Blast from Sept 3, 2009. Leaving Mag... to join Zor...

On the third Wednesday of July, just after returning from our Yellowstone trip, I find out that I was getting laid off. Apparently, Mag had lost a design win and was getting out of the consumer business. I was relieved that I didn't have to work there anymore, since a lot of things were a mess, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do next. I thought this was probably the time for me to stay at home, enjoy being paid unemployment insurance, and figure out what to do with my life. Ideally, I wanted to spend the summer with the kids in China so they can get more Chinese exposure, and I would consider going into real estate or teaching. The latter option seemed especially appealing to me because of the nice hours of a teacher, but the thought of going to school for two years was a barrier. So I thought I would enjoy being unemployed for a while, spend time with the kids, and see what doors God opens for me instead.

About a week and a half after getting the layoff notice, I had the "crazy" idea to post my resume on the internet, just to see where I stand -- sort of like getting an appraisal. I knew that the job market was really bad, and I knew of people who had been looking for jobs for months without finding the perfect job. I just thought I'd give it a try because it was so easy to post a resume on the internet. Plus, since I was planning to leave engineering, I thought this would be a chance to write one final resume while my accomplishments were fresh in my head. Also, I had the help of my friend Keith, who let me see his resume. Since we had worked together for the past 14 years, I decided to use his format and just change the parts of his resume to make them apply to me.

The day after I post my resume to hotjobs.com, I immediately begin getting solicited by headhunters. In fact, I posted my resume on Wednesday, and I was called on Friday. This seemed somewhat amazing to me since none of my friends had had this experience. On Monday, I find out that the headhunter, ERG, wanted to connect me with Ubicom for a full time verification position. They had selected me for my experience with caches. That Tuesday, I had a phone screen with the hiring manager. We talked for about an hour, and it went somewhat well considering it was a first phone screen. I was nervous, and I could tell the hiring manager was very smart and wanted me to be very smart. I wasn't sure I sounded smart enough on the phone screen, but I was invited to a full day interview for Thursday. When Thursday came, I interviewed with the hiring manager and 3 others. I didn't do very well answering some of their questions. I blamed it on being rusty at interviewing, and not knowing how to clarify the question being asked. They asked me deep questions about packets though I hadn't worked with network packets in a long time. The hiring manager also asked me a C question which was very involved. I was able to work it out eventually, but I wasn't sure if I was able to show the hiring manager that I was brilliant , as he had said would be the requirement for getting the job. Also, as I was interviewing, I discovered it was crunch time, and the manager was very unopen to me ever wanting to work part-time, and the other people didn't seem that excited to be working there. After all, it was a start -up company that had been around for 10 years. So as I was interviewing, I was very sure I would not want the job, and I didn't think I'd pass the interview anyway. As I was walking out of there, I was just glad to have given interviewing a try, and was sure that would be the last ....

As I was leaving the building and entering car, I decide to check my voice mail. I get a message from a hiring manager at Ambarella who found my resume on the internet. Amazing again! He wanted to know if I was available for a phone screen. Although I was tired of looking for a job, I decided to go for the phone screen. The next day, he calls me and asks me 15 questions in 30 minutes. It was very methodical, and the questions were easy, had I done any amount of studying. The problem was that I had not done the due diligence of looking for a job, so I didn't review stuff that I should review. ie. they asked med simple questions like "what's the difference between a task and a function", "what's the difference between a blocking and non-blocking assignment". I was quite embarassed for flopping, but it was totally unexpected. As a result, I realized that if I were to go on an interview, I better do some amount of studying, especially for these easy questions regarding terminology.

On Monday, I get another call from a headhunter for a DFT position. The headhunter was "impressed with my resume" and thinks I would be a good fit. Well, I completely ignore his call and when he calls again on Wednesday, I forward the info to my friend Avinash. By now I'm getting tired and I'm thinking I should take my resume off the internet since I hadn't been thrilled by the companies that were interviewing me.

The next day, I get an email from another headhunter about a verification position. By now, I had already talked with Keith who told me it was okay to tell them " Thank you for your interest in me. I've decided to take a break at this moment". So I try this with Charlie, the recruiter. He calls me about a position, and I ask him to send me the job description. Then I look at the job description and call him back and tell him the truth. "Thank you for choosing my resume. The jobs seems like a good fit, but I've decided that I want to take a break for a couple of months before looking for a job. Also, I've always been working part-time, so unless I can have a part-time job, I'm probably not interested". Charlie then tells me that there's a contracting position at the same company too, so I tell him that I might perhaps be interested. Charlie then talks to Jerel, the hiring manager, about the situation, and amazingly, Charlie calls me back and says that "Jerel wants me to apply for the full time position". So Charlie suggest that Jerel and I chat about the position. At first, he suggests "that day". and I try to work it out because I just wanted to get this out of the way, but then I decide that it would be too stressful for me to go to this interview and pick my kids up from basketball camp. So I suggest just talking on the phone. We schedule Wednesday, 11-12, just before my grass volleyball game in Fremont.

