A new story

Once someone makes a decision about your resume, it's almost impossible for you to persuade them that they were wrong. No amount of persuasion can make them change their opinion.

The alternative and the opportunity that you have is to encourage the non supporter to look at new information and make a new decision. Give them a new angle to look at you. A new perspective. A new you. A new story.

An Interview that will help you.

Someone I know is going through an interview process and he was kind and generous enough to send me the list of question he was asked in his interviews.

So for the benefit of all, here are the question. For privacy reasons, identifiable data has been stripped and changed.

Yesterday I gave an interview in ABC company  for the post  AB Engineer. I've cleared all the rounds including the one taken by the Managing Director and my final interview is on Saturday. I don't know what will happen but I'll try my best. I'm sharing the interview questions asked by me so that It can be helpful for others through My-AeSI blog. 

Round-1

- I developed good professional relation with the H.R. through LinkedIn so my first round was easy. He just asked me about my educational qualification & career objective. 

Round-2

- Tell me something about yourself ?

- You have done engineering through correspondence mode so how did you manage practicals ?

- Tell me about the projects you have done during academics ?

- What is your career objective  ?

- What is Avionics and what all subjects have you studied in Section-B ?

- You have not made any aircraft related project, all of your projects are of Embedded & Robotics. Why ?

- Tell me about your strength ? 

- What is the role of embedded system in Aircraft ? 

- Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years ?

- Being an engineer, Why are you doing M.B.A. ? 

Round-3 (With the Managing Director)

- I'm giving you 5 minutes. Let me know about you, your family, education, projects and all in detail. 

- Why are you interested in engineering management ?

- Even though there are thousands unemployed engineers in Bangalore so Why should I recruit you ?

- I'll be investing lots of money on you, projects, clients and all... After 6 months or 1 year, you'll learn the technology and join any other company. Why should I give you this opportunity ?

- How you can contribute to the field and the company ?
- Okay I'm assigning you a task. Have a look on our website, understand what we do ? and so on... and then send an email (letter) to the H.R. on "How can you contribute to this company ?"  If I like your letter, I'll call you for final session and It'll be around 30 minutes discussion. 

I've sent him the forwarded email. I hope I'll get a chance to give final interview. I'm sharing it so that It can be helpful for others.

Hope this helps everybody and don't forget to mention and send your thanks and good luck to the thoughtful guy who shared this information in the first place through the comments. I am sure he will be reading them.

Thank you.

#interview #aesi #myaesi

Don’t Create Your Resume Without Going through this….

Don't create a resume without doing all the steps provided in the video and the link that is presented below.

Just following the steps honestly will increase your chances of getting an interview call by 10 times. YES. there is no typo there. I mean 10 times.

How to Write a Resume ? Do and Don’ts?

 

Presenting yourself well by California State University

Resume Crafting tips

Let's be Hackers.

Yes let's be hackers. Before you guys chain me read this snippet by Mr Zukerberg, the founder of facebook.

This text is from a recent letter from him to potential investors for the upcoming facebook IPO.

The word "hacker" has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers. In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done. Like most things, it can be used for good or bad, but the vast majority of hackers I've met tend to be idealistic people who want to have a positive impact on the world.

The Hacker Way is an approach to building that involves continuous improvement and iteration. Hackers believe that something can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete.

The emphasis is mine. Continuous improvement and iterations that's the key. If you are learning a new language, building a new skill or learning a new subject, aim to be an hacker.

Instead of meandering with the programming book, write a program; Instead of pouring over the tutorials, try a real life example.

Start early, fail fast. Improve continuously. That's the hackers way

Now it's your turn, just don't read this and move on. Pause and reflect on how you can apply this in your life, in your work.

Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics was my favourite subject in AeSI. It made intuitive sense to me and perhaps that’s why i was propelled to take up propulsion stream in section B.

Posted a post titled Thermodynamics and propulsion on www.sukhbindersingh.com

If you promised yourself that you will really learn that subject when you have time, then the link there is for you.

Go ahead and enjoy.

How to STAND OUT? Lets explore.

A few months back I was interviewing someone. Let's call him Arvind. He was decent. Had the right skills, he knew his subject well and knew what was asked and how to answer it.

We were a 3 member interview panel. Even before the interview began we were impressed with his resume.

The thing that was impressive about his resume was not what he has written but the actual verifiable evidence he gave of his work. That's what made his resume stand out.

A tool he has created in his leisure time is recommened by a professor of the caltech university. His contribution to a programming forum on internet has 1000+ downloads.

The fact that all this were not required and he did this in his part time were a positive for him.

So what am I getting at?

This is what I call personal assets. That guy in his spare time, after his work life was active with his passion and created things with those skills. This way slowly he has built something that others find useful and this is what he leveraged in his job search.

This method worked as everyone who saw that resume was impressed.

