All you need is a technical degree of two years and a good set of tools and you should be good to go when it comes to looking for employment. One nice thing about being an auto body technician is that you can really travel anywhere in the country for work as there are always places looking for someone with the right education and skill set.
With many different fields, the first place to look for employment would be that of the newspaper. However, the body shop world is much more of a hands-on profession. Managers pride themselves in being able to judge the character of their workers which means that he will want to see you in person. Take a copy of your training certificate and the resume that you have put together and start visiting some of the local body shops around you. If you find that some of the body shops are encouraging, you will want to make sure that you return to those places if they are not hiring at this very moment. While you will want to return to those places, you need to make sure that you are not becoming a pest by stopping in every other day.
Besides your typical auto body shop, you can look for work through car dealerships. There are generally a few vacancies to fill, even though they do not have as high of a turn over rate as regular run of the mill body shops. You will want to still have your training certificate in hand and your resume as well. Just go on in and ask to speak to the manager. Express your interest in working for that company and see what you can do about getting yourself a position there.
Another type of place to look for auto repair of vehicle bodies would be trucking companies or other types of businesses that have a fleet of different vehicles on hand at all times. Generally, these companies will employ auto body technicians to have on hand at all times. Wholesale manufacturers of auto parts and cars might be another place to look for employment as they will often times hire collision technicians for the work that they will need done.
One thing that you want to make sure that you are doing is standing out from all of the other candidates out there that want the same job you do. Even though this is a quickly growing field, there are many people out there, just like you, in the same situation as you. If you happen to specialize in auto glass repair than you are going to have an easier time finding the work in the automotive field that you have always wanted. Also, those who are collision specialists with knowledge of fiberglass will have many more opportunities coming to their door.
If none of this works out for you, you could always open your own business. Just about fifteen percent of the auto body technicians are running their own business. It takes a lot of work to create and manage your own auto body business but it is something that you can make into a profitable experience if you have the right knowledge backing you up.
Some people want to work for someone else for a few years and then open their own business while others go straight from school to their own business. The route you decide to take is a personal one. Just know that with this field of work you should never have a problem finding good solid employment.
