发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (1) --- start
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 16:19:25 2005), 转信

I have been watching this board since I decided to start job hunting in
last December. The information and experience posted here is very helpful.
I'd like to share my own experience with you guys. I'd strongly suggest
other people post their expeience here after they secure an offer.

Ok, back to the track. My background first: fresh CS phd, my dept ranking
> 20. Actually, the ranking doesn't have much weight when I look for an
industry position. But it is extremely important for those people interested
in faculty position. I guess everybody knows about it.

I started my job hunting in last Decement. Though I don't want to become
a professor because my publication is not strong enough and I am not interest
in it either, I still applied 40 universities partly due to the pressure
from my advisors. In the end, I didn't get any interview. This year the market
is very tough. Many universities are interested in sensor network and security,
few of them are willing to take a weak system researcher like me. As a loser,
I will stop bitching on this and leave it to those successful applicants for
more authoritative opinions.
发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (2) --- resume
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 16:28:21 2005), 转信

My resumes were ready in January. I prepared several versions: one for
research labs, several for different industry positions. For instance,
you may need one version for C/C++ programmer, another version for
Windows/MFC programming, a third one for ....

Different version should stress different skills. I have a separate
skill section highlighting my skills. The other sections within different
versions can be relative similar, though I did adjust them a little bit.
For example, re-order the projects so that the most relavant ones appear
first, and stress different accomplishment according to the purpose of
this resume.

As for the length, mine were one and a half pages. I dont know if the
length really matters. But I simply listed most relevant experience and
left out those irrelevant. This is another place cutomization comes into
play.
发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (3) --- where to apply
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 16:45:15 2005), 转信

Next comes the question almost every newbie asks: how to apply.

There are a couple of channels. The most important one is the connections.
Don't just limit the connections to those you have. Approach your officemate,
your advisors, and the professors in ur dept. Don't be shy and feel humiliated
for doing it. I didn't realize it until my officemate, who happens to be an
indiaian, offered to help me submit my resume. At that time, I already had
three onsite interviews, and I was very positive that at least one of them
would extend an offer to me. But, if I didn't get any offer, I would definitely
try this approach. It is extremely expedient and typically you can hear from
them very soon.

The next one would be the job fair and the career service center at your
university. Dress up and attend. Try to talk as much as possible to
as many people as possible, leave them a copy of resume. Before the job fair,
do your homework! Get a list of the companies attending the job fair. Visit
their websites, research the companies: what's their products, what are the
features, who are their competitior, what positions are open and their
requireement. Blend in your research result in the talk and relate your
skill and background to the positions. One of my onsite interviews was
acquired via this channel. Of course, they didn't immediately invite me for an
onsite interview. I had to first go through an onground interview. But not
every one submiting a resume was choosed to take the interview. We never know
what really matters when the company recruits. What we can do is to maximize
the chance that we can be noticed. That's it!

A third choice is the interal job list web site. I am not sure if every
university has it. Some company simply sends the opening descriptions to
the university without attending the job fair. I got my first onsite interview
through this channel.

The last one is the job search web site such as monster, dice. I refreshed
my resume everyday after mid-night. I dont know if it's necessary. But again,
it does not hurt at least. I dont know other people's cases. But my dream
company contacted me after they notice my resume online, and I landed an offer.

发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (4) --- cover letter
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 16:59:53 2005), 转信

The third and the four choice are similar to each other in the sense
that you *have* to write a cover letter when submitting a resume.

The cover letter doesn't have to be long. I usually organize it as follows:
1st para: what position I am applying for and how did I get to know it.
a few words decribing my background

2nd para: they should consider me as a competent candidate by stressing my
skills and background. To be effective, you need to read the
job description carefully, and mention those skills demanded.
This is the essence of the letter, so it is worth your effort and
time.

3rd para: contact information and conclude.

I usually send my email with the cover letter as the body and my resume as
the attachment. Of course, you need to follow the instruction given by the
company not me.

Before you finally exhale and hit the send button, double check your grammar
and run spellchecking. If you have doubt in anything, such as grammer or an
expression, replace it. It's not a time to show off your vocabulary unless
you are absolutely certain of it.

发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (5) --- phone interview
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 18:34:28 2005), 转信

Typically, they will first call you to arrange a time for the phone interview.
Give yourself a few days to prepare for it. First read the job description
again, and refresh the relevant knowledge. Also, go to their website, find out
as much information as possible. Most importantly, prepare questions to ask.
good questions can really differentiate you from other candidates and make
you a standout.

