130
Active Job Hunter
I'm struggling to secure a job in an industry that I don't have experience in yet. I have the education and necessary degree, but no work experience in that field. How do I convince employers to look at my transferable skills instead? I have a hard time with HR and Recruiters who have absolutely no idea about the technical capabilities of a PhD engineer and what they can do.
Jodi ShermanEngineer, foodie, trying to figure out life
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12/28/19 at 4:32PM UTC
Hi Vidya, I don't know much about the Canadian market, but my company does have a location in Canada, and I might be able to help you. Please DM me.
Vidya RajaChemical Engineer/Machine Learning Scientist
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12/28/19 at 9:02PM UTC
Hi Jodi,
I just sent you a message. Thanks.
Vidya RajaChemical Engineer/Machine Learning Scientist
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12/05/19 at 3:18PM UTC
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for the response and great ideas. The problems with me is that I am in the field of Engineering and this is a highly regulated profession, especially in Canada. Hence volunteering or freelancing is not an option. No engineering company takes in volunteers to work for them due to liability issues. Neither will they share information about their data or projects with someone who doesn't work for them as an employee or intern.
As for networking with people in the companies I am interested in, yes, I am doing that. It's just that nothing has worked out so far. My school's career service department has nothing to do with this situation. There are several options for a PhD Engineering graduate and success depends on where you land a job and on performance besides market conditions.
In my case, it's getting my foot in the door that is proving to be a hurdle for me.
Lynn JuveGet unstuck, pivot and negotiate your salary.
232
12/04/19 at 6:07PM UTC
You might not be able to convince them exactly. If you are getting interviews, than it's a matter of nailing the first couple introduction questions such as "tell me about yourself" with a clear rationale of why you are qualified. If you aren't getting interviews, you will need to do quite a bit of work leveraging your current network. Did the institution where you got your degree talk to you about career paths? I fear they are doing a great disservice by taking your money and not giving you a clear way to get the experience because it is often very difficult to get the role without any, even if you have the degree. I would recommend joining some groups specific to your industry and offering yourself for 5-10 free projects with those members and their companies. It sounds awful, but I work with people who looked for jobs for years the traditional way with no results. The most masterful way I have seen this done: network with people in this industry and then have those interested in your free project fill out a form. Then you interview those who are interested and pick the one YOU want. The key is to talk to the interested party, find out what they need done, write up what you can do in the set amount of time and limit how much time you spend. This way if they like your work and want more time, they will need to hire you.
