IEEE-SCV-PACE Career Workshop 2007
Date: Friday Oct 19th
Location: San Jose Fairmont Hotel
Time: 8:00 Registration
8:30 Career Workshop
12:35 Lunch Line
1:00 Networking Skills and practice
3:00 Legislative activities
5:00 Membership Development discussion
Cost (includes Lunch) Advance Registration (pay at the door add $5.00 –space avail)
-- note Parking is not included: that’s $10 at the convention center, or light rail is convenient.
Students / Unemployed $20
IEEE Members $30
Public $45
Contact: Jonathan David – SCV Pace chair j.david@ieee.org
Secure Registration site (https://icm3.ieee.org/eventmanager/onlineregistration.asp?eventcode=B6H
) please note this apparently requires a Windows PC.
In today’s increasingly outsourced world, engineers must take responsibility for managing their own careers. The alternative is being surprised and unprepared when economic pressures force a change in their employment situation. We are lucky to have the opportunity, in conjunction with the IEEE-USA Operating Committee Meeting, to have Career Experts from throughout the IEEE here in town on Oct 19th. Please Join us, take a day off work if needed, and use this opportunity to tune up your Career plans. Discounts are available for those who are current “in transition” (the current euphemism for “laid off”, “fired”, ‘let go” or “not working”, etc).
The day is designed so that those who can’t take the full day off can join us for lunch and the afternoon sessions of the day.
Session Details
1. 8:30 – 10:20 Ed Perkins
· Career Planning – Mapping your route to Success and Fulfillment in a changing work world (Ed Perkins)
This interactive session will cover Elements of the Career Plan; Skills and Capability Assessments, Market Analysis, Understanding the State of the workplace, employer’s needs, the role of training and education. Understanding your values and motivators; Finding alignment with the market, and employers.
Break
2. 10:40 – 12:30 Paul Kostek
· Interview Preparation (Paul Kostek)
This presentation will describe the common interview types currently in vogue in the engineering workplace, and how to prepare for them. Exercises include preparing for a behavioral interview question.
· Personal Positioning (Paul Kostek)
Personal Positioning for Engineers is a workshop for engineers in all stages of their careers. The focus of this session is a discussion of Career Track options. It helps engineers understand what it is they are looking for from their career, and how this will impact their personal life. They need to understand their priorities and how these will impact their career.
Lunch
3. 1:00 – 2:50 Jean Eason
· Painless Networking: Finding what you need with the help of your friends & aquaintences.(Jean Eason)
It is so often quoted that the BEST way the BEST work is found is through the people you already know. Unfortunately for many engineers more comfortable with complex ideas than polite conversation, this statement strikes fear and dread into our hearts, as we expect our friends and relations to fade out of lives when we ask “help me find a job”. With a some basic information, and a few interactive exercises, Jean will show us how easy “networking” really is, and how to apply these skills not only to “job hunting”, but to improving communications in a wide variety of situations.
4. 3:10 – 5:00 Russ Harrison
· Legislative Activities - Bridging the Gap (Russ Harrison)
The reality is that our government will impact an engineer’s career and this impact can be positive or negative. Learn how you can influence your government to protect and enhance your profession and career prospects.
Our elected leaders vote on legislation that will affect engineers all the time. For example, in 2007 the U.S. Congress voted on legislation that would:
- Dramatically increase federal spending on basic research,
- Create new scholarship programs for engineering students,
- Invest in alternative energy sources,
- Expand high-skilled immigration,
- Reform the patent system, and
- Expand and restrict NASA’s manned mission to Mars (in the same bill.)
Join us for a discussion about these and other pieces of federal legislation that could affect you, your career and your profession. IEEE-USA Legislative Representative Russ Harrison will be here to discuss these and other things that Congress is trying to do for science and engineering. Then we will discuss ways that we can influence these decisions before the bills become law.
3. 5:00-5:45 Scott Grayson
- So what has IEEE-USA Done for Me Lately?
Whether you are out of work, under employed or fully (and over) employed, IEEE-USA has products and services to help you find a job or enhance your career. IEEE-USA, founded in 1973, has spent over three decades studying the employment and career needs of its members. Hear about valuable products and services that will assist you in finding a job, career maintenance, management skills, consulting, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Find out how to become part of a growing online employment and career strategies community as well as become a online member of IEEE-USA Entrepreneurs Village .
