The Mining Man

A Mining Man subscriber recently got in touch with me about getting work in the mining industry for his son and daughter in law.  It seems they’re looking for high paying jobs driving mining trucks to get a slice of the “mining boom”, but are having trouble finding work, reportedly because they are over-qualified for the roles.

This is not really surprising, given the criteria recruiters and mining companies are looking for in these roles.  The criteria will be more about the likely duration someone will stay in a role, rather than their degree background!  There’s a basic concept here about applying for a job or a new role, and that is to put yourself in the recruiter/company’s shoes, and understand what key things they are really looking for (which you probably won't find written in the advertisement).

Back to our story, this couple have been living overseas for a period and have now returned to Australia to settle and start a family.  Both are degree qualified with life experience, but are having trouble finding work in the professional fields in which they are qualified.  In addition to this, they’d like to earn some big money for a year or two to put away some savings before buying a house and starting a family.

The media would have you believe that mining jobs are a dime-a-dozen, and if you just turn up to Perth airport or Central Queensland wearing hi-viz, you’re a walk up start.

So how come two degree qualified, overseas experienced people can’t find a job theoretically well below their qualifications?

The reason is that although they may well make good truck drivers, being able to turn up to work and drive a truck is not the key criteria that recruiters are looking for on behalf of mining companies.  And the criteria they are looking for in a new miner most probably won't include having a degree!    

Understand What Recruiters Are Looking For

When applying for any job or new role, it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of the people who are looking to hire you, and consider what they might be looking for.  In addition to experience, qualifications and skills that you will list on your resume, think about key criteria they’ll be interested in, such as:

How long you are likely to stay in this role? How long you are likely to stay with the company? Are you likely to be a good candidate for promotion? Do you have the potential to do your bosses job sometime in the future?

To make decisions on these criteria, the recruiter will be interested in:

Why do you want to work here?  Why do you want to do this role? What is your motivation to do this job or live in this location? What things in your life might affect you longevity in the role?

Tailor Your Application to Suit

Once you’ve thought about what factors they might be looking for in an ideal employee, tailor your application to suit.

In particular, you have the most opportunity to address these factors in the cover letter which you submit with your application. Typically your resume contains facts, and although you can organise them in certain ways, and highlight certain things for particular roles, there is not a lot you can do about the facts in your resume.

Your cover letter, on the other hand, is your opportunity to explain why you want this job, why you’ll be likely to stay, and why you are a good fit for the company.  Often these factors are more important than your skills and qualifications.

So back to our “over-qualified” couple.  What do you think their resumes tell the recruiter about how long they are likely to stay in these jobs?  To me, it could be interpreted as:

We couldn’t find work in our fields so this will do We just want to work and make big money for a year or so We’re unlikely to be interested in further training or advancement as we intend to go back to our professions

While these things may not be true, it is possible that this is what recruiters will assume.  And neither mining companies nor recruiters are likely to be prepared to employ, induct and train (all of which add up to a LOT of cost) someone who they think might leave in a year.

My advice to them (and to mining job seekers in general) is to put yourself in the mining company or recruiters shoes, and make sure your cover letter and application address the key criteria you think they might be interested in over and above what is written in the job advertisement.

If you’ve got any ideas or advice for people seeking work in the mining industry, please feel free to share them in the comments below!