Motorsport Jobs: Why work experience is key to getting noticed
From Motorsport Jobs - how aspiring professionals can get their first step on the ladder from work experience
Gaining experience of a workplace environment is vital for aspiring candidates to stand out, regardless of their chosen field.
Within the highly-competitive motorsport and automotive industries, where roles are extremely popular, it's even more important to have that experience to fall back on.
But more than bolstering their CV as an end in itself, work experience also helps candidates to test the waters to find out what they enjoy and get a better idea of the profession they want to pursue.
For employers such as McLaren Automotive, candidates that have actively made an effort to undergo this process are highly-regarded.
As Colour and Material Design Manager Joanna Lewis discovered, a work experience placement can go a long way to helping reach the dream career.
"If you've got a passion for something, explore it and see where it takes you, but also work really hard and take opportunities like work experience," she says.
"If you like the idea of something, try and get yourself out there. I have done lots of work experience in my time to get an understanding of what that job is about, and that helps you to really focus on what you do like to do.
"For me, it led me down this path and got me somewhere where I really enjoy my job."
At the interview stage, having work experience under your belt can give candidates the edge.
Aside from a broad grounding in different fields, McLaren Automotiove engineer Alex Trebilco found that her work experience was a huge help in making her application stand out.
"Work experience is really key; whenever I went for interviews to start with, they all ask what other experience you have," she said.
"It might be a weekend in a garage, it might be going out to see your car, having a look under the bonnet -anything you can to show that you've taken another step to show your interest in what you want to do."
The MACH Exhibition Show at Birmingham's NEC Arena on April 9-13, organised by the Manufacturing Trade Association (MTA), will have plenty of opportunities for young people to visit exhibitors and find out more about careers in engineering. Click here [http://www.machexhibition.com] to find out more.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
How Formula E has gone from 'fad' to strong motorsport career route
Motorsport Jobs: How students can make a difference in teams
Motorsport Jobs: Why data engineering is a key motorsport career
MotoGP Japanese GP: Acosta scores maiden pole, Martin 11th after crash
Singapore GP steward Herbert explains Verstappen’s FIA swearing penalty
Singapore Grand Prix rights owner charged in former transport minister gifts case
Why Vila Real and Salzburg are missing from the 2025 DTM calendar
When a generation of drivers learned skills for life from an atypical academy scheme
The enduring power of Prodrive at 40
Inside the archive that keeps motorsport’s most closely-guarded secrets
The choppy waters McLaren has navigated behind the scenes of its F1 success
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
