Ep. 24: Building a Network, and Mastering the "Soft Skills" That Equal Professional Success with Sol Rosenbaum

I am happy to be joined by the engineering mentor, Sol Rosenbaum.  Sol brings home the bacon via his commercial real estate engineering firm. We get that towards the end of the episode, but the bulk of what we'll talk about is his passion project, mentoring young engineers.

Entry level roles for up and coming professionals has come up repeatedly on this show and in this episode, we'll look at this idea from the opposite end, specifically the skills, tactics, and strategies that can be useful for engineering students or young professionals as they begin their careers.

In this discussion, you'll discover:

• Sol's journey to becoming a mentor to young engineers...01:30
• The most important thing for a young engineer job seeker to
  remember...05:15
• Communication skills are just as important as your network...07:30
• Toastmasters a terrific tool to increase public speaking and communication skills...10:05
• The best ways to begin building your network...12:30
• Introverts can succeed in building a great network!...16:00
• Ways for a new job seeker to set themselves apart from the rest...22:10
• Which certifications and licenses should you pursue?....27:00
• Recruitment strategies for firms who are looking for quality employees...32:00
• The unique services Sol provides with his company, SR Engineering...35:30
• And much more!

Resources mentioned:

• Toastmasters
• The Fine Art of Small Talk
• Never Eat Alone

About the guest:

"The Engineering Mentor" It’s about realizing that the skills and credentials that truly matter in having a successful engineering career are not necessarily the ones that
everyone thinks they are.

I went to an Ivy League school and have a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering. I have over 17 years experience in the mechanical/energy engineering field. Along the way, I gained several solid licenses/certifications; most notably my PE (Professional Engineer) and CEM(Certified Energy Manager) licensure. 

So you’d think I have it made, right? Well not exactly. As I have reached greater and greater success in my career, I have come to understand that it is just the foundation. To truly build a successful career, you need other skills that I call one’s “peripheral” skills. What are these skills? They are primarily:

• Developing a network – Do you know that most jobs are attained through connections. Do you have these connections to find a good job? What would you do if you were fired tomorrow?
• Social/communication skills – Public speaking, writing, making first impressions, interviewing with confidence etc.
• Continuing education, licensing – Not all licenses are created equal. It’s important to know how to determine the valuable ones and not waste your time on secondary ones.

Over the years, I have been helped along by many great bosses &
supervisors who have been mentors to me.

Southpoint Solutions: https://www.southpointsolutions.com/
Southpoint Solutions on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southpointsolutions/
Jared Wall on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-wall-792590120/