Jobseeker guide: find your next engineering and technology role

In addition, the interviewing landscape has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more and more companies conducting interviews online to adhere to social distancing guidelines. This new format requires a degree of preparation to ensure you make a great first impression.

Here at Airswift, we have over 40 years of experience helping candidates find their perfect roles within the engineering and technology sectors industries. We can offer expert advice on all these areas and are dedicated to ensuring you find a job matching your skills and career goals.​

Top tips for getting a new job in a different industry

At some point in your career, the desire to explore opportunities in a different industry might seem extremely compelling. The 2020 GETI report shows that 77% of employees would consider switching careers in the next three years, and career progression is one of the main reasons cited.

If you're ready to take this step, you'll want to look at our tips on finding a job in a new industry.

Start by conducting reasons on industries of interest. Research potential roles and opportunities and speak to professionals working in these industries to understand these roles better. 

Upgrading your skills is vital to ensuring you have the right abilities to take on your new tasks. Next, you'll want to rebrand yourself to ensure your skills, work experience and work ethic align with your target role. 

Finally, shadowing professionals in your role or industry of interest can be a great way to get a feel of what it's like to work in these positions and gain valuable experience that you can carry into your next role. 

Write an effective cover letter

Cover letters allow you to make a great first impression, and research has shown that nearly 74% of hiring managers prefer to receive resumes accompanied by a cover letter. 

A well-written cover letter lets you showcase your immediate value by providing the hiring manager with a summary of your skills and experiences and discussing how they align with the key requirements of the role you're applying for.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to crafting a compelling cover letter, and our blog on the different types of cover letters provides you with a helpful overview of some of the most common ones. We also share our top tips on how to write a cover letter designed to impress!

Resume writing tips 

One of the first steps in conducting a job search is polishing your resume. Your resume is an important tool for landing job interviews, so it is essential to ensure it sets you apart from other candidates.

Our top tips to make your resume stand out. 

1. Make sure your contact information is up to date and clearly visible on the page
2. Keep it short and simple
3. Include your educational background
4. List the skills you have that are relevant to the job you’re applying for
5. Mention your work experience
6. List any relevant projects you’ve worked on
7. Keep the style clean and easy to read

Optimising your resume summary

Once you’ve mastered the basics of writing a standout resume, optimising your resume summary is time.

A resume summary is one of the best ways to grab a potential employer’s attention. Think of it as the trailer for the rest of your resume; if you have a lot of experience in your field, you can allude to it in your summary to entice the hiring manager to read the rest of your resume.

Writing a standout LinkedIn profile 

With 90% of recruiters regularly using LinkedIn to look for candidates, you can’t afford not to be using the platform to showcase your expertise and skills.

LinkedIn is so much more than a social networking site. It works like an online resume, allowing you to display your skills and experience to potential employers. 

If you’re job-seeking, writing a standout LinkedIn profile is an excellent way to get your resume seen by the companies you want to work for.

Conducting an effective job search 

When you’ve updated your resume and built your LinkedIn profile, you can start applying for jobs!

However, the job searching process has developed over the years as the job market has become more competitive.

To stand out against other candidates, you’ll need to do more than fill out a job application, submit a resume and cover letter and hope for the best.

Here are some strategies to help you conduct an effective job search.

1. Focusing on one job title at a time
2. Searching for variations of common job titles
3. Refining your search
4. Conducting location-specific searches
5. Searching for specific companies you want to work for
6. Planning and scheduling your job search
7. Building up a professional network

Virtual interview tips 

Once you’ve conducted a successful job search, the next step in the application process will be the interview stage.

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures have been put in place in countries across the globe, meaning that many industries have adopted virtual interviews.

However, interviewing via video conference is very different to interviewing in person, and there are many factors to consider.

These include ensuring your technology is set up correctly, preparing your environment, communicating confidence and projecting a positive attitude.

Alternatively, these tips on acing your telephone interview are also great to have on hand if the company you're interviewing with opts to speak with you over the phone.  For phone interviews, these are the mistakes you'll want to avoid:

• Not taking it as seriously as you would an in-person interview
• Failing to prepare ahead of time
• Not minimising opportunities for distractions during the interview

Choosing an employment agency 

Working with an employment agency can be very helpful during job hunting, as they can take away some of the time it takes to look for a job.

