relevant to the position for which you are applying) should always be the first section presented to catch the reader’s attention. Use an executive summary, overview or introduction to briefly summarise your qualifications and engineering employment experience and highlight your core competencies.

 

State your engineering career objective (be specific). Use this opportunity to show the relationship between your skills and the position being applied for. Focus on major achievements that address the skills criteria for this particular position.

 

Experience and Significant Achievements – Your CV is an Advertisement of your engineering career

 

Start by providing a concise layout of your engineering career summary in reverse chronological order stating employer, position, dates and reasons for leaving. This information alone will give the employer a good indication of what you currently do and have achieved without them having to study a detailed list of responsibilities. Follow on with a description of your skills by detailing responsibilities, experiences, achievements and qualifications. Describe what you have actually done and when you did it?

 

When deciding what to include in the CV, ask: "Will this information help me to get an interview for those engineering jobs?" Be concise but accurate - avoid lengthy sentences. In general the further back in time you go, the less information you should provide. Your language should be positive, starting sentences with words such as: improved; achieved; supervised; designed.

 

Give factual evidence of engineering employment based skills. Be sure to link skills with actions and results. Demonstrate that you were able to perform the required tasks and highlight your ability to change and develop new skills. Show examples of initiative in seeking new work and responsibilities, and time management such as when juggling both study and work.

 

Experience can be summarised if there is a number of part time engineering jobs to cover, while giving more detail of any roles held for a longer period, and highlighting engineering career progress made in that time (e.g. promoted to maintenance superintendent).

 

Transferable Skills

 

Only include items of personal interest if they relate to the position. Teamwork, communication and leadership skills, along with examples of achievement, are what

employers of engineering professionals look for. Do not simply list non-work activities. The actual involvement in sporting teams, cultural or community clubs is how you will have experienced and practiced these transferable skills, so give the reader some idea of the skills you've gained through non-work activities e.g. captain of team, committee member of club etc.

 

Give Reasons

 

"Why did you do that post graduate diploma?" Give reasons for decisions to follow particular study paths in relation to progressing your engineering career. Describe what you were thinking, what skills you believe your study has given you, and how they will help you in "real" work.

 

Common Mistakes

 

Some common errors in CVs received by JSM Appointments for engineering jobs:

 

• Omission of stated career objectives.
• Cluttering of the CV with outdated and irrelevant information. As a rule you should limit the details of your engineering employment experience to the last 10 years. Keeping your CV down to 4 pages or less demonstrates good communication skills!
• Insufficient use of active language. Begin sentences with words such as "initiated", "implemented", "delivered" and "achieved".
• Use of lengthy and generic job descriptions.
• Failure to back up specific skills and ability with ample supportive evidence (significant achievements).
• Inclusion of superseded, irrelevant information such as high school education (when you have since obtained tertiary qualifications).
• Errors in spelling and grammar.
• Inclusion of personal information such as marital status and number of children. Do not attach photographs.

 

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Engineer recruiting and the Selection Process

 

At JSM Appointments we are paid by our clients (those companies who have engaged us to fill engineering jobs) and we meet our obligation to them by sourcing, selecting and presenting quality candidates with relevant qualifications, experience and attributes. On the other hand we are committed to ensuring that engineering professionals are presented to our client in the best possible manner. Your JSM Appointments engineering recruitment consultant has the qualifications and experience to provide you with coaching, advice and support leading up to and during the selection process. Nevertheless it is largely your own preparation that will propel you to the top of our client's short list and we encourage you to consider the following when researching and preparing for interviews:

 

• Find out all you can about the company: its products and services; organisational structure; size and geographical locations; the market it operates in; company history; goals and strategies; recent successes; current and planned projects. Speak to your JSM Appointments consultant about the company's work culture, employee value systems, promotional opportunities, training engineering employment policies and company benefits to employees
• Make sure you understand the job description and selection criteria. Your JSM Appointments consultant will brief you in this regard and through our own interview process you will already have a good idea of the selection process and specific job requirements. Use this background together with any additional research you conduct to obtain a clear picture in your own mind what strengths you expect to bring to the role and how you will be able to contribute to the company's success.
• Be prepared to discuss your shortcomings. The selection process will identify the candidate that best fits the requirements for the position and it will take into account the relative strengths and weaknesses of competing applicants. Highlighting and selling your strengths is important, but just as important is your ability to demonstrate how you can and will overcome any deficiencies in your CV (e.g. further study, self development, engaging other resources).
• Consider your personal commitment. Understand the personal implications of this new engineering job. If you are successful what impact will it have on your engineering career? What are the practical and lifestyle implications for you and your family? Where the job change involves relocation and overseas applicants in particular need to demonstrate their appreciation of the implications of taking up the new position.

