Thanks Eng-Tips!
Thanks Eng-Tips!
(OP)
I have a belated "thank you" for the Eng-Tips forum.
About a year ago, as I was looking for work, I networked a little with old classmates, business people I'd consulted for, and of course there was the Linked-in stuff to do too. I landed at the place I had at the top of my list, so all was well. It happened that a co-worker there was a fellow member of Eng-Tips, but I didn't give it much thought at the time. We addressed each other by forum alias a few times, then the joke got old, and we got on with working together (quite well I should add).
Not long ago I discovered, lost in the wide expanse of the company computer network, a folder with potential new hires, resumes and such stuff. It didn't take long to find my own resume, and then right beside it were a whole bunch of excerpts of Eng-Tips postings that I've made over the years. Knock me over with a feather. While I knew that my Eng-Tips contacts had opened doors or me, I had not realized that my contributions to the forum has been weighed before my job interview.
So, fellow Eng-Tippers, whether you are long-time lurkers or recently-arrived experts, make your contributions count - if you make a name for yourself here it may go a long way out in "the real world". You just never know.
About a year ago, as I was looking for work, I networked a little with old classmates, business people I'd consulted for, and of course there was the Linked-in stuff to do too. I landed at the place I had at the top of my list, so all was well. It happened that a co-worker there was a fellow member of Eng-Tips, but I didn't give it much thought at the time. We addressed each other by forum alias a few times, then the joke got old, and we got on with working together (quite well I should add).
Not long ago I discovered, lost in the wide expanse of the company computer network, a folder with potential new hires, resumes and such stuff. It didn't take long to find my own resume, and then right beside it were a whole bunch of excerpts of Eng-Tips postings that I've made over the years. Knock me over with a feather. While I knew that my Eng-Tips contacts had opened doors or me, I had not realized that my contributions to the forum has been weighed before my job interview.
So, fellow Eng-Tippers, whether you are long-time lurkers or recently-arrived experts, make your contributions count - if you make a name for yourself here it may go a long way out in "the real world". You just never know.
STF





RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
Andries
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
Beats reading another lamentation about how hard it is to find a job. I was at the UCB engineering commencement yesterday, and there is a new, shiny, batch of bright engineers eager to get working.
Obviously, ET gives back what you put in, so the fact that you've been cited is a reflection of you, personally, as a person who has given much to the ET community.
TTFN

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RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
This is not an isolated case. Every one of my current clients found me through my signature on eng-tips.com. Liked what I had to say here, went to my web page, liked what was there, and e-mailed. I don't think my experience is unique, and I'd be surprised if SparWeb's is unique (it may be unique that he can look up his own candidate file, HR usually holds those pretty close to the chest, but I would bet that there are other companies that come to eng-tips.com to get work samples from candidates).
If you are a job hunter and you feel like your contribution here would put you in good light, you might want to include your handle on your resume. If you don't get many stars and don't get much discussion of your posts, then you might want to step up your game prior to including your handle.
David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering
Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice Frédéric Bastiat
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
Perhaps one day I shall uncloak my secret identity.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
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RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
I landed a side job recently thru here.
He was browsing the forum, then started following my posts. So far so good.
It seems the work will get bigger and more income in addition to my full time salary.
Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 14
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
I'm pretty sure if Exxon is trolling for prospects, rconnor is off their list, and I think zdas04's shot at the NYT chief editor job is out.
IC
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
For the record, the files were not on a computer used by HR, rather it was one used by Engineering. Although, now that I'm trying to re-trace my steps in the company network, I can't seem to find it any more. Can't find a bunch of things I was looking at just the other day, in fact. The IT department must be playing tricks on me.
Mike Halloran pokes fun at the cryptic handles most of us use on the forum, but underlying the joke is a good point - if I were explicitly trying to boost my cred, I might want to use my own name in my handle. But my experience (and that of others like Zdas04 and ctopher) indicates that it's not strictly necessary. Not that Mike H is trying to do that - but his online personna is much more closely linked to his real-world one, by using his real-world name.
STF
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
I too have gotten projects from eng-tips, and real-world mentoring as well. It really is a great site.
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
Well, it's always been a "would I want my boss (and the company owner) reading this in public?" on EVERY public forum I write within the past 18 years. For that, on every fora on every web site, I've always used my name.
Then again, at what level does help to include a company identity and position (for credibility or reputation), and at what level does that become "too much of an "imprimatur" from the named company for design decisions by another firm or person?
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Thanks Eng-Tips!
Ooh, I'm afraid Lady Karma wouldn't be so kind to me. I'd get the job shoveling out catch basins and grease traps, curmudgeon that I tend to be.
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.