Edward Perkins
Ed has 30 years experience in the electronics industry, including hardware design automation, program and project management, mixed-signal test development automation, design services management, chip architecture development, software development, and real time embedded systems programming. He was a program manager in the Virtual Test Division of IMS in
Paul J. Kostek
Paul J. Kostek is a Systems Engineer with the Boeing Company. He is also the Principal of Air Direct Solutions, a systems engineering/project management consulting firm. He works with companies in defining system architecture, system requirements, and software development standards. Paul received his BSEE from the
Paul is currently serving as the IEEE-USA VP Career Activities, Member of the IEEE-USA Board of Directors and is the Chair of the IEEE-USA Communications Committee. He is also an AIAA Distinguished Lecturer, the Chair of the AIAA Career Enhancement Committee and a member of the PMI Aerospace & Defense Specific Interest Group Board. In 1999 Paul was the President of IEEE-USA, and a member of the IEEE Board of Directors. He served as President of the IEEE Aerospace & Electronics Systems Society in 2000-2001 and Chaired the American Association of Engineering Societies in 2003. Paul Chaired the 2006 IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference and was General Chair of the 2004 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference. He is a member of the IEEE Individual Benefits and Services Committee and the IEEE-USA Government Fellows Committee.
Paul is a Senior Member of the IEEE, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the International Council on Systems Engineering, SAE, and the Project Management Institute.
Jean M. Eason
Jean Eason received a BS in EE from the
Jean’s time in aerospace gave her particular insight into the issues affecting engineering professionals. Her work in the area of employment assistance for engineers in North Texas was recognized by the State of
Jean has been an active volunteer for more than twenty years, addressing member needs at every level from the local section to the Board of Directors.
Russell Harrison
Russell Harrison is the Legislative Representative for Grassroots Activities for IEEE-USA. In this capacity, he is responsible for helping members of IEEE-USA interact with, and ultimately influence, elected officials.
Prior to joining IEEE-USA, Mr. Harrison directed grassroots programs at the
Mr. Harrison has a BA in Political Science, with minors in History and Communications, from
Scott Grayson
Scott serves as the Associate Managing Director of IEEE-USA. In that capacity, Scott is responsible for programs relating to career, member and professional activities including the newly formed entrepreneur activities committee and the IEEE-USA Innovation Institute. He joined IEEE-USA in 1990 and has held four different positions within IEEE-USA.
During Scott's tenure at the IEEE-USA, he was also responsible for state and federal legislative advocacy programs in areas of career policy, high technology, internet policy, intellectual property and built a number of coalitions that focused on technology and the law. Presently, Scott manages and oversees the IEEE-USA Member Activities, Career Activities and the Professional Activities Councils consisting of 15 committees, 200+ volunteer leaders.
Scott holds a Masters degree in International Affairs from New York University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additionally, Scott was elected to the city council in Golden Valley , MN where he served for four years.
Labels: career, events, government, IEEE, meeting, PACE
¶ Permanent Link to This Post 1:28 PM2 comments
We are shooting for a morning "Skills Assesment" and afternoon - "Networking Skills" and "research resources" + some presentations on IEEE services.
Details (costs?) will follow.
What Career Questions would you like answered ? Comments welcome.
Labels: career, events, GOLD, IEEE, meeting, PACE
¶ Permanent Link to This Post 12:36 PM0 comments
Should you take vacation, and pay to attend yourself? At this point you should look at the value of that conference to you knowledge, skills and network. After attending many such events I often have a hard time putting a value on them. But in my mind, attendance is practically NOT optional. I will go to great lengths to make sure I can go.. Either by participating in the event organization and planning, or by presenting at some point. Certainly I make sure my manager (and prospective employers) know that I will attend if at all possible.
Thus my involvement in the IEEE. I have accepted and internalized that value to such an extent that non-participation is un-imaginable to me. For you it is probably not yet the case, and its worth an attempt to think about and articulate the reasons.
Why I [attend|plan|present|travel|organize] Professional Events:
- Meet People - By now most of these folks are friends, or at a minimum, long-term acquaintances. These are the folks solidly in my network, that I help, and am helped by as we navigate our careers. Whether we are connected on linked-in or have never even shared each others business cards. The more often you see each other around, the smaller, and yet larger, this industry gets. When times get tough, these relationships will be, are, have been "our" buffer. Tough times include the times your team needs help as well as when you or your team needs work.
- Learn. Engineering is a field where you must CONSTANTLY be learning new things. Even if you just learn who the experts are in some arena that is not your own, when YOU have to interface with that later, you have more familiarity with that area, and a broader range of folks to go to. You ALSO get a better feeling for which papers you can put more trust in. The moment you close your mind off to learning new things is the start of the end of your career - at least that this engineers humble opinion.
