Getting Started

Visit the BMW STEP program website to see all that they have to offer along with their requirements for acceptance of training.

Check out our helpful building an automotive resume post for preparing your resume ahead of time. When visiting all of these dealer websites, look for an ‘information’, ‘contact us’, or ‘employment opportunity’ tab and click that link to post your resume.

Even though there are many BMW dealers across the United States I picked these dealers from more populated cities and great places to live. These are locations where the potential for success is higher based on the volume of high end cars per area.

Locating a Dealer

If you want more dealers to search for or are looking for the dealer of your choice refer to the BMW dealer directory. When locating dealers across the United States using this directory enter the state, city, and zip code to narrow your search.

Arizona BMW Dealers

• BMW North Scottsdale
  18018 North Scottsdale Road, Phoenix, Arizona, 85054
  (480) 538-3900

  http://www.bmwnorthscottsdale.com/

• Chapman BMW
  6601 East McDowell Road, Scottsdale, Arizona, 85257
  (480) 464-1224

  http://www.chapmanbmw.com/

California BMW Dealers

• Pacific BMW
  732 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, 91204
  (818) 246-5600

  http://www.pacificbmw.com/

• Stevens Creek BMW
  4343 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Santa Clara, California, 95051
  (408) 249-9070

  http://www.stevenscreekbmw.com/

• BMW of Palm Springs
  3919 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California, 92264
  (760) 324-7071

  http://www.bmwps.com/

• BMW of San Francisco & Body Shop
  1675 Howard Street, San Francisco, California, 94103
  (415) 551-4285

  http://www.bmwsf.com/

• BMW of San Diego
  5090 Kearny Mesa Road, San Diego, California, 92111
  (858) 560-5050

  http://www.bmwofsandiego.com/

Florida BMW Dealers

• Germain BMW
  3707 Davis Boulevard, Naples, Florida, 34104
  (239) 643-2220

  http://www.germainbmw.com/

• Quality BMW Inc
  1006 Beal Parkway Northwest, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 32547
  (850) 863-2161

  http://www.qualitybmw.com/

• Bert Smith BMW
  3800 34th St N, St Petersburg, Florida, 33714
  (727) 527-1111

  http://www.bertsmith.com/

Nevada BMW Dealer

• Desert BMW of Las Vegas
  2333 South Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89102
  (702) 871-1010

  http://www.desertbmwlasvegas.com

Oregon BMW Dealers

• Medford BMW
  600 North Central Avenue, Medford, Oregon, 97501
  (541) 774-8450

  http://www.medfordbmw.com

• BMW of Salem
  Salem, Oregon, 97301
  (503) 399-9541

  http://www.delonbmw.com

Enjoying your Success

For those of you who have success searching out and locating a dealer that hires you using the BMW dealer directory from this post please contact us. We would like to spotlight a post about you, your training, and your new career as a BMW certified technician.

How to Get Involved

Get on board and work with an organization such as AYES (Automotive Youth Educational Systems) who helps today’s young talented individuals in their automotive programs. Learn how to help with educating, training, and give them an opportunity for job placement while building a strong connection between the highschools and automotive dealerships. Check out what AYES has to offer and how to get involved and get started within your automotive program or dealer. Just click the ‘get involved’ tab at the left of this link for more information for schools or dealers who want to participate.

Not sure you want to work for free? Well, read on to see how this strategy can put you a leg up on your competition.

Liability Note:

The first thing to think about is liability. All shops are liable in cases where someone slips, falls, of gets hurt under a car. Unless you are hired and in the system for insurance, you may not be able to volunteer or even step foot into a shop. Some shops (independent or family owned) may have their exceptions, so don’t rule out this scenario for trying to land a job. Corporate or franchised dealers and shops may be more difficult.

The auto shop has all the risk

When an automotive shop takes the initial to hire you for a career as an automotive technician right out of a vocational school, they are taking the risk that you might not work out. The costs for any firm to hire someone who doesn’t work out are high, maybe more so for an auto shop.

Estimates of lost capital to hire a new employee that doesn’t fit are 15-30% of their salary! That means if you quit in 3-6 months and your salary is $30,000 annually, the employer will have lost anywhere from $4,500 – $9,000 on you. Placing ads, interviewing, hiring, and training the right candidate are costly for an employer and some auto shops don’t have that kind of money to go through that process.

So, save that shop the headache, work for free!

Now, we’re not talking forever, we’re not even talking more than a week or two. But you’re not working already are you? And the only thing you risk is your time and a little bit of money in your gas. What you gain if you truly are a quality worker, an edge above everyone else.

The free automotive tech strategy

If you find a shop that just isn’t hiring but you really want to work for you need to make a gut evaluation. Does it seem like they may hire you in the near future, or may create a job for you? This will help you judge how much time you should dedicate to this one auto shop.

