During last week’s E-Week,that’s “E” for “engineering”,at UC Irvine, about 40 employers paid $300 each to set up booths during the College of Engineering’s career fair.
The firms were touting their benefits, collecting resumes and interviewing students,recruiting for real positions. Meyer, Mohaddes Associates, a consulting engineering firm in Anaheim had openings for hardware and software design engineers, transportation engineers, field technicians and the list goes on. Toshiba had about 10 jobs listed and MSC Software in Costa Mesa was trying to fill four job openings.
What were employers looking for? Other than the skills required for the job, they were looking for students who were motivated, self-starters, enthusiastic and team players. Pretty standard requests for an employer.
But what were the students looking for? Perhaps not what everyone would expect in a labor market so tight that employees are naming their price. Students said they were looking for interesting work and a good corporate culture. Salary and benefits were mentioned, of course. Some students even put pay at the top of their list, but most wanted to find a job with work they like to do.
The Employers
Irvine’s HNC Software intends to add 150 to 200 employees this year to its Orange County staff of 250. HNC has a lot to offer, such as competitive salary, 15 days paid vacation, stock options, and casual dress every day, even shorts, said Heather Dilley, recruiting specialist. But good help is hard to find, so HNC uses “the works” to recruit employees. HNC recruits using the Internet, from sites like Jobtrak.com and monster.com. The company also participates in numerous career fairs. Last week it was out at both UCI and Stanford.
Tight labor market notwithstanding, HNC doesn’t just hire any warm body. During an interview, Dilley pays attention to the order of the student’s questions. It’s not a no-no to ask about salary, she said, but it shouldn’t be the first question.
Insun Kim, human resources administrator of Orthodyne Electronics, agrees. Candidates should ask smart questions. They should have a genuine interest in the company and want to know where the company is headed, she said.
“These are real jobs,” said Dick Fearn, showing a list of entry- and mid-level job openings at Iteris Inc. (formerly Odetics-ITS). Fearn recruits for Meyer, Mohaddes Associates in Anaheim, which is a division of Iteris Inc. “If we could find people to fill those jobs, we’d hire them at this very minute.”
Fearn said his company has had a lot of success recruiting from UCI.
“For us it’s a terrific school,” he said.
That’s because UCI teaches the right curriculum, it’s local, and students are work-oriented and don’t typically go on for more schooling, he said.
The right person for Iteris is “intellectually flexible” and open to doing more than one thing, he said.
Conexant was out in full force, recruiting for 15 summer intern positions. It was considering students with GPAs of at least 3.0 and preferably 3.3 or higher. After GPAs, it looks for students who are prepared with resumes in their back pockets.
The Irvine office of D-Link seemed to have the busiest table at the fair. It develops software and hardware like MP3 players and is headquartered in Taiwan. Recruiters there were looking for a tech whiz who can build a PC, and do it in 30 minutes.
“I want them to ask about the technology,” said Bradley Morse, vice president of marketing. “The money is there for anyone who wants to do the work.”
Now the Students
Tom Luu, a chemistry major with a minor in computer science, was browsing the career fair because he heard most chemistry majors end up in the computer field. He said job security tops his list in choosing an employer.
Narciso Chaidez, a mechanical engineering student graduating in June, is looking for something in the aerospace or automotive industry. But he said he’s not picky about jobs and would be happy to start with $40,000 a year.
“The work” is most important to Alvin Hovasapian, a computer and electrical engineering major. He wants to get into the biomedical field. Next to work that he enjoys, he said, his priorities are benefits, salary and “kick-ass” stock options, in that order.
Wai Phyo, an electrical engineering student, also ranks salary and benefits lower than interesting work.
“Salary is not really that important to me,” said Wilson Lung, a computer science major. He’s looking for a company that offers a comfortable environment.
Computer engineering major Priyanka Gondla also is looking for a company that offers work she likes to do and a workplace where she feels at ease. Salary and stock options are next on her priority list.
Her friend Muna Moinuddin said “the corporate culture is important.” She would like to work for a company with a relaxed and team oriented environment. But “salary’s pretty up there.” She’s hoping to work for a company like Conexant and start at $60,000. n
