Professional and Career Topics

Hi everyone,
As every employer knows this already that graduate do not have any experience like If I take my own example, I am on 7th or 8th step of Failed Interviews in career pathway but I am not loosing hope and will keep struggling but the thing is can anyone please tell me beside education and it's grade what are the other factor that employers are looking for while hiring Graduates.


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Sohaib Ahmed Aff.M.ASCE
Graduate Civil Engineer
Croydon,UK
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Enthusiasm.
Affable personality.
Ability to work with others.
It should go without saying, that since engineering is practically applied science, a solid grasp of the scientific principles and knowledge to be applied.
In medicine, one applies physiological sciences.  in engineering, one applies physical sciences.  Because most work of civil engineers is affected by government action, by regulation or funding, on work that directly affects people, civil engineers also practically apply the social sciences.  Psychology, Sociology, Political Science.
Refer also to Polonius' advice to his son, Laertes, in Act I Scene 3 of Hamlet.

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Karl Sieg P.E., M.ASCE
Sieg & Associates Inc
Venice FL
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Sohaib, I recently retired after more than 40 years as a licensed professional engineer in the USA. Having worked in both public works and as a private consulting engineer what I wanted most in a recent graduate was the desire to learn more. By this I mean that I wanted a new employee who to learn "how we do it here" and be willing to do any assignment, no matter how trivial it may seem, support the team effort. Ideally your resume (text & video) and interview answers will show that you have already demonstrated this in your education and volunteer activities (especially ASCE).

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Fraser Howe P.E., F.ASCE
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Have you considered applying for internships instead of a full-time position? That can be a good way to add some experience to your resume before you apply for a full-time position. There is also a chance if they hire you for an internship that they will offer you a full-time position afterward.

If you haven't already taken advantage of the ASCE Resume Clinic, I would also recommend doing that the next time one is offered.

I would say some of the general things that I would look for in a recent grad would be their professionalism in communication (written and spoken), eagerness to learn, and their involvement in something besides school that can show they are committed to contributing or working in teams (professional organizations like ASCE, former job, community volunteering, sports, etc.)

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Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
Tulsa, OK
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Dear Sohaib,
I am the President of an Engineering company in Oklahoma, United States. First of all, be sure you use proper English in your interactions with prospective employers. You lost me with your first sentence. It should read something like, "As every employer knows, graduates do not have any experience. Using my own experience as an example, I am on my 7th or 8th attempt...". Do not write as you would speak in casual conversations with your friends. Use proper English and have someone proofread your correspondence. This is a form of Quality Control that is very important in the engineering industry. The plans, reports and specifications we produce are legal documents and become part of a contract, so correct wording is very important. Secondly, do not give up. Keep your options open and keep looking for opportunities. 

Best of luck in your pursuits.

Sam Pappas

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Sam Pappas P.E., M.ASCE
President
Macarthur Associated Consultants, LLC
Edmond OK
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I can't speak for the UK as it might be different there than the States. Here, you would not get to the interview stage unless you seemed like you had a good resume. Failing seven interviews is not the end of the world but there must be something that is a deal breaker. Check the following link to see if you are meeting the main criteria for a good interview:

https://ung.edu/career-services/online-career-resources/interview-well/tips-for-a-successful-interview.php

Assuming you are interviewing for entry level positions with no prior experience, you should still nail these basics. The thing I find that sets candidates above others is if they answer questions thoroughly with added information but not too much information. Most interview questions here in the US are standard and you can find lists of these standard questions online. Learn them and prepare answers ahead of time. Practice with friends or a study group.

You didn't mention in your question what you think the problem with your interviews might be. That is what I mean by preparation. You presented a question but seems like you didn't think about providing information that would be useful for good advice. If you would have thought to provide some details of these interviews, like you stumbled with answers to certain questions or did well with other specific questions it would help us help you. The same in an interview - you want to provide specific responses to the questions and not general answers. At this stage of your life you should have had to deal with many problems so should be able to know how you would respond to a similar problem. Be detailed about the steps you might take and don't be afraid to take a moment to think. Part of the interview process is seeing how well you might respond to pressure.

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Yance Marti P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer IV
City of Milwaukee
Milwaukee WI
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As you recognize, at the interview phase your academics have passed muster.  You will be spending hours each day with your coworkers, face to face and online. They will count on your contribution, they have a reputation to maintain and customers to serve.  They have established ways of doing things, will you you to do what they ask? Do you have initiative to figure things out? List examples from university when you had to overcome gaps in your knowledge, what did you do?  Would you do it that way again?  List times when you had challenges with teammates or roommates, how did you solve the problem, but what did you learn about how to solve the problem and what would you do differently next time?  Think of a time when your viewpoint on a subject you knew little about was challenged with new facts; how did you adjust your viewpoint?  Why did you adjust your viewpoint in that manner?  Do you have an optimistic, can-do, ready-to-go, let's-roll attitude? Give an example.  Give another example that shows why our company will be glad we hired you even though you had no experience.

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Dudley McFadden P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE
Principal Civil Engineer
Roseville CA
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