Job market seems brutal
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Discussion

Familymad

Original Poster:

1,327 posts

233 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Been supporting my son trying to get a job after leaving uni. He grafted his way through to a first in mech engineering and just getting nowhere. Lovely lad and would interview well if he could just find somewhere to apply!

Anyone know of anywhere wanting a bright young lad ….

He isn’t sitting on his arse and has taken work doing end of tenancy checks for an agent. But it’s not using his brain as much as he wants.

xx99xx

2,580 posts

89 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Perhaps look at local government, civil service etc. Crying out for engineers in some parts.

Stay a few years, get some experience, get chartered and if so desired, look for a move to private sector (more money).

remedy

1,948 posts

207 months

Thursday 14th August
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Where are you based, OP?

HJG

545 posts

123 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Should be in high demand to be honest.
Unfortunately so many companies are using completely useless AI filters for CVs. Ironically the AI filter prefers AI written CVs, which are usually submitted by useless candidates.

Shooter McGavin

8,262 posts

160 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
My kid is only starting Yr 6 next year so I'm way off this but it is depressing to see this kind of post, makes me doubt the benefit of a degree vs costs incurred. Fine if it gets your CV in the right pile, but if that pile just doesn't exist, what then!?

That said in the mid-90s I graduated at the back end of a recession and graduate entry jobs were hard to come by in my chosen field of IT, took a year of searching and many applications.

zbc

942 posts

167 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Amazon are always hiring. They have quite a few mechanical engineers but it's normally easiest to join as an Area Manager in a warehouse or delivery station, get some experience then move into a more technical role. Something like this https://amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2914497/area-manager. Send me an email if he's interested

croyde

24,915 posts

246 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Other end of education scale, both my sons with just GCSEs apply constantly for jobs and up til now have had no luck.

One got a Skype interview which led to a second Skype interview which then led to an actual face to face interview.

If that had been successful, he would have had to then spend a day in the role he had applied for whilst under observation.

No it wasn't Head of Paediatric Surgery at St George's Hospital.

It was floor assistant at Aldi......FFS!

Thankfully he has got an apprenticeship at a local to him building firm, and my other lad looks like he has secured a job in the kitchens of a hotel local to me.


Shuff4

208 posts

103 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Utilities?

Mechanical engineering, could transfer skills to electrical?

Step on the employment ladder to then grow and build his portfolio.

Slow.Patrol

2,223 posts

30 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Thinking back, I started work in 1979. Not an easy time as on the cusp of a recession.

I spent two years in an admin role at the local council before getting the job in my chosen field.

Collectingbrass

2,536 posts

211 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Sizewell C grad scheme

https://young.sizewellc.com/yszc/the-lowdown/gradu...

Hinkley

https://destinationnuclearcareersportal.co.uk/jobs...

Babcock

https://destinationnuclearcareersportal.co.uk/jobs...

If he's got a first and getting nowhere it might be time to ask why. It might be worth investing in some interview prep training & CV / application writing, PM me if you want a recommendation.

EastMidsEng

16 posts

100 months

Thursday 14th August
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I have to admit OP this is really surprising. As an engineer myself, I know our company are having great difficulty recruiting anyone with any ounce of talent; for both shopfloor hands on work or desk-based engineering roles.

If someone with a first and interviews very well turned up at our place they would most definately get a start at the very least. I've found that the best candiates have multiple job offers and are able to pick the best offer (and salary). We recevied feedback for one interviewee that they had recevied 7 jobs offers. (Our problem is we don't pay enough and need a company wide salary reset)

Also hearing from recruiters that employers need to move very quickly to get the person they want.

Only thing I can think of is businesses want engineers to hit the ground running and don't have the staff levels or time to put into someone straight out of uni. Budgets/headcount won't be helping either currently.

Stick at it, I would be surprised if something doesn't turn up very soon for him.


Edited by EastMidsEng on Thursday 14th August 13:51


Edited by EastMidsEng on Thursday 14th August 13:53

EastMidsEng

16 posts

100 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Shooter McGavin said:
My kid is only starting Yr 6 next year so I'm way off this but it is depressing to see this kind of post, makes me doubt the benefit of a degree vs costs incurred. Fine if it gets your CV in the right pile, but if that pile just doesn't exist, what then!?

That said in the mid-90s I graduated at the back end of a recession and graduate entry jobs were hard to come by in my chosen field of IT, took a year of searching and many applications.
I wouldn't even think too hard about it if they are in Yr6. The world is going to look very different by the time they are considering uni or not. Personally I think university, for most people, will be a complete waste of money and time in 10 years time. These kids will be experts in AI and will be able to learn about any topic they wish very rapidly.

rog007

5,800 posts

240 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Familymad said:
Been supporting my son trying to get a job after leaving uni. He grafted his way through to a first in mech engineering and just getting nowhere. Lovely lad and would interview well if he could just find somewhere to apply!

Anyone know of anywhere wanting a bright young lad ….

He isn’t sitting on his arse and has taken work doing end of tenancy checks for an agent. But it’s not using his brain as much as he wants.
Some sage advice above, and can confirm that there’s definitely some demand out there. Has he put any limitations in place, such as what he will do, where he’s prepared to do it and for how much? If not, then it should get progressively easier to secure a role.

Other than that, I’d be delighted to cast an eye over his CV just in case that might be a limiting factor.

Good luck!

Charlie1986

2,080 posts

151 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
zbc said:
Amazon are always hiring. They have quite a few mechanical engineers but it's normally easiest to join as an Area Manager in a warehouse or delivery station, get some experience then move into a more technical role. Something like this https://amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2914497/area-manager. Send me an email if he's interested
This- currently lots of RME roles open

Frik

13,639 posts

259 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
Mech Eng is a broad church. What industries is he trying?

Also grad schemes aren't the only route in.

cml24

1,504 posts

163 months

Thursday 14th August
quotequote all
When I graduated with am engineering degree, the graduate schemes had closed by about April, to start work the filling autumn.

The role I got closed by the end of the year, so nine months in advance of start date.

Is it just the wrong time of year to be applying for graduate schemes?

J4CKO

44,619 posts

216 months

Friday 15th August
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Depends on what job you are after, my youngest came back from Germany, arsed about for a bit and then decided to apply for jobs, got two possibles lined up and got both.

The one he turned down was Prodrive.

EastMidsEng

16 posts

100 months

Friday 15th August
quotequote all
cml24 said:
When I graduated with am engineering degree, the graduate schemes had closed by about April, to start work the filling autumn.

The role I got closed by the end of the year, so nine months in advance of start date.

Is it just the wrong time of year to be applying for graduate schemes?
For grad schemes at the big/national/multi-national/plc compaines probably but your smaller private compaines will take grads on all year round.

If I was in his postion I wouldn't narrow my search to recent grad roles anyway. I would be applying for any "egineering" roles that interested me. Even better if you can apply direct through company websites rather than through recruiters. But he should still make sure his CV is AI friendly.

There are negatives to being at these smaller companies but at the sametime you can also quickly become a key member on the engineering team, get well paid and work on some interesting projects. From my experience avoid the Amercian owned corporations unless you have a strong desire to move to the states in which case working for one of these makes that process possible.

EastMidsEng

16 posts

100 months

Friday 15th August
quotequote all
May have missed the cut-off but worth applying anyway, MBDA are looking for grads if that is something he is interested in? Signing bonus being paid as well which suggests they are also struggling to get quality applications.