How to get a job (or not)

[caketastydelish]

I finally got a job. It wasn’t the job I was originally talking about, but a job is a job. I report to work tomorrow for my first day.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Jobs can be good things to have.

 

[rah]

Congrats, an hopefully you'll still have a positive opinion on the subject 90 days from now.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I finally got a job. It wasn’t the job I was originally talking about, but a job is a job. I report to work tomorrow for my first day.

So after two days, how's it going?

 

[caketastydelish]

I worked Sunday but don't get back to work until Tuesday. The first day was alright.

 

[GenMarshall]

I was looking though indeed and I became interested in the electronics assembler position. I’ve come across a few issues even before moving forward to apply.

The last time I ever done anything electronics related was in high school 15ish years ago (ergo, haven’t touched a sodering iron in 15 years). Are there any resources to get me up to speed at the basic level? I’ve only recently gotten reinterested into electronics after having to replace my hard disk drive and upgrading my video card.

I’ve larely have some office admin background and retail background from a hardware store and I don’t have the slightest clue on where to narrow down any sort of relevant transferable skills.

Should I leave off my worthless degrees off my Resume and Job Application? I’m asking since my co-worker suggested that I don’t list my college degrees in my job application.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I was looking though indeed and I became interested in the electronics assembler position. I’ve come across a few issues even before moving forward to apply.

The last time I ever done anything electronics related was in high school 15ish years ago (ergo, haven’t touched a sodering iron in 15 years). Are there any resources to get me up to speed at the basic level? I’ve only recently gotten reinterested into electronics after having to replace my hard disk drive and upgrading my video card.

I’ve larely have some office admin background and retail background from a hardware store and I don’t have the slightest clue on where to narrow down any sort of relevant transferable skills.

Should I leave off my worthless degrees off my Resume and Job Application? I’m asking since my co-worker suggested that I don’t list my college degrees in my job application.

To begin, what are the job requirements in the ad? If there are none there, you should check with the company to see what they are expecting an applicant to know if they will be serious considered. Also you might check with a local Community College to see what skills are typically required for such jobs. Once you know what they are expecting in good candidates, you can compare your skills to those and maybe seek out some training to fill in gaps.


Is the position entry level?
Do you know the name of the company? Can you figure it out?
How local is it? Could you drive by it? Could you talk to someone who works there?
Does the company provide any training?

Depending upon what you find out, you might want at least to de-emphasize your degree if not leave it off.

The very tight job market may give you some advantages. Do some digging and report back!

 

[GenMarshall]

To begin, what are the job requirements in the ad? If there are none there, you should check with the company to see what they are expecting an applicant to know if they will be serious considered. Also you might check with a local Community College to see what skills are typically required for such jobs. Once you know what they are expecting in good candidates, you can compare your skills to those and maybe seek out some training to fill in gaps.

Well, here's a snippit of the job description

Performs production assembly operations on electronic or electro-mechanical components or sub-assemblies.

1. Performs electronic or electro-mechanical production subassembly and assembly operations to build up and assemble units of moderate complexity such as printed circuit boards, modules, chassis drawers, cable harnesses, and other electronic sub-assemblies.

2. Uses visual aids, wiring lists, schematics, blueprints, and verbal and written instructions to assemble, modify, rework or reassemble units.

3. Identifies and selects components to be integrated into subassembly and assembly units.

4. Participates in special projects as required.

Is the position entry level?

Well, it can't get any closer to entry level with the minimum education requirements lists "High School Diploma or GED". I'm just concerned that my useless degrees would hurt me and lump me into the overqualified pile.

It's how I can translate my 4 years of retail (in a big box hardware store) and 4 years of office administration (basically, secretarial work) into 1-3 years of related assembly experience for a resume is my sticking point. I may have some exposure with electronics assembly by taking an electronics course in High School, but I feel it's outdated aside from the bare bones basics of using a soldering tool and a multimeter. Non-formal education largely came from watching YouTube videos of other people doing their own projects (mostly refurbishing old vintage computers or emulating them with Raspberry Pi) and my own experiences from diagnosing my own computer to replace a faulty piece of hardware (like a year ago when my HDD was corrupting itself cause it's aging and replaced it) or upgrading (like a video card). So I'm not sure how DIY projects can help since it's more from a self-taught avenue instead of a formal route like taking a class.

