FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: INFORMATION FOR RECRUITERS
This is my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, where I answer various questions that I have received during job interviews. The purpose of this page is to save the recruiter time by providing answers to questions commonly asked during the hiring process.
ARE YOU CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?
I am currently working, but am always willing to discuss working elsewhere. If an employer doesn't want me to keep the option of working elswhere open, they need to assure me that they have closed the option of firing me...
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN LONG-TERM OR CONTRACT WORK?
It has been my experience that it doesn't matter. I have had consulting positions that were extended again and again for years, and long-term positions that ended with the company shutting down after a few months. My focus is making good products, not on whether the position is long-term vs. contract.
ARE YOU WILLING TO RELOCATE?
I have no problem with relocating, either permanently or for short-term projects. I often do contract work in other states for period ranging from a few weeks to many months, and am open to long-term positions in other areas.
ARE YOU WILLING TO TRAVEL?
I have no problem with traveling, and have held position with up to 60% travel. I have a valid passport and no criminal record that may impede foreign travel, but the potential employer should be aware that I try to do as much work as possible through telephone, email, and teleconference; travel is expensive for the company.
WHAT ARE YOUR SALARY REQUIREMENTS?
At this point in my career, I am far more interested in challenging assignments than I am in compensation issues.
WILL YOU SEND ME A COPY OF YOUR RESUME IN WORD OR PLAIN TEXT FORMAT?
No.
If you are a recruiter or work in human resources, part of your job requirements should include the ability to convert am HTML resume into whatever format you prefer. Here is a hint for those of you using Internet Explorer: try saving the web page as "Single file (.mht)" and renaming the .mht file to a .doc file.
I HAVE A POSITION FOR A TECHNICIAN. ARE YOU INTERESTED?
Most of my recent experience is as a design engineer, project engineer or project manager, but I enjoy short-term to medium term technician work; it's a good way to gain experience with new technologies and to avoid getting into a rut.
WHAT KIND OF PRODUCTS HAVE YOU DESIGNED?
Electronic toys, Disk drives, VCRs, PA systems, Smog testers, a DVD production line, test fixtures for aircraft parts, and many other electronic products.
HOW ARE YOUR ANALOG ELECTRONICS SKILLS?
I would rate myself as good to excellent in the areas of operational amplifier (opamp) circuits and analog to digital converters, and fair to good in transistor circuit design. Most of my transistor experience has been with microcontroller-based designs which use only simple transistor circuits.
HOW ARE YOUR DIGITAL ELECTRONICS SKILLS?
I would rate myself as excellent in microcontroller and microprocessor digital electronics and fair to good in with ASICs, FPGAs, etc.
HOW ARE YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS?
I would rate myself as excellent in the area of project management. I have the technical ability and people skills to bring out the best in a team of hardware and software engineers, and I am skilled at the nuts and bolts of schedules and budgets.
HOW ARE YOUR PROGRAMMING SKILLS?
Most of my software experience has been managing programmers rather than doing the programming myself. I can write test programs in a variety of languages, but if you need a real programmer, I would be a poor choice.
HOW ARE YOUR AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SKILLS?
My aerospace engineering skills are all in the areas of designing electronics to test aerospace components, as opposed to designing the aerospace components themselves. Within that specialty, I rate my skills as excellent.
HOW ARE YOUR COMPUTER AND NETWORKING SKILLS?
I would rate myself as good to excellent in the area of personal computers and networks. When I am between engineering jobs, I freelance as a PC support technician, and I often end up doing PC support for whatever engineering department I am working for in addition to my normal engineering duties.
HOW ARE YOUR AUDIO ENGINEERING SKILLS?
I would rate myself as excellent in the area of audio electronics, especially high-end recording studio electronics.
HOW ARE YOUR RADIO FREQUENCY SKILLS?
I would rate myself as generally poor in the area of radio frequency electronics, and fair to good in the sub-specialties of reducing radio emissions in digital designs and reducing radio frequency interference in low-noise analog designs. Radio frequency electronics is a bit of a Black Art, and you really need an expert.
HOW ARE YOUR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SKILLS?
My mechanical engineering skills are generally poor to nonexistent, but I do have some skills in pneumatics and hydraulics.
HOW ARE YOUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SKILLS?
Better than excellent. I am one of the top R&D engineers in my field, with an established reputation for creating products that are market successes. My track record in this area speaks for itself. I have often been compared to Doc Brown, the mad scientist from the "Back To The Future" movies; the kind of engineer you would hire if you wanted something built that nobody else knows how to build. That kind of job is my specialty.