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Xandu posted:this company is finally bringing me in for face to face interviews next week. This is good Xandu posted:
Might just be info about how to get access to the site etc. But don't stress out remember if they are bringing you in it's because they WANT to talk to you about the job. Hold your head up high, you are valued, they WANT to hire you.
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| # ? May 10, 2013 02:54 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 01:11 |
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She ended up talking to me about who I was meeting with and their backgrounds and what I should expect, and giving me a little bit of information on the way the company was structured. In retrospect, it didn't really help me with the face to face interviews (though they went very well anyways), but it's a cool idea. edit: I talked to 4 different people and they all seemed to have a different idea of what job I'd be doing if I was hired, so hopefully they come to some sort of consensus on that. Xandu fucked around with this message at May 10, 2013 around 03:11 |
| # ? May 10, 2013 03:07 |
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Xandu posted:She ended up talking to me about who I was meeting with and their backgrounds and what I should expect, and giving me a little bit of information on the way the company was structured. In retrospect, it didn't really help me with the face to face interviews (though they went very well anyways), but it's a cool idea. They probably wont. My interview was three people, all heads of their departments. Even though when I was hired, I was placed in just one team, the other three would also borrow me for other tasks, with each not knowing what the other was doing. It was really annoying, and I had to avoid saying "No" because that would piss off one of the director/VP's that I interviewed with, even though another had already given me work to do, etc. Thankfully, I really liked my actual boss, and she eventually told the other managers I was no longer a freelance person, and I now work exclusively in one department.
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| # ? May 10, 2013 03:21 |
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How common are Skype interviews? I have been interviewing at an out-of-town agency. I went through one HR screen and two phone interviews. HR then emailed me and said, instead of bringing you in for an in-person, we are going to do a Skype. Yesterday I did a Skype with two people from their end -- one of which was a higher-level individual I hadn't met before, and one was someone I had spoken with previously. My guess is this is a cost-savings measure.
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| # ? May 10, 2013 13:59 |
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Applying to a job with my current insurance company. It runs on Taleo - should I maybe try talking to my insurance agent rather than flushing my resume down the toilet?
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| # ? May 10, 2013 18:29 |
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mfaley posted:How common are Skype interviews? I have been interviewing at an out-of-town agency. I went through one HR screen and two phone interviews. HR then emailed me and said, instead of bringing you in for an in-person, we are going to do a Skype. They're becoming more common. Depending on the place, it may also be policy that if one person is too far away to come in at a reasonable cost, everyone is interviewed through a video call so they're on the same playing field.
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| # ? May 10, 2013 18:42 |
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I don't know if this is the right thread for this, but it seems appropriate. I'm currently in grad school doing an M.Sc. in biology and I'm strongly considering quitting for e/n reasons I won't get into here. I got a B.Sc. in environmental science with a focus on biology in 2009 and loved almost every minute of it. My grades were good and I did not do an undergraduate thesis project, if that matters any. However, I don't have any relevant work experiences or references aside from what I got out of my graduate schooling so far. I'm mostly interested in field biology, but I could easily settle for lab work. Teaching at post-secondary/continuing education institutions is also something I'm interested in but I'm not sure how realistic that is considering my credentials. Anyway, my questions are: - What do I do about the partial graduate degree? Do I just pretend it didn't happen on a resume or just write "Some graduate work 2010-2013" or something? What about if potential employers ask about it or my reasons for leaving? - What about the fact I have no relevant work experience or references? Would it be worth my while to just get a lovely retail job and start volunteering on the side until I can beef up those things and then start hunting for career or entry-level stuff? I live in western Canada in the heart of oil 'n gas country. There is most definitely a demand for field biologists around here, but I just don't really know where to start with such an emaciated resume. 
