Electronics employers in Toronto?

[Minus3db]

Hello,

I'm a fairly recent graduate of EE, and I also have an electronics
tech. diploma under my belt. I'm *desperate* to find work in the
electronics industry, especially something in analog design, embedded
control, or RF engineering. I'm living in Toronto, Canada.

I'm having some real difficulty in finding a junior position - i.e.,
one that doesn't require 5-10 years of experience, or a Masters
degree. It's the old 'can't get the job without experience, can't get
the experience without a job' story. :-(
I've had lots of nice comments about my resume / cover letters, but
'we've hired someone else with more experience than you' is starting
to get old.
Going back to school is not an option for me, due to family
commitments.

Right now I'm working as a consultant for construction projects -
mostly low voltage distribution. Lots of drafting and paperwork, and
absolutely no exposure to electronics whatsoever, but it's paying the
bills for now. It's also driving me mad because I know exactly what
industry I want to work in, I just can't seem to get hired.

If anyone out there could offer some advice in finding a junior
position in the electronics industry, I'd be grateful. Right now, I'm
so disheartened that I'd even appreciate hearing from others in a
similar situation, just so I know that I'm not alone.

Thanks in advance,
minus3db@hotmail.com

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Tim Wescott
<tim@wescottnospamdesign.com> wrote (in <10uuabeoom6vu1f@corp.supernews.
com&gt about 'Electronics employers in Toronto?', on Wed, 19 Jan 2005:

And for those of you who are still in school? Get an internship if at
all possible, or even a job as a stock clerk in your target industry.
Meet as many people as possible, keep track of them if they go someplace
else, and make sure folks know what you want to do when you get out.
Even as a stock clerk you can show drive and competence, which is a plus
when they interview you as well as a bunch of total unknowns.

I agree with this 100%. I did two spells of internship with the company
I wanted to join, and when I went for the employment interview, I'd
already worked for two of the board members. The fact that I had saved
them several thousand pounds (in 1957, when that was money) helped as
well.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 07:31:13 -0500, the renowned "Mike"
<no_spam@comcast.net> wrote:

Sometimes it's who you know rather than what you know. Check out some
connections through family, friends, co-workers...

Mike

Schmooze around trade shows, local meetings and such like that fit
your area of interest. There are often head hunters trolling about
those affairs too, though they tend to want more experienced types.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

 

[Ken Smith]

In article <96a21fd8.0501191856.48041d00@posting.google.com>,
Minus3db <minus3db@hotmail.com> wrote:
[...]

control, or RF engineering. I'm living in Toronto, Canada.

There are many many companies within a short GO train or subway ride of
you so don't lose hope.

[....]

I've had lots of nice comments about my resume / cover letters, but
'we've hired someone else with more experience than you'

I think you should have someone else read your resume and do a mock
interview with you. Never believe the "nice comments and reasons we
didn't hire you". It may be true but never believe them. If you didn't
get hired, it means that somehow you didn't match up with what they were
hoping for.

The cover letter gets your foot in the door. The Resume is the boring
documentation that backs up your interview. It really is the interview
that gets you hired. These days there are other qualified people out
there. It is useful to research the company you are applying to to find
out what they are likely to care about and then brush up on those
subjects. Their web site is a good place to start.

Some interviewers will throw bogus stuff like what appear to be mistakes
into the conversation (I do this) as a way to see how you react.
Inexperienced people are less sure of themselves and tend to go along.
Good and more experienced people do something to flag the error without
saying "You're wrong-wrong! so dreadfully wrong!" The best is to indicate
that you think the person mis-spoke, that you misheard or perhaps your
resume wasn't clear on that point.

--
--
kensmith@rahul.net forging knowledge

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:47:42 -0500, the renowned keith
<krw@att.bizzzz> wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:46:05 -0800, Tim Wescott wrote:

And for those of you who are still in school? Get an internship if at
all possible, or even a job as a stock clerk in your target industry.
Meet as many people as possible, keep track of them if they go someplace
else, and make sure folks know what you want to do when you get out.
Even as a stock clerk you can show drive and competence, which is a plus
when they interview you as well as a bunch of total unknowns.

Absolutely! I thik all of the "newbs" we've hired in the past ten years
have been interns through school. Even in bad times we hired them after
graduation. Once you're in, you're in. "IN" is the issue.

Co-op programs help with this. Univ. of Waterloo has an excellent
co-op engineering program with lots of interesting spin-offs such as
Research in Motion, Certicom etc. locally. Helps pay for school (or,
more likely, lots of beer, too).


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

 

[keith]

On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 05:41:16 -0500, Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:47:42 -0500, the renowned keith
krw@att.bizzzz> wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:46:05 -0800, Tim Wescott wrote:

And for those of you who are still in school? Get an internship if at
all possible, or even a job as a stock clerk in your target industry.
Meet as many people as possible, keep track of them if they go someplace
else, and make sure folks know what you want to do when you get out.
Even as a stock clerk you can show drive and competence, which is a plus
when they interview you as well as a bunch of total unknowns.

Absolutely! I thik all of the "newbs" we've hired in the past ten years
have been interns through school. Even in bad times we hired them after
graduation. Once you're in, you're in. "IN" is the issue.

Co-op programs help with this. Univ. of Waterloo has an excellent
co-op engineering program with lots of interesting spin-offs such as
Research in Motion, Certicom etc. locally. Helps pay for school (or,
more likely, lots of beer, too).

Yes, I glump Coops in with interns. The coop program is invaluable,
particularly for those not independantly wealthy. It's the only way to
fly these days.

I got lucky 30 years ago. I didn't do any co-op time, but wangled a job
as a technician workign for the university for my four years. It didn't
pay more than minimum, but the employers loved the experience.

The worst thing is *no* work experience. All employers want to see that
you're responsible. Even if you were slinging pizza in college, it's
better than doing nothing. ...assuming the grades are in reason.

--
Keith

--
Keith