I’m helping my son look for ads for ME jobs and it is not so clear when to look for work. Summer internship ads for are out but many are for undergrads or grad students not new grads. ( I posted a previous thread asking why a new grad cannot do an intern job and it was the consensus of this group that they they should not try and fill those positions)
The jobs I see that sound like new grad jobs are intended to be filled as soon as they can. So unless a new engineer graduated in December those don’t seem the right either.
So, if a new grad engineer is going to be graduating in May and wants to start in June, then when should they look?
Look for what though? It is pretty clear that regular engineering ads are not aimed at waiting for a new engineer to graduate, only those advertised for summer internships are clearly waiting.
Regular engineering ads want to fill the position as soon as they gather enough applicants to interview and hire.
Lots of kids in engineering seem to interview in the fall of their senior year if they are graduating in May. Both my kids also had internships before that and had offers by then. It is not unusual for an employer to make an offer and then wait for the student to graduate. They know that kids will be graduating in May. Your son might want to look to his Career Services department or his engineering department for guidance. Maybe there will be a spring engineering career fair.
@Lakemom That was not my experience at all. At least if you go to the career fair at your school, those companies know that the entry-level engineers will only be available at graduation and are there with that specifically in mind. I would imagine that, regardless of how a job ad is worded, the company is well aware that the overwhelming majority of entry-level candidates are going to be available specifically in May or December.
Yes, and many companies will even wait for a good candidate for a decent amount of time beyond the graduation date. It is not unusual for a May graduate to not start a new job until July or August, for instance. Has your son been proactive about all of this, going to career fairs, asking for guidance, etc.?
Thanks for the feedback. My son did not do a Jr internship as he was gone in New Zealand doing a study abroad. The semester there ended June 30th. The career fairs at his school do not seem to be heavy on Engineering company attendance. They had a joint one with other schools in NYC but the attendee list had very few Engineering companies.
He really just got started and has sent out a few resumes. When you try and pull up “Entry level” you find in the descriptions often that somehow you were also supposed to have 2-5 years experience so it does take a lot of reading to see if someone qualifies.
I recommend applying for any 1-3 years experience postings. That requirement is often just part of a wishlist for the company that they would be willing to compromise on if they find a good candidate.
Budgets for new projects, including hiring new employees, often kick in at the start of the year and to a lesser extent at the start of each of the other fiscal quarters. But I don’t know why anyone should wait for a particular month to start looking for work.
Good point about the budgets. My question had to do with whether companies would wait 6 months to bring on a new grad engineer if they are advertising now and sound like they are ready to hire right now. At least that is the tone of some of the ads because engineers who are not in school are also applying so they can start as soon as the company hires them.
where does your son go to school? It is not unusual for some companies to hire in fall of the senior year and start work in June or July. I was recently talking to a friend that works in HR (a government contractor) and she said it is very competitive to get the best talent asap. What kind of work does he want to do? ME is pretty wide. As far as internships, it would be rare to get one after your undergrad unless you prove you are going to grad school. It depends on the company.
The kind where the company is trying to fill an immediate need. This kind of position will start to be filled when the budget is approved, usually around Jan-Feb is the important deadline for those that graduate in May. Recruitment usually takes about 2-3 months for a big company. They’re also hiring at other times, and students are just one option (they would rather get people with experience if they have the luxury).
The kind where there will be a need in the not-so-immediate future to expand the workforce with new high-quality talent. This isn’t for any specific position, but out of the understanding that unless a company hires some high-quality younguns who will occasionally make “black swan” contributions (and hopefully offer high-quality work in general), it will slowly decay and decline over the years. This is usually the “new graduate” programs that many companies have. These can recruit very early for many reasons - to get the best before they change their minds, to obtain security clearance, to jump through very difficult hurdles more than what a standard company has, etc. These can be very nice, but they also are harder to come by. These should be applied to as early as September.
Many job postings will list “years of experience”, but they often will still be hiring new grads. For example, here’s a link to a job posting that list “5 to 7 years” under experience, but was recently forwarded to my DD’s advisor by the employer(Embraer), as they are looking to fill some of the slots with the new grads.
As you read through the job description, you can tell that it can be filled by a new grad. When looking for more senior engineers, the job descriptions will tend to be filled with much more detail and specific requirements.
Thanks for the info! That clarifies more what ads he should still apply for and the timing of the job ad process @NeoDymium
@Gator88NE I agree, the wording sounds like a Jr Eng can do this. So I will suggest my son focus just on the list of requirements and less on the number of years.
Larger companies recruit new grads assuming a May graduation. If he is responding to local ads for smaller companies, it might be different. He should talk to the career center. Even though there are not a lot of engineering companies recruiting at your son’s school, they might be able to help him make connections.