I drive toward Fremont extra early so that I can be at the park when Jerel calls me, and the go straight to play volleyball afterward. At 11:00,I'm sitting in my car holding my iphone, and reading my email so that I could be ready to talk to Jerel. At 11:10, I find it suspicious that I don't get a call. I check my voicemail to discover he had called at 11:05. I quickly hang up to call him back, but I realize that I need to listen to his full message to get his entire phone number. A whole 30 seconds passes, which feels like forever. I just felt very irresponsible and it was the first phone screen where I had actually missed the interviewer's call. Thankfully, I reach him, and explain the situation. He doesn't seem to be offended. He then tells me what the full-time position is for, to be a lead, and to mentor juniors. I tell him I've never had that experience, but , (not wanting to slam any doors shut), I felt like it might be something I could do. He then asks me about my experience, and what I've been working on. He seems to just like me, and my experience, for some strange reason. In the end, he invites me to come to the full day interview that they have set up for me on Thursday, to further discuss whether I should work full time or part time. I then exclaim that I didn't realize that part-time was still an option! He then admits that he would like me to apply for the full time job. Anyway, this phone screen was very different than the other two in that, while I had done progressively more studying, it did not come into effect at talk, because it was more of a discussion about my past experience.
So Wednesday night, I decide do a little more studying. Because I still had work, and kids (James had badminton that night), I still couldn't do much studying, but I decided to at least read the Clifford Cummings paper about blocking vs. non-blocking. I also read up on a few links that my friends had passed on to me about typical interview questions just so that I could do better. I still wasn't sure if I wanted the job though.

Thursday morning comes, and as I approach my car to drive to the interview, I notice that it is still as utterly disgusting and dirty as it was when I went to my Ubicom interview. At Ubicom, being a small start-up, I had to make sure I park far away from the door just to ensure no one would see my dirty car. I am annoyed with myself that I didn't find the time to get my car washed before the Zoran interview. So as usual, I park far away. I had a lot of time to spare. As I approach zoran, I am very impressed that it only took me 8 minutes to drive there. The lobby is very nice, and it definitely has the feel of an established company. I am impressed with the products on display. I arrive early, the only breakfast I had was an iced-white chocolate mocha from starbucks, same as what I got before the Ubicom interview.

10:00 , I meet Jerel. He proceeds to tell me what a terrible morning he had and how his car had broken down a couple blocks from his house that morning. I think of this as small talk. We enter the interview room. He asks me a lot of questions about my past experience, then he asks me some math-y questions. Not engineering questions, but more like brain teasers to see how I think. An hour and a half later, I'm done with him and move on talking with Peter, the director, and his manager. Peter asks me about my resume, a C questions, a question about verifying the pentium (to find that FPU bug), and a question about video. I feel like I did okay with him. Even though he started off as a stoic man, I even got him to crack a smile at the end of the interview. Then at 12:30, Jerel comes back an invites me to lunch.

At lunch, Jerel tells me " I normally offer to drive my interview candidates to lunch, but given my situation, I am going to ask if you can drive us to lunch." OHHHHHH SHOOOOT! WHY OH WHY DIDN"T I WASH MY CAR????? I then tell Jerel, "No. I'm sorry but I cannot let you see my car. I park under a tree and there is bird poop all over it!" I then make us trek 2 blocks in my nice clothes down an unpaved Kifer blvd to a little Korean owned deli. The lady behind the counter recommends I order this large messy bowl of noodles smothered with peanuts. I imagine myself slurping away and making a big mess, so I instead just order "what Jerel orders". We have a very nice lunch where he's wooing me about how I can work flex time and from home anytime I want. I start thinking I must have done okay on his interview questions that morning cuz he's still wooing me.

We walk back for more interviews. I interview with one of the NCG's. One of the questions he asks me is straight from that one Clifford Cummings paper. A miracle! I then interview with Marty. He asks me this question about a spinner spinning clockwise or counterclockwise. I get mad at myself for having seen that question before, but not reviewing it. Fortunately, I remember the solution is very simple, so I keep that in mind as I am solving the problem all over again. He then asks me a lot of follow up questions to the problem, and I answer them alright. I figure if I had just memorized the right answer to first part without working it out, I wouldn't have done so well on the interview.

