Marketing Yourself in
the Electrical Industry
If you are taking the time to read this you have probably worked very hard to build your skills in the electrical industry. There are a couple of things they don't teach us when we are apprentices. One is how to run a job - we learn the craft very well and then we are left almost totally on our own when we get that first job to run. The second is how to develop our careers and market ourselves effectively.
Being an electrician is one of the most demanding and rewarding jobs. Our industry is technically challenging, very diverse and constantly changing. I see electricians positioned right at the convergence point where IT systems and normal building trades come together. In the future all systems in our homes and our buildings will be computer controlled and it will be electricians installing and maintaining these systems. It is more rewarding than most jobs because we get to see daily results of what we do and are constantly motivated with a "can do" attitude to complete each and every project.
Whether you are a few years into the trade or have 20 years in ask yourself the following questions and answer them genuinely:
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Am I being challenged as much as I could be in my current job?
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Is my current job providing me the opportunities to learn the skills that will keep me employed for the next 5-10 years?
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All successful companies market themselves. What am I doing to market myself?
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Is word of mouth enough or should I be more proactive?
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Am I taking the steps today that will prepare me for where I want to be and what the market will need in the next 5 years?
These are realistic questions and deserve some deep thought. Most craftsmen (and women) spend most of their time thinking about and building things or solving technical problems. Their tendency is to not think as much about their career as they do about perfecting their craft. Taking this route can lead to career stagnation and actually impede the perfection of your craft and your personal development.
You should look at yourself as an independent contractor who provides highly specialized services to a contractor and works as part of a team to build a project. Does this seem outrageous? Why? Electricians are really no different than the hundreds of independent contractors and actors that come together to make a movie. Some stay for the whole project, some move on to the next project with the same movie studio and some only show up for crunch time. In that industry everyone knows that this is the game and they market the heck out of themselves while continuously honing their skills and building their résumés so that they get work on better and better projects.
I am not advocating any disloyalty to a contractor but there are very few contractors out there that provide the diversity in work, career advancement opportunities and steady work for a whole career. You will likely need to change employers 5-20 times or more in this industry depending on the economy, your skills and the contractors you work for.
This site is designed to provide you resources such as the
components of a good résumé
along with tools to help you accurately document what skills, certifications and experience you have and then put those together in professional career documents you can use to market yourself and advance your career.
This is the only source on the web where you can use the tools to build yourself a professional résumé and other career documents that will showcase your skills and help you advance your career.
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