4 online ways to aid your engineering-related job search

A large portion of our lives are spent online, and looking for work is no exception. With around 40% of engineers actively looking for a job this year, and another 21% who are currently networking and may apply, using online resources can help you find more jobs to apply for and can help your application stand out from your competition

1. Update your basic social media profiles 

By now you’re probably aware that potential employers will look at all of your social media profiles to make sure there’s nothing inappropriate or potentially embarrassing should they choose to hire you. Worth noting, however, is that they also expect you to not only have an online identity, but to also stay relevant by posting and being active on social media. If you don’t have active, public profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, potential employers may think that you are out of touch or that you have something to hide. 

2. Follow engineering blogs and use social media aimed at engineers
While Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter may be the first things an employer will look at when making decisions about which candidate to hire, engineering-specific social networks such as the engineering exchange can help you discover more opportunities for employment and enable you to connect with more people in your field.

Additionally, many engineer-oriented websites and blogs can be extremely helpful in a job search. Control Engineering, for example, has an annual salary and career survey as well as news and career advice for engineers.

3. College/University websites
College websites often have lists of resources for finding a job in any field. Even if you never went to school there, many schools will have a careers page that can be accessed by anyone. For example, the University of Louisville’s school of engineering has a list of over 50 websites that can help find a job in an engineering field. 

4. Reddit

Reddit’s large engineering community (the engineering subreddit has over 70,000 subscribers) makes it a great tool to use in your job search. It not only can help you stay well-informed on trending topics in engineering, it also has many subreddits for people looking to hire and be hired. /r/jobs, /r/forhire, and /r/careerguidance are just a few examples.

By MaryElizabeth Koepele