This is what I mean when I ask people to work on side projects. Not only side projects improve your skills but they help you create assets that one can leverage.

Internet and tools available there give you immense opportunity to stand out. The question is are you using them?


In the year 2012, I will be exploring this topic in more detail. I would like to see everyone participate in this. Tell us what do you think it takes to stand out?

what will make me STAND OUT of this lot?

Here' are some of the stats on the registration that you guys might had done in the last couple of days.

Please have a look

Stream

Domains

Software

Programming Languages

 

While i was looking at this charts, i had this thought. If i were part of this data what will make me STAND OUT of this lot?

Are You Thinking About It?

First Hand Knowledge

From C. S. Lewis:

It has always therefore been one of my main endeavors as a teacher to persuade the young that firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but it usually much easier and more delightful to acquire.

This quote comes from the essay On the Reading of Old Books,

Nothings beats first hand knowledge. Nothing beats own experience, so get going gather as much first hand experience as you can

Innovation can be trained – what can you learn

The above presentation is waste if you don’t take something out of it!!!

Adopt

That’s how the game is played. You don’t win points for predicting stuff one year ahead. You win points for adapting -Deepak Shenoy

True for AeSI too…

Actions not thoughts

Read the following from thesimpledollar.com

"
You can think about your career all day long, but if you’re not volunteering for hard tasks, taking classes to improve your skill set, or putting your nose to the grindstone on the dull tasks, you’re going to remain one of those middle-of-the-road workers no matter how many great thoughts you have.
"

Mastery and being remarkable comes from actions. Thoughts won't take you anywhere. So start taking action.

Here are two things you can immediately start...

1. Start a small personal project that uses your knowledge and skill to create something useful for others.
2. Read the help manual of the software you mostly use.

Fresh graduate salaries go up 10-15% this year

For all recent AeSI graduate and graduates to be......read this...Fresh graduate salaries go up 10-15% this year

Don't Just take peanuts......

Its all about demand and supply..... the current scenario is in your favor.

Hone your skills and keep your fundamentals right, you are worth more than you think you are...

Good Luck.

#end

Open Letter to College Students from NASA

Dr. Robert Braun is the NASA Chief Technologist and he also serves as the David and Andrew Lewis Professor of Space Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Here's an open letter he addressed to the college graduates.

Most of the material is about NASA and geared towards the US students. But there is hope and this letter gives you the glimpse of opportunities that lie ahead of you as you embark upon your aerospace career.

So read on and be inspired.

Don't just read it, adopt one thing from this letter and consistently apply it to your life for a period of time and you are on the path to  become a star!!


Open Letter to College Students Dr. Bobby Braun


Nearly fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy spoke to a large college audience and asked them to join him on a grand challenge, one that was chosen not for its simplicity, but for its audacity, because the challenge at hand would "serve to measure and organize the best of our energies and skills." In the following seven years, those college students, and thousands of young professionals from around the nation, responded to the President's call. They built rockets that towered 36 stories, engines that are still the most powerful ever made, and sent heroes on a journey farther than any human had taken before or has taken since. By fusing the imagination of their generation into the technologies necessary for an entire species to take "one giant leap," they created and defined what we now call rocket science. In doing so, these young engineers and scientists demonstrated the technological leadership, commitment and skill of the American people, leaving a lasting imprint on the national security, economic prosperity, and global leadership landscape of the time.

In April 2010, President Obama spoke to America about our space program. He issued a new set of challenges that will once again measure our nation's collective energy and skill. NASA is now tasked with extending human presence beyond the Earth system, into deep space. This approach includes preparing new rockets and space vehicles for flight in the early part of the next decade, human exploration of an asteroid by 2025, and sending humans to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s, with Mars surface landings to follow. To attack these daring and difficult challenges, NASA must once again reach out and build our nation's technological capacity, creating an industrial capability to explore the solar system. But, in this speech given at the Kennedy Space Center, who was the President really challenging?

At 44, I'm one of the youngest leaders at NASA. In 2035, when humans first orbit Mars, today's college sophomores will be my age; perhaps one will even be in my job. Ten years prior, humans will explore an asteroid, venturing into deep space for the first time in human history. Today's same college sophomores will be 34 at that time, about a third of the way into their professional careers. For the engineering and science students in our nation's universities today, these are not distant timelines; instead, cutting-edge technologies and innovations developed by this generation in the early phases of their careers will form the foundation for humanity's next great leap.