I leave home feeling good about the interview, and good about the company. The next morning, I get a call from Charlie telling me that due to some timeline of another candidate, I will hear the results by 6pm that day. I immediately feel stressed thinking in my naivete that they might be giving me an offer that night, and that if they did, they wouldn't give it to the other guy, and if I didn't want the offer, then they should have given it to the other guy. I involve many friends in my situation and ask for prayer that God will make it clear whether I should take this job or not, and if it's a job He knows I cannot handle, that He would shut the door. However, at 2:30, Jerel asks to speak with me again, so he interviews me for 1.5 hours, about behavioral/managerial questions. My lack of management experience is very evident, but he still seems to be giving me a chance.

I am in suspense all weekend wondering what will happen and thinking I'll get results on Monday.Monday comes, and I get an email from Charlie saying that Jerel has two more questions for me. One was about why I wasn't more involved in system level stuff, and one was stating that he was planning to train me for 6 months, but whether I was motivated to learn. I then use this opportunity not only to reply to his questions, but to pitch myself, and show him why I want this job. My heart had changed over the weekend, and I was more sure I wanted the job. I think seeing that he wanted to train me was also very appealing. I send the reply, and then I wait and wait.

Tuesday comes, and I find out Jerel is in a meeting with Peter and Marty to discuss the candidates. He then replies that they all share the similar concern that it would take me a year to pick things up. Jerel then suggests that I interview with the VP and the director of HR. I am in shock that I have to interview again. But I agree to it. The interview is scheduled for that Friday.

On Thursday, I discover that the VP was a former colleage of mine at LSI. We worked together the first year on the same project, but I couldn't remember who he was, and that bothered me. I also get signed up to interview with a video guy who worked at LSI before I joined, but whom Keith and Paul know.

On Friday, the interview with the HR lady goes really well. I also turn in some forms with my work history and a criminal check and a fixed up resume. Then , instead of the video guy, I see Jerel, because I find out the video guy has an eye-infection.. So I interview with Jerel again and he stumps me with a question, "tell me about a time you taught someone about someone else's accomplishment". I needed him to clarify " someone else's?" and he gives me a smug "Yes". So I tell him about when I taught Chester how to use Keith's hotlink environment. And then he gets all excited to hear about Keith's hotlink environment and then the time is up. Then I talk to Gerard, and we seem to have good rapport, perhaps from our connection with LSI. At the end, he gives me a tour of the 3rd floor of Zoran, and I get the feeling that I did all right with him.
Friday night at 5:15, charlie told me he will be talking to jerel, and my heart is beating and I am very nervous. I find out that Jerel will get back to him on Monday. I am utterly disappointed because I really wanted to know before the weekend. But my friends remind me that it's easier to say "no" than to say "yes". So I hope for the best.

COme Monday, and Jerel tells Charlie he would like to personally call my references and that I had to go in for yet another interview on Tuesday. I give him Mark, Keith, and Rene. I am worried about them reaching Keith cuz he doesn't have a cell phone and was going to be traveling to san mateo on Tuesday. but Jerel ends up reaching him that noon. AFterward, Keith calls me and tells me that I got the job because he could tell Jerel really likes me and that Jerel seems like a nice guy. That was very reassuring from Keith. I then worry about Jerel would reach Rene, since I knew that Rene was on vacation in Holland. Thankfully, I get a hold of his wife who confirms his email address. The next morning, Rene writes back and says he's available at noon. Jerel reaches Rene and they talk for 30 minutes, and Rene reports to me that the phone screen went well, and that Jerel is a nice guy.

That day, I have a "final" interview with Jerel at 2:30. He tells me that he reached all my references and they turned out well. Then we chat for another hour and a half about verificaiton methodology. It didn't seem like much of an interview. Before I leave, he thanks me for my patience and promises me results soon.

I go home feeling better thinking that I probably will get an offer because it didn't make sense for Tuesday to happen and for him to say what he said if his answer is No. Also, again, a No is easier than a Yes.

That night, Xing Ayi calls me and asks me if I know of anyone who needs her help. I am in awe that God opened the door again!

Wednesday, I hear no news except that Jerel will tell me by Thursday noon.

Thursday at 11:00, after a brief discussion with Charlie about pay, Jerel calls me on his cell phone and tells me he is "breaking protocol" by letting me know that he is giving me the offer. !
I haven't gotten the written offer, but I'm happy to be where I am at now.

Elaine