job hunting (again)

Tuesday I interviewed with Moog Aircraft in Salt Lake City for 2 hours. It was a good interview. They asked me questions off my resume, but nothing too technical. After that I drove 3.5 hours with Mrs. Sixline to Pocatello for an all day interview with AMI Semiconductor. That was one nasty interview, my friends. There were 5 different interviews with 5 different engineers on very technical bases. I can't even remember them all. Some op amp questions, some derivations of transfer functions, tons of clock signals and violation problems (setup, hold, etc...), state machines describing behavior, using Laplace transforms to analyze circuits, transistor configurations, CMOS configurations, etc...

All this was getting us down. The interview in Pocatello took longer than anticipated, so they put us up in a hotel for an extra night. The following morning we drove around looking at housing with a realtor. It was all right; Pocatello isn't as ugly a town as I originally thought. But it didn't feel right... I know it might have been just a foreign feeling in a new town, but I wasn't excited by AMI's work, nor by the prospect of becoming a Pocatello resident. Nothing against the town, but it wasn't my taste.

Same with Salt Lake. Just not feeling it.

The worst part was, the house we want to buy in our home town needed some choices. It's being built, and not quite finished. We've chosen paint color, carpet style and color, and tile. We've been conservative with our choices, knowing that there's a good chance we won't get the house. The reason why this stinks is because we're emotionally (and partly monetarily) invested in the home and if ATK (local company) doesn't call me back for a second interview, then we don't get the home we've been customizing. So as we were at the house waiting for the builder to show up so that we could choose countertop options, we were in rather a melancholy mood. We were really sad that ATK exhibited so much initial interest that's been noticeably lacking since the first interview contact.

Happily, that night I got an email from the guy who has been interviewing me saying that they want to bring me out the first thing after the new year. Awesome. Awesome awesome awesome. I really want to go build rockets. He asked if I've been interviewing elsewhere, likely aware of the mass amount of time that has elapsed since our last contact, to which I replied yes. Then he asked if I've entertained any offers, and I said that I would soon receive two. I fully expect them to come, but to be frank, I have no guarantee that they will. That information is on a 'need to know' basis... I told him that unless ATK's offer comes in well below what the other two would be, I'd take ATK's offer. That part is 100% honest. He reassured me that their offers are competitive. We'll see.

So, ray of sunshine. :)

rants

Housing prices stink.

If I'm applying for your company, and I gave you my resume, and you used my resume as a basis to setup an in-depth on-site interview, do not ask me to fill out a ridiculous form where all the answers are on the resume that you already have. (In other words, bureaucracy stinks.)

Wussy winter weather stinks. This ain't Texas. Snow already!

Shoveling snow stinks.

stuck in a rut

I've been stuck in a rut. I don't think anything substantive will happen on the job scene until the new year. My wife and I put earnest on a home we adore, but I doubt the job will come before the earnest period is up. We've been kind of getting down on ourselves, and then yesterday, as we were whining to each other, we snapped out of it. We got ourselves motivated and got right back into the swing of things. This morning had SUCH a different feel to it than other mornings. It's been good.

In the meantime, I've taken to transcribing my mission journals from paper to computer and adding in afterthoughts. It's fun and embarrassing at the same time. I'll have to post a few of the choicer ones with commentary.

Hooray for new posts!

happy thanksgiving or something

yeah.

veteran's day

It's impossible to write something that two words so easily sum up. Despite their repetition, I doubt they lose their meaning.

So, to all those serving, both past and present:

Thank you.

The stupidest thing I ever did.

Once my friends and I mixed up some 'napalm' -- we dissolved styrofoam in gasoline. The resultant gooey mixture will burn for a long time. We then took it across a huge field behind his house where the local Catholic church had cleared out a ton of land. The result was a magnificently large pile of dead pine tree wood. For those of you aren't putting this together, I was playing with fire on top of a 50 foot pile of dead, dry, kindling wood.

It's a good thing we got bored with the napalm quickly enough.

Atheists probably shouldn't read this...

I'm brainwashing myself.