 

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Candidate Resources

 

Speak to your engineering recruitment consultant at JSM Appointments on information, guidelines and coaching that can be offered on topics such as preparing CV's and the interview process. We draw on our own expertise and experience as well as that of associates, clients and other applicants to continually develop our knowledge base and we can help you identify the right resources while preparing to secure that sought after job.

 

Our obligation to clients to source and present high calibre engineering professionals is matched by our commitment to you to ensure that you are presented in the best possible manner. If we have shortlisted you to be presented to our client then you already have the required academic qualifications and relevant engineering employment experience for the role. It now falls on your performance during the client's selection process to secure that position. Your JSM Appointments consultant has the qualifications and experience to provide you with coaching, advice and support leading up to and during the engineer recruiting process. Nevertheless it is ultimately your own preparation that will propel you to the top their short list and we encourage you to use the Internet, libraries, news media, professional journals, associations and other professional engineer resources as an important part of your preparation for the engineering employment selection process.

 

The following information and web site links has been provided to assist with your enquiries and research. The list on this page is by no means exhaustive and merely serves to get you started and point you in the right direction.

 

JSM Appointments also offers information and guidance to applicants embarking on the initial stages of their job search. Read through our Applicant Check List and CV Guidelines or contact us if you have any additional enquires about applying for vacant positions.

 

Professional Associations

 

Engineers Australia is the designated authority to assess para-professional and professional engineer qualifications for the purposes of skilled migration to Australia.

 

The Association of Professional Engineer, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA) is the largest national non-profit organisation representing professional employees.

 

The Association of Consulting Engineers Australia (ACEA) is an industry body representing the business interests of firms providing engineering, technology and management consultancy services.

 

The National Engineering Registration Board (NERB) was established jointly by Engineers Australia, the APESMA and ACEA. The Board, with representation from State and Territory Governments, Community Organisations and Professional Associations, supervises the operation of National Registers to ensure the community is provided with the protection it is entitled to expect in relation to work undertaken by those practitioners

 

Project Management Institute (PMI). Established in 1969 and headquartered outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, the Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s leading not-for-profit project management professional association, with over 125,000 members worldwide.

 

The first PMI Chapter in Australia was formed in 1996. Today there are Chapters in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The activities of the individual Chapters are coordinated through the Australian PMI Council (APC).

 

 

Information for Overseas Applicants

 

Overseas engineering professionals are encouraged to visit the following web sites for more information on migrating to, working and living in Australia:

 

Resident and work Visas

Non-resident applicants are advised to familiarise themselves with immigration and visa requirements to live and work in Australia by visiting Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) web site. In most cases you will need to ensure that you meet the requirements for obtaining a visa in Australia prior to seeking engineering employment. When enquiring about employment opportunities offered by JSM Appointments our consultant will be able to advise you whether positions are open to non-resident engineering professionals and what support will be offered to obtain the relevant work or resident visa JSM Appointments is not a migration agent and our consultants can only provide advice on immigration details directly associated with particular engineering jobs. If you need further assistance with immigration we advise you to get in touch with an Australian migration agent, a list of which can be found at The Migration Agents Registry Authority (MARA).

 

Engineers Australia is the designated authority to assess para-professional and professional engineer qualifications for the purposes of skilled migration to Australia.

 

Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) is a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training (TAFEs and private providers) and the higher education sector (mainly universities).

 

Trades Recognition Australia provides occupational skills assessment services for people intending to migrate to Australia and domestic skills assessments for Australian residents.

 

VETASSESS is Australia's leading vocational education and training (VET) assessment provider.