Employment Considerations

Abstract

The most important economic problem facing all engineers is to find and maintain a job that will be financially rewarding, challenging, and enjoyable. There are many ways to seek employment, and essentially all of them should be considered, since jobs are seldom easy to find, and the greater the choice one has, the better. There is no fixed sequence of best sources but it might be suggested that these three top many lists: (1) Contact your friends in the industry to spread the word that you are looking, and see if they have any ideas. (2) Write letters, and send your resume, to any and all companies where you might want to work, where you think there might be openings in your field, or which you know of as a generally good employer of chemical engineers. This list would include many nonchemical or CPI companies. (3) Your graduating college placement office and former professors. They are usually set up to handle both new and old graduates, and are well staffed, organized, and equipped to provide excellent assistance. They also usually have literature and seminars on how to prepare for and conduct your recruiting and interviewing activities. These aids are almost always based upon years of successful experience and are excellent in their content. They should be carefully studied and followed, along with, of course, the specific rules and procedures for their recruiting assistance.