美國Microsoft 電話面試

昨天和美國Microsoft 電話面試,題目真偏!我只能答80%, 順其自然吧!我覺得他其實在考我反應,我自己會的不要說不會,用另一種方式詮釋!也許答的不好,但盡力了!

Job description :

3-4 years STRONG Experience ASP.NET 2.0 (pref, but 1.1 acceptable) Web UI developer
Classic development skills C#, ASP.NET, Web Services Solid .Net experience
Coding and debugging skills a must.
Performance Testing Experience also.
Highly Prefer: Exp with Sharepoint;
Prior work exp at Microsoft in a similar capacity


工作內容很簡單,但電話面試有點偏:

1.Do you know networking concepts?
2. Do you know the “Viewstate”? What’s the advantage and disadvantage?
3. Do you use “Cache” in ASP.NET? What’s the advantage and disadvantage ?
4. If the employee table has 10 rows, how do you write the stored procedure to return the value of the employee name with “,” i.e., Ray, Mary, Steve,…

5. What’s the difference between “IS” and “AS” in C#?
6. When to use “Using” keyboard in C#?
7. What’s the “Interface” in C#? When to use it? When to use Interface and Abstract class
8. Did you use “MS Sharepoint” before?

1-4 還好, 5-8 我就不太會回答了! 但是盡可能的回答了!
下午愛荷華州的面試就很簡單,99% 都會! 這幾天多念點書其實可以幫助自己將平常工作用不到的知識重新pick up 起來!IT 經驗+ IT理論在面試時才會發揮不錯的作用!現在隨遇而安吧!

延伸閱讀:
和微軟面試成功

英文電話面試技巧文件!

這是我在美國找工作時,recruiters 教我如何進行電話面試的技巧文件!和大家分享!

How to Ace Telephone Job Interviews

By ALAN S. HOROWITZ
JUNE 02, 2003

If he played baseball, Kevin Arensdorf would be an all-star; he's batting .500. A UNIX systems admin istrator at Iowa Telecom in Newton , Iowa , Arensdorf has had phone interviews for four different jobs, and he's landed two of them, including his current one. Rick Sheeley is also hitting well in the telephone-interview game. Previously an independent IT contractor who had many jobs and now a data warehouse admin istrator at a major Las Vegas casino company, Sheeley has had about 100 telephone interviews over the past 25 years and estimates that he has landed 15 to 17 jobs from them.

Telephone interviews are becoming more common in today's soft IT hiring market because they save time and money compared with face-to-face interviews. Here are some tips for job seekers to boost their success rates when interviewing by phone.

First, recognize that in most cases, telephone interview are used to screen candidates, not to hire them, says Edwin Pollock, regional president in San Francisco at career management company Bernard Haldane Associates. "They're asking questions to cut down the pack."

That means your goal for the interview should be to secure a face-to-face interview, not to get the job, notes Laurie Levenson, president of DirectAccess Staffing Inc., an IT staffing firm in Carlsbad , Calif. Show your enthusiasm. If you're in another city, say you'd be happy to fly in for a personal interview.

Don't be overbearing, and don't oversell yourself; just work to get to the next level, recommends Ken Hill, who worked for 17 years in human resources before moving over to IT. He's now CIO at defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. in Falls Church , Va.

Make clear how technically adept you are. Look for articles about a prospective employer's IT department, Hill advises. For example, you might learn that it has just finished an SAP implementation. Try to tie that piece of information to your own background and experience.

And don't assume that it will be easy to get the next interview. For instance, for any given IT position, Jace Mouse, manager of application development at Cars.com in Chicago , conducts about 15 telephone interviews and asks only four candidates to come in for a face-to-face meeting.

Don't try to wing a telephone interview. "My first objective [in a telephone interview] is to see how seriously the candidate prepared," says Oren Ezra, vice president of products services at Atlanta-based Jacada Ltd., which develops legacy-integration applications. "If they haven't taken the time, I get disinterested very quickly."

Preparation Is Key

One benefit of a phone interview is that you can have all your research laid out on your desk because the interviewer can't see you. Take advantage of this.

Sheeley tries to anticipate questions about his technical skills and prepares a cheat sheet with notes about his experiences with technologies and his project successes.

Be ready to describe a few of your accomplishments. Arensdorf makes sure he's comfortable and prepared and in a quiet place for the interview. He reviews his resume and research material beforehand. He likes to schedule interviews in the morning, leaving the rest of the day for other things.

Research the employer. "One of things that turns me off the quickest is the candidate who doesn't know what we're about," says Hill. Candidates who prepare have the edge over those who don't.

