Tag Archives: employment

What Engineering & Science Students Need In Summer Jobs

What Engineering & Science Students Need In Summer Jobs
Summer Jobs are Important to a career

Summer Jobs are Important to a career


Today is the first day of spring and engineering & science students should be at the height of their search for summer jobs. To help these students to find the best opportunities. Here are some tips on what students should seek in their summer jobs search: 

A Chance to Apply Technical Skills: One of the biggest turnoffs of summer jobs is when employers have interns spend days and days organizing the file room. Ask the employer if you will get a chance to technical work especially if allows a chance to work on the latest software. Computer skills are high on an employer's list when they are looking to hire new grads.Summer jobs can enhance your knowledge and skills.

See "Real World" Application: Some civil engineering students have told me that they don't like getting dirty. Here my answer to them: The more you learn in the dirt, the better the design in the office. Some concepts are better understood if you see them put together in the field. The same concept applies to science majors. Sometimes the lab does not always mimic real life. If the employers is not going to offer a chance to see some real world work it may not be the right opportunity.

Learn Project Management Skills: Every engineering & science project is done according to a budget and timeline. Engineering & science students should look for opportunities to understand the role of project management in their chosen career field. 

Opportunities to Network: Believe it or not, summer jobs are great networking opportunities for future employment. There are thousands of stories of students landing good jobs because of their performance on summer jobs. Plus, the quality of the summer jobs on your resume can have an influence on a hiring manager's decision.

When Should Engineering & Science Students Start Looking for Summer Jobs? 

The best time to start is looking for summer jobs is the fall semester before the summer. I know some people will not agree but here is my rationale. It is always a good idea to start building your network early because forward thinking employers make the time to visit college campuses throughout the year and talk to professors about promising students. If you want to get ahead in the career game it is best to strike early, strike hard and strike often. Thanks for reading

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4 Other Reasons Why Recruiters Are Not Calling You

Recruiters Read Too

I was on Linked In this morning and read a nice article "5 Reasons Why Recruiters Are Not Calling You"  . It was a good article that centered around mistakes many job seekers make on resumes that may be a red flag for recruiters. It also contained some good advice and promoted the Career Coach's resume writing business. Most articles about recruiters portray us as a negative force in the job market hated by employers and job seekers alike. I thank Deborah Walker for not beating that dead subject again. Anyway, back to the main point of this article.

Other Reasons Why Recruiters Don't Call

There are many more reasons why recruiters, like myself, would not call a job seeker. Let me share some of them:

  1. Weak Industry Networking Relationships: One of the downsides of social media is people do not create as many face to face personal relationships anymore. Your network of friends should know you well enough to refer recruiters to you on a regular basis. If your network of friends are not talking about you then it may be harder to get attention from recruiters.
  2. Embellished Resumes: The old adage says "If it is too good to be true, it probably is" . If the language in your resume reads like a advertising piece, recruiters may pass it over. The same is true for poorly written resumes. Make sure your resume is well written and believable before you send it out.
  3. Some Job Seekers Use "Shotgun" Approach to Get Attention: Recruiters understand that job seekers want to find a job as quickly as possible. However, some job seekers believe that applying to every job and broadcasting their resume to every recruiter e-mail address is going to draw attention from recruiters. A word of advice – Be specific to where and to whom you send your resume. You may get a better response.
  4. Build a Relationship With a Recruiter Before You Need A Job: "Its not always what you know but who you know"  The last recession flooded the market with job seekers all vying for a few jobs.  If you know that your company or industry is in trouble, it is a good idea to build relationships with recruiters before you need a job. Recruiters are in the business of matching  the skills of candidates to specific positions. The better they know your background, the better the chance of a phone call.

Recruiters Are People Too

Unfortunately, some job seekers and employers have had bad experiences with recruiters through wrong expectations or unethical practices. We, like everyone else, are imperfect and fallible,  Just because a recruiter does not call you or return your overtures.does not mean they are against you. Most recruiters are working positions with very specific requirements set by the employer. If your skills do not match, a phone call may not come. The best strategy to find a job is to network and develop multiple sources of leads.  

Thanks for reading

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19 Hottest Job Skills Needed for 2013

Job Skills Needed For 2013

Do you have the job skills needed in 2013?

Hurricane Sandy. The "Fiscal Cliff". Partisan politics. Government regulations. All these factors will have an uncertain effect on the economy and job market. Therefore in search for some certainty, employers are going to spend more time looking at specific experience, relationships and job skills workers bring to the table before making a hiring decision.  We want to make sure that job seekers are prepared this heightened level of scrutiny by publishing this list of job skills and knowledge areas employers want in 2013

  1. Collaboration/Team Working
  2. Construction Craft skills
  3. Financial & Budget Analysis
  4. Foreign Language skills
  5. Knowledge of Emergency Management Protocols
  6. Knowledge of Cybersecurity rules
  7. Knowledge of environmental and sustainable practices
  8. Knowledge of emerging markets
  9. Knowledge of government regulations
  10. Knowledge of safety practices
  11. Knowledge of STEM subjects
  12. Leadership & Supervisory
  13. Presentation & Persuasion
  14. Problem Solving
  15. Product development & marketing
  16. Project Management
  17. Report & technical writing
  18. Sales/Relationship building
  19. Software  & Database Development Skills

Why Are These  Job Skills Important?