I've recently returned to NASA from academia to develop and manage NASA's new Space Technology Program, an endeavour that seeks to create the technological knowledge and capability needed to enable a new generation of NASA aeronautics, science and exploration missions. My office sponsors foundational research, laboratory and ground-based testing, and flight-testing to mature critical space system technologies and infuse these cutting-edge advances into NASA's future operational missions. By taking informed risks and focusing on high-payoff technologies, the Space Technology Program will provide the answers to the Agency's future technological needs. Clearly, these developments require the best of academia, industry, and our government labs. To advance these transformational technologies, this program is being established with a test early, test often mantra, and will provide a steady cadence of flight opportunities on a variety of flight test platforms, including aircraft, suborbital vehicles, sounding rockets, balloons, and spacecraft. While maturing the necessary technology for our future missions, these frequent flight opportunities also provide ideal training for young engineers and scientists in the rigors of space flight. A grand challenge can be the spark, but a carefully crafted series of steps in one's own professional development is critical to future success in a technology-oriented world. Fortunately, there are opportunities in the Space Technology Program for your participation, starting in 2011.

Good systems engineers are not born; they are created over time. Intellectual curiosity and education are required, but so is experience operating across the boundaries of traditional aerospace disciplines in a hardware or mission development setting. A complete space system engineering perspective requires a hands-on development experience that spans the life cycle of a project, from concept to flight. Landing on Mars will never be a low-risk venture, nor will the development of a telescope capable of detecting Earth-size planets around other stars, or the qualification of a new generation of space exploration vehicles. Members of technology development and small flight project teams learn rapidly about informed risk taking with each development struggle, becoming stronger and wiser, and eventually applying these lessons to future, larger spaceflight projects.

Until recently, NASA was marching toward a single human exploration future that leveraged Apollo, Shuttle, and other relatively mature technologies to return to the Moon. The budget and schedule pressures of this effort; however, left little room for investment in new approaches to this problem. At its core, NASA is an organization capable of working on research, development and operations simultaneously in order to quickly learn and create new capabilities. The space exploration enterprise described by President Obama allows for development of a wide range of new space system solutions as humans venture out into deep space for the first time, including human exploration of near-Earth asteroids and Mars. NASA also envisions robotic explorers travelling throughout the solar system and into interstellar space, identifying life on other planets and Earth-like worlds around other stars, developing Earth observing spacecraft that can accurately forecast major storms and natural disasters, and fostering an emerging commercial spaceflight industry, all while contributing to the solution of society's technological challenges.

An overarching goal of the President's strategy is to reposition NASA on the cutting-edge, pushing the boundaries of the aero sciences with the technical rigor our nation expects of its space program. In creating the NASA Space Technology Program, I'm reminded of two quotes, the first from Robert F. Kennedy who said, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." Those of you in college today should recognize that this thought is just as applicable to our Nation's 21st century space program as it was to the space program of the 1960s. Achieving greatness is in your hands; follow your dreams; take that chance. New York Times journalist and critic Brooks Atkinson once aptly said, "This nation was built by men who took risks - pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress, dreamers who were not afraid of action." These are the attributes that NASA seeks in its future engineers, scientists and leaders.

In the 1960's, a generation of young professionals, fresh out of our Nation's universities and inspired by President Kennedy's grand challenge, conceived, designed and implemented the Apollo program. The future described by President Obama is not Apollo 2.0. Instead, by teaching ourselves new ways of thinking and developing new technological solutions, it is a future in which today's young engineers and scientists have been given the opportunity to once again demonstrate the technological leadership, commitment and skill of the American people. In 1969, the majority of the engineers involved in the Apollo 11 Moon landing were in their late twenties. In 1997, most of the engineers involved in the Mars Pathfinder landing were in their late twenties or early thirties. As our next generation of technologists, scientists and engineers, you are this country's future. I look forward to seeing the great things you will bring to NASA and the Nation as you embark on technology-oriented careers. Join us in this new endeavour. We need your innovative ideas, your passion, your dedicated efforts, and your technological solutions. What future will you create?


Source: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/college_letter_detail.html

My fav method of learning and how it can help you?

Total immersion. Once I know I need to learn something, I let it flow
over me. I bath in it. I let it engulf me.

In NAL, by a chance work that I got from my mentor and boss, I saw the  power of VBA in practical use. This ignited my desire to learn it.

So that day I stayed longer in clocter, my lab in NAL, and browsed through the net in search of the stuff. I collected all pages that I could found. I devoured all the materials, understood very little of the things but I carried on.

Then at home, I fired excel and went to the vba mode and began ploughing through the help sections. I learnt a tiny bit of what I read but this process of overwhelming myself with so much materials, so much potentials softened my soil.

This process didn't teach me beyond how to get started in vba, but it showed and opened my eye to the potential that it had. This bath and total immersion in VBA material helped soften the soil and made my mind receptive to the lessons that I was to learn in the days to come.

So my advice to everyone of you is, if you are planning to learn a new tool, new language, new technique or language then take the plunge whole heartily and in the initial days bath in that tool, techniques, and process.

Don't worry about how much you learn just carry on and soften the soil that will eventually yield the desired crop!!

