Technical and Professional Practice skills and knowledge are the basics required to practice engineering or geoscience. A good cultural "fit" is also important. However, employers have told us that they look for technical and professional practice skills but they hire for attitude and employability (sometimes referred to as "soft skills"). It is in this skill area that you can set yourself apart and really compete for and progress in a job.

In a US study of engineering firms by Gushgari, Francis and Sakiou (1997), the most critical skills for engineering project managers, in order of importance, are:

Thirteen employability skills are considered to be more important than technical skills (#14 on the list) for engineering project managers.

Several sources break attitude and employability skills into three areas: Fundamental Skills, Personal Management Skills and Teamwork Skills. The following documents explain these skills:

• Employability Skills Profile: The Critical Skills Required of the Canadian Workforce, Harriett Lemer, Einblau and Associates
• Employability 2000+, Conference Board of Canada

The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work presents a different breakdown of employability skills. Regardless of how they are presented, the importance of attitude and employability skills cannot be overemphasized. The large number of tips from Employers, Professional Engineers and Technologists below supports this claim. ITEGs may undervalue these skills and don't often realize how important they are to finding and keeping a job. Be open to the importance of these skills. Look for references to them when doing your research. Try to convince yourself that they are essential to your success and deserve your attention.

You do not have to be working to build these skills. You can develop these skills in every part of your daily life. Employers like to see that you are involved in the community whether it be through your religion, playing or coaching sports, organizing festivals or any other activity. One of the reasons they like to see community involvement is because community involvement usually requires the same employability skills required for work. When they ask you about your employability skills, feel free to use examples from outside of work to show them that you have these skills. If you helped organize a sports tournament, tell them about the organizational, delegating, planning and motivational skills that were required. If you helped resolve a dispute at your place of worship, tell them how you used your communication, listening, leadership and problem solving skills to resolve the dispute.

First-Hand Advice

From the Pilot Project Management Team:

• Internationally trained engineers possess many strong skills, competencies and attributes that they don't realize are important. Unfortunately, employers may not recognize these strengths or ITEs may not market them adequately.
• Many attributes were not being adequately demonstrated to employers such as motivation, passion for engineering, friendliness, community leadership, willingness to learn and adaptability to new situations.
• Motivation and confidence strongly influence success and failure.
• People are not hired on the basis of the letters behind their name or an engineering degree. People are hired because they can demonstrate that they have the right combination of skills, attitudes and behaviours to perform a specific job.

From Employers, Professional Engineers and Technologists:

• Trust and loyalty are important.  Develop a relationship with employers.   Let them get to know you.
• Employers look for happy people with interests outside work.   They will try to get to know you in an interview.   Employers want to find out if you will get along and "fit in" with them.
• Honesty is important.
• Show leadership qualities.
• Show that you have a strong work ethic and a passion for engineering.
• Show your ambition and intelligence.
• Be flexible.
• Present yourself as a peer. 
• Be bold and persistent.
• Develop good social skills that fit into Canadian culture.
• If you are a shy or quiet person, join a Toastmasters club.
• Employers need engineers who can solve problems for them.

From Internationally Trained Engineers:

• Be willing to learn from others.  

Career Development and Job-Search Plan

Open your Career Development and Job-Search Document and go to the LMI Worksheet. Using the information and links provided here and elsewhere, answer the questions in the LMI-SKILL AREA "Attitude and Employability Skills" section.

Next, go to the Skills Self-Assessment Worksheet and rate your ability in the "Attitude and Employability Skills " section. It is essential that you are honest with yourself when completing this self-assessment. If you are not honest in answering these questions, your Career Development and Job-Search Plan will not be a useful tool.

Finally, go to the Skills Summary Worksheet and follow the instructions there. Complete the "Attitude and Employability Skills" section.