A career in manufacturing is an exciting proposition.
According to EEF, the UK manufacturing sector currently employees 2.6 million people, and contributes 11% of our GVA. As a manufacturing pro, you can contribute to the growth and development of your nation, but first, you need a plan.
With the new year just around the corner, there couldn’t be a better time to start thinking about your future. With the right plan, you can start as a standard manufacturing floor worker and end up as a production manager in no time.
At Sigma Recruit, we specialise in finding the right roles for ambitious candidates. Here are our top strategies for achieving long-term success with your profession.
Step 1: Decide What You Want to Do
Every now and again, we all need to stop and think about whether we’re on the right path towards our career goals. Research suggests that reflection is an integral part of achieving success. However, few people take the time to look at how far they’ve come, and how far they have yet to go on their career path.
Reflecting on your growth is essential because people change over time. You may have begun your manufacturing journey with the dream of becoming a quality control technician, responsible for maintaining uniformity for a business. However, as time passes by, you may discover that you prefer designing new products, to monitoring existing ones.
List the things you enjoy most about your current role and the tasks you’d like to do more of if you had the opportunity. Once you know what you like and dislike in your manufacturing role, you’ll be able to search for a job description that fits your idea of the “dream job.”
Step 2: Set Long and Short-Term Goals
Your process of self-reflection will help you to decide what you want from your career. If you know that you love repairing machines and keeping your business running smoothly, then you might want to become a maintenance manager. That gives you a long-term goal to strive for. However, the chances are that you’ll need to create smaller milestone goals to guide you towards your target.
For instance, can you start by working with a mentor to improve your problem-solving skills so that you can apply for a role as a maintenance technician? Do you want to specialise in maintaining specific equipment for a particular industry? If so, can you visit local networking events to find out more about that space?
Your short-term goals will give you more bite-sized steps you can take towards your ultimate target. Remember, make sure that every goal you set is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Studies show that SMART goals deliver the best chances for success.
Step 3: Improve Your Skills and Your CV
Once you have your long, and short-term goals written down, you can begin to search for ways to make yourself a more attractive candidate for your preferred position. During this stage in your career plan, it pays to compare your current CV with a job description for the role you want, or the CV of someone who already has that position.
If you’re not sure where to start building out your CV, look for a chance to develop transferable skills that will be important in any part of the manufacturing industry. For instance, leadership talents and communication skills are always attractive.
Additionally, remember that the manufacturing sector is beginning to evolve with the rise of new technology and trends. According to PwC studies, 72% of companies want to be “digitally advanced” by 2020. Branching into the world of technology to learn more about AI, IoT and analytics will give you an edge.
Step 4: Get Help from The Specialists
Recruitment companies aren’t just there to support businesses to find the right candidates. A specialist manufacturing recruitment group like Sigma Recruitment can also guide you towards the ideal career. When you work with our team, you get access to the latest, most competitive job opportunities in the South West.
What’s more, working with a recruitment company can aid you in developing your interview abilities, so that you’re ready to shine when you get the opportunity to apply for the right role. Your recruitment specialists can:
- Teach you how to present yourself during your interview with the right body-language and carefully-structured answers to competency-based questions.
- Help you understand what hiring managers are looking for when they advertise for a maintenance technician, engineer, or production specialist.
- Support you in designing a CV that demonstrates the right skills and attitude to a potential employer.
Step 5: Remember to Keep Updating your Plan
Finally, remember that a successful career plan isn’t something you need to think about once and then leave in a drawer until the next time you feel restless at work. The more you learn about the manufacturing industry, and develop your talents in different areas, the more your true professional path will become clear.
Some of the most successful people in the world, including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Ferris all rely on regularly-updated plans to guide their career decisions.
Make sure your strategy for success doesn’t end up being out-of-date. Writing down your goals can be a great help, for more on this check out this interesting blog post from self-development secrets.
About Sigma Recruitment
We are ‘South Wales Recruitment Specialists’ based in Cardiff, Wales.
We offer a full range of permanent recruitment solutions to many of South Wales’ and the South Wests’ leading manufacturing, technical, automotive and life science organisations. This includes companies in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Ebbw Vale, Port Talbot, Bridgend and the surrounding areas in South Wales.
Sigma Recruitment has one of the largest and most comprehensive recruitment candidate databases in the area. To get in touch with our team call us now on 02920 450 100. Alternatively, contact us here.
