The position of Sales Engineer for Trane Commercial Systems involves the sale of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, components, and controls to customers. An ideal candidate for this position is someone with a technical background in an engineering discipline (specifically mechanical or electrical), is self-motivated, and has strong interpersonal skills and business demeanor.
I chose this job posting for a number of reasons. Primarily, I have a deep interest in the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning industry. I believe that the idea of making buildings operate more efficiently and intelligently will be a huge business driver in the coming decades. As we are on the brink of an international energy crisis, the ways in which we harvest and use our planet’s energy resources are becoming more important than ever. Commercial and industrial buildings are one of the greatest users of energy on the planet. The HVAC industry is taking big steps to find ways to reduce the amount of energy a building needs to use for heating and cooling purposes, this saves money for building owners, and has a positive effect on global sustainability.
In addition, the technical knowledge I have gained from my major, mechanical engineering technology, apply directly to the HVAC industry. MET lays heavy emphasis on thermodynamic principles (heat transfer, power generation cycles), as well as fluid dynamics, both of which are fundamental to the HVAC industry. I also have internship experience working for an HVAC sales firm in Chicago, most likely doing work very similar to that outlined in this job posting.
This job posting is also very appealing to me because it involves a one-year sales development program. I believe most of what you learn about a job comes from on the job experience. The one-year development program is designed to pair you up with a senior sales engineer and gain experience from them. I feel that being paired with a senior sales engineer will greatly accelerate the learning curve of sales in this industry and give new hires a leg up over the competition.
Upon further research of Trane Commercial Systems, it is apparent to me that they are heavily involved in LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design). LEED is a certification system, devised by the United States Green Building Council, which grants a building “certified”, “silver”, “gold”, or “platinum” status based on the level to which efficiency and sustainability are built into the design and construction of a building. I am very interested in LEED, and have a lot of coursework experience related to it. It would serve me best to include my interest and experience in LEED on a cover letter when applying for the position of Sales Engineer.
Another thing the draws me to this job posting is the nature of sales engineering. I’ve been turned off by typical design-side engineering positions, as I don’t feel the work they entail fits best with my personality. Sales is more dynamic, and involves so much more than number crunching and problem solving. A sales engineer has to serve as a liaison, matching the customer’s needs with the engineers’ capabilities. My membership with the Society of Business Engineers will serve as a great experience in this aspect. The focus of the Society is to bridge the gap between technical people (concerned with design and quantifiable performance) and business people (concerned with function and cost).
A sales engineer is also more self-directed than most other technical occupations. It is the sales engineer’s job to pursuit new business leads, as well as manage relationships with prior customers. This involves job-site visits, client entertainment, business development meetings, and market research.
Based on the nature of this position, my experiences and background, and future career aspirations, I feel the Sales Engineer position at Trane Commercial Systems is an ideal job for me.
Instructor commentary
This analysis has many useful elements. The rationale that you provide in the second paragraph for why you feel this is a growth industry (predicated on incentives for intelligent use of energy resources) is quite insightful. Also, your statement of why you believe your membership in the Society of Business Engineers will be a benefit in your new position is useful. However, there are a few ways that this analysis could be revised. One way is to provide more concrete development of how your experiences fit with the prospective job. For example, you state: "I also have internship experience working for an HVAC sales firm in Chicago, most likely doing work very similar to that outlined in this job posting," however you don't explain what this experience is nor what specific tasks you accomplished and what their outcomes were. Similarly, you state: "I am very interested in LEED, and have a lot of coursework experience related to it. It would serve me best to include my interest and experience in LEED on a cover letter when applying for the position of Sales Engineer." This is exactly right, and because this analysis (as the project description states) is "a prelude to the Cover Letter," you should explicate what your experience is and how it connects to the job ad. A related issue is that there don't seem to be many instances where you are connecting specific key words from from the job ad with concrete examples of what you have done.
Also, you want to treat this analysis as groundwork for the documents ahead of you, which means attention to both content and structure. You should make tentative determinations about what the central theme or argument of your cover letter will be and how you will use the material in this analysis correspondingly. Overall, however, you've got a fine start, and you should be able to mine much of this content for your other employment documents.