I've come to the realization that "the world" (That's 'the Man' for all you conspiracy theorists out there) is out to get me. Suggestive lyrics are the mode d'emploi for music these days. Then there's the emotional nature to the music; it doesn't remind you of your divine nature as a son or daughter of God. It doesn't uplift, promote, engender charity, or teach anything.

Music gets into your head, and the constant barrage of imagery and soupçon influences the way you think. I want to control what influences me and how it influences me. Alma 13 (the best chapter in the Book of Mormon and I dare you to contradict me.) teaches that priesthood holders are supposed to live their lives in such a way that those who seek Christ will recognize Him by the examples of His priesthood holders. Let your light so shine, eh?

Two days into it and I already can notice a difference in how easy it is to control my thoughts towards holier things, and how I have a higher interest in spiritual knowledge. Soon I will be a fully brainwashed card carrying Mormon.

More job hunting crud

ATK (Thiokol) interviewed me last week. They build rockets. I was invited to tour the facility, and the engineer who interviewed me took me and another grad student from a neighboring school on a separate tour to see the places where engineers actually work. We met hiring managers and talked with some of the guy's colleagues. Of the tour group of students, we were the only ones who were given that special treatment so I felt, well, special. They do rockets. I'll finally be able to say "Yes, Ma'am, I am a rocket scientist."

Then yesterday I had three interviews. Moog, pronounce 'mowg,' does airplane systems; integration, control, and embedded. Now this was an interview where I felt like I nailed it. I rarely come out of interviews feeling like I did well. Less often do I hear things like "Wow, this is a really impressive resume. I think you'd be an excellent fit with us. I'm will definitely recommend your resume be reviewed by the hiring managers. I hope you'll be able to come out for a second interview."

AMI Semiconductor was kinda the same way. They even gave me two technical questions. The first of which was to design a block diagram of an FIR filter (which I did correctly.) The second of which was to explain what happens in a lossless system, where two capacitors are hooked up in parallel and an open switch is between them. Capacitor A is 1 microfarad, 2 volts. Capacitor B is 2 microfarad, 6 volts. When the switch is thrown, what happens? Got that one too. They seemed pretty impressed, and said "The next step, now that you've demonstrated some basic knowledge, is to bring you out to AMI for the next set of interviews."

The last one was for NAVAIR, which is basically the Navy, and it was short and chock full of the same BS questions that never lead anywhere and don't allow a candidate or an interviewer to give or get the full scope of what someone can offer.

I feel really excited. It felt good to be wanted.

Jerks.

Job hunting updates: Interview with ATK. Good job prospect, way to early to tell. One of those "Tell me about a time when you did something that would impress HR." kinda ordeals. I did well; I felt like I represented myself with confidence and such... But those questions are so unbelievably cursory and plain retarded that I don't have much reassurance that I'm heads and shoulders above or below the rest simply because such interviews can't provide that kind of information. Anyway. I was encouraged by the fact that they don't have heavy technical interviews when they do the on-site rounds. Technical interviews scare the bejeebers outta me. And... France called again... Too soon to tell what's going so I'll keep everyone updated when something concrete comes along. I hate getting back on this roller coaster.

Jerks: Hey, if I'm talking about baseball and how much I like it, and you're not involved, and you walk up and say "How can you like such a boring sport?" odds are I'm going to kick you directly in the babymakers-- girl or boy. Ovaries for girls, and giblets for boys. Shut up. I'm not talking to you. ~KICK~ I like baseball. If you don't keep your big mouth shut. I don't care about your opinion. Nyah. :P

rant

I had a big rant.

I deleted it.

No one likes a whiner.

Boeing

Good interview for me. Lousy interview for the girl interviewing me. She was extremely nervous. I think she was more nervous than I was. She was an engineer, though, which made things nice.

True to form, I have to find a few reasons to shoot this down before it takes off. (Takes off. Boeing. Get it?) GPA might be a little low. The position is for a signal processing buff, and I did not pursue that portion of EE. She even said "We're looking for more EE background types." I guess she didn't see the big "Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering" at the top of my resumé. She does have a point, though. I'm more involved with embedded systems than anything else. Whatever.

I'm not too sure I want to work in Southern California anyway. The position's in El Segundo, which means extremely expensive life and disgustingly long commutes either via traffic or distance. Let's hope someone from somewhere else calls me.

look up in the sky

This time it is a plane.

