Potential job

[DwSoFt]

Hi, I have a chance to apply for an automation position coming up.
I am not in an automation position right now, I am an E/I Project Lead. I have been interested in getting into Automation since i learned about it. In fact after i got my Jman ticket in electrical, i decided to dual ticket in Instrumentation partly because of automation. I also have been messing around with computers since i got my first one 15 years ago.

I am wondering if anyone has any tips on how I can make myself stand out from the other inexperienced guys applying for this entry level position.

I should also Note that On my current project I am working on, I deal with an experienced programmer that works for where I am applying and he said he would give me a good reference.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated, thank you

 

[Tom Jenkins]

I tried to hire based on character and attitude, not a specific skill set. I could teach someone with basic abilities needed skills, but if they didn't know how to work, how to learn, and how to interact with others, all the job specific knowledge in the world wouldn't make them a benefit to my company. I guess nowadays they call these "soft skills".

Demonstrate them in the interview. Show how you have accomplished difficult tasks in your current role, indicate your desire to learn and improve, let them understand that your work will benefit the company through persistance, dedication, and improving efficiency.

Don't be phony, and don't lay it on too thick. Quiet confidence and sincere interest in the company and the position are the best bet. Don't be too modest either - past performance in this case is an indicator of future results.

 

[DwSoFt]

Thank you very much.

 

[krakenfan69]

Tom couldn't have said it better. Our company looks at exactly those things when hiring. my employer told me it was 70% attitude and 30% skill to get hired. He could increase your skill level in the next year but could do nothing about your attitude. Customer relations and fitting into the office well are very important.

Kraken Fan #69

 

[BobB]

It is nice to see people around who look at the person and not so much 'their piece of paper'!
Congratulations to the 2 of you.

 

[DamianInRochester]

The reality is, you never know what kind of person will be interviewing you. Like everything else, they are all levels of bad and good. I remember way back when I was first looking for a job going to a couple interviews where the interviewer was not sufficiently competent to be determing the competence of the applicants. This is part of the reason things became all about the "paper". It was no fault of the interviewer really, they wre just doing their job. However, those interviews ultimately should have included someone already on the engineering staff.

In all reality, there are some situations where BSing your way through an interview might be to your advantage. The key is, at least with Tom's approach you know that if you do get hired the the organization is morely like to be one worth being employed at. If they have poor hiring pratices, you probably won't want to work with the people they have hired.

Good luck! I hope it works out and is what you are looking for.

 

[Steve Etter]

I just want to reinforce one of the things Tom said, above - sincere interest in the company and the position. This is one place where the inexperienced guy can really stand out against all the other inexperienced guys. Research the company with whom you are about to interview and be prepared to tell the interviewer about his own company. Learn things like their history, who some of their competitors are and where the company headquarters are located. In my experience not too many candidates actually do this and it can definitely help.

Steve

 

[gas]

DwSoFt,
I was a maintenance boss for many years and hired (and fired) many.
I now teach maintenance subjects part time. A large amount of time is spent finding these guys jobs.
What has been said above is all true but each has a limited perspective.
Above all remember that you are selling and the product is you. The first rule of selling is identifying your target.
Most HR types are over worked and also have no clue what they are looking for so your first letter or contact is junk mail. In 5 seconds you have to make this person want to continue to look at you. Here is where you have to deduce what the company is looking for. The verbiage in the ad is usually off base so Google, ask questions, try to talk to people that already work there to determine the company culture. If you are able to hit this you will always get an interview with HR.
If you get a second interview now you have a different target. Here is where you have to sell your accomplishments, skill and ambition. Again, try to match what you have to what they are looking for.
In both cases sell them your soft skills, ambition, love of learning, reliability and above all, user friendliness.
I have seen people get hired because they had exceptional soft skills even though they were weak in other areas.
Don’t take rejection too personally. You are selling, if all you have to sell is blue socks and they are looking for black ones it is only a business deal.
Good luck

 

[DwSoFt]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

 

[Elijah58]

