Job Searching

Since I’m graduating in a few months, I’ve just started my job search in earnest. There’s nothing more tedious than filling out my work and educational history into the exact same form on a dozen different company websites. I’m not really worried that I won’t find a job (EE is a pretty good field at the moment) but finding a good job in a big city is a little harder. I’m seeing a lot fewer positions in NYC than I expected.

Post all job search gripes (or good news) here.

Here’s my resume if anyone feels like critiquing it: https://1drv.ms/w/s!AggYK7s2gLBgxUKrSbIpgcxoGuzx

Don’t feel like dressing it up is futile.
Looking at the document should be pleasant if you want more eyes to stay on it. Feel free to put colours, headings of different size and colour, hyperlinks, tables and lines if it improves readability. Remember it tends to be kept in a PDF state and then they print it out as a prompter for the interview.

How about a summary paragraph at the top (considering many employers don’t even look at cover pages these days).
Summary Experience, Education, Publications, Skills, Interests / Activities maybe in the ordering?
Also what level of programming proficiency, I guess since my resume was for developer positions I would list how well versed I was in each language. Also I’d recommend putting a Github link if you have a portfolio of some kind which has personal projects and what not. Currently I can’t tell if you’re as good at Python as you are at C and Java. How much of Microsoft Office do you know, is it the same amount as Matlab? The skills area doesn’t really sell you very well. I assume the same can be said of hardware but that’s not within my profession.

You can go to two pages ok, I was of the mind to restrict myself to 1 page and had to eventually go to 1 page and a third to just fit in the granularity of my skills (which should be a pretty big selling point).

I left in a LinkedIn link for very granular detail about experience, education and experience so those portions were limited to a few lines.

Currently I feel as if leaving all the white space on the left is doing you a disservice.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand about online job applications, it’s those damn surveys they require you to fill out. They have about a hundred questions and ask you moral quandries (some of which actually contradict your previous answers) and they’re extremely stressful and tiresome. I thought we saved this sort of stuff for the interview. Just a few days ago, I tried filling out a form for a local startup and they required that I answer their questions in video form. WTF?! Sure, just let me shill out $1000+ for an HD camera and some expensive editing software, then I’ll get back to you. Fuck off.

Whenever I go job hunting, I try to avoid online applications as much as possible. It’s nice to just walk in, grab a paper application, and just fill it out with my basic info at my leisure, then just turn it back in and schedule an interview later. That’s the way the process should go. Unfortunately, it’s getting harder to find them nowadays.

I ended up getting hired in this manner but from a company that was exclusively seeking graduates through the agency. If a job is available through an agency and they advertise on their own, don’t use the agency as they will likely take 10% of your first year of income as a fee.

The guy that represented me did his own interview and was able to sell me fairly easily, to the point that he was surprised when multiple employers were booking interviews and an uptight CEO who usually never contacts him made sure to get me, it allowed me to also dictate a higher salary. All the recruiter wanted in return was a Linkedin recommendation (becaue he obviously made off with 10% of my first year’s salary lol).

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That’s what I meant, I only found out they paid a 10% fee because I became friends with the people who hired me, otherwise I shouldn’t really know.

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For NYC did you try the public sector?
MTA Port Authority and the City Government are some ideas.

You could also take the FE Exam. If you want to apply for public sector jobs or someday get licensed as a Professional Engineer this is a good time to take it (when you are in school).

To be honest your resume needs some work. It was a little hard to understand the descriptions. Having another person proofread would be very helpful. Put your personal email on your resume unless your school allows you to keep it for life.
Analog multimeters are not really relevant enough to mention on a resume. Mention more specifics about the equipment you know how to use. What types of FPGAs have you worked with including the language. What problem/s required the use of an fpga?
What types of thermal measuring equipment do you know how to use (based on your expedience with pyroelectric materials)?
Finally the question that you will be asked many many times.
What is your senior design project?

Good luck! I have a job but hate it, so I’m on the hunt, too. You’re right, filling out applications is pretty exhausting!

Stick some lines between the different sections. It’s more aesthetically pleasing, and it makes it easier to read (do not underestimate how much that can help or hurt you; you do not want your potential boss to feel like reading your resume is a chore).

I was Strongly Advised by someone in one of the companies where I was applying to put an Objective section on my resume. What are you looking for (beyond “a job”) and why do you want it (beyond “because money is good”).

I also recommend adding a line to your Activities page saying why they’re important. Your electrical engineering boss is going to care 0% about your black belt unless you advocate that it shows your commitment, leadership, ability to work with others, etc. Similarly, no one cares about high school, so cut those parts unless they are really relevant (I am not in your field, so I’m not the best judge of what’s relevant, but let’s say if you’re applying to a job working with robots, keep it; if not, maybe think about cutting it to make room for more important information).

Do try to keep it to one page if possible, even if that means adjusting margins etc. Don’t make the font tiny, though. Again, you don’t want it to be difficult to read. I agree with sK0pe; all the white space on the left is a waste of room that you could be filling with information about how awesome you are. Make the heading be above and at the same margin as the text. (Am I describing that right? Like this:
EXPERIENCE
Army Research Lab…etc)
That way those lines will take up less space and you can fit more stuff in.

Spelling is important, e.g., for thread titles.

You want to show that you’re smart and get things done. Your resume should make you look competent and worth having a phone interview with. It can be quirky in a spot or two; that’s a good prompt for someone to start asking questions.

