I’m currently in my fourth year of a five year masters degree in mechanical and electrical engineering and I’m starting to apply for summer placements jobs for this coming summer. I applied for placements last summer as well but only managed to get through to the interview stage for one of the placements I applied for but I didn’t manage to get it. All the other companies just sort of said thanks but no thanks really. So I was wondering if anyone who works in the engineering industry would be able to give me any advice on what I should be writing in my cv and covering letters which could help me to get to the interview stage with a few more companies. My main interests are in the subsea oil and gas industry.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

my fourth year of a five year masters degree in mechanical and electrical engineering

Blimey I thought it was quite simple…

Obviously of no help but may make you smile 😀

First, your covering letter should focus on what you can do for them, not why you would benefit.
OK, so youre getting a couple of degrees. What are your differentiators that make you stand out, apart from academic stuff?
Have you liaised with local schools, built a drug-smuggling mini-sub, done anythng to show initiative? Ask yourself, why should they give ME a job? and focus on that.

Speaking from personal experience (rightly or wrongly) it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. I would suggest that this is probably even more so when it comes to placement type stuff.

Companies won’t necessarily want some hanger-on that will distract from day to day stuff. As mentioned ^^^ you need to sell yourself and not appeal to their conscience. I don’t know an oil and gas company in the land that would turn down cheap / free drafting. Maybe do some how to’s or download and education copy of inventor or solidworks and go in from that angle. You’ll get exposure to proper engineering at the same time and are far more likely to be employed both in the short and long-term if you have some CAD experience / ability.

If you need any help from someone who is already in the industry give me a shout.

Oli.

I work in O&G. I’m sure it’s not unique to this industry but they will be swamped (1000s) by “adequate” CVs. i.e. Expected 1st, 2:1 from good uni, some experience. The adequate ones get put through to interview where they are weeded out. No one reads them in massive detail. They’ll probably let 10-20% through, maybe with a telephone interview to cut it down further.

1. Get help with your CV. Get someone who’s opinion you value to read it over. Use uni careers service if they can help. At least then you’ll know your CV is presented as well as it possibly can be.
2. Emphasise any experience you have that other might not. Have you set up / run a club at uni or out of uni? Have you been doing part time jobs?
3. Tweak the letter / CV for each company you apply. Get hints on how to tweak it by reading corporate guff on their website.

If you’re struggling in your chosen field (which is a narrow /specialist one) why not apply to other companies? A placement with any reputablle engineering company would help you massively, even if it’s in a different field.

edit: I know IChemE publish a list of 100s of graduate employers, check if the IMechE does similar. Might give you a wider list of people to apply,