Jeff Markham, a manager in the San Francisco office of staffing and placement firm Robert Half Technology, says a lot of candidates take the telephone interview for granted, thinking that the company liked their resumes and that it's just a formality to get interviews. Not true. You can't make up for a lack of preparation with personality, body language or eye contact when doing a telephone interview, he explains.

Phone interviews tend to be fairly short -- 15 to 45 minutes. So be prepared to talk more about what projects you have worked on and what you have done rather than the actual skills you have, says Hill.

Provide Your Own ROI

And don't underestimate the interview's importance. Says Markham : "A few years ago, people got jobs just by having certifications. Today, you've got to be able to break down your accomplishments and provide specific ROI." For example, if a programmer claims C++ development as a strength, Markham might say, "Give me an example of an application you developed with C++ that had measurable results, where it was better, faster, stronger."

Jacada's Ezra likes candidates who are "proactive" and ask him questions about the company, its competitors and growth opportunities on the job. "These types of questions show me the candidate is confident," he says.

Anything you can do to help the interviewer picture you in the job position will help move you to the next level, says Mouse. One of the best candidates he ever interviewed talked about the most difficult challenges he had on the job, specific solutions he devised for them and the benefits that followed. The candidate then asked if there were similar challenges in Mouse's organization. "He let me know what he succeeded in and weaved in a probing question about my company," Mouse recalls.

And smile. Yes, smile, even though the interviewer can't see you. "The other person can hear [a smile]," says Levenson. Show enthusiasm and interest. This is more important with a telephone interview than a face-to-face one because you have such limited interaction with the interviewer.

Horowitz is a freelance business and technology writer in Salt Lake City . Contact him at alan@ahorowitz.com.

身為H1B employee, 居然可以拒絕別人,真好!

最近project 已經完畢,現休息一陣子! 最近有很多recruiters 打電話找我, 幫我找下個project, 我當然希望找個 long-term 的project 而且rate 比較高的!其中有五家, 我把他們拒絕了!終於感受到身為H1B employee, 居然可以拒絕別人,真好!

想當初自己在LA到處找H1B sponsorship 那種痛苦的歲月, 真是難以形容！只要有人願意幫我辦H1B , 不管是什麼工作, 即使是很濫的工作,我總是低聲下氣的說 “沒問題”！

和我在台灣工作時那種挑法真是沒的比！但是讓我學會忍字！所以我常常勸那些在台灣很挑工作的人,但又想來美國工作的朋友,不要挑,因為你沒身分,凡是先做了再說！除非你有綠卡再說吧！

Recruiter 今天告訴我下禮拜一安排和美國微軟進行電話面試！這將是第二次了！至少我 resume 拿出去可以見人！從眾多人選當中挑出來！

美國微軟常常有新的職缺釋放出來, 如果你 resume 不適合這個部門,他們會把你給其他部門主管看!這也許是其他公司應該要學習的地方！

美國新蛋科技(newegg)又要找人

最近又聽到前公司美國新蛋科技(newegg) 又再找人!我心裏一直覺得很奇怪! 去年大裁員,八月份台灣新蛋也裁了4 人, 現在又要找人! 完全沒有一套健全的制度!

這些高層想法到底為何, 我覺得可以從台灣把人調過去, 難道一定要重新招人,重新訓練一批人後又加以裁員嗎! 這大概是每年招募,每年裁員的 newegg 文化吧! 昨天才和前同事聊天,他說公司有點誇張白目!不懂得珍惜人才! 公司四款16 條其中一條思想理念(員工是公司最大的資產) 是不是可以廢掉了!

當公司需要你的時候,就招募你!當公司不需要你的時候,就叫你走路!對於那些是H1B 的人員記得一定要小心!

後記:

1. 最近有人留言說: 員工是公司最大的資產已從新蛋科技四款 16 條中移除了! 若留言屬實,請問張董事長,你不是自打嘴巴嗎? 居然可以拿高標準要求員工,低標準要求自己!

2. 看了呆伯特法則後,發覺文中提到: 員工是公司最大的資產乃是偉大的管理謊言;金錢或營收才是公司最大的資產! 看了之後發覺這真是異曲同功之妙!

延伸閱讀:
美國職場裁員現形記
對新蛋科技 (newegg.com) 感到失望
新蛋科技 (Newegg.com) 是一個制度健全的公司?
新蛋科技(newegg.com) 真的沒有辦法在美國上市嗎?

H1B 的資訊委外工作

自從H1B 被 consulting company holds 住後, 工作機會變多!

2006 年七月份去一家NASDAQ公司做onsite support, 公司付我旅館費 + 三餐+ gas fee.

這種機會以後會很多嗎?我不知道!最好是很多啦!

