Nevertheless, welders are in high demand in the United States, where they work in manufacturing, construction, and a variety of other industries. Because welding is a hands-on skill, many people are hesitant to pursue a career in it before even practicing and learning to weld. As they don’t know how to get a welding job with no experience, obsession rises in their minds naturally. If you are among them, keep reading!
First and foremost, welders will always be in demand, even if WWIII occurs. But when it comes to getting such a practical job without experience, the situation can get worse. However, one can handle the situation and move close to the goal by following some techniques and processes.
In this guide, we will share some crucial instructions so you can become a welder if you have no experience. So let’s check it and boost your confidence level and build a career in the most stable profession.
TOP industries for a welding job
Welding is mostly related with construction and infrastructure. The earnings for welders vary from $40,000 to $90,000 per year based on their skill level. Furthermore, it is in high demand across a wide range of industries. Welding contributes to more than 50% of the USA’s product manufacturing industry. Following the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these industries offer the most welding jobs:
- Machinery
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing
- Gas distribution
- Ship and boat building
- Pipeline transportation
- Railroad rolling stock manufacturing
- Energy development
- Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing
- Scheduled air transportation
- Petroleum and coal product manufacturing
10 Steps to Get a Welding Job with No Experience
According to the Forbes report, getting a job as a welder without experience can take an average of 5 months. However, the exact time depends on following the right method and doing the proper preparation to achieve the goal. Without a doubt, a job seeker should do anything in his power to launch his or her career. Following these ten simple but effective steps will put you on the right track to achieving your goal:
Focus on practice
The first and foremost thing is to make yourself eligible to get a welding job with no experience. A combination of technical school and additional real-world practice will propel you to a welding job opportunity quickly
Get The Right Training
While seeking a welding training program, choose those who are trained in mostly used skills, offer a sufficient practice season of hands-on skills, and properly prepare you for company welding tests. Besides, they should offer a free certification service that is administered by a certified welding inspector and helps you to find an apprenticeship program or a welding job.
Learn How to Test
A crucial thing about welding that you should know is that you will have to continuously pass the welding test to prove your ability in a certain area.
Most of the industry looks for welders who can demonstrate specific skills related to their product. So, while practicing and getting training, keep these things in mind and prepare yourself for such a test.
Apprenticeship or internship
Once completing training courses and certification, you will have two different tracks:
• Apprenticeship
• Internship
Both the tracks offer hands-on experience in real life but in a dissimilar ways. While Apprenticeships will pay you for practicing and improving skills until you make your hand efficient, but Internships won’t pay.
Joining as an intern means you will have to work for free until you become an expert welder. It will introduce you to modern requirements and help you get the proper technique as you will be trained under an expert mentor.
Companies usually hire interns for free for a week or a month. An internship can be a superb opportunity to evaluate the welding career path.
Conversely, apprenticeships will bring you a fairly lower salary for 1 to 6 years. After completing this period, you will be free to work in any chosen field.
Read More: Is Welding Bad For Your Health? Know Details!
Build your resume
An accurately intended welder’s resume is crucial for catching the recruiter’s attention. In this digital era, you should prepare such welding resumes that will be observable to both humans and ATS (automated applicant tracking systems). According to CNBC, about 75% of resumes aren’t seen by humans.
But you can overcome this difficulty smoothly. ATS typically scans resumes for keywords relevant to a specific position. So, once those keywords are found on a resume, the system grants them. The most popular keywords that should be included in the resume are:
• Welder
• Welding
• ASME certified
• AWS certified
• Cutting torches
• Blueprint reading
• Stick
• Solid-state
• Arc/TIG/MIG
Try to include welding keywords as much as possible without affecting the structure and readability of the welder’s resume. You can use GetCoverLetter professional resume builder as it maintains all modern style, content, and format.
Write a cover letter
While the welder had to follow the required resume structure and content, writing a cover later helps maintain an informal manner. Furthermore, it can help you get ahead of the competition and land a job quickly. A cover letter should outline a welder’s motivation to take a position and which way you will participate in the growth of the company after hiring you.
According to Yahoo Finance, a well-written cover letter convinces about 83% of hiring managers to call for an interview. Even if you apply online, cover later is required in 64% of cases.
A good cover later completes the job application with motivation and enthusiasm that helps you to get the job opportunity. Following these tips will boost the shine of a cover later:
• Start with writing a nice-looking header with the contact information on the right side of the page. It will assist the authorities in quickly locating a way to contact you.
• Don’t address your cover letter impersonally, since personal cover letters only get the preferred reply. Mention the name of your hiring employer. Even you can address “Dear Hiring Manager” if you have no name.
