You’ve probably heard everyone tell you, from seniors to fellow university alumni, and career coaches, about the importance of networking, and how it can make or break your job search.

It holds true in any industry – after all, networking can lead to available roles that aren’t openly advertised, or even translate into opportunities to find a mentor who can walk you through your job hunt process.

It doesn’t matter which industry or company you’re applying to – you’ll still need to hand in a resume. And the investment banking and investment management sector isn’t any different on that front, typically asking candidates to submit a resume alongside either an application form (Barclays, Nomura), or a cover letter (Credit Suisse).

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of advice about job searching out there – whether it’s from your career coaches or while browsing the web. With so much information, it’s not surprising if you end up completely overwhelmed. So much, in fact, that you might lose track of the basics when it’s time to start applying for engineering internships and full-time graduate jobs.

So, to help you with this, we’ve boiled down all that job search advice down to a short(er) list of sound, useful tips to help you secure the engineering position of your dreams.

Due to the nature of the work in the engineering sector, it’s normal to plan your pursuit of a postgraduate degree while you’re still in school. After all, although postgraduate degrees don’t automatically translate into employment opportunities – and aren’t even necessary for some engineers – they can still greatly impact your career.

For instance, engineers who’ve completed postgraduate studies are exposed to more career opportunities, and may even enjoy greater job security during economic downturns due to the specialised skills they picked up over their postgraduate studies.

There’s a broad range of work in the pharmaceuticals sector. This includes drug manufacturing and development work, such as classic pharmaceuticals like prescribed medicines, biopharmaceuticals (like vaccines), medical technology and consumer business much like over-the- counter medicines.

Singapore is also widely acknowledged as a top-rated clinical and biomedical research and development (R&D) centre in Asia, with a growing pharmaceutical field – in spite of overall reductions in the manufacturing industry as a whole.

With almost everything in the engineering and technology industry dependent on materials and components to function, it’s no surprise that the materials and metals section is vital. After all, they are the ones who develop and supply these for companies and manufacturers alike.

This field covers a broad scope, from the provision of raw materials and research into new compounds, to the manufacturing and sale of completed products.