Do you know the name of the company? Can you figure it out?
How local is it? Could you drive by it?

In a weird way, the company is part of a conglomerate (It's a defense contractor) which another company I tried to get a job into but failed epicly in my interviews belongs to.

Does the company provide any training?

If I do land an interview, it's gonna be part of my questions to ask. Though I don't want to scare the interviewer/hiring manager that I plan on going into something like an electrical engineer. That sort of overachivement goal bite me in the butt when I had in a previous interview that I said that "I plan to go back to school to become a draftsman/engineer" when it came to my five year plan. A mentorship program of some sort is becoming my big importance as part of training since I don't like being left in the cracks to fend on my own in terms of career growth and development within the company (Tired of the empty promises that big box stores say that you can advance when in reality just care about their bottom line and only pick from the best of the crop in the retail world). Since I do like any sort of training that would lead me advancement within the company. I don't expect to be a grand master at day one.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Well, here's a snippit of the job description



Well, it can't get any closer to entry level with the minimum education requirements lists "High School Diploma or GED". I'm just concerned that my useless degrees would hurt me and lump me into the overqualified pile.

It's how I can translate my 4 years of retail (in a big box hardware store) and 4 years of office administration (basically, secretarial work) into 1-3 years of related assembly experience for a resume is my sticking point. I may have some exposure with electronics assembly by taking an electronics course in High School, but I feel it's outdated aside from the bare bones basics of using a soldering tool and a multimeter. Non-formal education largely came from watching YouTube videos of other people doing their own projects (mostly refurbishing old vintage computers or emulating them with Raspberry Pi) and my own experiences from diagnosing my own computer to replace a faulty piece of hardware (like a year ago when my HDD was corrupting itself cause it's aging and replaced it) or upgrading (like a video card). So I'm not sure how DIY projects can help since it's more from a self-taught avenue instead of a formal route like taking a class.


In a weird way, the company is part of a conglomerate (It's a defense contractor) which another company I tried to get a job into but failed epicly in my interviews belongs to.


If I do land an interview, it's gonna be part of my questions to ask. Though I don't want to scare the interviewer/hiring manager that I plan on going into something like an electrical engineer. That sort of overachivement goal bite me in the butt when I had in a previous interview that I said that "I plan to go back to school to become a draftsman/engineer" when it came to my five year plan. A mentorship program of some sort is becoming my big importance as part of training since I don't like being left in the cracks to fend on my own in terms of career growth and development within the company (Tired of the empty promises that big box stores say that you can advance when in reality just care about their bottom line and only pick from the best of the crop in the retail world). Since I do like any sort of training that would lead me advancement within the company. I don't expect to be a grand master at day one.

They do seem to have a skill set in mind which you lack. First, I'd find out if there is training to do that kind of work at a local CC or other facility. If there is, you can tell them that you are willing to enroll to make sure you have the necessary skills.

As for translating your past work, you can say that what you learned was the value of being on time, being reliable and willing to take on extra duties to ensure mission success. You learned to be a team player and work with others both in management and non management employees. You also may have learned attention to detail and making sure that i's were dotted and t's crossed. Those are skills needed for assembly work. You don't talk about long range plans unless they ask.

 

[Goodfella]

Well, here's a snippit of the job description



Well, it can't get any closer to entry level with the minimum education requirements lists "High School Diploma or GED". I'm just concerned that my useless degrees would hurt me and lump me into the overqualified pile.

It's how I can translate my 4 years of retail (in a big box hardware store) and 4 years of office administration (basically, secretarial work) into 1-3 years of related assembly experience for a resume is my sticking point. I may have some exposure with electronics assembly by taking an electronics course in High School, but I feel it's outdated aside from the bare bones basics of using a soldering tool and a multimeter. Non-formal education largely came from watching YouTube videos of other people doing their own projects (mostly refurbishing old vintage computers or emulating them with Raspberry Pi) and my own experiences from diagnosing my own computer to replace a faulty piece of hardware (like a year ago when my HDD was corrupting itself cause it's aging and replaced it) or upgrading (like a video card). So I'm not sure how DIY projects can help since it's more from a self-taught avenue instead of a formal route like taking a class.