Even if you’ve found a role on a project, the employer might ask you to choose an employment agency to help with the HR side of the recruitment process.

Either way, finding an agency that aligns with your expectations and career goals is important. They must have industry experience to help you find your desired job.

Building your personal brand on LinkedIn

Building your personal brand is essential to get recognition for your work accomplishments and stand out to potential future employers.

Optimising your LinkedIn profile is one way to build your brand effectively. LinkedIn is great for presenting your skills and experience to recruiters and potential employers. In addition, the social aspects of the platform make it the perfect showcase for your values, ideas and insights.

How to make a video for a job application

Remote communications have become an essential part of the hiring process for many businesses, particularly as they implement social distancing measures following the COVID-19 pandemic. ​

With that in mind, it is becoming increasingly common for employers to request video applications from candidates as part of the hiring process. This provides the chance to give them an idea of your personality and whether you’d fit in with their company’s culture from the very first touchpoint.

Here is how you can make a video for your job application in six easy steps:

1. Plan your video
2. Check the audio and sound quality
3. Talk about experiences and skills that are relevant to the role
4. Re-shoot if you need to
5. "Proof" your video
6. Edit your video

Applying the STAR technique to job interviews

During job interviews, behavioural questions are designed to test your suitability for the role.

However, it can be daunting when asked one behavioural question after another in one interview. The STAR technique effectively prepares for behavioural questions by describing the situation, focusing on the task you carried out and the actions it took to do so, and discussing the results.

Read our blog to learn more about the STAR technique and how to use it to your advantage during a job interview.

Five key soft skills to develop in an age of technology

As technological advancements continue to grow, many emphases are placed on employees' technical abilities. Those with strong coding skills and professional certification are often the most in demand. However, employers have started to pay more attention to soft skills such as time management, communication and collaboration abilities when seeking out employees.

Focus on developing these five soft skills in today's age of digital innovation:

• Problem-solving. The way you use the information you collect allows others to see a range of other competencies, including logic, imagination, decision-making, and perseverance.
  
  
• Adaptability. Being open to finding diverse, unconventional solutions to new problems showcases one's ability to be resourceful and calm in the face of change.
  
  
• Intuition and logic. These skills tie into the ability to respond quickly and efficiently to problems that arise based on expertise and decision-making abilities.
  
  
• Communication. Communicating clearly and efficiently creates room for better collaboration, ensuring everyone has the information they need to perform well and eliminating confusion and inefficiencies.
  
  
• Leadership. This is essential in the technologically forward workplace as it lets you stay organised and keep your team on track. Good leaders can motivate others to work together to achieve a shared goal.

Stay safe by spotting these recruitment scam red flags

Recruitment scams occur when scammers create fake job opportunities to bait job seekers into providing them with personal information or sending money.

According to data from the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Scam Tracker and a Google survey from March 2020, roughly 14 million are exposed to employment scams yearly, resulting in $2 billion lost. Between the start of 2020 and September 2022, the BBB received nearly 9,000 employment scam reports.

If you're currently in the process of looking for a new job, here are six red flags to avoid being scammed: 

1. The recruiter's email is from a free account
2. The recruiter requests payment or unrelated personal information 
3. The recruiter is evasive when asked questions relating to the job being advertised
4. The recruiter offers you a job without setting up an interview
5. The job offer sounds too good to be true
6. The job offer includes an unrealistically high salary 

Check on these five things before signing your contract

Well done! An offer has been made and you're just about to sign your contract. Before you go ahead and put your signature above the dotted line, you'll want to remember how important it is to thoroughly understand your employer's liabilities as well as your role, responsibilities and job security. 

Here are five things you should always check before signing your contract.

 Ready to start your job search? 

If you’re ready to take the next step and apply online for engineering and technology jobs, what better place to start than our jobs portal? 

We cover a range of sectors looking for scientific, technical, engineering and mathematics specialists. Our experts can provide you with access to some of the industry’s biggest projects and introduce you to positions available with major firms.​

Our unrivalled global presence means you can find a job anywhere in the world. We have an in-depth knowledge of immigration, labour and payroll and tax regulations in all countries, meaning we can offer you support at every step of your employment application.

​Visit our jobs board to browse all our current vacancies. You can also create an account to receive job alerts so you never miss out on opportunities within your field!