Recent Civil Engineer Graudate with no job. Am I doing something wrong?

[solomonb]

OK, on the networking events not related to civil engineering. Makes no difference what the event is related to-- somehow there is a civil engineering connection. It may be the church, Rotary, the car club, the school alumni association, you never know who you will run into who knows someone who is searching for an engineer. Make DAMN SURE that you have business cards with you-- ALWAYS have a business card with you. I am amazed at the number of folks who fail to have business cards-- "I ran out, I left them in the car/briefcase/hotel room/ office drawer, etc., etc." Get a card carrier and always have some with you. Always keep some in your right coat pocket-- if you forget, then you have some in your coat pocket to give out. It is easy to slip into the pocket, get a card, shake hands all in the same step.

Remember the thank you note routine. Send a thank you note to whomever you meet tomorrow-- get the card of the individual, or if you don't get to see he/she, get their card or the card of the receptionist/secretary, change the name to the principal that you were seeking and use the address on the card. Now, if you bust, through no fault of your own and the principal is unavailable/unable to see you, get the card of the receptionist. In addition to sending the handwritten thank-you note, you have a card with an email on it. MOST big companies use a common email naming format-- First InitialLast Name, jjones for John Jones @ABC.com. This is not 100% accurate, however, works about 90% of the time. Here is where some fun comes in-- if JJones @abc does not work, try jonesj@abc, John@abc, jones@abc--- this is trial and error experimentation, however, again, 90% of the time you will find one that works. Hopefully, this is the guy/gal that you seeknig!!!!!

Allright-- keep going-- we are maknig some forward progress.

 

[Riodn]

Update Time!

On Monday, my original plan was to just visit one company and see what would happen. I visited GHD and unfortunately the regional office manager was in a meeting (or so the receptionist said). She gave me a contact info for the HR (which I've been trying to call, leaving voicemessages and still no response) and I left her my resume and that was pretty much the end of it. The experience was not as terrifying as I thought it would be and I think it mainly depends upon the receptionist and their attitude/atmosphere. The reason I say this is because afterwards, I decided to go to another company that was a few blocks away and I felt more comfortable and confident when speaking to the receptionist. Unfortunately again the hiring person was not in on that day so I actually went back this morning and she was in a meeting (which was true, cause I could literally see her in a meeting). I guess just unlucky timing. The receptionist again gave me the HR person for their company (called them and again no response). I'm starting to see a pattern and I think one problem that I'm starting to see (which you guys already mentioned) is that I'm not going to get anywhere by speaking to these HR people. I need to be speaking to the regional managers, engineers but my problem is that I have no access to them. Its all pretty new to me and often enough on the company's websites, there are not specific employee's names listed on their site and I guess that is where I have to get creative to try to find these names. After visiting these companies, I had some other networking opportunities and that was pretty much the end of it. As suggested, everyone I met (doesn't matter who they were) I wrote hand written thank you notes.

Today (Tuesday) was a little bit discouraging. I went back out to the streets again and knocking on more company doors. Unfortunately and this is totally my fault for lack of planning, literally half of them were in those huge buildings with a closed door and I had no access to (essentially waste of time). I spent most of my morning going door to door and then the other half of the day writing more thank you notes for meeting those people at the networking events last night. Tomorrow I will essentially do the same thing and will keep doing it until I hear something. My biggest hurdle right now is reaching the appropriate person in charge and not just the HR/reception person.

To end on a decent note, as I was walking back home a nice old lady complimented me on my attire and we started conversing. Next thing I know her brother is a retired civil engineer from San Francisco. So I gave her my card and very politely thanked her if she could pass my name along to her brother. I just wanted to end with that and say that its true that you'll never know who you'll come across when you least expect it. Thanks for reading and following my story. Hopefully you guys are having more success than me.

 

[solomonb]

You are doing good-- just stay at it. Remember, the more times that you get a NO or get turned down, the closer you are to a YES, come on in and let's visit. I will assure you that when that happens, you will be all fired up to do it again.

You are not the lone wolf in this exercise. We have all had this experience-- all of us. The locked door, the crabby receptionist, the principal in the meeting-- JUST STAY AT IT-- you may have to knock 567 doors before one opens, however, open it will.

Recall that Abe Lincoln had lots of hard luck before he ran for President of the United States. Lots of hard luck.

Keep going-- have fun-- again, you never know who you will meet! If the little old lady complimented you on your clothes, then you must have paid attention! That is good-- don't worry, this will work out.

