E N G I N E E R I N G YO U R C A R E E R
CAREER MANAGER | NOVEMBER 2016
hile many engineers regard
their problem solving ability
as that which best defines the
importance of their role, few
spend enough time on solving the core
question of “how do I manage my career
most effectively?”. HRM’s recent talent
survey of professional engineers
highlights that Reward remains a core
concern for practitioners.Yet improved
pay is intrinsically linked to career
progression and building out personal
capability.
W
Failure to get organised around career
management steps is the most common
obstacle to career growth. It is also true
that many engineers are simply not
driven by career ladders, but more by
addressing complex challenges. Setting
aside the matter of technical
competence, we can identify three
important elements that, irrespective of
personal motivation or engineering
discipline, are key career management
steps for all engineers who wish to
grow their scope of influence, level of
responsibility and income.
1.The capacity to communicate
often complex concepts to nontechnical colleagues or suppliers is an
essential competency. This applies to
verbal and written communication and
directly underpins an engineer’s
effectiveness, influence and
persuasiveness. Good communicators
often get noticed, poor ones get
ignored. The ability to convince others
around a concept or solution is as
dependent on communication skills as
it is the technical viability. Plan formal
and informal communications by
thinking like those to whom you are
speaking. What are the aspects to your
proposition that will appeal to each and
how can you convey those effectively?
2. Get organised around personal
career needs. Set clearly defined
career goals that recognise where you
are now and what you would like to be
doing in the future. Make sure that
your personal values are aligned with
this direction to make it sustainable.
Setting goals is hard and many struggle
with the process. But either you take
ownership for your career direction or
you must be prepared to end up
wherever life takes you. Setting career
goals is simply a rational process of
identifying what is important to you
professionally, how you might make
that happen and what challenges you
may need to address to achieve your
objectives.
3. Be the leader. Whether a
reluctant or motivated leader,
engineers cannot escape having to take
leadership positions at many points in
their careers. November 2014’s edition
of the Harvard Business Review
reports that of The 100 Best
Performing CEO’s in the World, 24%
were engineers. Leadership does not
always mean heading up a corporate.
For engineers, leadership is a daily
event. It’s about taking ownership and
action. It means planning effectively,
engaging well with other stakeholders,
setting objectives, prioritising,
influencing and making decisions.
Leadership is applying the talent that
engineers possess for critical thinking
and analysis to the work of others for
project success.
Managing your engineering career
means setting clear objectives and
seeking out opportunities that help to
achieve them. The best leadership
teams today are blurred at the
professional edges. Finance understands
marketing, while HR easily relates to
supply chain challenges. Develop your
professional engineering career by
being business oriented and capable of
understanding commercial impact. Use
your analytical and reasoning skills to
understand non-technical data and help
your team or colleagues reach
decisions. Work well in teams, be open
to new ideas and be the stand-up
person in the face of a tough technical
challenge, irrespective of the discipline.
aisling clements is an engineering
selection lead in hrm’s science and
technology practice