2013 IEEE Career Advancement Workshop – May 18, 2013

Workshop Program

07:15-08:15	Registration, Breakfast, Meet and Greet

08:15-08:30	Welcome
	Nikolaos Golas, Workshop Chair and IEEE METSAC Chair
	Peter Eckstein, IEEE Region 1 Director
	Dr. Christopher A. Capuano, FDU Provost

08:30-08:45	Keynote Address
	Dr. Peter Staecker, IEEE President

08:45-09:45	Resume Workshop: Create Resumes that Get You Hired
	Don Herres, IEEE Region 1 Employment and Activities Coordinator

09:45-10:45	Interview Skills Workshop: Turning Interviews Into Job Offers
	Don Herres, IEEE Region 1 Employment and Activities Coordinator

10:45-11:00	Coffee Break

11:00-12:00	Stuff You Don’t Learn in Engineering School
	Carl Selinger, Principal, Carl Selinger Services

12:00-13:00	Lunch
	Lunch-Time Talk: Women in Engineering
	Prof. Gloria Reinish, Fairleigh Dickinson University

13:00-14:00	Essential Skills to Survive and Thrive in the Workplace
	Bala Prasanna, Program Manager, IBM

14:00-15:00	Mastering Communication Skills for Success at Work
	Bala Prasanna, Program Manager, IBM

15:00-15:15	Coffee Break

15:15-16:15	Effective Networking: Finding Hidden Opportunities for Job Search and Career Success
	Dru Reynolds, Reynolds, Recruiters

16:15-16:45	Panel Discussion: Career Strategies for Professionals
	Don Herres, Carl Selinger, Bala Prasanna, Dru Reynolds,
	and Naresh Chand

16:45-17:15	Mingle and Network

Program Details

Keynote Address
Dr. Peter Staecker, 2013 IEEE President and CEO

Peter Staecker is the 2013 IEEE President and CEO, a Consulting Editor at Microwave Journal and a member of the Administrative Committee at IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques (MTT) Society. Peter holds BS and EE degrees from MIT, and MS and PhD degrees from Polytechnic University. His professional career started in 1972 at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, as Member of the Technical Staff, where he developed solid state device reliability test techniques, precise automated optical scattering measurement techniques, and microwave design and test techniques for satellite communications. As part of this activity, he developed the Laboratory’s first automated microwave and millimeter-wave scattering parameter test measurement systems using the (then) rare IEEE 488 interface bus test equipment and desktop computers.

In 1986 he joined M/A-COM as Senior Corporate Engineer, where he led program, product and process development. He and his project team developed a series of high-efficiency high-power frequency multipliers that achieved record power levels and popular product line status as millimeter-wave sources. As Director of Engineering of Advanced Program Development, he helped the company’s transition from defense to commercial markets. As Director of Research and Development, he also established strong ties with both USA (University of Michigan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Penn State University) and European universities and research organizations. These ties supported research in the partner organizations and helped to build a technically strong and diverse staff of researchers in M/A-COM’s growing R&D organization In recognition of his leadership and contributions to microwave and millimeter-wave devices and circuits, he was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 1995. Peter Staecker has served industry and government on manufacturing and advisory panels, and is consulting editor to Microwave Journal.

Peter Staecker is Past-President of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), and is an IEEE Life Fellow. In 2006 MTT-S recognized his continued outstanding contributions and service by electing him as its 12th Honorary Life Member. His 28 year service to IEEE includes leadership roles in Technical Activities, Finance, Strategic Planning, Publications, and Membership. He has served on the IEEE Board of Directors for six years.

Resume Workshop: Create Resumes that Get You Hired
Don Herres, IEEE Region 1 Employment and Activities Coordinator

Abstract — A resume goes through many filters before being seen by a hiring manager. Most people will look over a resume in about 20 seconds before deciding if it is worth reading in detail. This is a marketing tool that is essential and you only get one chance to get your message across. The resume should also be an extension of your on-line profile in LinkedIn or a related site.

Interview Skills Workshop: Turning Interviews into Job Offers
Don Herres, IEEE Region 1 Employment and Activities Coordinator

Abstract — The typical interview starts with a phone screening. This needs as much preparation as you would for an in-person interview. Once you get to the in person interview, you need to be prepared for questions that may be irrelevant or on subjects that you are not comfortable with. Remember, most interviewers are not professionally trained in interviewing. It is your responsibility to make this a positive experience for the interviewer! The interview process does not end when you leave the building. You need to follow up proactively.

Don Herres is the IEEE Region 1 Employment & Career Activities Coordinator. He has been involved with Career Activities Workshops with IEEE for a number of years and was awarded an IEEE-USA Citation of Honor in 2006 for these efforts. Don has a BSEE from SUNY Buffalo, MSEE from Syracuse University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York State. He has extensive experience in product design and manufacturing, holds 3 patents, and recently retired from his full time paying job to work on his unpaid volunteer jobs. He also does contract electronic design work.

Stuff You Don’t Learn in Engineering School
Carl Selinger, Principal, Carl Selinger Services

Abstract – This presentation covers the most important soft skills that engineers in all stages of their careers need to know. These non-technical skills include decision-making, setting priorities and managing time, teamwork and leadership skills, being effective during meetings and negotations, stress management, action planning, and
having fun.

