Young IPWEA

Hi, I am a graduate from University of South Australia in Civil & Water Resource Management Eng. in March 2014. Since than I have been applying for graduate positions in civil industries but nothing has happened yet. I did my work experience from City of West Torrens, Adelaide and have been applying for graduate opportunities in SA and other states too. But I get back after application is; We had number of applicants and at this stage yours application is unsuccessful. I have been ringing to potential employers where I had applied and try to get feedback for my application but they say we had many experienced applicants even for the graduate position so the management team is not able to take yours resume further ahead, and few other good ideas/tips too. I have been contacting many individuals working in the industry through email and phone but no any opportunities. So I am here with the forum asking if you could suggest me the way to put applications. Any tips or suggestions in relation to applications (Resume, Cover letter & Addressing selection criteria). Regards Kesab Dahal ------------------------------------------- Kesab Dahal Salisbury SAau -------------------------------------------

Dear Kesab,

I feel for your situation and I commend your effort to come out and tell your story while asking for help and feedback. I am sure that you are not alone. It can be extremely hard for the graduands to find opportunities in the current state of economy. I also appreciate your point about not always receiving adequate feedback about your applications, however keep trying and I trust that a phone call is always better than an email when following up with someone.

In my experience before I graduated, I was always looking for networking and meeting people with a view on exploring employment opportunities. I was also involved in several engineering institutions and societies which gave me additional options to network and allowed me to increase my professional knowledge and also helped me to develop personally.  I also volunteered my time in order to gain knowledge and experience and to make vital contacts.

A lot of opportunities are often offered and found through networking rather than through general advertising. Another thing I recommend is perhaps revisiting your resume with attention to 'transferrable skills' which I believe are equally, if not more important, than your engineering degrees. In my opinion, engineering is a very fast paced, competitive and diverse field and more and more often we are asked to develop and apply transferrable skills alongside our engineering knowledge. Try to learn/improve and explore some of these skills if you have not done so already.

Finally, don't give up searching for opportunities. I believe that the difference between those who are looking and those who find jobs is that the latter works harder and simply do more to succeed. Good luck!

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Gleb Kolenbet
Redland City Council
Cleveland QLD
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Hi Kesab,

Thank you for posting to the Young IPWEA community.

The market is certainly competitive at present, with the economic situation varied across the states, however if I may suggest the following:

1. If possible, seek further voluntary roles to expand on your experience whist job hunting, to demonstrate your commitment and also to seek personalised advice on career development.

2. Continue to develop your skills whilst job hunting, there are a number of courses offered for graduates that may be of interest to you and could make assist in making you 'stand out' for those employers when initially reviewing resumes. If you haven't yet, getting external input in your resume preparation may also assist in this respect. 

3. Getting involved in industry associations and networking opportunities is also a great way to get you foot in the door, the age old expression 'its not always what you know, but who you know' still stands often and finally be open minded to job opportunities in all aspects of your area(s) of knowledge.

Be confident - I wish you well on your journey.

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Megan Bonehill
District Council of Mount Barker
MOUNT BARKER SAau
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Kesab,

I suggest you apply for associate engineering roles too if you aren't already doing so i.e. Technical / Design / Asset / Works Officer. They often attract less applicants than Graduate Engineer positions giving you a greater chance of success.

Best regards 

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Sarinda Wickramasinghe
Graduate Asset Engineer (Bridges & Structures)
ARRB Group
ALBION QLD
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