Boeing wants to interview me here on campus Tuesday morning at 8 AM.

I might have to switch times given that I have class at that time, but I like being the first person there and I highly doubt I'd get much out of class squirming in my seat about an interview any way.

The career services website says that the job is for El Segundo, CA. I'd like to live there but not at the current price.

news and notes

It's hard to say goodbye to a dream. Dreams are so pervasive in your mind that they 'help' your perception of reality to interpret certain events as supportive of obtaining your dream. There's still room for hope as far as going to France, but Mrs. Sixline and I (me more than her) need to realize that in all likelihood it just won't happen for now.

So we got a dog. He's a miniature black poodle. He's a purebred, but he has a bum hip so we got him for free. We named him Turk. He's a good little puppy; barely 4 weeks old. We've started the potty training, and while he's only left two presents for us I think we're moving along with success. He sleeps in a kennel which helps him learn to hold it. I'm glad we got him.

So now where does the job search take me? I applied for a post yesterday-- not making this is up-- under the title of 'Explosives Engineer.' The position is for Albuquerque, New Mexico at Kirtland AFB. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that. Outside of that position, I'm not really looking. I don't know, it's just not a pressing matter on my mind. I'm more concerned with actually getting the degree that will be the primary requirement for the job. "So why are you blogging?" I know, I know...

Bad vibes

Well, this morning came and went without any news from France. When we spoke last, this past Friday, I was informed that I would know by the 'middle of the week,' referring to this week. I mentioned Wednesday, and the gentleman agreed that Wednesday was a good day to let me know. As I said in the last post, he's been extremely punctual with me on all other calling appointments and very quick to settle the matter.

His silence indicates to me that the response was not good. My attempts at securing a job in France have taught me that if no one replies to you, then they don't want you. Quite the opposite of the "no news is good news" sentiment we have here in America.

While the book isn't closed, it sure feels that way. I can't help but think that Mrs. Sixline and I need to begin looking for work locally. It's not what we were hoping for, but we can always save up and visit in the future.

I'm very saddened by this, a lot more than I thought I'd be. I keep half hoping that I'm just feeling this way to try and trick myself into 'expecting' a bad response so it won't hurt so bad, while secretly thinking everything will be fine. I admit I have no other reason to think it's over with other than the lack of news. However, I can't deny the feeling.

Thanks again to everyone who's pulled for us. I'll keep posting on the job hunt until Mrs. Sixline and I know what we're doing and where we're going. In the meantime, if you know of anyone who wants a reasonably talented engineer in the areas of controls and embedded system design/development, please let me know.

Thanks.

October

I do love October. I mentioned this last year, I believe. It's so pretty here in the Fall, and baseball is at its apex.

And no one's reached me yet from France. This latest guy is awesome and very punctual, so even though he said he'd contact me today, I don't think my chances are down the tubes.

However, if this final response is negative, then Mrs. Sixline and I close the door on going to France for a job for now. It's a bummer, but I think we'll be all right.

Thanks to everyone who's been pulling for us. This will all be over with soon, we hope.

nice.

I just got getting grilled by my adviser over my journal paper (thesis is embryo.) It was grueling, and I came back to my desk, and picked up my headphones plugged into my computer. I hadn't stopped the playback, so the music was just going. I picked up the headphones feeling a little down thinking "How am I gonna get all this crud finished?!" And wanna know what song began playing?

Kansas' classic, "Carry on my Wayward Son."

Cosmic moment.

i lied.

I'm not staying positive. I'm worried. I can't seem to find any real concrete leads when it comes to jobs, all I find are recruiting agencies. I was also not thinking I had to re-start the interviewing process anew with a second company; I thought that was the point of the recruiting agency.

I'm worried.

On to round 2.

The recruiting agency finished up their pre-screening interviews with the conclusion of the personality test. I'm happy to say that I don't come across as a nut, to the contrary and chagrin of many of my acquaintances I'm sure.

