The dramatic and unprecedented meltdown in the semiconductor industry has induced many bad feelings within our unique space! Companies have continued to cut costs through hiring freezes and layoffs. While the more junior individuals are taking the brunt, a number of very senior people have been displaced as a result of companies canceling projects and dropping major programs within saturated spaces like 802.11.
A major digital semiconductor company engaged me to build an analog team for their communications projects, only to cancel the entire effort within two months. During my search for an engineering director, several prospective candidates expressed concern about this company's reputation starting and then canceling projects. Rumors of this behavior spreads fast in our industry - adding to the prejudices many analog professionals may have about working for a digital company.
Another ugly trend recruiters see are with companies attempting to create a sense that "all is well" with bogus hiring requisitions. They'll send me on a hiring mission, interview anyone and everyone, and then reject everyone they talk with. One major analog/mixed signal IC company encouraged their design centers to interview a massive number of experienced people over the last year but remained ambiguous about when and who they would actually hire. Consequently, this company has a hugely negative reputation within the analog labor pool. Almost everyone I speak with has felt jilted (or knows someone jilted) by this analog kingpin. When the market begins to grow again, this company will have a huge hurdle to overcome to expand their design teams.
Company politics do not help. In some companies, the Board of Directors (or the VC financers) may be looking to replace high-level executives - in some cases, early Founders. But these actions can have severe consequences and ripple effects all the way to the lowest levels of an organization. In one company, a Founder who had served as both CTO and VP of engineering was under pressure to separate the roles, and give up the latter. He was "less than enthusiastic" and wound up sabotaging the recruiting process for his replacement by failing to show for interviews with prospective candidates. But this conveyed a very politically charged internal environment to the candidates.
Even in difficult times companies must be especially careful to follow a process in recruiting that will not shoot holes in their own feet. Horror stories move extremely fast within our small niche! We can only hope that profitability in 2003 will put an end to the hiring stalemate, and provide a better recruitment environment for us all.
Gary Fowler's clients include some of the best-known names in analog, mixed-signal and digital ICs - as well as variety of start-ups. Recruitment, he feels, is also a leading indicator for the technology and products we'll see in the next decade. He can be reached at www.analogsolutions.com