• Maintain a short paragraph to express the thought of increasing the beauty of the cover later. Try to attract the reader’s concentration in the first paragraph. Then explain your dedication in the next paragraph. In the third paragraph, try to impress the reader by highlighting your suitability for the position.
• A large cover letter may exhaust the employer, so try to keep it within 200-300 words.
• Politely finish the welding cover later and don’t close it with slangy goodbyes. ‘Thank you,’ rather than ‘With love,’ or ‘Peace out,’ is more appropriate. Respectfully,’ With best wishes,’
• The format is one of the vital things to consider when purchasing a welding cover. Later on, the employer will value a nice-looking cover more than an ordinary one. So, use a visually appealing format to make the cover more appealing to read.
• If you’re not sure how to lay it out, you can get aid from a variety of online platforms, including the GetCoverLetter builder.
Continue to communicate with the Welding Professional Organization and the Network
A welding-related organization like the American Welding Society offers students a discount rate and helps them participate in local welding activities. It will keep you updated on job trends and increase the probability of getting a chance.
Find suitable job openings
You can search for a welding job through multiple sources. Paying attention to these platforms will lead you to your dream job quickly:
- Local welding societies and their websites
- Online job boards
- Networking
- Social media
- Employers’ websites and offices
Despite being offline and now online, it plays an important role in becoming a third party in the job offering process. Moreover, if you have a dream company, visit their website more often so you don’t miss any opportunities to work for them. If there is no job circular, you can get the contact details of company representatives from the website, so you can talk to them.
On the other hand, you can visit some local firms and contact them for a job online, by phone, or in person.
Networking is another effective way of getting a job as a welder. Visiting the professional community often, both online and offline, with job search intentions, may attract employers. Therefore, you can get access to a hidden job market. You should make every effort to get hired as a welder.
Apply for welding jobs properly
The way you will apply and the application you will send should be relevant to the job opening requirements. Sending a bulk application can irritate the employer. Keep the job description in mind and make sure you have covered all the necessary information in your resume and cover letter that the employer asks for. For example, explore which skills, experience, and education are required for a particular job and prove your suitability based on those skills for the position.
Another important thing to remember is that you should not be disappointed if you do not schedule interviews right away. According to the latest Statista report, it takes 38-40 days on average to hire someone for manufacturing and professional services.
It takes time to select the best candidate because they must review application documents and make a decision to be interviewed. Following the GetCoverLetter study, a job seeker had to send, on average, 10-27 applications to get an invitation to the interview. So one should be dedicated and patient, and, more importantly, keep searching and applying until they reach the target.
Prepare yourself for an interview
Before going to an interview for a welding job, get enough preparation so you can pass the test for the practical welding exam. It won’t be an office job interview, as your hands have to speak more convincingly. Here are a few pointers to help you succeed:
Do some research on the company you’re going to. Getting knowledge of the employer’s professional profile will help you to impress them during the interview. Moreover, this little knowledge will boost your confidence.
Again, be aware of the job description. If they mention specific types of welding, make sure you know them, so you can answer the question.
Practice yourself for typical welding interviews before going out to the meeting. However, you won’t find those questions common, but they will increase your confidence and help you to have a better conversation.
For the welding interview, be prepared from head to toe. Getting asked for hands-on experience is a common part of a welding interview. So, take some workwear so you can get ready for the practical examination.
It may take some weeks to learn the outcome of the interview. But keep sending a follow-up email asking for the authorities’ decision.
Some crucial tops on welding carrier
The following additional tips will assist a welder in establishing a stable career as a welder:
• While checking the job boards, pay attention to different categories. Welder jobs may be found in the categories of ‘construction,’ ‘general labour,” skilled trades,’ ‘industrial technology,’ and repair and maintenance.
• Don’t focus on a single welding skill because you won’t find such a job very often. Moreover, employers mostly hire multi-skilled welders.
• Typically, structural welding pays less than pipe welding, even though both are driver’s jobs. Measure your effort-expectations ratio before choosing the type of welding for learning.
• As a result, you can purchase an entry-level welding machine so you can practice welding more frequently. It will offer you a very hands-on experience within a short time.
• Keep in touch with welding organizations like AWS and join in their local activities. It will keep you up-to-date on welding job trends and increase the chance of hiring.
Final words
The door of numerous industries is open for welders. They require a welder for home improvement projects as well as for high-tech spaceship engineering. So if you don’t know how to get a welding job with no experience, follow your tips and instructions properly.
Then it will point you in the direction of your ideal job as a welder. However, your dedication and perseverance are also desired to smooth out the difficulties. So don’t move away from the track, whatever the difficulties you have to face.
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