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Sunday, April 22, 2012

How to Find Your First Mechanic Job, Part 2


      Hi, everybody. Welcome to part two of finding your first mechanic job. Last time we talked about the different kinds of jobs you may encounter in your search. Now it is time to narrow the options and choose a few of the most likely and attractive possibilities. Deciding going in what you are looking for will focus your search and make you perform better in an interview. Interviewers look for candidates who seem to have direction and who know what they are looking for. Your geographical area may influence the types or number of jobs available, but even in non-metropolitan areas there are probably more possibilities than you would at first think. Within larger cities, specific areas often have clusters of similar types of industry; hence an area shop might specialize to serve them. Often several shops will be grouped in a given area where truck traffic is heavy.
Writing a good resume will help to focus your search. I feel the most important things to think about when writing are as follows:
The only reason for a resume is to get an interview. Make sure it is easy to read and includes the most important information first.
The best things you can show are punctuality and attendance, a good attitude towards working with others, and an ability to learn.
Do your work on a computer. You should write a generic version that can be adjusted for each prospect.  If you can, include the name of the interviewer in the header. At least use the service manager’s name. Including a name will show that you have done some research on the organization.
USE SPELLCHECK. Also make sure you use proper grammar, and have a Writing or English teacher read it, if you are at all unsure. We may be mechanics, but we can still be literate. 
This is an extension of the above, but the resume is the first contact you will have with the business to which you are applying. Don’t give anyone a reason to reject your application. Remember that the first person who sees what you write, especially at a larger shop, might be a secretary or other office person. 
Be brief and stress your strengths. One good page is much better than three pages documenting every bicycle and toy you ever fixed.
        Finding the right place to work is probably the hardest thing about the process. If you can, talk to someone, preferably a mechanic, who works at a shop you are interested in. Talking to him will give you an idea of what it is like to work there, and can give you the names of supervisors or managers. You may also get some of that information at the company’s website.  A big problem is that a shop won’t necessarily advertise a job opening. Sometimes positions are filled by word of mouth, when one mechanic knows another who is looking to change. Make sure you give your phone number or Email address to tool truck guys, as they often know of openings and they cover a lot of territory. 
Finding that first job can be a challenge for a student without experience, so if you find somewhere you really want to work, maybe you could get a position as a parts runner, mechanics helper, or utility person. You can prove yourself by doing good work, and gradually start doing mechanic work to prove yourself. This is a traditional path many of us took to become mechanics. My first job was pumping gas (this was before self service!) and I gradually learned to repair tires and do simple repairs. After a couple of years, I was a fairly capable mechanic. Of course, dealers that offer apprenticeships will take new graduates, but the competition for these positions will likely be stiff. 
Recognizing a shop as a good place to work can begin by talking to someone working there and doing online research, but you need to visit in person before seriously considering it as a possibility. Actually, driving by the location a few times in a couple of weeks might give you a good idea of the kind of vehicles the shop works on and how busy it is. Usually if you are being considered for a job you will be given a tour of the facility, and you need to keep your eyes open for clues.
       Several things will be clues as to the culture of the shop and the way it is run. First, what does the shop floor look like? Can you easily walk around without stepping over old parts and equipment? Naturally there will be things lying around in a busy shop, but there shouldn’t be a bunch of stuff that looks like it hasn’t moved for months. The floor may not be as clean as the one in your garage, but again, it should look like it has been swept within a week or so. I personally think there is such a thing as trying to keep a shop too clean. It is hard for me to work efficiently if I am too concerned with spilling on or marking the floor. Time spent in fastidious cleaning is better spent generating revenue. On the other hand, care must be taken that dirt or grease is not transferred to customer vehicles, so sometimes there is a fine line to cleanliness.
Another thing to look for is the general feel of the shop. Do the mechanics seem to like being there and interested in work? What happens to the atmosphere when the boss or someone from the office steps onto the floor?  It is difficult to gauge how the shop is run or what it would be like to work there from a single brief visit, but it is probably the only chance you will get. This is why it’s important to have more than one possibility, if possible. One place will likely be more attractive than the others. Also, remember that you don’t have to work there forever. You should not jump from one job to another every few years, but there is something to be said for having experience in several places before finding exactly what you want. Varied jobs give a broad variety of skills that would be impossible to learn from just one. 
That is really all I have to say on the job search. Unfortunately, this is one area where no one can really offer much more than general advice. Your first job will teach you most of what you need to know about finding what you really want. If you are really lucky, the first one you find will be the perfect job, if such a thing exists.

2 comments:

NikitaDarkstar said...

This is some very good advice right here, and highly relevant, at least to me since I'll be graduating this spring. But one thing here raised some warning flags for me, and that is your advice to write a general application and just edit it a little for each shop you apply to. That's something that's easily spotted these days, especially among office people (secretaries and such) which is a very good way to make it harder for yourself to get a job. Granted people might not be quite as picky in this field as in others, but I'm still somewhat leery of that suggestion since literary everyone else advices against it.

bruce said...

When I talked about modifying a general resume, I wasn't talking about using a prewritten, form-type resume you might find online. I was talking about writing your own resume, then making changes to suit a particular employer. Thanks for your comment and for letting me clarify that. Bruce