I was also not involved at all.
Your son should talk to his school’s career center and his professors. They should be able to answer the questions you are posing here.
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My younger one just started a job after grad school. She shares everything with me but the job search was on her.
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So - I think your son is FANTASTIC.
I wouldn’t worry about Handshake. I would be setting up an indeed search -with automotive engineering, entry and leave location blank.
There are OEMs (Ford, GM, etc). there are parts suppliers ad nauseum, and contract manufacturers - Magna, etc.
I would also search the websites weekly of all those that manufacture here - you have Asian, European, domestic. Then you have the electric start ups from Rivian to VINFAST and more.
He’s obviously done well. From what my son said - when it shows up on handshake, it shows up a few days earlier on indeed. Another parent posted the same.
Obviously having worked with a team is the best thing.
My son did two automotive engineering internships (well the second wasn’t really engineering) and they came through late - like Feb or March. It’s just the HR timing - which he was told up front.
By Christmas, he had five offers - non automotive - and now works in aero. But even if you worked in an automotive factory, it doesn’t mean your job would be “automotive” like you’re thinkings.
So I think he’s doing great - on his own - and you should be there for counsel and support - but sounds like he doesn’t need it.
I don’t think a Masters necessarily helps…but if he wants one. But if it’s because it’ll give him an edge, ask Clemson for outcomes, but I’d doubt it. When I look at plant engineer bios (i’m in the industry but not technical side), I don’t see many masters and then colleges they went to are mostly not big names.
Best of luck.
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His school does not offer engineering so I am not sure how helpful they will be in advising him. His advisor is very knowledgeable about physics grad programs but I’m not sure he knows much about automotive engineering. He already has an appointment with career services set up when he returns to school.
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Thank you for the advice. I know he is hoping that his intern company will come through with something - but hope is not the best strategy. I think he already has an account set up with indeed. According to Clemson, their outcomes are very good and as I mentioned the company S22 worked for this Summer hires out of there as do all the other companies in the Greenville area. This job market just feels so much different than what his brother faced four years ago. My older one is an RF engineer and just made a lateral move after entertaining several offers. There doesn’t seem to be much of a problem for people with a few years experience but those entry level jobs are getting harder to come by.
Edited to add: S22 seems very excited about the masters program at Clemson for it’s own sake. Since his undergrad is in physics I think he feels having the engineering degree would make him both better prepared and more marketable.
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Entry level jobs are tough to get even for those not in engineering, CS etc. It is much harder now than a few years ago.
My daughter (not in those fields) was lucky and was willing to relocate for 2 years to gain experience.
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ohhh - he’s not an engineering major. That may, or may not be an issue. But clearly, he’s already excelled - so perhaps his grit and personality will overcome that.
Or perhaps he applies to Clemson - and then if he needs it, great and if not, just doesn’t enroll. Don’t know the stats, etc. but if he wants a Masters - he might have a safety too - there are several strong in automotive - and of course, most in the industry, aren’t automotive engineers because few offer it.
If he’s working for a certain German company in Spartanburg, i suspect there will be more openings - the Donald, like him or not, is going to bring more manufacturing investment into the US…because the vehicles will be more overpriced otherwise - of course, the costs here will go up too.
The issue and tariffs, even though the deal was signed, are still delayed - because these cars are really assembled here but not necessarily US parts - and by the way, it’s the same in reverse - some cars built overseas but contain US parts which are ex ported and then reimported as part of the vehicle.
Glad your son found a passion and I hope it works out - but in SC alone, you have Benz, Volvo, BMW, and you have Scout opening a massive plant near Columbia. Now think about suppliers and other adjacent industries…so there’s a lot more than one can imagine. And that’s just one state - you’ve got Kentucky (Ford), Tennessee (VS, Nissan), Mississippi (Nissan), Alabama (Mercedes, Toyota/Mazda joint) and more.
Many websites have where you can post your resume to their database. Not saying it works but you never know.
It’s a crazy time but hopefully he does well. He’s clearly a go getter and that’s awesome. Not sure what more a parent could add for him 
Best of luck to him.
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Not involved, and she made it clear she didn’t want involvement and wanted to do it on her own, hard as it was.
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I think it is a very tough world out there now. Tariffs and tariff uncertainty, generalized uncertainty and chaos in DC, cuts to research universities are all leading to cuts in hiring and/or layoffs.
Plus, several articles I’ve read suggest that companies are doing much less entry level hiring as they think higher level folks with AI can do the entry level work much more efficiently.
My sense is that at the entry level in non-tech businesses, one can either be the one who uses AI to automate various jobs or be the one whose job is automated. I’ve given advice to a couple of kids recently (ShawWife is always sending them my way). One of these kids had been working in Digital Rights Management (not actually very high tech even though it has the world digital in it). I suggested that he take a couple of courses in AI and then when he interviews, tell them that he would be interested in using AI to automate various repetitive tasks. He got hired part-time pretty quickly at a local office and then they asked him if he would move to the HQ so they could hire him full-time.
