How prospective welders can elevate their job search game

In many ways, advice for job hunters from 50 years ago still rings true today. Getty Images

It’s a good time for someone looking for employment in manufacturing. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in September, which is the lowest it’s been in 50 years, and the quit rate, the percentage of workers who voluntarily left their jobs, stayed at 2.3 percent, another sign of confidence in this economy.

If you look at the manufacturing sector, it’s more good news. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor reveals that, since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, the United States has added 443,000 manufacturing jobs. In that same time, the country has added more than 10,000 new manufacturing establishments, mostly small businesses employing fewer than five workers, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

Against this backdrop, ESAB hosted a panel discussion entitled “Employment After Welding School” at FABTECH on Nov. 14. Panel members included Bob Moffatt, Jason Becker, and Mike Becher, instructors from weld.com; Ian Johnson of Big Tire Garage; Sidni Hinesley, recruiting director, Georgia Trade School; and Joe Young, senior manager for workforce development, American Welding Society. The conversation was timely for the welding students in attendance and applicable for anyone in the metal fabricating industry who might be looking for a job.

In many ways, advice for job hunters from 50 years ago still rings true today:

• Moffatt: “Be prepared to show up on time and be ready to stay late.”
• Johnson: “Don’t tell me what you can do. Show me what you can do.”
• Becher: “Show initiative. Do your best.”

However, the Information Age calls for some new ways of thinking, particularly as it applies to learning about potential employers. The internet is an absolutely wonderful information-gathering tool.

Becker, known as Red Beard to his social media followers, told the students to mine the web for information on the potential employer because, after all, if they are going to work full-time, they might as well do it at a place where they want to be.

“You want to make sure that the company is a good fit for you,” Becker said. That means looking at websites such as glassdoor.com to see how the organization is rated by ex-employees.

Hinesley said to explore a company’s social media and website to find out what they do and what they do for employees. Trying to find that company doing the type of metalworking that fits your interest and talents is obviously very important, but you also need to keep a long-term perspective. Companies with skills training and professional development opportunities are organizations willing to invest in their employees—providing them with new skills that help the manufacturer in the present and make the welder more marketable in the future.

Hinesley added that welding students probably should look to clean up their social media accounts before applying for jobs. If images or statements would embarrass your mother, you should probably delete it.

For those still in school, Becker recommended making the most of the institution’s Career Resource Center. That’s where welding students can get assistance with resume preparation, job searches, and general interview tips. Becker said that the support staffs of these schools want to do whatever they can to find their graduates jobs because a successful job placement rate is a key marketing tool to attract students and is a key metric when the institution is being reviewed by accreditation officials.

Once that resume is in shape, make sure it doesn’t contain any embellishments or straight-out lies. That welding test is going to expose a welder’s skill level.

If a welder is serious about a particular job, Johnson said the resume should be tailored to that job. He also said putting together a portfolio helps the person doing the hiring understand exactly the type of projects the welder worked on.

Having the resume in an electronic format—such as a PDF—is absolutely necessary, Johnson added. It can be shared instantly with a potential company, and the PDF prevents the document from losing its formatting when it’s shared electronically.

Toward the end of the discussion, Becker asked the crowd how many of them had brought their resumes along with them. Out of about 30 students, only one raised his hand. When you are looking for a welding job and are at North America’s largest metal fabricating and welding technology tradeshow, you probably should be armed with a resume at the very least.

Again, a little planning can go a long way in landing a job that you want, not one that you have to take because you don’t really have a choice.