Our suggestion is, go to the employer and have a conversation that may go something like this;

Free work – Important things to remember

Here are a couple of things to remember if you use this strategy;

• Don’t work for free too long – You need to say that you are valuable and know your skills. People will lose respect for you and your decision if you give away the farm. 1-2 weeks max, half day max each day. This will give you another 4 hours to submit applications and visit other shops. Diversify in case this doesn’t work out.
• Be sure this shop might hire or can help you – This auto shop might not be hiring, but what if they have a number of sister shops around the city? If you get in, show what a great worker you are, you might be able to get in at another shop by referral.
• Show up early, stay late - Be prompt, wait outside if you have to in your car, and don’t leave early if you chose the latter half of the day. Stay as long as you can to make a point, and never stand around. Find things to do, whether it be sweeping, or ask other techs how you can help them in your down time.
• Follow up – If the auto shop doesn’t hire you right at the end of the week, follow up every two weeks to see if they have heard of anything and let them know you are still looking.

This is just one strategy

You may still not want to work for free at an auto shop, that is fine. But this is what you display to the employer that can save them their money. You should them your dependability, your motivation (you aren’t there for the money, right?), your work ethic, how fast you learn, and how you interact with the other auto techs.

Any students tried this strategy? We’d love to hear your own tips / additions to this post. What worked for you, what was a failure for you. Share and help your fellow auto technicians.

One thing to always remember is when searching for a place to work, don’t use the same old traditional approach. Don’t let going from door to door be your only option. Although it is a good option, with today’s resources there are many ways to search. You always want to increase your chances in finding a job. Another thing to look at is most employers want to see potential employees use more than the ‘door to door’ approach. This shows you’re networking ability and communication skills to potential future employers, which is one of the top ways to sell yourself when applying for a job.

Sell yourself

You’ve written up the cover letters, you have devised your resume, only you know you and what you’re best at. There is a mis-conception among people who aren’t salesmen that people don’t want to be pushed around by a salesman, that they are being bothered.

That is not the case.

Think of it as telling a story, a story about you. The interviewer knows nothing about you, and you have to tell them. There is a line between being a braggart and a good representative of ‘you’, and everyone knows when you are bragging. Typically it’s how you say something, and sometimes it’s when you overuse the word ‘I’, so take note not to talk too much about ‘I did this…and I did that’.

You’ll want to think about tasks that you have performed in school, or at a previous employer that saved them money, increased efficiency, or increased business. If it is a school setting, apply those types of savings to a potential business setting such as – “I developed my own tool for X task that would save any employer $4,000 annually”.

Money talks. Businesses are always looking to save money or grow their business and if you can appeal to that sensibility then you are golden.

Show interest

Ever run a business? Maybe, but probably not. Remember, business owners are proud of what they have built and if you know more about their history you are showing interest in what they have accomplished. Do your research about the company online, or by asking others.

Then, write up a sheet of 10-15 questions that you want to know about the position, or about the company. Make them original, don’t ask things like “How many cars do you work on per day?” and don’t ask questions that could have been easily answered if you did your homework like “How long have you been in business?”

Usually the interviewer will ask you “Do you have any questions for me?” At that point you say “Yes, I do. If I might, I have a sheet of questions I wrote up before the interview. If I could just get those out and take a look at them I think I will have some questions for you.”

What have you shown? You’re prepared and you’re extremely interested in the business and the job. This also shows that you aren’t like every other job seeker and will go that extra mile in your every day tasks as well.

Know your lines

Or, know your answers that is. Research online for general interview questions as well as questions that may be asked specifically pertaining to the position of an automotive technician. This will allow you to be prepared for the spur of the moment interview without catching you by surprise or unprepared which can reflect poorly on you.

Go over possible questions that might be brought up during an interview (Items from your resume – experience, education, and strengths)

Dress Appropriately

Plan on what to wear to the interview (dress conservative but professional). Remember, you can’t change people’s stigmas. The accepted norm is that the color black in a suit is a power color, and should only be worn in the appropriate interview where you might wield a lot of power. Otherwise,
you can come across pushy and power hungry.

Each color of suit has a different feel and meaning, you will want to research the shop you are applying to and then choose a color suit that in your best estimate will best fit the type of person you will be interviewing with.

If you don’t have more than one suit, and only have a black, for this type of position a dress shirt and tie will work just as well so don’t despair.

Be Prepared for all circumstances

Always take a few extra resumes and cover letters for different departments (service department, human resources, etc.) it shows that you are prepared.

Itemize a list

Here are a few different ways to approach your job search for your networking plan.

Use the local classifieds or want ads
Example: Career Builders

Use the Chamber of commerce in the area where you are applying, if you need to find out about a city where potential jobs may be (out of state)
Example: Indiana Chamber of Commerce

Use a nationwide job search
Example: Monster

Don’t count out referrals. Use any resource that you might have (family, friends, or old co-workers) the word of mouth approach may be one of the best. You can get an extra boost with positive comments from referrals.