One good thing about phone interview is that you have your own space. So you
can prepare some cheatsheet with some key knowledge, data, formula, questions
you dont remember. Paste them on the wall, so that you dont have to turn the
pages back and forth, the noise may alert the interviewer.

You also need to prepare for the common behavior questions. Two questoins I
encountered are: tell me about urself or tell me sth about your research,
why you choose our company? The latter question is almost a must if the company
you apply for is not in your area, say a CSer applies for a position with
a financial firm. Be prepared but dont sound scripted, and relax!

Last but not least, drop a thank you note after the interview. So you'd better
ask him for the contact information. Dont ask me what if you forget to collect
it, 'cause I always collected it.

I organized the thank you note in a similar fashion as the cover letter. I am
not implying my way is the best, but wanna share with you. Any suggestions are
welcome.

para 1: real thank you part. Highlight one thing such as a technical issue you
two discussed (not a technical question you were asked), or a genearl question
he answered. Typically, the highlighted topic comes from the questions prepared
by you beforehand. You can ask him some questiosn about their products, their
company, the competition in the industry....

para 2: stress your interest and emphasize your background and skills

para 3: contact info and conclude.

Not every interviewer bothers to reply, but most of them do. So dont be
surprised or given an impression that you screwed the interview if the
interviewer didnt reply.

发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (6) --- onsite 1
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 19:05:19 2005), 转信

If you did a good job in the phone interview and hundreds of other who-knows
factors didn't work against you, you may get an onsite interview invitation.
Congratulations! you are almost there.

The first important thing is the interview date. Properly arrange the order
of the interviews, if you have multiple, is important. In my case, I received
my first and second onsite interview invitations in a few days. The first
one was from a financial firm, it should be well-paid. But I was not so
interested, so I made it my first trip. The only purpose was to practice
since I had never onsite interviewed in my life. I gave myself one week to
prepare for it. My second onsite was from my dream company, so I arranged it
to be one week after my first interview. Of course, your decision should also
depend on the tone of the company. If they want it to happen soon, don't risk
it by delaying too much.

发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (7) --- onsite 2
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 19:38:19 2005), 转信

What to do in that week to prepare for it? A couple of things. First of all,
refresh your memory of the job description, requirements, your phone interview.
Find out the common technical questions asked and their answers. For example,
if the position requires C++ skills, go find a C++ book, read C++ FAQ, refresh
your data structure and algorithm knowledge, .....

Prepared for the behaviour questions. Get a book on this topic. You dont need
to prepare for the exact answer for each question if your time is running out.
Simply go through those questions, and have an idea of the common pitfalls and
the disired principals answering them. You can always come up some answers
along those lines when you are asked. Of course, if you are not confident
in your oral English, then you'd better spend more time on it.

Prepare for the questions you want to ask them. This cannot be overemphasized.
The questions can have multiple usages: to show your interest in their company,
to lead to interesting technical discussion, to occupy the time so that they
dont throw some tough questions to you. The last point may sound weird. But it
did happen to me. During my first interview, one interviwer was a VP. At the
end of the interview, I asked some questions. Then I ran out of the question,
he said, "ok,since we have some time left, why dont we have one more puzzle?"
This last puzzle really caught me :(. And this company was the only one that
hasn't give me an offer yet. I do think this last puzzle has some effect.
Had I asked more questions, things might be different.

What kind of questions to ask? feature of their products, projects, company
management, competition within the industry.... Bring at least ten questions
with you.

发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (7) --- onsite 3
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 19:54:34 2005), 转信

A few words about the interview itself. Most importantly, dont panic even if
you dont know the answer. Just tell the interviewer your thought. Typically
he/she would give you some hint. Also, if you dont agree with their opinion,
dont argue with he/she.

Again, send a thank you note after the interview.
发信人: decent (胆小如虎*胆大如鼠), 信区: JobHunting
标　题: some experience to share (8) --- final words
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Mar 20 20:10:03 2005), 转信

I guess that is almost all I want to say.

In retrospect, I think the most important thing besides your background
is to be well prepared. There are some skills that can not be developed
in a few days such as your technical skills and communications skills.
But there are lots of things you can do before the interview to increase
your odds.

At last, I wish every job seeker good luck!