The global economic crisis of 2009 had a dramatic effect on the mobility engineering industry. Ledger balances and bottom lines were hard hit, and many companies are still working to recover financially.
But the crisis wasn’t just about dollars and cents. The workforce also was hard hit with many engineers losing their jobs, and those remaining having to take on new responsibilities. With all of this change and transition, the need for career and skill set development has never been greater. SAE International recognizes this.
Career Services has always been a prominent part of SAE International’s programs, products, and services. But realizing the augmented need in the depth of the crisis, SAE International launched new tools to help engineering professionals become more valuable in their current jobs, and become more marketable for potential positions.
In June 2009, the SAE Career Center was launched online. Martha Schanno, Recruitment Sales Manager for SAE International, describes the Career Center as a complete resource for mobility engineering professionals. “The SAE Career Center is more than just listing job opportunities. It’s about expanding knowledge of career development topics and opportunities. We strive to make the SAE Career Center a complete solutions and tool set for today’s engineering professional.”
Through the SAE Career Center, professionals can post resumes and search job openings. They also can post job alerts to be notified when specific job opportunities become available.
But the Career Center is just part of the overall menu of career advancement tools that SAE International offers for the engineering professional. At the SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress, the SAE World Congress, and SAE Convergence 2010, SAE International hosts Career Fairs. During these events, engineers can meet with recruiters from industry companies, view job postings, attend career development sessions, and have resumes reviewed by industry leaders.
In September, SAE hosted a Virtual Career Fair, which enabled engineers to interact with recruiters, attend webcasts on career topics, review job postings, and network with other engineers from their computers. To date, 850 people have participated and nearly 100 jobs have been posted.
Continuing with the online services, SAE International officially launched a new professional networking site, EngineerXchange, during Convergence 2010 in Detroit.
Created specifically for SAE International members, EngineerXchange provides exclusive access to powerful new networking tools, jobs, and career counseling. Several career counselors and recruitment experts provide timely and relevant advice through blogs and discussion groups.
One feature of the networking site is a salary survey that provides data on the average salaries for mobility engineering professionals in different regions and areas throughout the United States. The information provides important comparison data for professionals considering a move to a different part of the country or who just want to see how they stack up against their colleagues.
And, SAE International also offers a rich portfolio of Professional Development courses covering all of the hottest and most relevant topics facing mobility engineering professionals. Advanced training is available through in-person classroom instruction as well as through Webinars, engineering academies, Telephone-Webcasts, and self-paced, online learning “Fast Tracks.” The Fast Tracks combine audio, video, graphics, photos, and text to capture the essence of a topic and drive a defined set of outcomes.
“Again, SAE International considers its career services to be much more than listing jobs or posting resumes,” Schanno notes. “We see it as a continuing partnership that focuses on solutions. We strive to make SAE International the one place that our members and all mobility engineering professionals can turn to for career advancement assistance and opportunities.”
David L. Schutt, SAE Chief Executive Officer