Advice from A Graduate

Advice from A Graduate
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Advice from a recent graduate about looking for a job and setting up your resume

"As far as internships and getting a job with Raytheon go, the best thing to do is go to all of the plant tours and college fairs that representatives are at. I think the college days they have here is usually in Nov, and sometime in the spring (like March or something). Most of the time they will do interviews on the spot. I believe you have to register before the college day, and they will take your resume then. Good advice here: TAYLOR YOUR RESUME TO RAYTHEON (or to whichever company you are applying to). The students should go to the website and learn everything possible about the company. What products does Raytheon make? What products are specifically built at Tucson? What missile programs does Tucson support? Most students go into college days blind about the company that they are going to speak to the reps about. If you come here and speak to the reps and say something like "Well, I know Raytheon makes commercial microwave ovens" then don't expect the resume to go very far (I just use that as an example since a portion of the company owns Amana, which makes microwaves). However, if the student can say something like, "I am very interested in large aperture dual band long wave infrared seeker technology" then the rep will know that the student is serious. Also, tell the reps that you are interested in a summer internship, and would be able to devote 20-30 hrs/wk part time after the summer during the semester. Your resume will go further in the process if they know you are willing to devote time to the company after a regular summer internship period. And believe me, it will be a time devotion."

"It's very difficult for chemical engineers to get into Raytheon here in Tucson. Why? Because the company needs mechanical, software, and optical engineers since they support the products we make. Most of the chemE's get hired into the Materials & Processing department. They are responsible for testing materials (paints, epoxies, etc) and performing failure analysis. But that department usually wants experienced research and experimental chemists. To break out of the traditional chemE typecast, students should play down the usual chemE stuff on resumes (i.e. chemE classes) and play up any real world experience and classes that show well-roundedness. If you rebuilt trannies on the weekends, then emphasize that and talk about it so they know you are mechanically-inclined. If you are an electronics wiz at your hobbies, or took ECE classes for your electives, then mention that too. All UA chemE's are taught a ton of thermal analysis, and that's a great one to play up since we have an entire department here devoted to it. It's all about getting your foot in the door with the company and making sure your resume doesn't die. I can't tell you the number of resumes I see sitting by the fax machine in May. And that brings up another point: One of the most important parts of the resume is the "objective". A large percentage of resumes read something like "To obtain a full-time summer internship position at a leading techological company in the field of chemical engineering." What the company reps are looking for is something to tell them where to send your resume next. The resume will be xeroxed and sent to several centers and departments here. The above example gives them nothing to work with, since we aren't a chemical engineering company. However, if the obective reads something like "To obtain a full-time internship position focusing on thermal analysis, cryogenics, or material selection and design of missile programs supported by Raytheon" that will get the resume sent to the thermal analysis department, cryogenic department, and materials & processes department (3 different ones as opposed to 1). It also mentions the company's name, and the fact that Raytheon supports missile programs. This lets them know that the resume isn't a generic copy that you pass out to all college reps, and lets them know you are truly interested in this company."

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