Carl Selinger is an engineer with more than forty years of experience. He is very much invested in many IEEE activities and greatly enjoys developing and presenting programs in professional skills to help engineers become more effective and happier. His professional development program energizes recent graduates and attracts all ages groups and all specialty areas. He has held numerous seminars on soft skills to many IEEE Sections and groups (GOLD, WIE, S-PACs) throughout the US, Canada, and Scotland during the last 20 years. He is the author of the book “Stuff You Don’t Learn in Engineering School”, which provides a down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach from Carl Selinger’s career as an aviation/transportation engineering manager and college professor.

Women in Engineering
Prof. Gloria Reinish, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Abstract – The evolving role of women in the engineering profession will be discussed, from the perspective of a woman whose engineering career spans a period of almost 70 years. What was it like to be a woman engineer in the 1940’s, how have things changed, and what does the future hold? How can we make engineering careers more appealing to women, as well as to men?

Dr. Gloria Brooks Reinish received the BS in Electrical Engineering, MS in Electrical Engineering, and Doctor of Engineering Science in Biomedical Engineering, all from the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science (she was the first woman to obtain an engineering degree from Columbia University). Dr. Reinish was a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories, and a Research and Development engineer at the Sperry Gyroscope Company, where she obtained a patent on a precision ranging system for a long range radar application.

She retired from Sperry to start a family, raised three children (all engineers), and became a professor of Electrical Engineering at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she has been teaching for the past 50 years. Dr. Reinish was a consultant to the medical devices panel of the Food and Drug Administration, having done research on electrical properties of bone, and on electrical stimulation of bone growth. She is a Senior Life Member of the IEEE (including WIE and EMBS), a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers, and a member of Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, and Eta Kappa Nu.

Essential Skills to Survive and Thrive in the Workplace
Bala Prasanna, Program Manager, IBM

Abstract — Workplace habits and expectations have changed significantly in the last few years. Surviving and thriving depends on the employee’s ability to grasp the broader picture and hone some essential skills. Topics of discussion include:

Handling a round the clock job
Setting aside think place/think time regularly, training a backup
Playground vs. battleground attitude/aptitude
Finding & developing a sweet spot of issues for resolution
Managing your boss, thinking as a manager
Managing relationships (creating your angels)
Awareness of the business control requirements of your employer
Handling personal vs. professional attitudes/opinions
Habits of successful people
Talents vs. skills, training to acquire necessary skills
Productivity tracking
Customer/vendor relationships

Mastering Communication Skills for Success at Work
Bala Prasanna, Program Manager, IBM

Abstract — If we do not manage relations with managers and peers in the workplace, we will not have resources to get our job done. Communications, spoken, written or otherwise, is an essential part. Can we ask better questions? How do we work with toxic people? Do we always say nice things, but carry a stick? Have we tried talking-up? Are we “deadline” passionate, and how do we manage that? The presenter, while sharing his ideas, will also engage the audience for their thoughts on these topics.

Bala Prasanna joined IBM in May 2005 as a program manager. He began his career as an assistant professor in SUNY University and then worked at AT&amps;T Bell Labs for over 20 years in several job positions. As manager, he is active in many employee counseling and support organizations. Bala Prasanna is the IEEE Region 1 Treasurer, and past chair of the IEEE Jersey Coast section among many volunteer positions. He is a senior member of the IEEE. He has published and presented on software reliability engineering methodology, given presentations at many universities discussing the need and value of career and life management skills. He is a recipient of IEEE Millennium and IEEE Region awards for his leadership.

Effective Networking: Finding Hidden Opportunities for Job Search and Career Success
Dru Reynolds, Reynolds, Recruiters

Abstract — Navigating in this rough economy and often lack-luster job market is no easy task. Whether you are out of work, trying to weather the storm, or unsure of which way your career winds are blowing, this talk is for you. Stand apart from the crowd – Don’t do what everyone else is doing! Learn why Networking is a critical piece in finding employment opportunities and how best to utilize what is known as Social “Media.”

Dru Reynolds has been in the employment/recruiting industry for more than 25 years and began her own business when she was part of a RIF in 1998 and could not find a job. With some help from the State of NJ – a program for entrepreneurs – she started her own recruiting company, Reynolds, Recruiters, working from her apartment and specializing in RF/MW nationally. In addition to recruiting, she has been a consultant to the SBA of Monmouth County; taught telephone techniques to inside sales staff; and was a sales rep for consulting services to the defense industry. Dru attended Brookdale CC and Rutgers/Douglas. She is an active volunteer with the IEEE; serves as Region II coordinator for the MTT society; and an active member of Women in Engineering. Her passion to bring encouragement and enthusiasm for engineering to students was supported by the local group of WIE and Dru is delighted she was the originator and moderator for “Engineering Career Day” NJ schools. Coaching@DruReynolds was conceived and introduced as a response to the devastating unemployment situation, and the response has been great! Dru’s motto is “Professional help for anyone in need of a strong, creative approach to job searching.”