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I should also mention an anecdote. The CEO of one of my clients, a Fortune 500 company, told me that he wants everyone in the country to become smart at AI and to use it as he believes that will be a serious advantage relative to his competitors. He is including folks like the general counsel, head of comms, head of HR in that as well as the more technical folks. So he is thinking about that as a criterion for senior managers as well as newer folks.
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I have been involved to various degrees. I was way more involved during freshman/sophomore years since I did a lot of foundational research around target companies, prep process etc. Over time, S22 took more and more ownership and he independently handled junior year intern recruiting on his own. My involvement then was limited to helping him pick amongst his internship offers.
For new grad recruiting, again I am only limited to helping him evaluate offers - he is pretty picky and is lucky to have a new grad offer in hand. I suspect he will do minimal to no recruiting although I am trying to convince him to have a backup offer since anything can happen in this economy.
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Well as you can tell from the above, I have gotten involved with my S22s job search. Part of that is because that’s just how he and I have always worked (this is already very different from his younger brother). He likes to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and to help aggregate information. He’s very aware that there’s a lot he doesn’t know, or may not be thinking of. He likes me to find different alternatives that he can think about. Usually he dismisses them, but he finds it a good thought exercise. (Also, to be fair, among other teams I supervise the HR function for my agency, so although what I know is a totally different industry, I do know a good bit about hiring.). He knows that he tends to be very narrow focused, and sometimes that means he doesn’t think about potentially interesting alternatives, so I think he likes me throwing ideas his way. The career office at his school hasn’t been able to give him particularly actionable advice and most of his recent grad friends are in an industry that doesn’t appeal to him so he seems happy to have someone to spitball with.
My younger kid, on the other hand, has made it clear that He’s Got This and doesn’t really want to discuss or brainstorm or anything. And that’s fine. I’ll probably check in as time goes on to make sure everything is good, but that’s it.
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We’re guiding D24. She just finished her summer internship at a Fortune 100 company and is likely getting invited to one of their leadership and development programs.
On the one hand it’s great because she’s on the fast track to land a permanent job before starting her sophmore year in college.
However, she’s also interested in applying to MBB firms so we’re trying to weigh the bird in hand conundrum.
Not sure if anyone has gone through this type of scenario. Appreciate any insights on how to apply for other opportunities without burning a bridge or jeopardizing a potential permanent position in a potentially tough job market.
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Off Topic - It’s funny you say that - I remember an old Doris Day movie (loved her movies) with Rod Taylor called The Glass Bottom Boat. Taylor was an Astronaut and Doris Day was sort of dating him and in his modern kitchen when something dropped on the floor a flat round whizzing machine with sweeping flexible strawlike arms would circle around and grab it, suck it up and then the machine would go back under the counter! It was the very first time I saw a Roomba! Another real life copying art like the cell phone from Star Trek.
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This isn’t likely to encourage more hiring of new grads/young people. Some of these personality changes (eg extroversion) could be blamed on the pandemic, but I’m not sure that’s so clear with regard to conscientiousness.
From the FT (Client Challenge, sorry I don’t have a gift link) and Interactive Data Explorer
Thread on X/Twitter here:
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Our older son chose a path we couldn’t help with. We had very little input until he narrowed it down to two different agencies. At that point we helped him weigh the pros and cons of each employer.
With our son graduating next May I’ll be able to help a bit more. He plans to take a year after graduation to work and earn money before he goes to grad school. I’ve forwarded some recent job listing from my supplier partners that pay very well. If similar positions are available when he graduates I’m fairly certain he won’t pursue his doctorate. It simply won’t make financial sense to go back to school when he could make $100k, plus bonus, plus a car, plus an expense account.
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Deleted.
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Your S22 is doing great with the auto internship and masters degree plan.
It is wonderful he is excited.
Regarding our kids’ job searches, we have shared reminders of job fairs or openings.
Encouraged them to apply, develop a basic package for apps.
But they made their own decisions about whether or not such events or openings fit in with their plans.
But, our main hope was they keep taking steps toward a goal.
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By request, I served as a second set of eyes for the traditional resume, the CV/resume website, and the tailored cover letters.
In our case, the only prior jobs my son had were lifeguarding, construction, and landscaping, and only the landscaping job required an application. He did write a resume for some scholarship applications, but a high school resume is usually pretty straightforward. There was no college internship; instead, he spent all four years in a research lab, which didn’t require an application either; it required an essay.
If your child is in a similar situation, and it’s a brand new process, it’s a good idea to have someone review their materials.
For my oldest, the second set of eyes was for the admission packets for PhD programs.
I think having someone review your resume and cover letter before submitting a job application is a crucial step, especially in tighter job markets.
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My daughter always asks me to review her CV and cover letter, which is customized for each position.
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