Over the years, I have had an opportunity to observe many people during their job searches.  Most people are pretty careful about how they present themselves, but there are some glaring errors that have been deal breakers for even the most talented candidates.  An employer, called to say that he had selected the candidates that he would be interviewing for the a position that he had posted on JETX.  He indicated that he had received a number of cover letters that were so poorly written that he would not even consider interviewing the candidates.

Having errors in your cover letter or on your resume will instantly turn the employer off.  The resume and cover letter review is the first screening that an employer does of the potential candidate. Why should they waste any time on someone who cannot get it together on paper?   I had an alum who came to me wondering why he was unsuccessful in getting any interviews even though he had put in numerous applications.  After looking at his resume for about five seconds I noticed he had Microsoft spelled wrong... NEVER SEND ANYTHING WITHOUT PROOFING IT or having someone else proof your work.  Often times, we miss our own errors because we see what we expect to see, so solicit the help of someone who writes well.

Stumbling into an interview late is just plain rude and is not going to win you a job.  Always plan for unexpected delays and build plenty of time into your schedule.  Plan to arrive at your interview thirty minutes to an hour early. Even if there was a traffic jam, it is a lame excuse to present to an employer you have kept waiting. And if the employer is interviewing multiple people on a tight schedule, your interview will be cut short.

Arriving for an interview unprepared is a major mistake.  It shows a distinct lack of interest in the job and a basic disrespect for the person interviewing you.  Average preparation time for a successful interview is about six hours.  Figure you are studying for the ultimate final, the one that makes all of that education pay off. What is involved?  Well you need to know yourself thoroughly: list your goals, your greatest strengths, your interests, your related work experience.  Do an inventory of who you are.  Then do some research on the company.  Figure out what technical information you need to study.  Study old notes from past classes and find current articles on the company and the industry. Then, put it all together.  Why are you qualified for the position and what do you need to share about yourself in the interview to get the job?  Assemble a portfolio of your work to share with the interviewer.  Hewlett Packard,  for example,  expects to see samples of your work from your senior project or other significant projects you have worked on.

Rambling on in the interview about irrelevant information is a waste of the interviewer’s time.  I once worked with a graduate who had just finished his MS in EEE.  He was getting interviews but he was not getting any job offers at a time when everyone else was landing the jobs they wanted.   I had him come to my office prepared to be interviewed.  He came in dressed in his suit, with his resume and his portfolio, and a list of questions he was being asked.  I proceeded to interview him. I started our mock interview with "Tell me about yourself."  He responded that he had grown up on a farm in Patterson, and his performance went down hill from there.  

The employer wants you to tell him/her who you are relative to the job for which you are interviewing.  He started again and told me that he had built his first computer in a 4H club and that this experience had propelled him toward his engineering degree and a focus on electronic engineering and computer architecture.

Failure to maintain good grooming and personal appearance. A sloppy appearance in an interview indicates to the employer that you are careless and unprofessional. It is absolutely required that you have a professional looking interview outfit and that you maintain it by having it dry cleaned regularly.

Failure to maintain a positive attitude.  This is perhaps the hardest one to remember after you have been rejected by multiple employers. Reality is that it takes a minimum of three to six months to find a job.   Looking for a job is a full time job!  You will have to devote all of your efforts to the goal of getting a job if you expect to get results. You will have to be utterly positive for the entire search.  If you walk into an interview with a dejected look, you have blown the interview before you even open your mouth.  You must truly believe that you do not qualify to be permanently unemployed and that the perfect job will come along.  It will help if you burn off stress with some serious exercise plan that you execute each and every day.  Each and every time you walk into an interview, you must say to yourself: "If this job doesn’t come through, something better will."  And you must believe it!

Sweat the details and get help if you need it! 

Sponsored by the CSUS Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Hewlett Packard, Chevron, Sacramento Area Quality Association, ISSA & IEEE

HP plans to hire Software Engineers in the near future. Here is the description and qualifications as they will appear on the http://h10055.www1.hp.com/jobsathp website when they get posted.

hp has the world’s second largest computer research laboratory. We invent new technologies and innovative information products. Change markets. Create business opportunities.

