Cobham Career Open-House

I have had the pleasure of working with Cobham for many years and prior to that when it was Remec.  I’ve always been impressed by the ability to be consistent both in its engineering ingenuity and generation of revenue.   

During its history I can’t recall any turmoil even during recessionary times (such as this one).

There is no question that this is a great environment for anyone seeking to hang his/her hat in a stable productive company.

Cobham is hosting a Career Open-House on Tuesday, May 18 from 5-7PM.  Do your best to attend!  If you can’t attend apply through their website:  http://careers.cobhamdes.com/sandiego/.  RF Jobs Today wishes you success.

“Recession 101″

‘Recession 101’ and Your Career

There is no doubt that the economy has affected the industry. Jobs have been lost, careers shattered and the financial status of many is crushed. But, the one good thing I have learned from the “Recession 101 Class” is that recessions are a test and they are never final. Recessions really do end.

Had we better monitoring and control over our economic/financial condition we very well may not have been in the precarious situation of the past months. What have we learned from this? Could this ever happen again? If it did what action would I take to ameliorate the consequences? These questions are very real and not only reflect the
economy but one’s career. Most importantly, the answers to these questions are those that every individual should have prepared way in advance.

One can easily become a victim of the recession via layoff. The time to avert career disaster is before the potentiality of a catastrophe. Do you have a well-planned primary career objective with goals, time-lines, as well as a backup plan given the primary plan isn’t achieved? The individuals most likely to be successful in achieving the goals and objectives are those with clearly defined career objectives who don’t wait for success to
come to them. They are not complacent; they are proactive. A career plan is not just for the unemployed; it is just as important for those individuals currently employed.

If you’re fortunate enough to be employed have you evaluated your employer’s plan and status? So many people are surprised when they are told the ‘company is in trouble’ and their job is tenuous. A regularly scheduled assessment of the company’s status and evaluation of your relationship to it is highly recommended. Ask questions of your employer and decide if the answers are those which indicate a mutual compatibility and probability of continued success. The assessment should include research on the company’s financial condition, the market for the product/services produced, and whether or not your role within the company meets yours and your employer’s needs.

Recessions require that employers evaluate who is an asset. Contributors whose work benefits the company will stay. And, included in the evaluation is whether the contributor’s personality continues to ‘fit’ the company’s specific culture. While working on your plan ask yourself whether you are truly an asset. Be honest with yourself including the effectiveness of your individual personality, work habits, etc., ‘fit in’ with that of your employer. Your plan and answers to these questions can help you avert negative consequences.

Three critical words in a career evaluation are plan, focus, and act.

Last, but not least, recessions are a test not an end!

STATE OF THE LABOR MARKET REPORT

You may think the economy is less than desired and that may be true.  But the labor market in the RF/Microwave/Wireless industry is still in positive territory.  As always [even in bustling economies] there are companies who aren’t faring well and not hiring.  Today, we find that more companies are seeking qualified talent.  All you have to do is check our homepage, www.rfjobstoday.com.  Companies such as Anaren, Cobham, Trak, L-3 Interstate Electronics, Cree, Sage Laboratories, Aethercomm, Microsemi, Comtech, Frequency Electronics and Draper Laboratories are looking…just click the logo on the homepage to review their postings.  Good Luck!  …More to come.

The Dynamics of Postings

There are two major factors in  writing an effective job posting 1. publicizing the job posting, and 2.screening the job applications. This article focuses on the first of these job posting steps.

Your first goal in writing an effective job posting is ensuring that it attracts the right type of person. Of course, what is ‘right’ is completely dependent on your specific business needs and requirements.  Having said that, concision and understanding of what you  require in a future employee will increase the probabilities of an effective  selection process.  In a nutshell, by sharing what your businesses’ specific operational requirements are for the job posting, you are telling all applicants of the pertinent expectations, therefore saving yourself hours of slogging through resumes reading inappropriate applications.

I always suggest that the title be specific.  Don’t just write “Electrical Engineer”.  Instead be more specific such as RF Engineer, RF Engineer-Filter Design, etc..

It is important to explain (in 1-3 lines) your organization’s mission, values, and what it’s like to work for the company.