在台灣我不太喜歡去做onsite support.因為總覺得喜歡坐辦公室! 但是來到這裡別有一番體會! 在美國我別無選擇,這是 H1B employee 最好的選擇方式! 要是我結婚後,可能就不太好了, 因為老婆要和我一起在美國各州流浪! J 但是我很喜歡到處走走啦! 除非綠卡拿到,才有選擇! 但是反過來想,若能因工作關係到處走走未嘗不是一件好事呢!

上次一個半月賺了9,000 多美金.不用付旅館費 + 三餐+ gas fee.! 扣完稅後應該只剩下7,000 多美金吧!

如果我住台北(房租+ 三餐+gas) ,一個月淨收入可能只有12,000台幣! 加上稅後淨收入可能不到10,000台幣吧!這樣我可能要在台北奮鬥2 年才能賺到吧! 這也比 在LA 要做6 個月的淨收入高吧!這是好事嗎?

這是經濟學所說的取捨問題!在美國不要想當大官,因為老美IT經理除了管理外還是要做　hands-on 的工作！這在台灣是不可能發生的！因為官大學問大嗎！

我比較適合老美生活,至於回台灣發展,屆時再說吧！

在美國要看開點

來美國一年多了,有點感觸!我想很多人對美國夢是抱有期待的!如果你以一個普通人的身分能在台灣拿到美國的offer, 用工作簽證在美工作,我相信99% 的台灣人會覺得你很優秀, 很厲害, 因為這是很多留學生夢寐以求的!

若是一個人運氣很好 , 一帆風順, 公司也很好, 工作幾年之後, 公司願意幫他辦綠卡, 沒有意外,一年內綠卡身分即可得到!這種人我見過!

若是一個人運氣很好 , 只是公司不好, 不願幫他他辦綠卡, 他只好尋尋覓覓其他公司,若是運氣很好, 找到願意為他辦的公司, 美國夢指日可待!若是找不到, 6 年後便要離開美國! 這種人我見過!

若是一個人運氣不好 , 公司有財務危機, 他只好再找其他公司贊助其工作簽證!但大部分的公司,都要叫你自費出3000-4000元自己辦!不然就是工作簽證的機會很少!

我曾聽過一位姐姐的朋友, MBA 及電機碩士 連續待了三家公司, 全部倒閉!身分那時未明! 覺得自怨自艾!後來終於找到一家好公司,綠卡也下來, 完成美國夢!

我只能說一切天註定! 一般而言, 用工作簽證在美工作的人, 5 年內是很痛苦的!隨時怕裁員的命運!若是老闆惡意刁難, 你只有忍受的份! 但是我們台灣人對身分比較看的開!

當我看開時, 也就是我回台發展時候了!

H1B 找工作經驗談

你如果像我一樣覺得自己運氣差， 公司狀況不好，又擔心 H1B 被 terminate 時，你應該趕快找工作。萬一真的被裁了， 身分就變不合法了。趕緊和老闆商量，叫他暫時先不要將你資料送給移民局。若是他執意送，也不要灰心。趕快加緊找工作。 移民局心中自有一把尺 。2 個月內找到轉換身份因不成問題。在美國被裁員的人很多，不用怕自尊心受到傷害，危機的背後總是有上天給的禮物。

在美國不像在台灣一樣，你還可以挑工作。因為你是 H1B 雇員，享有 H1B 薪資下限保障。但是工作卻也受到限制。你若是找不到能幫你轉換 H1B 的雇主，你根本無法跳槽。公司不好，老闆不好只好忍氣吞聲。待綠卡拿到後，就說聲拜拜。但現在替員工辦綠卡的公司越來越少了。

根據我經驗，資訊人員一定要有五年經驗才有機會。而且履歷表一定要寫的讓 Recruiters 看到， 覺得你經驗豐富，可以幫你找到工作又可以收到佣金。

丟履歷表一定要每天丟，採大數法則，不要間斷， 給自己 2 個月時間， 成效自然會出來。若半個月沒進展，就表示履歷表有問題，再繼續改。當 Recruiters 打電話問你問題時，再把這些履歷表沒寫過的再加上去。我 2-3 個月陸陸續續共改了 100 多遍。覺得自己履歷表已經能讓 Recruiters 看到馬上打電話給我。我還和美國微軟公司電話面試過耶。

接下來就是電話面試或親自面試，看造化了。 有遇到 H1B 贊助只能說恭喜，你太幸運了。 沒有，不要失望。我只能說 H1B雇員只能盡人事聽天命。

延伸閱讀:

撰寫英文履歷表應切入重點

對新蛋科技 (newegg.com) 感到失望