We also help to plan and broaden company strategy, and deliver the science and technology that achieves it. And that gives hp leadership.

ProCurve Networking at hp is a world class networking business. We are developing a new class of network switch products to continue our rapid growth in the networking market. These products include a new generation of silicon technology, switch fabric architecture, and L2 and L3 switch software.

Procurve Software Engineers play lead roles in multi-discipline teams working on new products and solutions. This includes active involvement in product feature definition, hardware feature requirements, hardware bringup, customer documentation, future technology integration, and available software leverage. All projects involve coordination with internal and external development teams. Enabling others is as important as personal contribution. The primary function of the position is to design, implement, test and validate embedded software for network hardware systems offered by the ProCurve Networking Business.

This entry-level position is for a recent college graduate.

Bachelor’s (undergraduate), Master’s (graduate), or Ph.D. (post graduate) degree in a technical discipline (e.g. computer science, information technology, engineering, math, physics, etc.)

Experience and knowledge

• Understand fundamentals of operating systems and networking.
• Experience with software development tools and processes.
• Strong interpersonal, teamwork and communications skills.
• Solid understanding of software development principles.
• Programming experience in C.

• MS or advanced degree in CS/CE or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience developing and/or using networking products and protocols.
• Real time programming experience.
• Embedded systems programming experience (Greenhills/VxWorks/Tornado).
• Knowledge of ClearCase (Source Control Management).
• Unix/PC/Linux experience.

Students should definitely bring their resumes to the SW Conference on 10/10!

My name is Ryan Nakken. I took your class in the spring of 05 and graduated in Dec. I first want to say thank you. I used everything I learned from you, all your tips, techniques and examples to land a great job. Your class had such a great effect on me that I am now the one all my friends and family turn to for help writing resumes, searching for jobs, and to learn interview techniques.

Currently I work for Clark Pacific. We are a precast concrete company. You may be familiar with us. We did send representatives to your career fair earlier this year. Our company is expanding and right now we have openings for graduates with a Civil Engineering degree to become project engineers. Below is the job description:

Candidate will work on a single project at a time, seeing through completion. The engineer will work closely with an Assistant Project Manager or Project Manager on a daily basis performing the following duties:

• The design of form work used in the manufacturing of the concrete panels;
• Production planning including casting sequence and form change studies;
• Erection planning including hoisting and rigging requirements, erection sequence, and load lists;
• Coordination of our work with the ongoing work of other trades in the field;
• Miscellaneous field duties as a support person for the field superintendent during the erection of the panels;
• Field welding inspection
• Project closeout, including punch list resolution.

Requirements
Civil, Construction Management or Structural BS degree required.

Salary and Benefits
Salary Package ($50k - $72k D.O.E.), 401(k) with Matching, Medical, Dental, Vision, Flex Accounts, Travel per diem, Sacramento River Cats Luxury Box Season Ticket Holders, Sacramento Kings Basketball Season Ticket Holders, Private Gym Facility for Employees Only, Company Softball Team, Picnics, Parties, and many more perks.

Joining The Clark Pacific Team
We are looking to hire engineers interested in taking on the diverse set of challenges that face us every day in designing, producing, and erecting high-quality precast concrete. More than the number of years of work experience, as an engineering-driven company, we look for individuals with a hands-on, can-do attitude and a clear drive to do things right. Quality is job #1. We have got an excellent training program for engineers to get you off to the right start, and we strive from day one to help you be successful at Clark Pacific. If this is the kind of environment you’d like to thrive in, let’s talk.

If you know of any individuals whom fit the above description and have great communication skills, can deal with a variety of people, and are willing to do anything to get the job done please have their resumes forwarded to me via email. I am also available via phone.

We are looking to hire right away, so the individual will have needed to graduate already.

Thank you so much for your time and help.

It was great to talk to you today, SBM is very interested in working with CSUS and providing your students with the great opportunities that we have to offer. Below is some information about us and the opportunities we currently and generally offer. I would be very interested in having you post this information in the newsletter you mentioned as well as any recommendations you have for current students or alumni that you think might fit our needs. If there is anything else that I can provide please don’t hesitate to ask. Our CTO attended the job fair and spoke to several of your students.