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| # ? May 10, 2013 18:56 |
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Inept posted:They're becoming more common. Depending on the place, it may also be policy that if one person is too far away to come in at a reasonable cost, everyone is interviewed through a video call so they're on the same playing field. I can second this, last intake we did about 70% of interviews by skype because the candidate was too far away to reasonable expect them to come in for an interview (they were recommended by a "recruiter" so I wasn't willing to push for them to be flown in as it was a short term contract and I don't generally get good candidates when a a recruiter is involved).
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| # ? May 12, 2013 02:27 |
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Hi thread. Last Septemeber I graduated from a pretty well respected public uni with a degree in Aerospace engineering. Due to issues in my family, I didn't really start looking for jobs till January. In the last 4 months I've had a grand total of 2 call backs while basically canvasing the entire Southern California aero/defense/mechie industry. I honestly believed I had one of those in the bag after the interviews (interviewer was alumni, friend just started working there etc) but the company cut the position entirely. My GPA is nothing special but I've got a few cool projects under my belt so the industry people I've talked to seem pretty "impressed" by my resume (their words, not mine). The problem is the job market is about to be flooded by new grads in about a month. Am I going to get hosed by being out of school for 8 months? Do I realistically need to start thinking about non-engineering jobs? I wish I could time travel back in time to 4 years ago and punch every person who told me getting an engineering job would be easy.
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| # ? May 12, 2013 05:29 |
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I don't know anything about the industry, but are you willing to expand your search outside of Southern California?
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| # ? May 12, 2013 05:34 |
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I've started to look out of state, but SoCal is the biggest aerospace industry center in the US. I've been focusing on SoCal since my girlfriend of 3.5 years lives in LA and my family lives in Orange.
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| # ? May 12, 2013 17:01 |
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If you think it's hard to get an engineering job, try getting a non-engineering job. You're doing something wrong in your search or not looking the right places. For entry-level engineering the bulk of recruiting is probably through campus career centers. Do you still have access to yours? It's also often a slower process where they gather applications throughout the year and then do interviews a few months before people graduate. Have you just gone through all the big employers and applied for all the generic "new grad" positions? I.e Boeing, SpaceX, Northrup, Lockheed etc? They all hire hundreds or thousands of people a year just to cover attrition. Other resources: former professors/classmates (I.e. the people you did "cool projects" with), friends and family, goons on LinkedIn, etc. There are also bazillions of smaller suppliers but they're harder to find and usually hire via recruitment agencies just because they don't have the resources to send recruiters out to campuses.
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| # ? May 12, 2013 17:42 |
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evensevenone posted:I.e Boeing, SpaceX, Northrup, Lockheed etc? They all hire hundreds or thousands of people a year just to cover attrition. If you are going to apply to defense companies, make sure you spell them right. Northrop Grumman was a vendor for the company my co-op was with, NOBODY spells it correctly, and it sticks out like hell. I had to go and change almost all of our ERP's billing information because it was personally embarassing for me to send a bill from one massive well-known contractor to another massive well-known contractor, even if nobody else in the department ever realized it. THE RED MENACE posted:I've started to look out of state, but SoCal is the biggest aerospace industry center in the US. I've been focusing on SoCal since my girlfriend of 3.5 years lives in LA and my family lives in Orange. The northeast is no slouch for defense contractors. I have no idea what aerospace engineering needs a GE Aerospace or United Technologies have up here, but those companies dominate local industry. For UTC alone Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney, and United Technologies Aerospace Systems all have a ton of employees here. E: If you are considering the northeast at all, PM me. Operating Rod fucked around with this message at May 12, 2013 around 18:43 |
| # ? May 12, 2013 18:35 |
