From Your Resume to the First Day on the Job

1
From Your Resume to the First Day on the Job

• EECE 590 Seminar
• Spring 2009
• Donald H. Lenhert

2
Resume

• Be sure it's easy to contact you
• Never lie on your résumé
• Include lots of contact information
• Acronym overuse is a mistake
• Spell Check Proofread it!!!
• Try to get a boss-type to edit the résumé
• Make sure your English is CORRECT
• We all want our résumé to stand out, but resist
  the urge to be too quirky
• Most résumé are scanned so fancy fonts are lost
• Several types

3
Before Interview

• Understand company
• Major Business
• Locations
• Requirements for a job offer
• Drug Test
• Citizenship or Green Card
• Know how you feel about requirements
• If a problem DONT INTERVIEW
• Study them like they study you!
• Use Career and Employment Services

4
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE

• Ranked first among the personal qualities of
  college graduates sought by employers.
• Work experience was second
• Motivation was third
• Academic credential was sixth
• Ethics was tenth
• Survey of 480 companies and public organizations
  by the National Association of Colleges and
  Employers.
• Source Wall Street Journal -January, 1999

5
Engineering Career Fair

• Feb 10, 2009, 1100 - 400 K-State Union
• Dress nice Business casual
• Have resume ready
• Many companies firm up summer internships just
  after the fall career fair
• Go even if it is several semesters till
  graduation to get a feeling and get your self
  known

6
Interview

• Things the recruiter cant ask
• Marital Status
• Race, color, religion,sex, or national origin
• Arrest and/or conviction records
• Personal Finances
• State of Health
• Things you may want to tell them
• Fiancée working on a particular location
• Wife going to grad school

7
TEAM WORK

• The requirement is for creative, knowledgeable
  individuals who can work collaboratively with
  like- minded colleagues. No one person has the
  knowledge, skills, and experience to do it alone.
  This requires the sublimation of individualism,
  the ability to achieve in a group setting, the
  willingness to negotiate compromises, the
  continuous search for improvement, all dependent
  on the ability of individuals to work free of
  immediate career concerns. Robert J. Parden,
  PICMET 1997

8
Job Application

• Fill in Completely
• Get unknown information from parents
• Be honest and as correct as possible
• Dont exaggerate
• Keep a copy

9
Interview Trip

• You may be observed before and after the
  interview. Be careful about your behavior.
• Be honest
• Dont take an interview trip if you have accepted
  a job unless you tell them before you go.

10
OFFER

• Make sure it is in writing
• Can even be revoked then
• Dont burn bridges
• Evaluate on everything not just salary

11
OFFER Variations

• Vacation how much, when eligible, carryover
  (may be negotiable)
• Retirement defined benefits or defined
  contribution
• 401K match, how soon, your retirement
• Health insurance who pays, how much,variable,
  hmo or traditional
• Evaluate on everything not just salary

12
Retirement Plans (if any)

• Defined Benefit (Not common anymore)
• Employee knows exactly what you get
• Amt/yr (ave of high 5 yrs salary)(no of
  yrs)\35
• Company has to make sure there is enough money
• Leave and you may lose it
• Defined Contribution - 401(k) 403(b)
• Amount company contributes into your retirement
  plan is defined
• Amount at retirement undefined
• You have more control
• You take it (or a part) when you leave company

13
Retirement

• Problem - Company sponsored retirement dying
• IBM - freezing all retirement in 2008
• GM - Cutting all contribution for white collar
  workers
• Recommendations
• Put at least 10 of your salary in retirement
  starting immediately
• 1st -(401K) Match the company contribution - its
  free money! 100 return on first day of
  investment
• 2nd - put max into Roth IRAs even though they
  are after taxes
• 3rd - Put up to max in Company 401K
• Source- Wall Street Journal Jan 7, 2006 Page B1
  The Best Retirement Tools

14
EMPLOYMENT
CONTINGENT UPON

• Successful Drug Screen
• Verification of Employment data
• Signing Arbitration Agreement
• Final College transcript
• Verification of Current Salary
• Confidential Medical History Form
• Proof of Citizenship
• or authority to remain and work in US
• Sign Standards of Business Conduct and Conflict
  of Interest

15
HOUSEHOLD MOVE EXPENSES
Most companies have set guidelines

• Pre-Move visit
• Travel - Air, train or personal car
• Temporary Living Expenses
• Time varies 30 to 90 days
• Incidental Moving Expenses - fixed
• Household Goods
• a. List of what is covered and not
• b. Recording Expenses

16
FIRST DAY AGREEMENTS

• Employment agreement
• Intellectual Property
• Software theft
• Non Disclosure
• Voluntary Termination within 12 months Agreement
• Others

17
BENEFITS

• STANDARD
• a. Paid Holidays
• b. Paid Vacation - after some time
• c. Social Security
• d. Pension Plan - after 1 year normally
• e. Time-Off policies (Changing)
• HEALTH
• a. Medical Plan - HMO or other
• b. Flex account
• c. Prescription Plan
• d. Dental Plan
• e. Disability Plan - Long or short term

18
BENEFITS (con)

• LIFE INSURANCE
• a. Base amount annual salary X
• b. Supplemental - self or dependents
• INVESTMENT RETIREMENT
• a. Profit Sharing
• b. Salary Investment
• c. Stock Purchase

19
MULTI CULTURAL WORKPLACE

• EXAMPLE My work at Motorola
• My Boss Vietnamese
• Next Level Australian
• Next Level Scottish
• Next Level Japanese
• Next Level Mexican
• Next Level American
• I worked with German, Israeli, Chinese, Indian,
  Mexican, and KU graduates.

20
EDUCATION

• Company Policy
• a. Hours required per year
• b. University Courses
• c. Training
• Masters Degree
• a. Engineering
• b. Business
• c. Loss of study skills
• d. Where
• i. Local University
• ii. NTU

21
Graduation Advice I Never Got but wish I had

• Spend time with people who arent like you.
• Read for pleasure
• Choose reality over theory
• Forget about being anything you want to be.

By Tucker Carlson, Readers Digest , June 2004,
P153-156
22
10 Ways to Get Most Pay

• Listen to your Boss
• Bet on Yourself
• Seek Financial Advice
• Learn about special awards
• Change your tax withholding
• Take the Free Money

Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2006, R1,R3
23
10 Ways to Get Most Pay

• Pay for as much as you can with Tax-free income
• Ask for Pay Re-Evaluation
• Turn down benefits that cost the company
• Dont forget the small stuff

Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2006, R1,R3
24
Skills for Global Economy

• Learn a new language Chinese especially useful
• Crunch Numbers Math skills useful in
  accounting, engineering and computers
• Take Acting 101 It helps in business, sales and
  retail
• Do lab work Chemistry is key in the search for
  energy
• Get global Learn about other cultures and
  nations

John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm, Parade
August 28, 2005