Here's how you can get top employers to notice your engineering skills - and win £500

And that’s what visitors to this April’s National Engineering and Construction Recruitment (NECR) exhibition will have the chance to do.

Rather than just hand out CVs, entrants to the show’s Engineering Challenge will be able to show off their problem-solving, technical thinking and team-working abilities with an against-the-clock competition to put engineering into action.

Teams of between two and eight students will be given four hours to complete a surprise challenge that will test both their design and practical skills – as well as their ability to work under pressure. The winning team from across the two-day event will be awarded £500.

‘In previous years, teams have had to create a winch that can lift a certain weight or build a bridge out of paper and screws,’ says NECR’s Sarah McConnell. ‘I’ve never seen people get so competitive over paper.’

If you’d like to take part, assemble a team of your fellow students from your university and register for the competition here. But if you’ll be attending the show, which takes place on 24 and 25 April 2015 at the NEC in Birmingham, on your own then the organisers may well be able to add you to a team on the day.