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Hi all, I am on the job market currently but I am not a new grad. I graduated in 2007 with a B.S. in Education (major being mild-moderate special education). I have 6 years experience teaching special ed on all spectrums (inclusion classes where kids are "mainstreamed" with regular kids, self-contained for kids who can't handle being mainstreamed, behavior problem kids, and resource classes where kids are "mainstreamed" 80% of the day or so, but need small groups for math/reading). I also have 18 hours of grad work complete in school counseling and 6 hours of grad work in math education. Not sure if I want to complete a masters' degree in either. I am licensed in my state to teach special ed, math for grades 6-9 and reading for grades K-12. I have also completed a well-known in my location professional development program for math in which I ultimately presented at two conferences (and through this program was how I earned the 6 grad hours in math ed). My conundrum: I am trying to get out of special ed and switch to middle grades math only. IEP paperwork has gotten to be too ridiculous, and in the school year I'm about to wrap up, I've gone home crying more times than I can count from all the stress. I have experience teaching middle grades math, but only with special ed kids. I have not ever had my own room with regular kids. The closest experience I have to teaching regular kids is having done special ed inclusion within a regular math class. I attended a local job fair a couple weeks ago, and already did one interview that was a direct result of that, but I didn't get the job. Next week, I have another interview scheduled for a 7th grade math position. At my first interview, it was a committee of the principal, two assistant principals, and a teacher whose team I would be on had I gotten hired. They asked me why I wanted to leave special ed, and I said that I enjoy teaching math and I wanted to be able to do it without the additional burden of IEP paperwork. Everyone there smiled and nodded and the regular teacher present even responded by saying she herself had left special ed for that reason, but I'm not sure if that was the "right" answer because they didn't choose me. I'm guessing I will be asked this at every other interview I have before next year starts, so how would you answer that in a way that doesn't sound negative, but is honest? I'm not concerned with getting interviews--the school district where I live has 350 teaching jobs posted right now, and my resume got me hired on the spot for my current position, but I don't want to have to teach special ed again next year.  Edited to add: I had an honest chat with my current boss (principal) and he is supportive of me in trying to switch roles--it's just that I'm not certified in anything I can teach at my current high school, so he can't move me to another department, so he told me it's not a problem if I use him as a reference, and all that good stuff. It's just a matter of making other principals willing to hire me outside of special ed. *sigh* Hip Hoptimus Prime fucked around with this message at May 12, 2013 around 20:36 |
| # ? May 12, 2013 20:30 |
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I just had a phone interview with a certain medical device company in the greater Boston area. I was originally contacted by a recruiter that presented the job to me as an analyst-type position, and being that I am a Biomedical Engineer, I got interested and asked to be considered for the job. Right up until a couple days ago or so it became apparent that this was a contract for what's effectively a call center/complaint taking position  There was no real opportunity to get involved with product design and development, and as far as I can tell the only reason they liked me was because I had a bioengineering degree and "would understand the workings of the medical devices" that I'd be taking calls for.Am I being unreasonable in thinking that this is kind of disappointing? It's kinda lovely to be told "I really like your device design experience and your biomedical background and your shiny new degree!!!" and then being asked to do customer service. Maybe I'm just an rear end in a top hat Millenial douchebag, but this is kinda demeaning.
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| # ? May 13, 2013 15:37 |
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At least you know in advance. I was flat-out lied to about what my current job would be. Just pass and keep moving.
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| # ? May 13, 2013 15:41 |
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I would at least find out if its really just call center with no hope of advancement, or if a more technical position and that's how they start out all new engineers so they get some familiarity with the products and problems. I.e. doing tech support for an MRI machine is a bit different than doing it for AOL.
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| # ? May 13, 2013 15:47 |
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"There have been people working there for a very long time and they're happy with their position! No, I don't think there's any way for you to become involved with the design engineers or any of the product management groups. It's not the kind of position where you stay for 6-12 months and move on, even though it says right there '6-12 month contract position'. Oh, but definitely take it if you want to break into your field!" Yeah no. gently caress you. edit: What pisses me off the most is, know what the name of the position was? "Product Analyst". Yeah. That sure is accurate and descriptive. 