In a weird way, the company is part of a conglomerate (It's a defense contractor) which another company I tried to get a job into but failed epicly in my interviews belongs to.


If I do land an interview, it's gonna be part of my questions to ask. Though I don't want to scare the interviewer/hiring manager that I plan on going into something like an electrical engineer. That sort of overachivement goal bite me in the butt when I had in a previous interview that I said that "I plan to go back to school to become a draftsman/engineer" when it came to my five year plan. A mentorship program of some sort is becoming my big importance as part of training since I don't like being left in the cracks to fend on my own in terms of career growth and development within the company (Tired of the empty promises that big box stores say that you can advance when in reality just care about their bottom line and only pick from the best of the crop in the retail world). Since I do like any sort of training that would lead me advancement within the company. I don't expect to be a grand master at day one.

I'll add to Birdjaguar's suggestions.

You might want to use Linkedin to try and find current employees in that position. If you can't find people with the job title "Electronics Assembler," look at people with more general titles like "Electronics technician." See what level of experience and educational backgrounds these people have. Job descriptions tend to be vague and are often written by HR, not the hiring managers. As a result, there's often a disconnect between the listed skills/qualifications and the skills/qualifications that are converted to job offers. Seeing the backgrounds of people who work there will help you fill this gap and establish expectations.

As an aerospace engineer who regularly works with manufacturing personnel and technicians, I can probably guess what they're looking for. The hiring manager probably wants to see familiarity with instruments (ohmmeters, multimeters, oscilloscopes, etc), familiarity with circuit elements (resistors, capacitors, op amps, etc), and familiarity with some electrical principals (like Ohm's law) are probably helpful. He/she probably also wants familiarity or experience with relevant manufacturing operations like soldering, knowledge of fasteners, ability to use mills and other machinery, creating cable harnesses, etc. There are specific pieces of hardware you may also need to know about like mil-spec connectors. Your daily routines could incorporate these things to perform tasks like assembling a circuit board based on an engineer's spec, troubleshooting a circuit using a multimeter (checking continuity, locating short circuits, etc), modifying or creating structures to hold electronics (drilling holes, installing fasteners, and stuff like that). Obviously, I'm just speculating but I think experience or knowledge of some of these things would be helpful.

While the job description lists only a high school diploma or GED for educational background, I would guess successful candidates tend to fall into one of two categories: 1) ex-military (the military does a good job giving people the skills needed to be a technician) or 2) technical/trade school (I'd bet a decent number of employees even have both backgrounds). There are however employees who likely have only a diploma and have held technician roles.

 

[brennan]

It's an odd job spec:

PCB assembler is an entry level unskilled job, usually done by women (because they have small hands). Knowing how to read resister colour codes and knowing the difference between a 10micro-Farad and 10pico-Farad capacitor might help you get the job though.

OTOH the stuff about reworking and refurbishing units from schematics sounds significantly more advanced. Knowing some basic circuit elements would help do a job like that - e.g. can you spot a capacitor being used to decouple AC/DC signals? Tell a Darlington pair from a complementary pair? Identify a sub-system used as a power amplifier?

 

[really]

A relative in the US shared a job spec on social media for an apprenticeship offered by a union: one of the requirements was that the application form had to be collected in person and submitted in person. Is this common in the US? Is it a not very subtle way of filtering out people who don't look, talk, think right straight away?

Also is it unusual for this job to be administered by the union itself? - I presume it is a closed shop of some sort.

 

[Birdjaguar]

A relative in the US shared a job spec on social media for an apprenticeship offered by a union: one of the requirements was that the application form had to be collected in person and submitted in person. Is this common in the US? Is it a not very subtle way of filtering out people who don't look, talk, think right straight away?

Also is it unusual for this job to be administered by the union itself? - I presume it is a closed shop of some sort.