  1. For each item, you’re going to want a quick verbal summary that says something interesting that also provides a possible interviewer prompt or lead to another question.

  2. Any cool final projects related to your degree? List 'em. The bulk of your experience is your degree, and you need to make it sound impressive.

  3. “CQL Apprentice (Electrical Engineering)” I have no idea what CQL is and a quick google search didn’t turn anything relevant; if it’s worth explaining, expand the acronym. Leave out (EE) because it’s super obvious unless that’s actually part of your job title, and maybe leave it out even then. Leave out “Also”, too. You said what you did but did anything interesting come of it? Did you do anything independently or without direct supervision, here or in the other jobs? Is “February – July 2016, January 2017” really “Spring 2016, Spring 2017”?

  4. If you’re going to call it Diebold, Inc. at least put the period in Inc. Don’t put etc.; etc. is obvious. “Assigned to assist” should be “assist” but better. Did anything come of it? Was the cabling or whatever for anything cool?

  5. Maybe leave off Tutor? It was a while ago. If keeping it, consider an explicit list of classes (especially if they sound cool). Just call it RIT; they should know what that is and it’ll make that line shorter and look better.

  6. Does the ISAF symposium really need the date range?

  7. I tend to break down software by competency/expertise. Can you do basic coding/interview problem with each of these? If not, don’t list it.

  8. Honestly, I’d either leave out “Oscilloscope, Digital/Analog Multimeter, Function Generator, … Soldering” or add a “(duh)” or something afterwards. Really, you want something that says Analog/Digital Lab Equipment or the like, then skip to the good stuff and leave out the basics. This should list skills for that reiterates the work you did for your cool degree projects.

  9. These awards are from High School. Drop ‘em. Deans’ List if you really want to keep it should be under your degree.

  10. Capitalize Member, Practiced, Second-Degree Black Belt, Present—all of it. These things are cool and you’re proud of them, so make them stand out. Puff up your President responsibilities—I’m sure you had to lead meetings and such. Robotics is cool but kind of a while ago.

  11. I like a Hobbies section that tells me you’re human.

  12. You’ve got a sloppy mix of en dash and regular dash for date ranges. Be consistent and double check when editing. Personally, I’d have your street address align with the left margin like your other headings.

I guess that’s what I get for doing a rush conversion from a co-op resume to a big-boy job resume. I threw the whole thing out and started over and it’s looking a bit better now https://1drv.ms/w/s!AggYK7s2gLBgxUz9WXn61fzAtjRu

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Much better. However I still don’t know what your senior design project does.
There needs to be a clear project name that includes a description. For example Flow Measurement for Plant Growth versus Research Flow Measurement Device.
Leaving some details for the interview about your senior design is good but the person looking at your resume may not know what xerography is let alone any details.
Also you might want to add some unique skills especially considering your less common experience with pyroelectic devices. You want to stand out a little.
Avoid words like “only” and “simple”. Use words that convey responsibility and complexity. Primary or sole instead of only. Initial testing rather then simple programs.

So my boss just asked me if I knew anyone in Australia, apparently in and around Sidney NSW. Apparently we’re looking for someone there who can do both my job and can do the job of some of my colleges in the same dept. Pay is good though so I’d take it were I down under. Anyway his exact words were “do you have any friends in Australia?” I think so, if membership on this forum counts as friendship. so…

There must be no craigslist AU (heathens) so it’s on Indeed, https://au.indeed.com/cmp/Virtual-Knowledge/jobs/Technical-Support-Operation-Manager-3850dff55e3c2bd9

There is a craigslist AU, it’s just used for extremely questionable prostitution, adbots, and drug deals like 90% of the time. Gumtree is the place you want to post, which despite the name, started in the UK.

Sadly, I’m not in Sydney, and absolutely not qualified unless you’ve a very different job description to what I remember anyway, but I know some folk I’ll pass it around to, and might throw it on the faceballs.

Obliged man, though I’m betting you could just because I’ve found raw intelligence/problem solving skills aka smart people is worth its weight in gold and worth way more than skills. You’re smart people.

Either way, this position is way out in a different part of the company I rarely deal with. Even so, recommendations from here come with my personal recommendation. Whatever that ends up meaning.

For any “punk kids” who want to work with the online video game.

http://screenwavemedia.com/careers/

Need to go to Philly every now and then?

Well they have a convention there in the summer which isn’t that bad reason to go to a city. I know many people who are on this MCN and can say they are legit good in what they do.

Also there HQ is in Philly area (outside of it in the burbs) that would make the most amount of sense.

A heads up to those who are good at social media things.

Today I had a phone interview that I thought went kinda bad, but an hour later I heard back that they want to bring me in for a final interview. Plus three different reached out to me about other positions today, so everything’s coming up Milhouse.

Still can’t find a place I even WANT to interview at.

Every place is either awful silicon valley culture and/or evil product/industry.

e.g: Got an email from a place that seemed great, oh wait. They are in the high frequency trading business. NOPE.

I graduated in May and since the place place I was going to work at rescinded the offer after my security clearance was delayed, I haven’t had a job in my field since my internships. I’m not in a position to be picky.

That being said the place actually seems pretty cool other than location (central MA). It’s like 10 people total between labs and manufacturing, and I’d be a proper engineer building and testing lasers.