After a discussion concerning the results of the test, and what they implied, the engineer at the recruiting agency will be presenting my file as well as several others to the company that's looking for FPGA engineers. If they like me, they will decide to interview me. So I'm really not anywhere closer to getting the job, I thought there was no more 'decision' based on candidacy; I thought the recruiting agency would present our profiles (the candidates) and there would be interviews for all who were presented as a good match by the recruiting agency. The impression that I got was that they (the company actually doing the hiring) could decide that you're not a good fit based on profile and reject you as a candidate.

But I'm staying optimistic for these reasons:

1.) The headquarters of this company are in Santa Clara, California. This means that I would go there for my in-depth technical interview and it would be in English rather than in French.

2.) While it's still a French company, the Americans working at the California location will understand and perceive my degree in a better light than the French.

3.) I'll stand out in the Americans' eyes because I'll be bilingual.

4.) The other two job opportunities that fizzed out on me were consulting agencies, which translates into lower salaries. This will be a job directly with the company itself, which translates into a higher salary. We're not talking about tons of cash, here, but whatever I can garner is good.

So I'm staying positive. Next Wednesday is when the engineer in France will get back from his trip to Paris (he actually works in Grenoble) and contact me with the new company's decision, and then let's hope the next step after that is a flight to Santa Clara.

oh please oh please oh please

Yesterday morning's interview went well. It was a full on tech interview, and 100% in French. There were some shaky spots where I wasn't really sure I was being clear, but the interviewer really helped me along by asking questions and I think we had ourselves a decent interview. There's a couple of things I wanted to talk about.

On my French resumé, I wrote on there that I lived in France for two years. I feel this is a subtle way of saying that I don't just speak French from a book I learned, but rather I have a working knowledge of the way French people speak French. I feel that while it's not flawless, my French is more authentic than someone who just learned it from a book; I've picked up mannerisms, the way to stress syllables, and the way to put your tone into what you say that communicates feeling just as much as words. My interviewer asked me why I spent two years in France. I'm acutely aware of how the French treat 'new' religion, and very often the Church is viewed in a bad light. However, I'm not going to back down and so I told him straightforward it was for a religious mission. He responded favorably, even asking further questions about what I did all day, what Church I belong to, and it came out that he actually lived down the street from a Chapel in his hometown. I hope that he can see my mission for the good that it was and not a crusade to brainwash his compatriots to believe in an American cult. I think he's level headed enough to do it.

So now, at the end of the interview, he says it's time for me to take a test. I was braced for a technical set of questions, but I guess he garnered what he needed from the Q&A session about my projects and work experience. This test is the dreaded personality test. 100 questions of 3 and 4 statements such as:

1.) I make friends easily
2.) I'm relatively unstable emotionally
3.) I work hard regardless of the obstacles
4.) I prefer to stay away from large groups

I had to select the statement that represented me the most and the statement that represented me the least. After about 40 of these things, all in French mind you, and being up for 14 hours yesterday, my head began to swim. Normally I'm not prone to do well on these sorts of tests; I've failed 3 of them before that I know of. "Fail." I put answers that led the company I wanted to work for to believe that I was not a good fit, despite the preamble declaring there are no correct or incorrect answers. So I'm nervous. I sent it off last night at 11:00 PM so that he'd have it in his inbox first thing in the morning. I haven't heard back, but he did say he was going out of town.

Say a prayer for me. I really want this job.

they called back

Whee!

Amidst the flurry of snooty French 'We don't want you to work for us' e-mails, this company is really making me get excited. They're another recruiting company that sends you out to work as hired help. So I'll basically be telling people I'm a mercenary. It sounds cooler.

Rewind for a moment: Wednesday morning around 9:15 a lady from this headhunting company called me, asked some of the pre-screening questions, and basically said she's got a post that matches my profile. Sign me up, I say. Sure enough, Friday I got the two phone calls that I slept through from the same company, this time with a bit more information on what kind of a job it would be. I know that this was the reason for the missed calls because they contacted me this morning at 8:30. This is very exciting, they want engineers with a background in C++ (which I have) for the development of place and route actions on FPGA development toolkits and suites. That, dear friends, is right up my alley. I am way excited for this. They've been punctual, the job matches my profile almost 100%, it's in Paris, and I think I'll be able to get a decent salary out of them because when they asked I kept it open ended. I've got another interview of sorts tomorrow morning, so I need to get cracking on my work now.

Whee!