Without doubt 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and it has been especially difficult for graduates looking to move into their first professional job after finishing University.
At Safeguard Engineering Ltd we recently took the decision to recruit from the pool of graduate engineers for the first time. We chose to advertise our two positions on the Gradcracker website which specialises in STEM jobs and with their help we set up our Safeguard Engineering Hub. The response was good and in the two weeks our ads were up we had 120+ quality applications from a range of engineering disciplines.
We shortlisted down to 14 applicants and then invited 4 to a series of video chats and interviews with our Senior Management Team. I was impressed with the quality of young talent out there and was pleased that we had taken the decision to invest in their future. I am of the old school way of thinking and took the trouble to contact all the applicants to let them know we had received their application and then for those we rejected, I again emailed to let them know they had been unsuccessful. I gather this is a rarity these days and I even had emails thanking me for my rejection message! They appreciated knowing the score rather than being kept in endless limbo.
After the interviews we offered positions to two graduates, Shaun Rouse and James Dempster. Both are qualified to Master’s level, one in Mechanical Engineering and one in Aerospace Engineering. They were both available to start immediately and are currently working through their induction programme – all remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions, but we’re looking forward to some person-to-person meetings in 2021.
My youngest son is in his second year of Mechanical Engineering at Nottingham Trent Uni and is currently looking for placement opportunities for his third year. He asked me what my top tip was for students and graduates who are searching for placements and jobs. I would have to say that my advice would be to look carefully at the key requirements for the position given in the job advert. Then pick these out one at a time in the cover letter or email and explain your experience in each area of requirement. I was surprised how many grads failed to do this and thus sold themselves short.
