Engineering Resumes, Cover Letters and
Career
Question:
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Hello,
I work in a large engineering department and am 6 years into my career.
Most senior engineers still treat me like the “young kid”. I feel like
I am stuck and that career opportunities are
limited. Is there anything I can do short of leaving the company?
John P., Dallas, TX
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Answer:
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What
you describe is common for engineers in early to mid career. You have
enough experience and knowledge to be highly productive but are
surrounded by other professionals that have 10, 20 or even 30 years
more experience than you. This naturally puts you at the bottom of the
pole and it results on you not getting the kinds of assignments or
responsibilities you expect. There are several possibilities that you
can consider to solve this issue:
1.
Consider
associating yourself with a well respected senior member of the
professional group you are in. You can be upfront and once you identify
the target person approach him or her and tell them you would like to
grow professionally and that you can help them while getting mentoring
support. Most senior engineers will be glad to help. If you can
establish this with someone that is well respected you will gain in two
ways. First you will be associated with this person and considered a
person of high potential. Second you will learn from this person.
Nothing beats experience, especially in engineering. So if you can take
this route do it.
2.
Consider transferring to a
department or a part of the company where these is more room for
growth. This is an option only in large organizations of course. In
some cases you may be stuck in a stagnant group where there will be no
opportunities for career advancement and you may even be perceived as a
threat to some of the more senior folks. If that is the case you may
have to move laterally to another group with less establish
hierarchies. Even for an internal transfer you want to rewrite your
engineering resume to reflect what you have done at the company and how
you have evolved.
3.
Consider professional
training or furthering your formal education. This will better you as a
professional and will allow you to bring new know how to the team. This
will make up for your relative lack of experience. So you will still be
the young guy but now you have more knowledge… Huge advantage.
4.
Alternatively you may want to consider doing nothing. Engineering
expertise takes years and years to build. Focus on doing great work
every day, keep an open mind and give and learn as much as you can when
you come to work every day. Over time your growth and contributions
will be recognized and respected.
5.
Lastly if all else fails you may want
to consider working on your engineering
resume and a few good cover
letters.
Someone with your level of experience is very employable. Engineers
with 5-8 years of experience are a much sought after group. So get
yourself a professional engineering resume and cover letter and start
looking for another organization paying special attention to the
culture when you interview. You don’t want another situation such as
the one you have now.
Good luck!
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