 

[Riodn]

So far I've tried to go door to door to about 20 different companies both located in San Francisco and in Oakland. I was able to talk to a few Vice Presidents and senior engineers and actually had some good conversation with these people. I've handed them my resume and followed up with a thank you note essentially just thanking for them taking their valuable time and talking to a random guy. Additionally, I've attended a few more networking events, attended a ASCE Dinner last night (made a contact there as well and did my regular follow up). I've been looking into the volunteer organizations mentioned near the top of this thread and will be attending those orientation and events as well. In addition all these, I've still been applying online to jobs but as of right now, I still don't have a solid lead. I know that this kind of thing takes time and I'm gonna continue working at it and doing what I'm doing.

I am only human so I must admit, today was a difficult day. I've mapped out about 12 companies to go, and I was only able to talk to 1 person that wasn't the receptionist. I haven't experienced this the last few weeks but maybe they changed the security guards or something, the main reason I wasn't able to speak to anyone was because the security guard didn't allow to me to go to these companies (they first called the respective company and explained to them who was there and etc). It was pretty discouraging, I'm not gonna lie. As solomonb stated several times, this isn't going to happen overnight and takes hard work, which I completely understand. It just sucks. In this up coming week, I'm going to be visiting a different location and pretty much do the same routine while also following up with phone calls to the people that insisted I should so and also attend some volunteering orientations.

The positive thing that I'm taking away from all is that it is very enjoyable once I actually am able to speak to person and engage with him. I know I will it will be awesome once I get that opening and opportunity. In the meantime, I just have to keep trying and keep trying. Thank you guys for listening to what I have to say. Hopefully you guys are having a wonderful Friday and have some great plans for this weekend. Take care everyone until next time.

 

[solomonb]

Natural feeling-- you are doing just fine! Remember, the more misses you get, the closer you are to the target. Hit is again hard next week-- this is hard, hard work. However, you have stayed with it and are doing it-- you need to be commended-- and I do so now!!!!!! Yes, it is very discouraging, however, you are going to hit the target---and when you do, it will be great!!

Rest for the weekend, dress up and go again-- by now, you should have this down to a fine science-- hell, you don't know-- somebody may call you next week. I just had a client call and tell me she got a big order after being at a trade show for 3 days with little activity. You never know-- don't be discouraged-- you are, that is only natural and human, however, trust me, this is going to work out! HONEST!

 

[frazil]

Riodn, I really admire your determination and attitude. Some company is going to be fortunate to hire you, hopefully soon. Good luck!

 

[Jayman_PE]

Riodn,

PM sent.

 

[kpf]

Good luck! It'll work out at some point. This might be an option to look into:

US Navy Civil Engineering Corps

http://www.navy.com/...ngineering.html

I thought of it when I graduated in 2006 but didn't really know much about the military and didn't want to go to AFG or Iraq. I now work for the Navy as a civilian engineer and looking back joining the Civil Engineering Corps (CEC) would have been a good choice. As an officer you get excellent pay, excellent benefits, and excellent experience. An O3 (Lieutenant ~4-5 years experience) in SF earns about $100k/year (well deserved!). Won't be easy to get in as it's pretty competitive.

All of the CEC officers I know absolutely love what they do.

 

[Riodn]

Thank you for your response. I actually thought about joining the military and if I were to join, would very much like to be in a similar position as you, a civilian engineer. Thank you for the suggestion and I will look into it more and keep you guys updated. This week has been pretty busy for me and I haven't quite been able to go door to door to more companies yet (family-work related things). Thank you all for your wonderful input and help thus far!

 

[kpf]

If you pursue Navy CEC don't think of it as a last option but rather a great opportunity.

You'll have an initial 4 year commitment but what is the job market going to look like in the next 4 years? I'm guessing not much better than it does right now. Long term civil engineers will be ok because infrastructure in this country has faced years of neglect and is going to hell... though that doesn't do anything help you with what you need right now: Experience

Even if you're lucky enough to get a hit from one of the firms (I'm assuming consulting firms) you're going to directly, they may bring you on for a project but when that project ends if there is no work on the horizon they'll send you on your way... even if you're a total rock star. You'll be too costly to be sitting around un-billable. That's the reality of consulting engineering firms (especially today) for younger engineers. And chances are they won't put much investment/training into you cause they know you're one missed proposal away from getting laid off. Sorry that sounds a little bleak... but consulting engineering is a rough/unstable business.

With the CEC you'll have at least 4 good solid years of employment. You'll get to do a lot of travel. The Navy will put a lot of investment into you, including grad school after a few years. If you're looking for a civilian job with the DoD/Federal Gov your chances will be greatly improved as a vet. You'll get a lot of management and leadership experience in the CEC though will be short on design experience. I wouldn't worry about the lack of design experience... the important thing is gaining experience, whatever kind.

