Blog Post: Advice for the Automotive Tech

Many automotive technicians are suddenly facing the reality of having to look for a job in a tough market. I have been in the automotive repair business since 2001 and this is the first time that I have seen an abundance of technicians applying for the positions we are posting. In years past we would advertise for a tech and the only candidates that would apply were techs who had little or no experience.

If you are a technician looking for a job, there is good news. Good shop owners are looking for good techs. Many independent repair shops are doing very well in this economy. If you are a star technician, a smart shop owner will make room for you, if you can make a good impression and prove you can increase his profitability.

So what does a good shop owner look for in a technician?

1. Technical Ability - This is a key ingredient. The automotive repair business is a production business. The only thing a shop has to sell is your time. If you can prove that you can perform repairs in an efficient manner, you will be a valuable asset to the shop.
2. Reliability - Remember, the only thing a shop sells is your time. If you are not at work, they cannot sell your time. Prove you are reliable and the shop owner will take great comfort hiring you.
3. Quality - Remember, the only thing a shop sells is your time. (are you starting to see a pattern here?) Techs who perform poor quality work, have a lot of cars come back because they were not fixed right the first time. You cannot be making money for the shop if you are consistently having to fix the same problem multiple times. Focus on the quality work you do and the shop owner will be sold on you.
4. Communication Skills - If you are a good communicator you will shine. Good written and verbal communication skills not only demonstrate that you are a professional, it makes it easier to sell work for you.
5. Integrity - This business has more than its fair share of bad apples. When you operate with integrity you draw and retain more business for the shop. Techs with integrity are generally more concerned about others than themselves. They have character and do the right thing even when it may not be to their immediate monetary advantage.

If you are going to land a decent job you will have to stand out against the competition. The qualities listed above are important to good shop owners. Remember to focus on how you can solve their problems using these skills and you will stand a much better chance of being extended an offer.

Action Point - If you have a resume make sure it is up to date. If you do not have a resume, you need to put one together. A good resume will get potential employers calling you. If you need help writing a resume there are many resources on the web to help you. I ran a Google search on the word "resume" and got 36,100,000 returns. If you run a search of "resume+jobing.com" there are 254,000 returns. My point is that there is a lot of information about resumes out there, and obviously Jobing.com is an excellent source.

 

Coming Up - In future posts we will expand on the characteristics above and get you ever closer to landing that job of your dreams.