I really hate the "paper document" mentality that a lot of companies have, we are a global company with factories all over the world. What I have seen here at the factory I am in is that a lot of our so called "engineers" have a document hanging on the wall and are completely worthless. I am not trying to be down on degree earning people, as there are many out there that are extremely good at what they do and then you have the ones that only went to college for the party and picked up a degree as a souvenir. The issue I see here is we have had several engineers hired for their "paper" and nothing else. I have maintenance men that design and build equipment for the factory that the entire engineering staff would have no clue on what to do in this situation, I have been on too many occasions doing the work that the engineers should be doing but don't. I have asked my director to have them do their jobs and help us out with some of the things that we have going on because we don't have the time to do both jobs, needless to say nothing ever happens and they just sit and surf the web and are no help whatsoever. And the people in the factory that actually "work" for the company ends up doing all of the work while others ride their backs and then try to take credit for it. I do not try to get credit for anything I do, and will pass it to one of my guys when there is going to be an attaboy given. But what really burns me is when these guys that won't do their own job but will try to take credit for something one of my guys does, which I am very vocal about this and will call them out when they try to lie and take the credit from someone else when they have done nothing. Most of the paper holding guys we have all came from the same company and were friends before working here. So they were hired on a friend basis and not on a skill basis. I know everyone sees this type of people, it just kills me to see some guys doing all the work and others watching and doing nothing to help. It's like the guys on the road working for the county where you have one working and two leaning on shovels watching. I guess I need to step down from my soapbox now, sorry for the long winded account but I think you guys are the only ones that really understand where I am coming from.
Eli

 

[Paullys50]

I really hate the "paper document" mentality that a lot of companies have, we are a global company with factories all over the world. What I have seen here at the factory I am in is that a lot of our so called "engineers" have a document hanging on the wall and are completely worthless. I am not trying to be down on degree earning people, as there are many out there that are extremely good at what they do and then you have the ones that only went to college for the party and picked up a degree as a souvenir. The issue I see here is we have had several engineers hired for their "paper" and nothing else. I have maintenance men that design and build equipment for the factory that the entire engineering staff would have no clue on what to do in this situation, I have been on too many occasions doing the work that the engineers should be doing but don't. I have asked my director to have them do their jobs and help us out with some of the things that we have going on because we don't have the time to do both jobs, needless to say nothing ever happens and they just sit and surf the web and are no help whatsoever. And the people in the factory that actually "work" for the company ends up doing all of the work while others ride their backs and then try to take credit for it. I do not try to get credit for anything I do, and will pass it to one of my guys when there is going to be an attaboy given. But what really burns me is when these guys that won't do their own job but will try to take credit for something one of my guys does, which I am very vocal about this and will call them out when they try to lie and take the credit from someone else when they have done nothing. Most of the paper holding guys we have all came from the same company and were friends before working here. So they were hired on a friend basis and not on a skill basis. I know everyone sees this type of people, it just kills me to see some guys doing all the work and others watching and doing nothing to help. It's like the guys on the road working for the county where you have one working and two leaning on shovels watching. I guess I need to step down from my soapbox now, sorry for the long winded account but I think you guys are the only ones that really understand where I am coming from.
Eli

Semi-understandable but not the place for your rant. And you clearly are downgrading a degreed engineer. Degrees aren't just given out, they are earned even those who "partied" throughout college worked hard to earn the degree. It's a hell of an accomplishment to earn a degree, don't disrespect that.

The automation world is not tailored to a specific area of scholastic engineering, it's a unique industry to be in and there are many who worked their way into the industry without a degree, there are many with a degree that drive the industry. Degreed or not, you must have good work ethic, drive, ability to learn, and the want to "tinker" to succeed in the automation industry. It's a rare-bread to "fit" this role. At the end of the day, a degree instantly filters out candidates, play the game or sit on the sideline.

OP - Best of luck, all the posts prior to this guy's provide excellent advice.

 

[DwSoFt]

Thank you paully

 

[arkyny]

Paully could not have described this profession any better. I have an Associates Degree in Electronics Engineering, and learned a lot about electronics and embedded programming. At the time I graduated, I had never heard of a PLC, but started with an aerospace company that was entirely PLC control. I learned a lot and from there, have really learned a lot about the automation aspect of industry, and would not do anything else, except, when I get real old, I want to be a Wal-Mart greeter, and program the doors so that people can only use the entrance doors for entrance, and the exit doors for exit

 

[jude]

a degree is like the victory cross or medal of valor in such that the only people who know what it is worth are the people who were in the same battle or who attended the same classes and sat the same exams everyone else is just guessing

 

[ghettofreeryder]

a degree is like the victory cross or medal of valor in such that the only people who know what it is worth are the people who were in the same battle or who attended the same classes and sat the same exams everyone else is just guessing

Your right, Getting a degree is totally just like being serving and protecting innocent civilians, as engineers serve the university with gallantry..... Please don't make that comparison again, as it is an insult to those who protect and serve.

The whole degree argument can be discussed until the end of time, at the end of the day, it's all about the attitude and personality. If someone wants to excel at any one aspect of a career, no lack or presence of a degree, or any other "certificate", will make a difference. I have seen both sides of this fence, where some engineers excel, other fail, and the same can be said for those without the certificate.