I was there in 2009/2010 too... laid off and unemployed for a year. It'll work out! Stay positive!

 

[deafodupe]

Riodn, if things still don't go well, as Andy Reid once said when his QBs were not doing well, "Keep firing."

This might work for you.

I did the ASCE, internships, etc while I was at Old Dominion back in the mid-2000s. The economy was doing well at the time, so I had a job lined up after graduation. I also had a GPA in my major that was higher than the cumulative GPA, so it was good to go. But then the economy tanked, I was laid off and relocated up to the mountains in Virginia. I still work for DOT even from the internships and so on.

My suggestion is to work hard, study hard, join groups, volunteer, do internships, join a professional network, join social media, and list only the important things there. That way the companies can filter you from the potential candidate list and give the interviews. Don't try to list all things, otherwise everyone might filter you off.

 

[bulllgator]

Network, network, network.

I am a "young" engineer, though I have 9 years of experience (started as an intern at 18). The biggest asset I have had in career success is networking. With everyone and anyone. All day. Everyday. Though I have had 2 great jobs, my network has opened doors to 10 other good jobs that I have turned down. Network, network, network.

 

[FallMonkey]

Great thread. It's inspiring to see both friendly professionals as well as the strong spirit of OP.

I'd like to know if OP could provide some further update on this (hopefully landed a job already!) since I'm currently in a similar situation here in New York, as a Columbia '13 graduate with highest GPA in the Civil Engineering department. Yet the lack of experience and connections is throwing me off the table.

The only offer I secured so far is a somewhat quasi-PM job with a Chinese company which was owned by a Chinese engineer who can barely speak English and needs someone to do the interpretation of blueprint , with no benefits or bonus but $15 hourly wage. I guess companies here in New York are simply struggling to survive and barely willing to invest in any newbies.

 

[solomonb]

Monkey-- Send me your resume-- let's take a look and see what it says! I have worked with LOTS of folks on this board as well as others-- let's do a resume review first-- we'll help you find a job. Send me a PM with your resume, we need to start there.

 

[OutsideCreativ]

I got my job through a cold-call cover letter and resume. At the bottom of your cover letter, add a line saying you look forward to hearing from them and they can call you at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or you will call them in two weeks on Wednesday, August X.

...then do it! This at least gets you talking to someone, and when they are expecting your call they are more likely to take it.

Your resume looks pretty good-- one minor thing I notice is that you change tense. "Develop Client Relations" (present) "Constructed..." (past) -- I like to stick with past tense for previous experience-- either way, be consistent.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I'd like to know if OP could provide some further update on this (hopefully landed a job already!) since I'm currently in a similar situation here in New York, as a Columbia '13 graduate with highest GPA in the Civil Engineering department. Yet the lack of experience and connections is throwing me off the table.

The CE market in the greater NY area sucks. I spent nearly a year there struggling to find full time work and barely got interviews. I eventually punted and relocated.

 

[Chochan219]

Sorry for posting on an old thread but I was reading through the thread for advise. I was hopping for an update to the OP as well. I am in a very similar situation as the OP when he first posted. I graduated from UC Davis in September 2013 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, focusing on water/wastewater. I have been applying for entry level jobs through online job sites (my school's job site, indeed, simplyhired etc). I have only one interview so far and I am still waiting for an update from the firm.

I know that I lack internship experience with an engineering company because I worked for my father's house remodeling business for the first 3 years of collage, then my senior year I worked as a research assistant for my university's Department of Environmental Engineering.

I really need some help getting a job soon because my father had just hurt his back and is unable to work for at least the next 3 weeks.

 

[nart]

Need to hear more from OP after reading the whole thread. Finished my MS civil, water resources December '13 and in similar situation in the Bay Area. Looks like I need to change my strategy after reading so many good tips on here. Going to build a thick face and head to the street soon. Thanks for all the tips guys.

 

[Road Guy]

I do wish folks would come back and let us know what worked? It seems market is a little stronger than it was a year ago...

I see lots of the big civil firms are advertising for graduate trainee's...

These jobs may not pay huge money but don't turn them down when you are applying...

Also I recommend getting on linked in and hit up anybody and everybody you know...

 

[Sapper PE LS]

I can't hire a junior level engineer to save my freaking life, hence why I'm up at 11:15 for the third night in a row working on putting together graphics for a presentation.

Anybody in the Hartford area with highway design experience, seriously, PM me... like now.