Many of the hottest jobs in 2013 will go unfilled due to shortages of qualified applicants.  This list is a starting point for job seekers to check their current skills; seek out places to develop new ones and get into place to take these new jobs.

What You Need to Do Now

  • Check with the local community colleges to find out if they have partnered with employers on job training programs
  • Check with  US Department of Labor to find out about federal or state sponsored job training programs
  • Check with local charitable organization and networking groups for leads on job training programs

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The 6 Hottest Job Areas In Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering Will Be Hot Over the Next Few Years

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov), the Civil Engineering profession is expected to grow over 25% over the next decade. Our nation’s infrastructure (energy grid, roads, bridges, water treatment systems, mass transit including airports, levees and dams) is falling apart and poses a threat to our safety and economy. Government officials, desperate to create jobs,  are focusing harder on ways to fix and upgrade the infrastructure. In this series of posts we will cover the areas of civil engineering where we see present and future growth.

Here are the Up And Coming Areas of Civil Engineering we will cover over our series of posts.

  1. Ports, Harbors & Off Shore Facilities
  2. Storm Water & flood Mitigation
  3. Dams & Levees
  4. Power Grid & Pipeline Infrastructure
  5. Transportation
  6. Drinking & Wastewater Infrastructure

Why You Will Benefit From These Posts

The main reason job seekers will benefit from reading these posts is that large scale and long term civil engineering projects tend to create additional local jobs in their “ripple effect”. For example: The metro Atlanta area is voting on a $6 billion transportation bill to alleviate its major congestion problems. Projects like these could produce  hundred or thousands of jobs in the following indusries:

  • Construction & labor Staffing
  • Construction equipment
  • Concrete/asphalt & aggregate
  • Restaurants & food stores (These people do eat lunch)
  • Banking & retail
and many more.
We will cover these details of how civil engineering projects create job growth more in depth as we go along.

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The 8 Must Read Articles On Environmental Jobs in 2012

Job Information Please?

Let’s say agree that 2012 has been a little better year for finding a job. However,  there are still large numbers of people out of the workforce who want and need information about job opportunities.  What I have found through my interactions with job seekers is many lack information about job and training opportunities available in the marketplace. These articles contain some of the information job seekers need to find  environmental job opportunities.

  1. Solar Energy’s “Dark Side” Comes to Light in New Environmental Jobs: This article is not intended to denigrate or politicize clean energy technology or the solar industry but to inform the public about new job opportunities. The links provided lead to important job information.
  2. 312 Billion Reasons Why Environmental Management Jobs Are Growing Fast Did you know that the environmental industry is a $312 Billion per year business sector? To most of the general public, this sector is an unknown job market unless some type of disaster strikes or if your location has a thriving energy/industrial economy. In this article we want to inform job seekers and graduates about the opportunities in this sector.
  3. Environmental Science Jobs To Boom Over Next Decade: Are You Ready? Most job seekers do not know that the growth in energy exploration and  environmental regulations will create a large number of well-paying environmental science jobs over the next decade.
  4. 4 Lessons Peyton Manning Can Teach Green & Environmental Job Seekers :Like every other NFL fan, I was sad to see Peyton Manning leave the Indianapolis Colts. It was the somber end of an era for Colts fans and a joyous beginning for his next team. As I listened to Peyton’s speech, I realized that he is now a job seeker who has to find the right team that will fit his goals and talents.  It is an odd thing to think that a multi-millionaire star athlete is looking for a job but it is true. So my thoughts turned to some lessons we could learn from this football great.
  5. Top 7 “Soft” Skills Engineering & Science Grads Need to Be Successful :To celebrate the achievements of this year’s graduates, we decided to share 7 “soft” skills that hiring managers are looking for when they consider science and engineering graduates for entry level jobs. These secrets are not in a particular order because they vary in importance to every manager.
  6. Top 17 Key Job Skills Employers Want In 2012: As follow up to my “Skill Up” article for Job Action Day 2011, I wanted to write a series of articles on job skills needed in 2012. My hope is to help job seekers overcome the “Skills Gap” and acquire the new jobs opening in energy, environmental and infrastructure.
  7. 12 Job Certifications and Licenses You Will Need In the Green Economy:In order to land the green jobs of the future, American workers will have to get new certifications, college degrees or training. The purpose of this article is show job seekers some of the credentials that will be in demand as the job market opens up.
  8. 5 Critical Skills Needed to get an Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics Job in America:America has a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals. As the economy continues to recover, companies will need technical professionals who have well rounded skills and the ability to produce results. If you are looking to get hired early in the American economy’s upswing, it is vitally important that your resume showcases your achievements,  ]experience and skills in at least three of the following five skill areas in this article.

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