Essentially we are an international facilities support services organization with operations in 3 countries and 37 states throughout the United States. SBM has been in business for over 25 years based out of Sacramento we currently employ over 5000 people. We provide services ranging from custodial services to recycling programs to full blown facilities management outsourcing to Fortune 100 level organizations. Some of our clients include Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Nationwide Insurance, Progressive Insurance, and Amgen to name a few. Our focus is on customer service and excellence in operations at every level of our organization. We offer competitive salaries and compensation packages as well as the potential for unlimited growth.

SBM is an entrepreneurial company in a phase of intense growth, requiring a bench of skilled, experienced managers. In response to this need, these positions will focus on the development of recent college graduates that are willing to work hard and train in the skills needed for their own advancement as well as the continued success of SBM.

As a followup to the message I left on your phone, attached is the California Energy Commission Exam Application for the Senior Electrical Engineer exam. For people that are not familiar with the process, the Energy Commission offers exams like this for specific classifications. Some exams are limited to active state employees and some are open to all qualified candidates who want to apply even if they have not worked for State of California previously. This exam is an open exam.

Please sent out this exam announcement as widely as possible throughout your CSUS network.

Here are a few items that may be of interest to potential candidates:

1. The state completes a two step process for employment. First the exam is offered and given. Based on the qualifications on the attached application, an applicant must complete the appropriate forms and list their qualifications on the state forms. A review committee will review all applications submitted and determine which meet the minimum qualifications. Those that are qualified will be schedule for the exam which is basically an interview process. For people new to this process, please guide them to the State Personnel web site and there is a wealth of information on how the process works. Here is one of the links that can provide more information http://www.spb.ca.gov/jobs/apply/index.htm
2. Once the exams are all complete, all exam applicants will be provided the results of their exam and the successful applicants are ranked based on how they scored.
3. Once the list of successful candidates is release, the Energy Commission will arrange interviews base on best qualified individuals on the lists for actual open Senior Electrical Engineer positions.
4. There is contact information on the attached exam announcement for individuals to call if they have questions.
5. The Senior Electrical Engineer salary range is from $8115 to $9850 plus all normal state personnel benefits are additional so this is a very competitive opportunity. We are hoping for a lot of applicants.
6. The timing is somewhat short as all exam applications must be submitted by October 23rd.
7. This exam has not been given is several years so this is a real golden opportunity.
8. If you have individuals who have questions about the Energy Commission, they can review our web site at http://www.energy.ca.gov

The exact number of openings at the Energy Commission will not be know until they are actually advertised by the Energy Commission offices with specific needs. We do expect to have several openings to fill from this list.

Please direct your questions to the contacts in personnel in the attached exam announcement.

The web link for the Senior Electrical Engineer exam announcement is: http://www.energy.ca.gov/careers/exams.html

Thanks for the help.

Job opportunities with California state government agencies require competitive testing and application process, so applying for these jobs can sometimes be confusing. If you have never been employed in a permanent position by the State of California, you must take an exam before applying for any current job opening. Listed below are just a few of the exams that are currently open.

To apply and take the above exams online, visit https://exams.spb.ca.gov/exams/exam_start.cfm

Employers are hiring from the resumes posted on our web site at http://www.ecs.csus.edu/career. If you have not already posted your resume on the ECS Career Services Office Web Site, now is the time!!!  Just click on the Post Your Resume button!

Managers from local companies, including HP and Intel report contacting candidates through the system.  If you are not on the system they cannot find you.  

Students are reporting multiple offers from using a combination of the resume posting service, the JETX job listings, and from Job Fairs.  

Employers are able to search your resume now with key words!

I also send resumes out to companies so send me a soft copy in MS Word at: cici@csus.edu

The College of Engineering and Computer Science Needs Your Data

Please report any offers that you have received to ECS Career Services Web site:

http://www.ecs.csus.edu/career - click on the "Just Hired" link.

If you got a student position we need your data.  

If you have graduated in the past few years or if you are graduating this semester we need your data.  

The information you share is used for ABET reports and to help me identify trends in employment and salaries.

I keep your info confidential.  I only report the data!  I use your contact data to confirm and to keep in touch with you.