Pollyanna fucked around with this message at May 13, 2013 around 16:02 |
| # ? May 13, 2013 15:52 |
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I just got a job at an ISP as tech support for 30K a year + bonuses + bennies. I also was selected for an interview for a highly competitive Creative Communications program for my secondary diploma. The hiring rate for graduates from this program in the field is 95%, but unfortunately the program has an acceptance rate of 15%-20% with a dropout/fail rate of ~50%. I had to write an entrance test, submit a portfolio of my work and now undergo an interview. My plan is to work the tech support job part time, while going to school fulltime. The company likes to hire internally, so my goal is to move up to PR/Advertising once I graduate. I'm graduating in a week with a BA in Philosophy.
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| # ? May 13, 2013 21:18 |
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evensevenone posted:You're doing something wrong in your search or not looking the right places. For entry-level engineering the bulk of recruiting is probably through campus career centers. Do you still have access to yours? It's also often a slower process where they gather applications throughout the year and then do interviews a few months before people graduate. Yeah I had access to it up until I graduated and unfortunately there were almost no opportunities in aerospace (mostly EE and CS). The subscription cost is a little high for my unemployed self but I've done some paid tutoring recently so I'll probably have access to it by the end of the month. I can still set up in-person career counseling so I might do that in a couple weekends. quote:Have you just gone through all the big employers and applied for all the generic "new grad" positions? I.e Boeing, SpaceX, Northrup, Lockheed etc? They all hire hundreds or thousands of people a year just to cover attrition. Yep, no luck in any of the big aerospace corporations. I have some contacts in Boeing and Lockheed that I've kept correspondence with since last year and they've tried to get my name out there for any positions that I apply to. I've been told I'm a good interview so I've just been hoping that I'll at least be able to get in the front door somewhere. I've also tried the government/Lockheed positions out at the air force bases in SoCal. quote:There are also bazillions of smaller suppliers but they're harder to find and usually hire via recruitment agencies just because they don't have the resources to send recruiters out to campuses. Whenever I talk to someone in a larger company I'll ask who their main suppliers are for components and contracted work but almost always they'll not be hiring. Operating Rod posted:The northeast is no slouch for defense contractors. I have no idea what aerospace engineering needs a GE Aerospace or United Technologies have up here, but those companies dominate local industry. For UTC alone Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney, and United Technologies Aerospace Systems all have a ton of employees here. Northeast is a little far for me now but my sister does live in Boston so it's not completely out of the question. I don't have pms but if you're ok with email, daymanahha@gmail.com. If the NE does become a possibility I'd love to get some insight on the area.
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| # ? May 13, 2013 22:53 |
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THE RED MENACE posted:Northeast is a little far for me now but my sister does live in Boston so it's not completely out of the question. I don't have pms but if you're ok with email, daymanahha@gmail.com. If the NE does become a possibility I'd love to get some insight on the area. Check your email. I'm a finance person, not engineering, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you have or help out if I can.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 15:46 |
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I'm not sure if this fits the thread but I don't know where else to ask it. I'm leaving my chemistry graduate program next month with a Master's so I'm also looking around for entry-level jobs, or one step above that. I've bled LinkedIn and a couple of chemistry-specific job sites dry over the past few months with only one on-site interview to show for it. I'm looking for jobs in a certain region so that I can move in with my GF, who has a year+ to go in a PhD program, so I've started looking at Craigslist in her area for chemistry jobs. Part-time, full-time, anything to help build my experience level and resume. Is there anything I should bear in mind or watch out for when job-hunting on Craigslist? Does anyone in this thread have success or horror stories related to Craigslist job-hunting?
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| # ? May 14, 2013 19:03 |
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THE RED MENACE posted:Yep, no luck in any of the big aerospace corporations. I have some contacts in Boeing and Lockheed that I've kept correspondence with since last year and they've tried to get my name out there for any positions that I apply to. I've been told I'm a good interview so I've just been hoping that I'll at least be able to get in the front door somewhere. I've also tried the government/Lockheed positions out at the air force bases in SoCal.
