As the professional immigrants, a structural engineer may need to go through a hard time. Allowing me to explain:
What the potential employer is looking for when they interview you?
They need to know you as a person outside of those formal job interviews. In other words, you need someone in your profession to vouch for you. Whatever you do you must provide evidence of your experience beyond a resume.
As a new immigrant, where could you possibly find another engineer to give you a reference?
You most likely need to join your professional organisations or networks. Be prepared to volunteer work for someone who can clearly identify your competence.
Yes, you will need to try harder to grab the attention of your potential employer. The more creative you are in grabbing the attention of hiring managers, the more you’ll increase your chances. Some ideas are along this lines:
- Add video to your LinkedIn. Introduce yourself and communicate your professional goals clearly.
- Create an online portfolio of all your past projects. Bring it to the interviews and show them on your laptop or tablet if you can.
- Do informational interviews. Research and interview those who might be in a position to hire you. That shows that you are interested in finding a company that matches YOUR interests.
- Volunteer at events, conferences, anything related to your field.
- Demonstrate your subject expertise by writing posts on LinkedIn
If you have been to interviews, ask for feedback on how can you do better or what characteristics they are looking for. Some of them will reply, some will ignore your message. That’s fine, you don’t want to work in a place where people lack empathy.
If alleles fail
Think about this: what type of visa you migrated to Australia with? By your skills, right? Australia must have a skill shortage in engineering otherwise you would not be allowed to get a permanent visa. If this is your case, please get on social network meet people from an engineering company, offer to work with them for 6 months for a minimum wage. You might find your local social network from www.meetup.com or the network events from your professional organisation.
Be prepared for the lower paid work
Normally the lower paid engineer would not need to take on huge responsibilities, you take this opportunity to learn your trade inside out to boost your confidence. From there you either can open a small business and do labor contracts, or jump to a higher paid position with your Australian experience.
After all, what we are saying here is not just a tip, it has been tried by many new professional immigrants in this country. You need to have the patience to keep trying until you got the job offer! Good Luck.
