July 2006

Engaging in Industry Outreach

By Paul Kostek

A topic of interest to many of us in the IEEE is how best to build relationships with the organizations that employ our members. Before the IEEE-USA Career and Workforce Policy Committee (CWPC) met in Portland, Ore., in March, we spent a Friday in a series of meetings with industry and academic representatives. The meetings were coordinated through the Oregon Section and attended by Section members.

The first meetings were with Capitol Career Center reps and local unemployed technical professionals. These meetings gave CWPC members an opportunity to talk about IEEE-USA's resources for unemployed members, and also to learn about the challenges facing out-of-work technical professionals.

CWPC members also met with Bill Graves, an industrial recruiter from Xerox, to  discuss the needs and challenges they face when filling positions.

I met with John Tortorici, president of the Software Association of Oregon (www.sao.org), to discuss the employment needs of his member companies and the programs the SAO is involved in to train professionals in the workplace today: K-12 programs for students and programs to assist teachers with building curriculums in computing languages and robotics. Because these overlap with local interests, such programs will provide the Oregon Section with excellent opportunities to partner with the SAO on future projects, and will expand the reach for their short courses and presentations.

Bob Dryden, dean of engineering at Portland State University, met with us to discuss trends at the university, student enrollment, job offers and future trends in research. His perspective gave us a snapshot of the local community and the demand for new grads.

We finished our meetings with Kerry McClenahan, of Portland-based marketing firm McClenahan Bruer, which conducts surveys for EETimes. We discussed the firm's most recent survey and viewpoints of EETimes readers.

For IEEE members interested in conducting industry outreach, following are some suggestions for planning visits:

• Identify the company, industry group, academic institution or government agency with which you wish to meet

• Create a short agenda of the topics you'd like to discuss (for CWPC, our topics are typically: What are the challenges facing your company? What is the employment trend? What skills are you looking for?)

• Set up the meeting. Determine if there is a local IEEE member employed by or has contact within your target company, and ask the member to provide a contact. If you don't have a local contact, check the company's Web site — you'll usually be able to find someone to start with, like the engineering manager.

I've found that most companies are open to meeting with IEEE volunteers if they have a specific list of topics to discuss. Keep in mind that the industry reps are benefiting, as well, by sharing their needs and concerns with IEEE members.

After we wrap up our industry outreach meetings, we have dinner with the local Section Officers to discuss the results of our meetings and plan appropriate follow-ups. We can also identify steps that are required to bring the Section and industry together to work on common issues.

After the meeting, the key to success is follow-up. Always send a "thank you" note for their time, and list the issues you agreed to provide more information on, or possible future plans. Even if there were no specific issues discussed, make sure you follow-up and keep the contact going. If you promised something, be sure you deliver it.

Paul Kostek is a systems engineer with The Boeing Company, and principal at Air Direct Solutions in Seattle, Washington. He has served as chair of the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES); president of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society; IEEE-USA President; and Region 6 PACE Coordinator. He is currently chair of IEEE-USA's Career and Workforce Policy Committee. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.