I've never worked with unions or a union workforce, but I suspect that a union apprenticeship program would be tightly managed. I certainly wouldn't hire a person without a face to face meeting, so I doubt the union wants to add a person to one of their programs without a face to face meeting too. Having to show up on person at the start ensures the applicant is the one who is actually enrolled. Such programs might be in high demand and having to show up in person would cut down on any fraud too.

 

[GenMarshall]

I'll add to Birdjaguar's suggestions.

You might want to use Linkedin to try and find current employees in that position. If you can't find people with the job title "Electronics Assembler," look at people with more general titles like "Electronics technician."

While the job description lists only a high school diploma or GED for educational background, I would guess successful candidates tend to fall into one of two categories: 1) ex-military (the military does a good job giving people the skills needed to be a technician) or 2) technical/trade school (I'd bet a decent number of employees even have both backgrounds). There are however employees who likely have only a diploma and have held technician roles.

The company listed an electronics technician that had more advanced description, including a requirement to hold an associates degree related to the discipline. Mostly I see the technician jobs being aimed for those fresh out of the military or a technical college. I’m not aiming for a technical position since I want to get into the assembler’s position and work my way from there. My goal at this point is to get myself a paying job that would enable me to have an income to live on my own. After that’s all settled, then I can pursue a technician’s position by taking advantage of any tuition reembursment programs the company offers.

 

[Goodfella]

Okay in that case I may be conflating this position with that of a technician.

 

[Birdjaguar]

There is big shortage of all tech related jobs even at the lower end of the skill set. I am inclined towards you talking to the company about the jobs, the training they do and what their expectations are. If they are demanding more skills than you have, ask them where and how to get those skills. If you can avoid the HR department and get connected to the actual hiring manager, you can impress them with your willingness to make this work for you. That is where finding someone at the company can be most helpful.

 

[Goodfella]

Yes and I would probably again suggest doing that by looking for people in a similar role in that location on LinkedIn if you can’t readily locate managers. I can’t speak for others, but if someone messaged me saying “Good morning Mr. X. I’m interested in working at your company blah blah blah. I had questions about ... and would love to get in contact with the appropriate manager” I would most likely give them the email of who to talk to. Again, can’t speak for everyone but the worst that can happen is that they ignore you.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Yes and I would probably again suggest doing that by looking for people in a similar role in that location on LinkedIn if you can’t readily locate managers. I can’t speak for others, but if someone messaged me saying “Good morning Mr. X. I’m interested in working at your company blah blah blah. I had questions about ... and would love to get in contact with the appropriate manager” I would most likely give them the email of who to talk to. Again, can’t speak for everyone but the worst that can happen is that they ignore you.

Cold calling and cold emailing have worked very well for me in the past. Just don't be a jerk about it!
---------------------------

I came on this story today on Flipboard and it struck a major nerve with me.

8 Bad Mistakes That Make Good Employees Leave
1. They make a lot of stupid rules.
2. They treat everyone equally.
3. They tolerate poor performance.
4. They don’t recognize accomplishments.
5. They don’t care about people.
6. They don’t show people the big picture.
7. They don’t let people pursue their passions.
8. They don’t make things fun.

The article has about a paragraph for each of these points. I'm struggling right now with 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 right now. In the paragraph about 7, there was this tidbit which I found really interesting:

Studies have shown that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.

I didn't know this was a named and studied phenomenon but I used to experience it regularly. I'd be allowed to work on the things I really care about and I'd get in this zone where I just knock tasks out. I'd tackle stuff I didn't want to do as fast and as well as I could just so I could spend more time on the stuff I love. I was once so into my work that I cranked the volume of my headphones to the point where I now have tinnitus in my left ear and I didn't even notice. And half the time I spent during that work session was on a task I really couldn't have given two poops about but it got between me and rocket engines and was crushed as a result.

It's been months since I had a work session like that.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Oh and that kick-ass work session where I damaged my hearing - true story - I was working from home on a Saturday because it was more fun than video games.

Blows my mind how fast a company can turn bliss into misery. Shoot - who even feels bliss at work! I was one lucky son of a gun.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Companies reach a size where an ordered structure is required if they are to function effectively and within the law, but within that allowing freedom, focus and pursuit of passion can lead to greater success. It is very difficult to achieve because most personality types required to bring a company to that point are not suited to create such an environment.