Have you tried AmTrack .... engineer... get it... oh, im no help am I.

 

[quote]Originally posted by icat:
<strong>Your looking in the obvious places, try looking elsewhere. Determine who you want to work for and then approach them about job openings. Have a professional resume ready. Most comapnies that are worth working for don't need to advertise, they have a ready supply of applicants waiting to get in the door. Make sure your "on their list" and then set yourself apart. Dress to kill if you get an interview, polish your "interview" skills, and get to know someone in personnel. Call them at least once a week and inquire about possible openings. Don't accept a position under what you've trained for, but be flexable in what you'll accept. Last piece of "free" advise, don't limit your geographical area, be ready to go west young man (or east, or south, or north...).

Been there, done that, got the job to prove it...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Just an addendum:
If you have an interview for a job you like, follow the interview up with a letter within 2-3 days. Explain why you would be good for the company and why the company would be good for you; make it a win/win kind of letter. Most importantly, tell them you'd take the job if offered!. Few people do this and it lets the prospective employer know you are goal oriented and capable of following a task through to completion. I have yet to be denied a job where I've done this (not that many people would turn down an attorney willing to work for $35K yr ). Good luck!

 

[quote]Originally posted by MichelleJD:
<strong>

Just an addendum:
If you have an interview for a job you like, follow the interview up with a letter within 2-3 days. Explain why you would be good for the company and why the company would be good for you; make it a win/win kind of letter. Most importantly, tell them you'd take the job if offered!. Few people do this and it lets the prospective employer know you are goal oriented and capable of following a task through to completion. I have yet to be denied a job where I've done this (not that many people would turn down an attorney willing to work for $35K yr ). Good luck!</strong><hr></blockquote>

Michelle is dead on. Get the business card of the person you interview with and follow up with a letter - same for EVERYONE you talk to in the company. You have NO idea of the power of a good secretary. They can pave the way for you or stop you dead in your tracks. I've only failed to get one job I interviewed for (and I really wanted that job too), but even then I stayed in contact. Even went so far as to ask them to review my interview and let me know if I could have done anything different. You'd be surprised at the amount of e-mails we tossed back and forth.

 

[quote]Originally posted by originalsterm:
<strong> Until then, I just got a job at a sporting goods store. But I really don't feel a five year engineering degree is worth an $8.50/hour job carrying boxes. Thanks again everyone!</strong><hr></blockquote>

OK, now for the tough advise. Finding a job IS a full time job. You can't do both. Why would a company want to hire someone who can't find a job and is willing to work for basically minimum wage (yes I know minimum wage is $5 something). If you settle for less your worth less, be hungry, be aggressive, and get out there and pound the streets. Unless the sporting goods store is a night job, then you're wasting your valuable job hunting time. You should be sending out at least 10 resumes a week, following up on each, and adding to your contact list. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it - but it's not. Schools starting and the "part timers" are gone, don't settle now for a blue collar job, man you've got five years invested.

Been there, done that, got the job to prove it.

 

I am not settling, believe me, I am not happy about this sporting goods job. But, I need to pay the bills for now. I actually had worked at Bosch in SC for a few months as an intern. I still have ties down there but nothing solid yet, most positions are being filled internally.

Also, my 2.85 GPA is holding me back. I've been told I needed at least a 3.0/3.5/close to 4.0/whatever.

I've been following up with all emails and phone calls repeatidly. I've tried contract work, full time work, part time work, etc. Big companies, small companies, everything in between.

The search continues...

 

I feel your pain originalsterm, i graduate from Purdue University with a degree in Synoptic Meteorology in may and i am scared s*&%less. the economy sucks and it is hard to find a job. all i can say is make sure to try you universities placement programs and go to as many job fairs as you can. good luck man, i will send anything i hear of your way.

Kurt

 

Strangely enough, I just heard (well a few hours ago now) that my cousin, who is in his final year of Electrical Engineering at Purdue, already has a job lined up somewhere out in California. Connections really do make all the difference I guess.

 

L3 communications (LLL nyse) is hiring in this area, there a large military/aerospace contractor. i avoid union shops myself, but w/ economy down and defense spending excellerating faster than my porsche, its worth a look up for you. theyre global so there maybe a site near you. i think the best place to look right now would be defense/aerospace....try northrop grumman, lockheed martin, martin marietta, raytheon, mcdonald douglas, boeing, etc....
best of luck....

 

oops i guess if i would of read <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> that your degree was in mech engineering (automotive) i wouldnt of suggested all the aerospace. hmmmm.....try hummer theyre still a defensive play and be a nice employee purchase for a tow vehicle!!! btw anyone know if there will be a military version of the new H2?

 

I live in the Detroit area. Every Sunday there is like 2 pages of engineenring jobs. Most mechanical. And quite a few at starting level. The papers are posted at Detroit news.com or Free press.com. My point being is get online and actually call up the actual papers for different cities and go through thier classifieds. Or head to your local barnes and noble. They have a lot of sunday papers for a lot of cities. last I looked. Been a few years. But It has to be Sundays. Durring the weekdays it goes from like 15 pages to one. The jobs durring the week are just 7-11 stuff.. When I start looking for a job. Don't just look at what is under your heading, send resume's to the actual company's. That may be looking for other help but also employ your field and send in a resume' ATTN HR at the bottom of the address. Cost 50 cents. and you just never know who just quit.. Have gotten a few jobs this way. many interviews. Basically flood the market in your field whether they are looking for you or not..And take every single interview whether you want that job or not. That gives you practice and once in awhile a good contact. HR people seem to hang together for some wierd reason. HTH. and goooood luck!

 

For a few weeks I sat at my computer looking up email addresses for every company I could think of. The next thing I did was look through engineering journals and various magazines to get more contact information. Since then, I have had ONE interview in person, THREE phone interviews, and dozens of calls letting me know that my resume is sitting on a supervisor's desk. Could it be that it does indeed take months for the whole process, or did they file my resume in the round filing cabinet (trash can)?

 

When you get an interview, be pleasant to everyone you meet in the building - even if they are vacuuming it. A smile and returning eye contact will suffice. This may seem obvious, but quite a lot of people are only respectful of 'superiors' - even during an interview.

You would be surprised who is asked their opinion, they wouldn't have you in if they didn't think you could do the work, the interview is mostly finding out if they think you would fit in the company. And finally, remember you are also interviewing them, would they drive you crazy in 2 hours working for them?

Good Luck

 

Has anyone heard about the new DC plant opening in South Carolina? I heard that they are building a plant down there and are first sending engineers to Detroit for training. Has anyone heard anything about this? If so, should I send my resume to DC or do you think that they are doing their own recruiting?

 

Send anyway, it only cost you about $0.50. I have that much in my vacuum from cleaning my condo.

 

If you want to stay in New York try hightechNYjob.com. They have a lot of listings, though I only got one response from the 30+ jobs I applied for.
As you have found out the market is very slow at the moment. I finally got a job yesterday after being unemployed since Feb. and I have over 20 years of experiance plus a engineering and business degree.
The only advice I can offer is to keep following up on a job you are interested in. Call the recruiter at least once a week. This way the recruiter will remember your name when it comes time to schedule an interview.