As Australia continues to witness a spurt in engineering jobs, thousands of migrating engineers fly to the land of kangaroos to make it big in the engineering sector. But few get to achieve this dream, with Engineers Australia creating several hurdles in the way to a successful career. This is where Engineers Australia comes in to play a pivotal role in paving the way for your career.
EA is the designated authority in Australia that assesses the skills of migrating engineers. The institution is ‘infamous’ for making it difficult for migrating engineers to obtain the migration visa, thanks to the never-ending list of guidelines and standards for preparing a CDR.
That brings us to the main question –
Why is a CDR crucial for a Migrating Engineer?
For native or migrating engineers, Engineers Australia offers jobs under three occupational categories – Professional Engineer, Engineering Technologist, and Engineering Associate. There is, however, an exclusive addition to this list solely for migration purposes identified as the designation of an Engineering Manager. Irrespective of the category, every migrating engineer must submit a CDR Australia to prove one’s competency, thus obtaining a Skilled Migration Visa to work in Australia.
Here are some points to remember regarding a CDR:
- A good CDR serves as an assessment benchmark where EA can check your qualification, the experience earned, and your practical skills to thrive in your field of specialisation.
- A poorly-written CDR can therefore reduce your chances to succeed as an engineer in Australia. This is why it is no exaggeration when I say that your CDR can make or break your career.
- Even if you have excellent high grades and a brilliant record of achievements, you will still need an impressive and articulated CDR to secure the Skilled Migration Visa.
- The summary statement that goes along with the CDR gives the assessors a first impression of you as an applicant. The summary explains why you, out of the thousand other applicants, deserve the Skilled Migration visa.
If you want to make sure that your dream of working as an engineer in Australia sees happy dawn, you must put in extra effort and devote quality time to preparing your CDR. To that end, I have some tips and tricks up my sleeve to share with you. Read on for more.
8 Hacks to Impress Engineers Australia with the Perfect CDR
Here are eight expert-approved tips to prepare a CDR to earn a positive assessment from the EA.
- Understand the purpose
Before you start drafting the CDR, understand the purpose of it to write a CDR that focuses on your roles and achievements. Go through the list of guidelines stated by the EA and abide by each of them religiously.
EA follows a particular marking rubric based on the approved structure for a CDR. Your report should consist of the Continuous Professional Development report or a CPD report, three or more Career Episodes, and a Summary Statement.
- Be Honest
Do not be blinded by ambition and make the mistake of writing outrageous lies in your CDR to impress the assessing panel in EA. The ephemera will lift once EA finds out about the truth, which they eventually will due to their cross-checking system.
Remember that Engineers Australia has a fail-proof procedure of reiterating the details in a report. Therefore, abstain from the temptation of claiming achievements that you have not attained, and be truthful about your milestones.
- Choice of Topic
Half the battle of writing the perfect CDR is won when a candidate comes up with a good topic for the Career Episodes. The quick tip for you, in this case, is to go through the competencies that EA focuses on while assessing a migrating engineer.
Alternatively, you can check online for CDR samples written by native experts to understand what slants to use for the Career Episodes. Another point to remember – choose a topic relevant to the category you are applying for to highlight your efficiency.
- Choice of Words
Your choice of words and the tone you follow while writing a CDR for Engineers Australia play crucial roles in determining whether you will receive the Visa or not. Keep the tone formal, and follow the writing style that EA uses to write the standards.
Since you are not a native Australian, be careful of the differences in dialect and spellings between American, British, and Australian English standards. After you write the report, keep an eye for inconsistencies and misspellings.
- Keep it Concise
Nobody likes to read verbose texts, especially EA assessors who go through hundreds of CDR reports every day. So, keep the CDR brief, albeit comprehensive. The report must include all the required information regarding your skills, but nothing in detail. Skim through the details and include only personal responsibilities and achievements relevant to your field.
Remember that the assessors want to know more about how you contributed to the success of a project and less about the company. Stick to personal recognition and give enough evidence for the same.
- Say no to Plagiarism
Several candidates make the rookie mistake of taking content from CDR samples available online and using them in their reports. But beware: plagiarism can be your arch-nemesis and spell doom on your career by getting your CDR rejected.
So, use the samples for reference instead of unabashedly copying text from the specimens. To avoid unintentional plagiarism, you can also use a reliable plagiarism detection tool like Turnitin or CopyScape.
- Break the process into steps
Writing a CDR is not going to be a one-day affair. Most candidates have a gung-ho attitude when they start writing the report. However, eventually, the enthusiasm slackens due to the monotony of the task. I suggest that you divide the work into manageable chunks and go about it to make it less drab.
Start with the personal information, then move on to writing the CPD. Work on the career episodes on a fresh day, and keep a gap between writing each of the three. Write the summary to the help of summary generator, statement either at the beginning or the end.
- Seek external help
Since it is your first time, you may not know all the tenets of a good CDR. So, do not hesitate to seek advice from professional CDR report writers. Let their experience weave wonders for your report, and capitalize on their flair to earn the much-coveted Visa.
Also, read up articles on the internet for tips on CDR writing or pore through samples. You can also check out tutorials on YouTube to create the perfect CDR that fetches you positive results only.
If presented poorly, the CDR can be detrimental in your path of building a career in Australia.
Therefore, be very careful about following all the standards set by EA to avert the chances of an unfavourable outcome. Since you know that writing a CDR will be an elaborate affair – something that demands your meticulous attention to detail – give your best shot at it. Put each of the tips to use to prepare a brilliant CDR.
See you in Australia soon, mate!
