| |
National Semiconductor manufactures high-performance analog devices and subsystems. Its products include operational amplifiers, display drivers, power management circuits, data conversion solutions and communication interface products. The company's key markets are wireless handsets, displays, medical, automotive, industrial, and test and measurement electronics.
National's co-op and summer internship programs are the main mechanism for identifying entry-level talent, says Dave Crook, university relations manager. This past summer the company hired more than sixty interns from around the world.
"Not only do internships let us see the person's skills in action, they give interns realistic job experiences. They learn what the job entails and what kinds of tools they need, and how to collaborate with different teams," explains Crook. "We ask our managers to include interns at staff meetings whenever possible so they understand current projects. We also encourage interns to attend our quarterly all-employee communications meetings. I'm very pleased to say that our managers work well with the interns and give them a valuable experience. In the vast majority of cases when we make an offer to an intern, it's accepted."
National's internships and co-op programs are generally available to students who have just completed their junior year of college. "We have found that because the greatest demand from our managers is for hardware electrical engineering skills, most students need to have finished their junior curriculum in order to know enough to be proficient," Crook says.
National generally looks for EE students for assignments in technical marketing, applications engineering, product engineering, circuit design and test development engineering. Other opportunities are available in human resources, finance and information services. All full-time interns receive salary as well as paid holidays and medical and dental benefits, and some are eligible for temporary relocation assistance.
Interns have the opportunity to evaluate their experiences at National during exit interviews. "Ninety-nine out of 100 evaluations are exceedingly positive," says Crook.
National searches far and wide for prospective interns and employees. "We maintain a website for applications and recruit at a number of campuses. This year we're renewing our visits to historically black colleges and universities like Tuskegee and North Carolina A&T," notes Crook. "We're also engaged with campus chapters of SWE, NSBE and SHPE."
JoAnne Abel, corporate diversity manager, explains that one of the strategies for encouraging diversity at National is working with each minority organization's chapter presidents to find out how the company can partner with them. National has recently started posting its job openings on SWE and NSBE's websites.
"I'm coming up on my tenth anniversary with the company and one of the things that gives me pleasure is walking through the halls and seeing the people that I hired a few years ago moving up the ranks and becoming more substantial players at the company. That's the next generation of our technical leadership," says Crook. "National's got a rich history, and we've got folks who've been here a long time and developed their careers. As a matter of fact, our chief technologist came here as a college grad thirty years ago."
National recently earned an IEEE Employer Professional Development Award for its superior achievements in training and education programs for professional engineers. Its professional development program was established in 2003 and provides functional training, mentoring, best-practices sharing, e-learning and cross training to its 2,800 engineers.
D/C
National Semiconductor Corp
www.national.com
|
Headquarters: |
Santa Clara, CA |
|
Employees: |
8,600 |
|
Revenues: |
$1.91 billion, FY 2005 |
|
Business: |
High-performance analog devices and subsystems |
|
|
|
