1. 1 How to Get A Job Without a Burning Bush Phil Brondsema Global Product Steward Celanese Chemical Co. Houston, TX in collaboration with Glenn Triezenberg Director, Calvin Career Development Office April 22, 2010

2. 2 Career Path ► BS Chemistry – Calvin ► PhD – Chemistry U-Wisconsin ► Dow Chemical – Midland, MI Research Chemist / Process Development R&D Supervisor Project Leader Marketing – Business Development Project Leader x 3 ► Downsized 2005 Job Searcher ► Celanese – Houston, TX R&D Project Leader Product Steward / Regulatory Affairs ?

3. 3 50,000 foot level Spiritual Mental Tactical

4. 4 Spiritual Preparation: You are no more alone when you are looking for a job than Moses was when he resigned his job as prince of Egypt and applied for a herding job from Jethro in Midean ► The Will of God as a Way of Life: Sittser How to make decisions confidently ► Talk regularly with peers, mentors, pastors

5. 5 Good At Someone Pays Like to Do Sweet Spot Mental Preparation :

6. 6 What am I Good At? Who Will Pay? What do I Like to Do? Is there a sweet spot? Is there a Sweet Spot??? Job Finding is Inexact: 100 unknowns, 3 equations 60,000

7. 7 Mental & Tactical: ► Mental: Do your homework Use Calvin Development Office as Career Coach Types of jobs you’d like, are good at, Locations Identify & research candidate companies & people ► Tactical: Develop networks of contacts and ask for help Internships, profs, relatives….. Professional societies Make contacts, calls and visits Ask for introductions, advice, discussion

8. 8 Prepare: ► What are you good at? How good is good enough? ► What do you like to do? How do you know if you haven’t tried? ► How do I find someone who will pay? ~6MM employers in the US Most jobs are with companies with <200 employees Lots of Uncertainty

9. 9 What are you good at? ► Self-assessment Best Medium Not Sure? ► Take the FE exam – Resume’ enhancer Calvin Pass Rate is 95% Required to make PE an option

10. 10 What do you like to do? ► Draw on all interests, not just engineering AnalyzingAuditing AssessingCompiling CommunicatingDeveloping ConceptualizingDirecting DefiningEvaluating DetectingFormulating Editing …… Source: The Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide

11. 11 Scope: Engineering Jobs ► Basic Research ► Product Development ► Process Development ► Application Development ► Equipment/process design ► Tech Service ► Sales ► Marketing ► Manufacturing ► etc…

12. 12 Someone to Pay ► Multi-nationals (hardest to get into) ► North American ► Regional ► Non-profits ► Start-up ► Country/region/state/city

13. 13 Be Approximately Right, Keep Options Open ► Make a list: Definitely In Probably In Maybe In -- Don’t know Definitely Out ► Learn & Modify

14. 14 Tactics:

15. 15 Ways to Find a Job ► 7% Mailing out résumés ► 7% Answering ads in trade journals ► 10% Answering job openings on company websites ► 12% Print or on-line ads ► 30% Using private search firms ► 33% Asking your network for leads ► 47% Knocking on company doors (literally) ► 69% Using Yellow Pages (or Thompson Registry) to identify candidate companies ► 86% Do homework on yourself, homework on your target Combination of the last 3 USNews & World Report; The Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide

16. 16 Ways to Make Contact ► Hire From Within ► Job-hunter with proof of ability ► Business colleague or friend referral ► Trusted job agency ► Ads: on-line or print ► Unsolicited resume’ Employer’s Preference Job hunting ease Source: The Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide Lowest Risk Highest Risk

17. 17 Contacts: ► Network: with people in the general direction you’re interested. ► Track: each contact and communications ► Send thank-you notes ► Example XL spreadsheet:

18. 18 People I Networked with: ► Bosses, scientists, leaders from Dow Chemical ► Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Centers (GVSU, MSU, WMU, Delta ) ► Right Place (GR) ► Friends and acquaintances at Calvin Career Office Faculty (I got introductions from my kids) Development Office ► Church friends – links to new circles ► 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th level network contacts: Insurance – Manufacturing –Nonprofit – Real Estate – Education………

19. 19 Networking: Hello. My name is Phil Brondsema: Andy DeVries at the Calvin Development office suggested I give you a call. I’m a technical and business leader at Dow Chemical and have been recently downsized. I am looking for a position in business development or technology development. Could I visit with you for 20-30 minutes to see if you might have suggestions of people or companies I might talk to?

20. 20 Your Personal Resources: ► Calvin Career Development Office Library, 2 nd Floor Lobby http://www.calvin.edu/admin/career/contact.html ► Professors ► Internship connections ► Parents (and your friends’ parents) ► Phil Brondsema ► Calvin Engineering Advisory Committee ~20 members ► Professional societies ► Pastor of church(es) in target area

21. 21 Your Impersonal Resources: ► www.engineeringjobs.com www.engineeringjobs.com ► www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com ► www.aiche.org www.aiche.org ► www.asme.org www.asme.org ► www.asce.org www.asce.org ► www.ieee.org www.ieee.org ► www.swe.org Society of Women Engineers www.swe.org ► www.shpe.org Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers www.shpe.org ► http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engineering/prospective/sites.htm http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engineering/prospective/sites.htm ► Yellow Pages ► Thomsonreuters.com

22. 22 2010 Outlook: The economic rebound is likely to speed up in the US this year, but in Europe things are not as good. There are mixed signals, for sure, but we are at the positive end, particularly in the US," Diamond told "Squawk Box Europe." We see very strong signs of an accelerated recovery as 2010 goes on" and a "material improvement" in US employment is likely to occur,” Bob Diamond, President, Barclays http://www.cnbc.com/id/35417338

23. 23 U-Haul : 2009 Migration Trend Report Top 2009 Destinations: ► Houston ► Las Vegas ► Chicago ► San Antonio ► Orlando ► Austin, TX ► Atlanta ► Sacramento ► Kansas City, MO ► Denver

24. 24 US Employment Trends Down: Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics ► Blue Collar is much higher than professional ► Houston unemployment is much lower than Midwest

25. 25 US Trends ICIS Chemical Business 2/22/2010

26. 26 American Chemistry Council: ► Sales and captive (internal) use of major plastic resins totaled 6.3 billion pounds during January 2010, an increase of 9.1 percent from the same month one year earlier. ► http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/sec_news_article.asp?CID=206&DID=10778 http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/sec_news_article.asp?CID=206&DID=10778 ► In chemicals, output is projected to rise 7.8% in 2010 before moderating to a 4.0% pace of growth in 2011, and 3.8% in 2012. ► http://www.plasticstoday.com/articles/chemicals-plastics-recovery-underway-peak- recaptured-2013 http://www.plasticstoday.com/articles/chemicals-plastics-recovery-underway-peak- recaptured-2013

27. 27 Books : ► The Will of God as a Way of Life - Sittser 978-0310259633 ► The Job-Hunters Survival Guide – Bolles 978-1-58008-026-2

28. 28 Job hunting is hard work, but it’s less hard than being unemployed: ► Take the FE Exam ► Work ~4 hr/day at getting a job Spiritual Mental Tactical ► Get a part time job or volunteer

29. 29 If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. -- Albert Einstein, Jan 15, 1950