Mini Career Fair - dust needed!

[elrohwen]

Today a small local manufacturing business is having a little career fair. They''re mostly looking for operators, but they also have one engineering position open. Now, I called and I''m not really qualified for the position

However, DH has convinced me to show up anyway, talk to them and submit my resume just in case - they might have more stuff opening in the furture or feel that they can train me for the position.

So I need some dust! I''m pretty nervous to go in when I know they''re going to say I''m not qualified. Also a bit because, with lots of machinist positions open, I''m assuming everyone there will be a middle aged man and I''m a 25 year old woman. I''ll just feel really out of place!

Thanks in advance for the dust!

 

[noelwr]

go for it!

I totally agree with your DH that even though you might not be qualified for this particular job, there is no harm in them getting to know you and putting your resume on file.

if I was in HR and another position opened up for which you were suitable, I''d be like "Hey, I remember that very determined lady who came to the fair to introduce herself. I respect that type of initiative. I''m going to give her a call!"

 

[elrohwen]

Thanks, noelwr! I''m gonna put a smile on my face and march in there to talk to the supervisors

I may not be qualified exactly, but I think my resume is pretty impressive otherwise and I would be good for a position where they''d be wiling to train me a bit. Fingers crossed!

 

[elrohwen]

Ugh, that did not go well at all. I showed up knowing that they didn''t really have a position I was qualified for, but I figured if I could give them my resume maybe something would come up. I talked to one guy who was pretty nice and made it sound like they were looking for a lot of people in the near future. He said it was actually good that I had a different background and was really positive.

Then he had me talk to the plant manager. I''m pretty sure he wrote me off the second I sat down. He started badgering me about everything on my resume. Fine, I need to explain it all, but let me finish a frickin sentence! He just kept interrupting and acting like I was failing some exam I didn''t even know I had to take. Then he basically gave me a verbal pat on the head and told me that I needed a more specific resume and to be more confident and that they would call me never (yes, he basically said they would never have a position for me, despite the fact that they have 100 engineers working there). Ok, I''m not going to necessarily disagree with his assessment, but forgive me if I think he treated me this way because I''m 25 and a woman. I''ve worked in manufacturing and I''ve been through this before and you learn the signs of this kind of stuff. Blah. I''m kind of frustrated. He clearly knew that I had only 3 years of experience and in a completely different industry, so why act like I should have the experience of someone who has had 10 years of experience? I don''t think any other 25 year old, male or female, from a background different than this company, would have done much better than I did under the circumstances.

I will absolutely learn from this experience and try to be stronger and more on point with things, but I still feel like he treated me the way he did because he totally wrote me off as ever being an engineer because of my age and gender. I''m an engineer and no stranger to this type of thing, but it frustrates me nonetheless.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Sorry for your frustration. Interviews can be intimidating.

My husband is a Chemical Engineer--but has always worked in the Oil and Gas Industry. Second generation Engineer--his Dad was an Electrical by education, but NEVER worked in his specialty either. It has always been my understanding that Engineering helps to teach you to problem solve--whether that be in Mechanical, Civil, Envrionmental, etc etc. Sorry the manager missed that fundamental point.

As an aside, could you find someone to help you "polish" your resume?

cheers--Sharon

 

[elrohwen]

Thanks Canuk-gal. I'm a chemical engineer too, and I guess it's tricky to walk into a place that's really looking for mechanical engineers and try to convince them that I could do that too. I always figure that engineering is engineering for the most part and just because I did what I did for 3 years doesn't mean I need to be stuck in that industry. But other people have a tough time seeing that I guess.

And the attitude that some plant guys have (like this guy) doesn't help. I've definitely seen it before, I guess I just wasn't ready for it this time. I'll be ready next time though! I'll toughen up.

DH has been working on my resume with me (he's also an engineer) as well as his boss (a close friend of ours). It's tricky because I can't be really specific without giving away secrets ... Also, I don't want to be very specific about my industry when I'm trying to work in a new industry; people in other industries wouldn't understand a lot of the things I could say that would sound perfectly good in my current industry. My challenge is definitely to make it as specific as possible though.

 

[noelwr]

well... you can also see it this way...

at least you got to meet the guy who may have been your Plant Manager and it''s better to know now that he''s a jerk than start working there and find out when it''s too late and he''s making your life miserable.

not every place is perfect to work at. at least you can scratch this one off your list.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 12/18/2009 6:06:57 AM
Author: noelwr
well... you can also see it this way...

at least you got to meet the guy who may have been your Plant Manager and it''s better to know now that he''s a jerk than start working there and find out when it''s too late and he''s making your life miserable.

not every place is perfect to work at. at least you can scratch this one off your list.

Big ditto!!

 

[katamari]

Sorry to hear about a terrible experience at the job fair! And even more sorry to hear that, given your industry, there is probably more sexism and ageism in store for you during your search. Do engineers ever use any sort of agent to find them jobs? My current profession does not do this, but after a very long and tedious job search myself, I decided that they would be worth their weight in gold were I able to use one.

Good luck with the rest of your search! I know you will find something! (And something you will be happy with).