Guess how I know that.

And it still rankles after all these years.

I could name & shame but won’t.

1. Decide what sort of company you want to work for. A large company, as typified by the ones my wife used to manage at, offers sensible hours, training courses, good pensions, support in gaining the various levels in professional bodies and so on, but the work is rather predictable. Conversely working for SMEs such as myself the work is all-hours, training is on the job, and if you want to join a professional body that’s up to you. But the work is definitely unpredictable, even from morning to afternoon.

2. Deciding which type of company depends on various factors. Some companies, both large and small, only want team players, whereas others are happy with solitary geniuses. Determine what you are first and give some hint to it in your CV. Saying you are a good team player when you obviously aren’t will soon become obvious. HR departments like team players but R&D managers usually just want the best person for the job. If it’s a huge software project then obviously team players win but if you’re aiming to be an r.f. or power supply designer then you’ll probably be working on your own for months on end.

3. Don’t rely solely on agencies to distribute your CV. Many companies, large (my wife’s) and small (mine) have a ‘no agencies’ rule after a lot of nonsense in the 1990s I won’t go into.

4. Conversely if you are going to send a CV directly to a company, only send it to one person in the company, not to numerous roles. They all end up on the same desk and seeing the same CV five times most likely means they all end up in the waste basket, electronic or otherwise.

5. Also if applying directly, tell any agency NOT to send the CV to that company. Receiving a CV directly and from an agency creates all sorts of legal hassles later on which are best avoided by the delete key.

6. If you get an interview, do your homework on the company. That used to be hard but the Internet makes it relatively easy. Read the website on what products/services the company offers, and also read the company financial statement if available as it often gives things like who their top ten customers are.

7. Have a fairly wide expectation on what work you will be doing. Far too many graduates apply to a company thinking they will be doing high level system design and product definition from day one. You won’t be. Some companies will place you in system test first so that you understand the company’s products and so on. Don’t take this as a negative – Jobs and Wozniak both started doing this and they didn’t do too badly.

8. Be realistic on what salary you are seeking, but don’t quote low and then try to raise it once you have a job offer. And preferably don’t tell your university supervisor what your salary is until you’ve actually started the job. Some of them seem to be scored on the average salary of their graduates and have the audacity to phone up the manager in question to demand a higher offer. I always answer such demands with a two word answer but it then makes you wonder if you’ve hired the right person.

9. I don’t think many companies expect a suit and tie any more (a few do though), but at least arrive at the interview having had a bath and wearing clean clothes. And remove any body jewellery. It will be obvious to the interviewer that you do wear some but what is normal for your generation isn’t necessarily so for the older generations you will be working with and you have to fit in with them, not the other way around.

10. Be enthusiastic but don’t oversell yourself. You’re not the greatest engineer since Brunel, at least not yet. But sounding like you want to aim high is a plus point with most interviewers.