Giving Notice- 6 Things To Do To Prepare To Leave

This article is reprinted with permission.

After days, weeks, months or longer of interviewing, you have received a job offer that meets your needs and have decided to give notice to your employer and resign your current job.

1. Get your job offer in writing. Having the offer in writing is both your legal protection against an employer should they make an attempt to deceive you with the terms of the offer AND your protection against you having made a mistake in hearing the offer. The letter should include both your new salary and position title within it. Some will provide a benefits summary; most large firms will not provide that until employee orientation during your initial phase of employment with their firm.

2. Meet with your boss for a few minutes and tell them personally and provide a written letter of resignation. “May I get a minute with you uttered on a Friday,” has started more discussions about resignation and sent many employers into unhappy weekends and managers into anxiety attacks about how to replace someone than almost any other question.

3. Give two weeks notice. Sometimes three weeks is the right thing to do, but remember, your new job is waiting for you and if you’ve told them you’ll be there in two weeks, do not adjust your start date to accommodate the job you’re leaving. After all, if you died tomorrow, they would still survive without you.

4. Your letter of resignation should be simple.

Dear ____________,

I have decided to resign my position with Mega Company effective today. My last day of employment will be _____________.

Thank you for the opportunity to have worked with you and to have learned from you. (OPTIONAL SENTENCE TO FOLLOW). Please respect me and my decision by not attempting to make a counter offer.

Sincerely,

Your name

5. If you are asked for reason you are leaving, do not be hypercritical and answer simply. “I believe that this opportunity will further my career goals,” is acceptable. If you want to go into details, do not discuss any slights that you received. Focus on objective things, rather than on your (emotional) reactions to decisions. You do not need to disclose the name of the firm you are going to work for although there is nothing wrong about doing so.

6. For most people, do not consider accepting a counteroffer. How did you “suddenly” become worth more money? Because your departure inconveniences your employer. As a result, they will have to delay plans or have work assigned to others less capable and will be adversely impacted. For most people, a counteroffer only addresses and corrects the financial failings of their job and does nothing to improve their job.

Resigning well will allow you to complete your final week(s) of employment well and head to your new job with confidence and certainty.

Permission to reprint given by:

Jeff Altman

Concepts in Staffing

© 2005 all rights reserved.

Financial Crisis and our "Mental Recession"

WOW! Dow down 500+ points yesterday. A number we haven't seen since 9/11/01. First came Bean Stearns, now Lehman Bros. and AIG. Let's not forget about the Fannie and Freddie bailout. I didn't realize it was the Governments job to bail out troubled companies (we'll save that rant for another day!)

So where does this leave us? Are start-ups still going to be able to get the cash infusions they need to expand and continue growing? Are the rules for borrowing that money going to change?

With all this bad news, it's been said that we are in a "mental recession." The economy is growing at 3.3% (source,) unemployment is at a low 5.7% (source,) companies are hiring educated, qualified candidates as fast today as ever before. Fact of the matter is that we are NOT in a recession. We are simply being inundated with bad news after bad news in the housing/financial markets. Nobody is talking about how the solar industry is booming (First Solar, Inc. is up over 100% in the last year.) Fertilizer companies are also booming, just look at Potash (POT) up 100% in the last year. This is just to name a few industries and I think if we look hard enough we are going to continue to see these types of gains in many other industries as well. Why do we keep beating a dead horse? The housing/financial markets are in complete turmoil and things are only going to get worse before they get better. I GET IT!! Why don't we start talking about those industries that are doing well? Why don't the media outlets focus on some of the positive news coming out of the economy?

AMD Employee charged with stealing from Intel

It is being reported today that a former AMD employee has been charged by the FBI for stealing top secret information relating to future chip designs from Intel Corp. Biswahoman Pani who left Intel on June 11, 2008 (but started work at AMD on June 2nd) admitted using his Intel laptop to access the files on the chipmaker’s network out of curiosity during an FBI interview late in July, after it raided his home and found 19 CAD designs and more than 100 other Intel documents. It should be noted that AMD has since terminated Mr. Pani and is cooperating fully with the FBI's investigation. FBI charges said AMD had no involvement in and had not condoned Pani’s actions.

So this begs several questions.
1: Why wasn't Pani's access to these sensitive documents removed when he gave notice?
2: He allegedly printed these documents. How can we be sure there aren't additional copies?
3: How can we be sure that none of these documents were passed along to someone else?

Lots and Lots of Hiring!

Below you will find a list of the client companies I am currently working with that are actively seeking qualified candidates. I have immediate access to the hiring Managers and Directors that give me rapid feedback on all candidate submissions. If you are interested in hearing more about any of these roles, please feel free to contact me directly.

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) Boxborough, MA- 4 Verification Engineers and 3 Circuit Designers
International Rectifier, Rhode Island- IC Design Engineer-Power (Cadence tools)
Infinera, San Jose, CA- Verification Engineer with Packet Processing background
Linear Technologies, Chelmsford, MA- Analog IC Designers (5+) Switching regulators and Controllers
Triquint Semiconductor, MA- RF Designers with GaAs, MMIC design experience
Start-up in Woburn- Analog IC Design (ADC's, DAC's)

Ross Cooper 603-893-9486

Major Hiring push in Boston area!

Boston area microprocessor company hiring!

I have been contacted by a major player in the microprocessor space that is seeking 4 verification engineers in the Boston area. I am also looking for board level designers that have experience doing boards with microcontrollers in Nashua, NH.

Despite the leaks of bad news coming from the semiconductor industry, we are clearly still in a candidate driven market. We are position rich and talent poor. Companies Nationwide are actively seeking qualified candidates to fill circuit and board level design positions, test and verification. There is just not enough qualified talent to go around!! Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to hear about any positions specific toy our skill set. Ross Cooper 603-893-9486

New Group forming with HOT Woburn, MA Startup

I am in need of several key designers for a new group at my pre-IPO start-up client in Woburn, MA.

1- Lead Analog IC Designer. You will lead a small team of 2-5 designers and be capable of tackling ADC designs and help with upgrades. You will also be proficient in the lab and have good debugging skills

2- RF Designer. Experience with low noise broadband amplifiers, filters, possibly some MMIC design and exposure to small technology nodes.

3- Systems Designer. This is for high level communications systems. Must be proficient in System architecture. Ideal background would consist of cable tv, ie: Set top boxes.

4- Verification Engineer. Will be responsible for behavioral models, analyze architecture, block specs, drive test benches. Currently using Cadence tools. Any exposure to 65nm is very helpful!

To be considered for any of these roles, please send your resume directly to me at ross@hightechnh.com

My first Keeper Striper