Mail resumes through the US postal service or e-mail resumes through career builders or monster.com

Go door to door with specific places in mind. Places of interest where you would like to work taking resumes and filling out applications.

Pre- interview preparation

Research the job you are interviewing for ahead of time, this will allow you to ask them questions and /or show them you know something about their place of business.

Interview awareness

• Show up 15 minutes early
• Always greet people with a smile and extreme kindness
• Try not to fidget or show annoying habits
• Always look the interviewer in the eye when talking to them
• Be as confident as possible when talking (don’t use um, like, or and uh)

Post interview follow up

Send a thank you card right after the interview. This will show them that you are seriously interested in the position and show your gratitude toward the person that interviewed you.

Follow up 5 days later to show your eagerness toward getting the job.
If you don’t get the job, send them a thank you note anyway. Some employers may be planning on hiring more than 1 technician and this may give you another chance at the job.

Breaking down your automotive resume

Here is a resume break down, so you to see how to structure a resume. Keep each section short and sweet. Try to limit your resume to 1 page, employers don’t want a book. You can elaborate more about the content of your resume when they meet you in person.

You can download the auto resume example at any time and start plugging in your own information. (Just right click and ‘save-as’ to save it to your computer as a Word .doc – 1997-2003) To follow through this post you will probably want to save the document first, open it up and go through each section as we explain it.

What does the resume look like

Here is a screenshot to give you a general idea of what your final automotive resume should look like highlighting your shop experience, education and skills. Click on the resume image for a larger view.

Your Name

Use your full name, address, phone number, and if possible an e-mail address. Not all employers use the same method of communication. If you give them as many possible ways to contact you then this may increase your chances for an interview.

Strengths

What is your strength? These are expectations that all employers want from their employees. Let them know up front that these are your strengths and that you are willing to work hard to show them. A willingness to learn new things, a positive attitude, the ability to work well with others, and the desire to do whatever it takes to diagnose and repair today’s vehicles.

Education

Tell them all of your education experience within this field. List your high school, vocational program, or technical school name and location with date attending, and a brief summary of where you stand. Employers like people who are punctual. If they see that you have good attendance in school then chances are this will carry over to your job after graduation. List your grade, it reflects your retention of knowledge and how hard you’ve worked to obtain it. This shows an employer that you might be a good investment for their company.

Automotive Technology Subjects

Even though most employers know the common automotive subjects, they may not know your vocational or technical program. Give them a list to show them what you’ve learned or are learning. Some repair shops hire people who specializes in one subject while others hire those who are knowledgeable in all areas. By listing these subjects, this could help generate discussion during an interview and show your knowledge of the subjects that you are studying. If at all possible, research the ASE testing and try to take at least 1 test before graduation. Employers love to hire ASE certified technicians.

Experience

List all jobs related and unrelated to your automotive experience and include your schooling. Even though you listed your school under education, list it in experience as well, this is just like a job when it comes to learning and working everyday. Include at least 2 jobs if possible with dates, locations, and job title. Give a brief explanation of job responsibilities, and daily tasks. If at all possible, include something that might help sell yourself. (special training or ideas that may have saved the company money or given the company a boost in some fashion). Employers like people who are responsible and who have had some experience in holding a job regardless of the job type.

Final Details

Now that you have your automotive technician resume, you should head over and view our post on how to build a cover letter to go with that resume. Visit the post entitled Create a automotive technician geared cover letter to download a blank template and learn more about what should be included in a cover letter to sell you and your skill sets.

Let’s start your cover letter

Either copy this text your computer or you can download the automotive cover letter as a Word file. You will need to fill in the blanks, highlight the areas to be updated, and type over to make the necessary changes to benefit you.

Unless you are applying for a job out of state or where travel may be involved, a cover letter is not always something that would be left with an application or resume. The idea behind a cover letter is to get someone’s attention with a professional image and this also shows your typing and communication skills.

(Date)
(Company)
(Address)
(City, State, Zip code)
Attention: (Name of Employer or contact person)

Dear (Contact person)
My name is____________and I am a student at _____________(school name)where I am finishing a 2 year Vocational Automotive shop program. I have worked very hard to maintain perfect attendance with a 4.0 GPA. In addition to my studies I have worked part time in the automotive field to gain as much hands on experience as possible, so the transition into a full time career will be a little bit easier.

I am very interested in a job position with your company and would like the opportunity to meet with you to show you my credentials. I believe with the skills that I have learned in my training program, I can be a great asset to you and your company.

Please contact me and let me know when we can meet. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
(Name)____________

Final Details

Now that you have your automotive technician cover letter, you should head over and view our post on how to build a resume to go with this cover letter. Visit the post entitled Building your automotive resume to download a blank template and learn more about what should be included in a resume to best sell you and your skill sets.