Hi Mustafa, thank you for the kind words! I have answered a similar question below which might be worth looking at. To summarise, I think additional qualifications are always positive and in some situations can give you that edge over another candidate when applying for a job. However, having hands-on experience does seem to hold the highest value from my experience. So planning your career from an early stage and deciding what you would like to specialise in, is equally, if not more so important (in my opinion!)

Don't follow the money, follow what you are passionate about. If you stick with what you love to do, your skills will grow and the money will follow you.

Hi there, thanks for watching and the kind words, much appreciated! That is an interesting observation and not the first time I have been asked that question! Most job specifications will list qualifications, such as a Degree or Masters as desirable, but increasingly they are not essential. We tend to find that having hands-on experience is the most valuable commodity these days - the problem is if you don't have the experience how do you get it? There is no easy answer to this, quite often it's a case of being in the right place at the right time rather than a calculated approach. However, there is a lot of readily available information out there and it's not that difficult to find out which company has which tech stack. My advice would be to focus on what you are most passionate about and become an expert in that space.

Hello there, thank you for watching. I think that is a really good question but it's difficult to answer as every hiring company will have different specifications and requirements. Employers will usually have a long shortlist of desired skills, but it will come down to the core experiences that they value the most. In some situations it can be very difficult to decide between candidates and that is when some of the niche technologies will come into play. I also think that having the training and having hands-on experience are two very different things, with employers holding the latter in higher regard - It can be difficult to secure a position based purely on classroom experience. My advice would be to figure out what is most important to you, and what you'd like to get out of your career in the next 5-10 years. From there you can start to plan and decide what changes, if any, need to be made.

Hi Stephane, thank you! I have really enjoyed the experience and appreciate you and Jacob inviting me to be apart of the conference this year - I think it is a fantastic idea which you have executed brilliantly! Well done!

Have you tried Druck in Leicester as there’s a connection to another Baker Hughes site in Norway?

Hi there, without knowing more of the specifics it's quite difficult to advise. I can tell you that there is a high demand for embedded software and electronics professionals within the UK, so if you are struggling to get any traction on applications I would recommend following some of the leading engineering recruitment agencies, as that should increase the number of applications you can make and you may start to get approached about jobs which are not advertised. If you are already doing this, I would recommend reaching out to those agencies and asking them for feedback on why you were not selected for an interview. For example, you may need to re-write your CV or tailor your CV to the requirements of the role. If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, I can try and offer some more specific advice!

Hi again! I think it's a good point and I agree that it's important for both the employer and interviewee to have an in-depth interview to ensure the role, company, culture, etc is a good fit. I also think that interviewing can be a timely and expensive exercise for employers, so being able to streamline the process and make it as efficient as possible has it's benefits, especially during busy or high-pressure periods. So, in my opinion, there is a balance that needs to be found. As the interviewee, it's important to ask the right questions to ensure that there as few uncertainties as possible when starting a new position. I appreciate that this is not always possible, and sometimes the uncertainties can end up being positive, but it's usually the unknown negatives that have the biggest influence. This goes back to understanding your motivations and what you are looking for in a new role, if you are clear on these points and ask the right questions, you should be able to determine whether it's the right position for you in 2 to 3 interview stages.

Absolutely, as a recruiter, I think it is important to build a relationship with the candidates you are representing. Within my network, there are candidates I worked with over 10 years ago that I still keep in touch with.

Thank you!

Hi, thanks for watching and the positive feedback! I do not think there is a right or wrong answer to this question, as it will depend on the individual you are approaching, but as a rule of thumb... If a company is advertising or you know they are recruiting I think it is acceptable to make an introduction and state your interest in the position. However, I would not advise approaching people on Linkedin that you do not have a relationship with to request information about jobs. Instead, I would suggest trying to connect with them in the first instance. If you have an interest in a company, I would recommend following them on Linkedin and setting up job alerts, so that you know the best time to get in touch. If the company has an internal recruitment team or HR function you could send your CV with a cover letter to make an introduction, but as I am sure you can appreciate they will receive a lot of speculative approaches so if they are not actively looking for your skillset you may not always receive a response. I hope this helps.