Give LIFE to your posting.  Explain the important tasks in a more than factual manner.  Indicate how the contributions made by the future employee will impact the company.  Make it sound enticing and exciting.

Thoroughly explain the qualifications needed by thinking about an individual in the organization who has successfully succeeded.  Write those skills, personality traits and qualifications that have enabled the success of this employee and this section of the posting will help achieve your desired results.

Indicate both the perks and condition of employment.  As for the perks, choose those that will most attract prospective candidates.  And, be sure to list the conditions of employment such as the potential for criminal checks, credit report checks, certifications, etc.

Age and Job Searching

Job Hunting for the Older Person

I recently received a question (from our website) from this individual who is having a problem seeking a new position because he is older.  He asked what he could do to increase his probabilities. I wish I could say that’s an easy question to answer given our youth oriented culture. There are some answers.  Manyolder workers are returning to the workforce especially as contractors saving corporations money.  Some of them return as full-time and some return as part-time.  Having been in the business of staffing for almost thirty years I can tell you it is most important not to show anything on the resume that relates to age. This includes dates of graduations, dates of positions that go back more than ten years, and using out of date wording such as “Seasoned Professional”.

Use your resume as a tool to get your foot in the door but,  if it hints of representing you an ‘older worker’ probabilities of being called in for an interview decrease.  

A strong,positive, and determined focus is necessary as is your ability to remain confident and unyielding about your skills and abilities.

Hang in there…good luck!

Benson Evans

Companies Are Still Hiring:

It’s easy to become down and dejected in this job market.  However, there are still many companies who are hiring despite the economic conditions of today.  Just take a look at the openings we have on www.rfjobstoday.com.  Aethercomm, L-3 Interstate Electronics, ComtechXicom, Cobham and more are hiring.  Make sure you review the requisitions and submit your resumes!  RF Jobs Today is a specific and niche job board especially focused on simply matching jobs with talent.

It’s a different market today; refine your resume.

The 2009 job market is very different from job markets of the past. If you haven’t job-hunted in a while, the changes in the landscape can throw you for a loop.

One of the biggest changes is the shift in what constitutes a fundamentally strong resume. Years ago, we could dig into the Resume Boilerplate grab-bag and pull out a phrase to fill out a sentence or bullet point on our resume. Everybody used the same boilerplate phrases, so we knew we couldn’t go wrong choosing one of them — or many — to throw into your resume.

Things have changed. Stodgy boilerplate phrases in your resume today mark you as uncreative and “vocabulary challenged.” You can make yours more compelling and human-sounding by rooting out and replacing the boring corporate-speak phrases that litter it, and replacing them with human language — things that people like you or me would actually say.

Here are the worst 10 boilerplate phrases — the ones to seek out and destroy in your resume as soon as possible:

• Results-oriented professional
• Cross-functional teams
• More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
• Superior (or excellent) communication skills
• Strong work ethic
• Met or exceeded expectations
• Proven track record of success
• Works well with all levels of staff
• Team player
• Bottom-line orientation

You can do better. What about adding a human voice to your resume? Here’s an example:

“I’m a Marketing Researcher who’s driven by curiosity about why people buy what they do. At XYZ Industries, I used consumer surveys and online-forum analysis to uncover the reasons why consumers chose our competitors over us; our sales grew twenty percent over the next six months as a result. I’m equally at home on sales calls or analyzing data in seclusion, and up to speed on traditional and new-millennium research tools and approaches. I’m fanatical about understanding our marketplace better every day, week and month — and have helped my employers’ brands grow dramatically as a result.”

You don’t have to write resumes that sound like robots wrote them. A human-voiced resume is the new black — try it!

ComTech-Xicom Continues To Grow Despite the Downturn!

Not all companies are riding the downturn. Com-Tech Xicom continues to grow. About Xicom Technology, Inc.:
Xicom Technology is a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq:CMTL), was established in 1991 and is a technology leader in the development and manufacturing of high power amplifier products for worldwide commercial and military SATCOM markets. Amplifiers include traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs), solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) and klystron power amplifiers (KPAs) operating in a wide range of communication frequencies. Amplifier products are available for fixed location and mobile applications and are packaged in rack-mount and antenna-mount ODU configurations. Check www.rfjobstoday.com for their opening.