Posted on 07/20/2004 9:28:43 AM PDT by Mini-14
Because we're all evil, undereducated narcissists. Haven't you been paying attention to Dad2Angels? :) We're supposed to give scientific jobs to ex-ballplayers because...well, just because! Because they're desperate!
In the old days it was enough to know just one of the above mentioned tasks. What I have found recently is that one has to know at least three of the aboved mentioned tasks and related tools to compete.
What a company would do during my interviews was to have the companies expert on whatever the task was and ask very complex and in-depth questions about that area of the flow. So I would have to interview with the manager of design, then the manager of DFT/verification, then the lead guy in test etc. Not only did you have to field the questions off the top of your head ... you could not miss even one question or you did NOT get the job. I was my opinion that most of my interviewers could not pass that same interview.
BUT after a while I learned to do several important things for and during an interview.
1. During the phone interview which is usually given as a pre screen ... determine what topic the questions are about. In one example the phone interviewer asked me mostly about "multi-cycle clock domains". Well that's a big big hint about what the on-site interview will be focused on. Schedule the on-site a week or so after the phone interview and then find and learn/cram ALL you can about that topic before the on-site.
2. If the interviewer asks you about something you don't know or may know but don't remember. Ask him to start you off ... because you may know it by another name. This not only buys time but it may jog your memory and you can take it up after a "jump start".
3. If you still don't know it ... ask the interviewer to explain it and make notes ... then later LEARN that stuff for your NEXT interview.
4. Study for your interview ... Don't assume you are totally prepared for it. I have been doing chip design for 25 years ... but I still studied for 40 hours for my last interview (and I got the job).
5. If your interviewer asks if you want coffee or a restroom break ... TAKE IT. It burns the time and each interviewer only has so much ... usually 1/2 hour. The important stuff is asked first and anything after that is just stuff that is filling up the time slot for the interviewer and is NOT really important to them .... but it still could trip you up. So don't give them the chance to stumble into an area that you may be weak in.
After 40 hours of intense study and then the interview from hell ... I got the job. When I started working for the company I realized that I was far above the rest in over all knowledge and I am recognized as the sites guru in what I do ... but I had to go thru the gauntlet to get thru the door. That's just the way it is now a days.
Good luck out there ... Lord knows it tougher than ever but getting a GOOD job is still do-able ... but now ya gotta really really earn it
Employers are under no obligation to appreciate anything of an applicant except what's pertinent to their qualifications.
One problem is recruiters and HR people not knowing what certain high tech jobs entail. They are getting people wrong for the job either by recommending an interview because someone possessed a certain skill, or passing over someone that doesn't have that same skill. To someone on the outside this may seems cut and dry, but it's not like being a plumber and wanting a job being an electrician. One example is HR folks and recruiters not knowing the difference between JAVA and JavaScript, or splitting hairs between dynamic JavaScript and dynamic HTML.
I disagree with each of your points.
Your assumptions in #1 are unwarranted. An applicant asking those questions where there is ambiguity in the job posting or description appears to be paying close attention to details, which where I come from is a really good thing.
Your statement in #2 is (IMHO) also similarly flawed. If a position is exempt level, there is no such thing as overtime, but asking what the core business hours is an important thing to know.
Finally, #3, I, as the recruiter, typically provide an overview of our benefits package to each interviewee. It is part of the sales process (yes, me selling our organization to the applicant). It is one of our distinguishing characteristics as an organization.
It's all about networking. If you are in IT, and you live in a major metropolitan area, there are dozens of various user groups where you can meet others and learn about new technologies, instead of paying through the nose for some tech course. More importantly that is how you learn about job leads and make contacts to get the jobs in the "hidden job market." But you better make a contribution, volunteer to give a presentation or serve as an officer if you want to make the most of it, just don't sit back and be a wallflower.
ping
ASIC design has largely been outsourced to India. What nobody's mentioning in this thread is that between illegal immigration, outsourcing, and H-1B/L-1 visas, it's an employers' market right now, and I don't see how it will change anytime soon.
I looked for two years for a job in this economy unsuccessfully. My barrier was age discrimination. I finally just retired early.
The problems in this article (hire me. I'm a customer), and for the most part silly and whiny.
Sounds like every job I have ever had.
I am in the process of reading April 1865... oh my word! What an exasperating book.
I'm up to the point in the book where Lee is contemplating surrender or heeding Porter Alexander's advice to head for the mountains and turn the war into a guerrilla war.
Then...I get 15 pages on the history and politics of guerrilla warfare... Talk about killing the momentum of the story. And that's not the first time that the author decides to leave the story for pages and pages of his opinion on a subject.
AAAAACCCCKKKKKK!
Anyhoo... just thought I would share.
Yeah, its not the best laid out book I've ever purchased. And yep, it does get frustrating.
That said, its a great source of info....you just have to exercise more dicipline reading it then the author and editor did putting it together.
you are right. I agree with you 100%.job hunting stinks. I go on several interviews and get no offers. I was out of work for nearly 4 months.
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