Finding semiconductor jobs in the current recession

Call it the worst semiconductor cycle yet or simply “The Recession,” the fact is - many are looking for work. Still, most of my friends and colleagues are still working in performance improvement related jobs at high tech companies - equipment trainers, eLearning developers, technical writers, and so on. We can help each other out.

One interesting model where employed workers are helping others get into new jobs is Job Angels, an outreach through social media that began on January 29, 2009 with one tweet. (A ‘tweet” is a post on Twitter, a recent Web 2.0 development.) The concept is encapsulated in one phrase on the Job Angels Twitter site: “Begin by choosing someone to assist. This can be a friend, a colleague, a neighbour, or a complete stranger. Then simply help them any way you can.” You can read more about the Job Angels story - how it got started and how it jumped to several thousand participants in a few weeks - in a blog post by the founder Mark Stelzner. Job Angels makes use of Twitter, Facebook, and a “group” on LinkedIn - all social media.

Speaking of LinkedIn, I have written about its value previously, but one of the main reasons I created the PBET Workshop Alumni group (along with this blog) is so that we could help one another. LinkedIn provides a place to highlight news stories, discussion questions and topics, and jobs. For those with a PBET background, it is a great source for finding other qualified training professionals. Job Angels is a wonderful concept; I wonder, though, as the number of participants climbs, how easy will it be to zero in job categories. Want to narrow down to an industry? - LinkedIn has a group for you. Among the many for the semiconductor industry is the Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing group. Training in general? do a search - there are quite a few. High tech equipment trainers with a PBET background? - only one!

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