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New Computer Engineer Graduate Seeking First Job in Austin, Texas

Recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in #Computer #Engineering on 5/5/2018 from Utah State University. Need to specifically find my first engineering job only in the #Austin, #Texas area because my family is living there.

It's been nearly four months and I have applied for dozens of jobs via LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor and still no luck. I've only had one employer contact me back. That particular phone interview went well, then they gave me a coding competency test which I passed, but they still selected another candidate.

I can get a technical support job easily enough at terribly low pay, but it's not development. I have a resume website at http://www.joel-meine.com/ that I created. Maybe it's because I'm not living in Austin, Texas yet, but soon I will be on August 29. Just feeling rather discouraged that I've had no luck landing my first engineering job by now. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong.

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Kim’s Answer

Joel,

I looked at your site, (played DuckHunt - Thanks!), your LinkedIn profile, and your Indeed resume. The question I had as I looked at it was whether you've done any freelance projects, had your own company (regardless of how small it may have been), etc, and also, whether you moved up in any way in the two jobs you mentioned. Even though these aren't "Dream jobs," I'm looking for something that says you did them well - not your own assessment that you did great, but, for example, if you trained other people, that would tell me that your employer recognized your strengths and contributions to the job.


Austin is a very competitive market. When searching resumes on Indeed, in Austin, I find 2300 resumes for computer engineers updated in the past 3 months. I recommend looking at some of them to see if there is anything you can do to modify your resume. (select: "find resumes" at the top, then de-select all options under "limit search to . . . ."


Also, I strongly recommend you go to job fairs and try to connect with recruiters on LinkedIn. Just sending out resumes doesn't bring the same success rate as making these personal connections. Also look for opportunities with companies where you may be able to get in at a lower level relying on your previous work history, and move up within that company.


Finally, don't get discouraged! Give yourself permission to take a break from job-hunting. Get outdoors, get some exercise, etc. You need to be able to walk into an interview with a look of self-confidence, rather than defeatism!!


Kim
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Ken’s Answer

These sites contain tried and true methods of achieving employment and are an addition to may previous answer: ## Job Hunting Tips:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/lessons-learned-career-coach-job-searching?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20180202&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20180202&bsft_eid=cd4ef5e1-6246-4e74-957a-ca94ba0a6241&bsft_clkid=84dfbdf1-6fc1-4531-8f74-3b37e4538aef&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=4cb6c9a8-3932-460f-ad22-e80afad9b8c6

Job Search Tips

https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-job-search-tips-that-are-so-basic-people-forget-them?bsft_eid=d52278c6-e9fa-4084-bf99-238600f30439&bsft_pid=f11ef5e8-7432-4713-9c56-f8c387057fea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171013&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171013&bsft_clkid=088dd-aea-b7a7-431a-9ed4-81cbb4a9bf71&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=e1b9cb11-b25f-4859-82bf-14db88934d06&bsft_pp=1

Information Interviewing

https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-ask-for-a-jobwithout-asking-for-a-job?bsft_eid=1031335a-60e8-481a-9075-bf57b79c2dc7&bsft_pid=6a015767-7654-4a34-a41a-4d2d1154130e&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20170929&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20170929&bsft_clkid=d3c74cb4-86e9-4f1d-aa80-d46849aeefd7&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=715eb508-8fa0-476f-9193-4d3c143abd3f&bsft_pp=3
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Ken’s Answer

Getting to know yourself and those involved in your are of speciality are key to getting into the field.


The best way to get into a position is to do networking (preferrable face to face and on the phone, to allow for dialogue and two way conversation) with professionals involved in your area.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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