Well that was my method of learning, you let us know what's yours.

Read more about learning different tools and techniques of skill building by clicking this link

Http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=tools

Read more

• Tools of aerospace industry
• What should an aeronautical engineer learn? Catia or ?

 

Grab "After-AeSI Career guide to AeSI" ebook free

What will you do if you fail this time?

Have this thought crossed in your mind? Does your mind want to beat me up for saying such a unholy thing? Do you feel anxious about the upcoming inevitable AeSI results announcement?

Even if you do, but this is a powerful question. This a question that determines how you will fare in your life after AeSI? This determines your overall attitude towards life.

How? During my times I have seen so many students lying about there results when they fail.

Lying not to me, not to themselves but to their parents. Announcing them glorious results instead of the actual AeSI results. Hiding the truth just to save the shame. Hiding the truth to defer the hurt!!

I am far removed from these AeSI days now and from here I can say that's its a bad move.

Be truthful to your results. That lie will sprout other lies, you aren't stopping the hurt, just delaying it and creating additional pressure on yourself!!!

Come out clean and whatever be the results face it head on. The resolve to succeed that comes from truth will be 100 times powerful than the timid effort that you will put to overturn the lie.

I know some folks in AeSI who are still in AeSI and are denying their results. Don't be one of them?

• 3 things to do when you receive the result.
• Quit aesi
• Being honest about your aesi results helps

Soak yourself for remarkable career!!

Success in any field or career is possible only if you soak yourself fully in that career or filed.

You can bath properly in a pool only if you are willing to immerse yourself fully in that pool.

Total immersion is prerequisite to be good in what you do. From catia to hypermesh, from Fortran to fluent CFD, soak yourself in the knowledge centres of your chosen tool.

For being a good Fortran user, I need to not only code in it but stay in touch with different standards, to be remarkable in this a chosen tool, I not only know what is needed for my current job but explore topics far outside my work zone.

It's just not possible to be just good now a days, you have to be remarkable for that you have to immerse yourself fully in your chosen choice.

Read more on career and how to succeed by clicking http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search/label/advice

Read more

• communication is the key to success
• be educated not trained.
• why keeping minimum hour is so essential?

 

Grab "After-AeSI Career guide to AeSI" ebook free

What's your playground?

Yesterday went with my dad to his playground. Its was a big garrage
where he has spend most of his work life. His playground includes
trucks, grease, mechanics and drivers.

Likewise my playground is software tool development in engineering
domain!! This is where I feel I can work without external motivations.

What's your?

The degree you are pursuing, the stream you choose, the training you
take all are the paths that will lead to your chosen playground!!!

Grab "After-AeSI Career guide to AeSI" ebook free

Two things AeSI student should adopt in 2010

This year whatever your goals or resolution is, if you are student of AeSI then there are two things I would like you to adopt.

• One is study with a set routine.
• The other is don't miss classes and use them where most of your learning takes place.

Adopt this two habits and make them a part of your life and you won't have to struggle all semester.

All the best and a have a great year ahead!!!

Read more on how to set your routine? and How to start next semester with a Bang?

Great Career Advice : just do stuff

Was reading this blog post at http://charliehoehn.com/2009/08/29/thoughts-on-tour/ and loved the advice.

And therein lies the best career advice I could possibly dispense: just DO things.  Chase after the things that interest you and make you happy.  Stop acting like you have a set path, because you don’t.  No one does.  You shouldn’t be trying to check off the boxes of life; they aren’t real and they were created by other people, not you.

This is what my last year have been, but i would like to concentrate more on this in the coming year. Doing stuff that interest me.

We plan and plan and plan. Never realizing that we get stuck in the planning phase so get yourself in motion. Take a decision and then move forward and do stuff. This is the advice for the coming year.

While you are at the website mentioned above, you might want to read his ebook.

http://charliehoehn.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/announcing-my-first-e-book/

It has great advice on getting the job you want.

Study Techniques for Rapid Learning

If you are an AeSI student and struggling with your studies or just want too improve your studies, then you might want to check this latest post at by Scott at http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/ titled 9 Tactics for Rapid Learning (That Most People Have Never Heard Of)

The one thing that i follow the most is the policy of total immersion..

"Benny Lewis became fluent in eight languages in under a decade. More, his current goal is to become fluent in a new language in under 3 months. When I asked him how he achieved this his answer was straightforward: “I stop speaking English. I do everything in the language I want to learn.”

When you’re totally immersed in a subject (or language), even if you’re lost, you’ll learn far faster than everyone who just dabbles."

Its one that I have advocated here in this blog so many times

The strategies listed by Scott are basic and we all use it at some point of time in our lives. The catch is to use them consistently everyday and every time.

If you have done the post exam post mortem... then you might want to inject this tactics into your life...

Merry Christmas to everyone!!