So this post is very delayed and I apologize for not updating this sooner. I have been working steadily at Emida since the start of October. I was really lucky to get this job and enjoy the work they are giving me.I do software engineering with Java, C#, ASP.NET and anything else they throw at me. It's a big learning experience and I'm just a sponge.I just finished putting together an ebook detailing everything I used to find this job. You can find it by going here. The Ebook is calle... Read Full Story

I interviewed with EMIDA today. No gas problems or long drives. The interview seemed to go really well and I think I am looking at a call back here.The interview process wasn't very long, I was only there about 30 minutes. It feels like it was plenty of time to get my experience across as well as understand more of what the position will be. With the experience I have, I really believe I could help this company and be a great asset as a Software Engineer.The job would be dealing mostly wi... Read Full Story

Today I had an interview with Extron Electronics for a Software Applications Engineer position. I didn't realize how tough interviews could be when you're asked the easiest of questions. Questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "Describe your experience at X" seemed to be like asking to derive some equation.It was just my nerves though and I knew that.Gas problemsThe morning starts out well. I get dressed and gather my things. I leave with plenty of time to get ... Read Full Story

Tomorrow I have my first sit-down interview at Extron Electronics. It's at 10:00 AM so I'm leaving my house a bit early. I ironed my clothes, readied all of my documents, and got the directions sorted out. It's a really easy place to get to, on the corner of two main streets in Anaheim so I won't be panicing.I ended up not having to buy any new clothes just yet. I have a greyish jacket with a grey shirt and black slacks. I sent some pictures to a couple friends of mine for opi... Read Full Story

These things are awesome. I could easily drink 3 or 4 of these a day but that would be 1) Expensive and 2) Dumb. Being unemployed and tight on money, I need to be thrifty with my cash.ValueI'll just say that if I have one of these at around 10 in the morning, my day is going to rock. I feel 100% productive and really motivated. Despite there being a lot of caffeine in them, I don't have any problem focusing or maintaining concentration. I've discovered I can apply to jobs a lot fa... Read Full Story

Next week I have a couple interviews setup. One I have Monday with Extron Electronics in Anaheim. They design and manufacture high end networking and audio/visual components.On Tuesday I go to Foothills Ranch, not far from Lake Forest. This one is with Emida, a company working with prepayment products and value transfer.I need to find a suit jacket sometime before then. I was thinking Men's Warehouse or anything like that. I was also hearing that Target and other similar stores are having... Read Full Story

I want to get a couple things out of my head about them.CareerBuilderI'm tired of having to click through business school and deal ads using CareerBuilder.com before I submit a job application. For instance, I saw one ad about a Masters degree from DeVry University Management School. That's all nice but I'm not looking for more schooling, I'm looking for a job. I want to go from job search results, to the job application, itself and finally to a screen saying my application wa... Read Full Story

I've had a couple visits to different staffing agencies here in Orange County. I was contacted this week by ConsultNet and MacArthur Associates about dropping in for an hour and going over what it is I'm looking for and what they can do to help me.Before these visits, I had only been called by a staffing company about open positions. I never thought I would be going in to talk to them personally. I think the main reason I had made a walk-in visit was a distance issue. ConsultNet and M... Read Full Story

I wanted to post the first version of about 50% of the engineering companies I have researched here in Orange County. I've organized them by industry type and have applied to several of them.They are all located in Orange County and are all no more then a 30 minute drive from my house which is awesome. Some are big names, like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and some are small such as MicroSemi and Clinphone.Here's the link: (No viruses or spyware so you are safe!)http://www.mediafire.com/?g... Read Full Story

I had a chance to ask a formerly unemployed engineer some questions this weekend and I wanted to share his responses. I posted about him earlier this week, and got his answers back today. These answers come from Zeus, over at HeyZeus.org. Be sure to check it out if you get a chance.Here are my questions and what he had to say:Me: What were you doing when you weren't looking for jobs?Zeus: I was working on my house, fixing it up, doing some chores/tasks that I had been putting off. I wen... Read Full Story