Sarah Weinberger

Professional Career Strategist

Finding a job is tough under the best of circumstances, however engineers, IT professionals, and especially software developers have definitely a hard go of it. Engineers should be able to get a job that not only motivates them and gets them looking forward to going to work in the morning, but is rewarding financially as well.

Have you spent months out of work? Are you scared of losing your job? Are you just getting by and not living up to your full potential? Do you dread the job search process? Do you suck at it? You should. You are an engineer. Paraphrasing what the legendary Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy from Star Trek fame said: "Dammit Sarah, I am an engineer, not a sales person."

Women in engineering have an especially hard time of it, because they are not coddled growing up and have special needs. More importantly they are women in a male dominated field.

Recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals are not engineers nor skilled in the area. They know certain buzzwords and talk with them, but that is a far different cry from knowing the field. They throw assessment tests, which are great for college students, but do little in practice and just hurt engineers later on in their career. Have you had the experience that you could sell yourself better speaking as a Mandarin speaker than as an engineer? The hiring team do not know how to treat software developers, because managers have no clue how to asses them.

Most career coaches come from recruitment and HR. They are great for what they do, and I take absolutely nothing away from them, but they do not know the intricacies and particular needs of engineers and IT professionals. Software developers and women in engineering definitely have needs that most do not understand. They can tweak your resume and cover letter, coach you in standard methods to handle interviews, and maybe get you to think about what you want in life, but that is as far as it goes and does little to address your specific needs. I should know. I have been there, and done that, no t-shirt though.

Do you feel at a disadvantage, because you are good at what you do, but that by definition makes you bad at job searches? Finding a job is very much a sales and marketing game, just with special rules. The tried and true methodologies that were passed down from your parents did not work then and definitely do not work today in a world that is connected.

Certain STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields have it worse with H1-B visas and outsourcing holding making competition that much more fierce. Anyone, who called technical support at any company, will know what I am talking about.

Engineers know their own field and are interested in their own field. They have their social interests and circles, but when it gets down to it, they are nerdy. Most people are not technical and definitely do not pay attention to details.

I know your situation and needs. Why? I am a woman in engineering. I worked for many companies large and small. I studied and worked in the recruitment space as well. I am the author of Jobfish and have worked with many clients. I have talked with quite a few people as well and know the needs of STEM professionals. I did all the hard work and succeeded. I love my field and want to see it continue and prosper. That is why I created this site and want to help you.

The number of engineers in the United States today is lower today than in the past. The number of students in engineering in the United States is also lower. There are many reasons, but the jobs are there.

Enter your first name and email address to register for a Free Training Course we created that will help you learn the essential strategies you will need to address to maximize your job search potential. There are 4 videos. You will get emailed a link to the video each day.

If you want the best, then learn from the best. Do it!

(By the way, if you are curious why this site is named Career Arbalest, check out the Why Us page.)