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| # ? May 15, 2013 00:12 |
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swenblack posted:Is military an option for you? That's what I did when I was in your shoes a decade ago, and have never regretted it. If not, take any engineering job you can find in any field. Once you have 4-5 years of experience and a masters degree, you'll have no problem getting a job in aerospace. Something else you might look at is the Defense Contract Management Agency, which falls under DoD. You might be able to do that as a civilian. I am not clear on what the specifics are, but they have engineers that inspect and accept shipments from contractors on behalf of the government. When I was a co-op I used to have to sit around and wait for inspectors to sign their DD250s before I could recognize sales against the associated project, because that's how our revenue recognition worked.
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| # ? May 16, 2013 12:05 |
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I have a spectacularly dumb question. I'm looking into positions that require managing events, and while I'm pretty good at it (I'd like to think), I don't do it very much anymore. The last time I organized a large event was probably back in 2006 through Girl Scouts when I received my Silver Award. I'm apprehensive to put it anywhere on my resume or cover letter because I don't want it to sound like a cop out, but I feel it's a really good example of my capabilities to manage and work in a group. Do you guys just leave that poo poo off?
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| # ? May 17, 2013 12:54 |
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My first thought is to put it in your cover letter.
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| # ? May 17, 2013 13:02 |
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I'd include it if you don't have a lot of professional experience. To make it sound like serious business, quantify what you did with numbers: Raised $5000 for Local Charity by defining and directing a 400 man-hour effort.
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| # ? May 17, 2013 14:20 |
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Yeah, I was thinking of putting it into my cover letter, not the resume. I was a Girl Scout for 14 years (basically till I graduated high school), so it wasn't something I did when I was 10. We organized a big event for girls in the community and for a bunch of 16 year olds it was pretty impressive, haha.
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| # ? May 17, 2013 14:34 |
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Shnooks posted:I have a spectacularly dumb question. Depends on how big it is. I was a cadet flight sergeant in Civil Air Patrol during high school and never, ever mention it. My younger brother was squadron first sergeant and I think he even had his Spaatz or Mitchell award by the end (I forget what it was now). He never mentions it either.
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| # ? May 17, 2013 19:11 |
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So, moral question, I guess, according to my wife's adviser anyways; she's making a resume and is using these old vintage flowers she "bought" off Etsy on it. Like, apparently bought the rights to use the flowers. Her adviser says it's not moral to use them because she didn't design them. She's a graphic design student, by the way. Is it morally wrong to use a drawing you didn't make on your resume, or something? Her argument for using them is that graphic designers do not draw, they pull different elements together to make a design (or in this case, a resume).
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| # ? May 17, 2013 19:31 |
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As long as she would be comfortable explaining that in any interview she may get.
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| # ? May 17, 2013 19:41 |
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I've never heard of anyone using anything but fonts in a resume so the whole thing sounds weird and foreign to me.
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| # ? May 17, 2013 20:27 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 01:11 |
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swenblack posted:Is military an option for you? That's what I did when I was in your shoes a decade ago, and have never regretted it. If not, take any engineering job you can find in any field. Once you have 4-5 years of experience and a masters degree, you'll have no problem getting a job in aerospace. I've given it some thought (my Dad was a marine corps aviator and I lived on base for the first few years of my life). I actually was very very close to attending Air Force Academy but chickened out once my mother reminded me of the rigidity of military life. Today was pretty interesting though. I'd been talking to a friend of a friend who had open positions in an small architectural company for premit expediting and site investigation. He offered me a non-saleried job today which I accepted over the phone. I made it abundantly clear that if I was offered an engineering job from another company I would accept on the spot. To my surprise, he completely agreed and said he wouldn't hold it against me at all. Literally a second later I get a call from a major aerospace company.I had done interviews with them for a position they had dropped about a month ago. Turns out they've opened the position back up and want me to do another phone interview with the project manager to see if I'm still interested. I have a really good feeling about this as its the same project manager that did my in-person interviews. We got along really well in the interviews (same alma mater, same workstudy job in school) and I have a good friend from my school project groups who works there now. So yeah, what are the loving odds?
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| # ? May 17, 2013 21:13 |
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