- The Unexpected. This is the SAME reason that Nassim Nicolas Taleb says its better to live in a city than in a small town. You don't know WHAT new idea, person, book or discussion will happen at the meeting. The more often you can be in a situation where you can encounter these unexpected goodies, the luckier you will be. Of course disasters can be Black Swans too, but you can minimize this risk by preparing well when its YOUR turn to be the presenter.
- An archive of expertise. While certainly not the same as a daily blog, which Penelope Trunk says is a MUST today, the archive of papers, presentations, seminars that you give over time, becomes a log, or portfolio, of your expertise. It demonstrates your communication skills, AND experience to those who must or might work with you in the future. Certainly one of the things I look for in a prospective employee is what they have published over time. And I think that might override concerns about the embarrassing photos they forgot to take of their facebook account.
- It makes you a better employee - more knowledgeable, more capable.
- It reflects well on the organization. It will make hiring easier.
- It increases your loyalty to the organization.
- It is good publicity for your company.
- It makes you a more desirable person to hire away,
- and provides more opportunity to meet those folks.
I think that covers most of MY reasons for going.. Will I see you at a meeting?
jbd
Labels: career, IEEE, meeting, networking
¶ Permanent Link to This Post 4:57 PM0 comments
Date: Tuesday, March 6 2007 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Leveraging Social Internet Sites
for Career Development
Location: India Grand Buffet
1214 Apollo Way, Sunnyvale, 94085
Buffet Dinner Cost $10 Beverages extra cash or credit payable on site
RSVP requested to j.david@ieee.org : Include Name for Badge and if IEEE member or not.
or Leave a comment or visit this event on eventful.com at http://eventful.com/events/E0-001-002922461-9
For many years, researchers who study those who make successful job transistions report that “personal contacts” were critical to the success of their search. Career Columnists regularly recommend NOT waiting until faced with the next Career transistion to start building the relationships that make the contacts “personal”. Social Networking web sites are providing new ways to get and stay connected.
An overview of two of these sites, Linked-In and Facebook will be presented by local IEEE members, along with activities to enhance the discussion at tables.
Bring a stack of your business cards, and join us for a fun evening and make some new friends.
Agenda:
Networking Activity: led by Will Lumpkins
Will is Director of Engineering at Pragmatics Technologies in San Jose, and is the President of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, as well as an advisor for the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Consumer Electronics Chapter. His interests include Science Fiction, and Games.
Presentations:
FaceBook: D. Desai Intersil Corporation
Linked-In: Jonathan David Jonathan is a Mixed-Signal Design Verification specialist with Scintera Networks in Sunnyvale, and worked at Cadence Design Systems for several years after moving to San Jose. He is currently serving as the Santa Clara Valley PACE chair, and is active with the CAS and SSC chapters. Most of his favorite authors write Science Fiction.
Open Discussion and networking
About GOLD:
The GOLD Chapter of the IEEE-SCV Section aims to create opportunities for Graduates of the Last Decade to network and learn more about topics of interest. It also aspires to promote career development for new-to-the-industry members.
About PACE:
PACE promotes the professional interests of IEEE's U.S. members and provides a mechanism for communication of members' views on their professional needs. Section and Chapter activities include workshops on career issues (networking, career planning, career transitions, personal financial planning); skill training workshops (entrepreneurship, effective speaking, technical writing), and Government Policy as it affects Engineering and Technology.
More information on local activities is available at
http://ieee-jbdavid.blogspot.com or http://www.ieee.org/scv/PACE
There will be a brief Volunteers Planning Meeting prior to the event starting at 6:30pm – those interested are invited to arrive a little early for this.
Help us Publicize this event, forward this announcement to others, and/or print out this flier and post on your company bulletin board.
Labels: career, GOLD, meeting, networking
Link ¶ Permanent Link to This Post 12:00 AM0 comments
I think its High time for us to have a conference that would qualify as an M-PAC, but we need a better name, unless this years "2007 Santa Clara Valley Professional Development Conference" sounds like it would work.
I'm especially looking for 3 volunteers to head up some of our more specialized focused areas
1 for Career & Employment, 1 for Technology Policy and 1 for Registration and Licensure (should be a PE!) .
Lunches, or dinners, (not too fancy) at our planning meetings are covered by the Committee's budget.
Our First meeting of the year will be at 12:00 - 1:30 on Feb 6 at Scintera Networks
1154 Sonora Ct, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 in the Challenger conference room. If you can attend, please RSVP with your Sandwich preference so that we can have it ready for you.
On the agenda
Dates for PACE, GOLD and WIE events.
Date and Planning committee for the Prof Devel Workshop.
Budget for the year.
Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities.
Next Meeting.
Labels: agenda, Committee, meeting
¶ Permanent Link to This Post 11:51 PM0 comments
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