By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily
Posted: 9/15/08
When it comes to careers, students need to use common sense and avoid making rash decisions.
This was the message Xilinx CEO Willem Roelandts imparted on a room of about 200 students and faculty Thursday, the first speech as part of the Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium in the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.
The symposiums, which will run weekly through mid-November, feature industry and technology leaders to give students pointers on how to be successful in the business world.
Xilinx, a programmable chip company based in San Jose, is one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, and was ranked No. 5 on Fortune magazine's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2005.
Roelandts spoke about the do's and don'ts of the corporate world and the importance of exploring different career opportunities.
"Always find a job you really like to do. Life is too short to do something you don't like to do," he said. "If you have a job that you're excited about, it will show in the results, and you will do very well in your career."
He said students need to go through life with their eyes open and should work on broadening their skills at every job they encounter.
Roelandts also spoke about the necessity of understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses and those of others to effectively work as a team.
"Most people have strengths and weaknesses and please understand that it is not a question of good or bad," he said. "People are shades of gray. They are combinations of good and bad things, and it's very important that whatever you do with your friends, with your spouse, with your colleagues, is to understand what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses."
Roelandts said once students figure out their strengths and weaknesses, they are able to strengthen their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
"The emphasis on teamwork - working with people as opposed to against people to get the job done - is one of the most important things I took away from this lecture," said Joshua Magana, a junior electrical engineering major.
Roelandts said students need to be honest with themselves and choose a career based on what they like, not on what others think they should do.
Marques Mallare, a freshman computer engineering student, said although he isn't entirely sure about his major, Roelandts' speech on doing something you enjoy has stuck in his head.
"With computer engineering, I don't really know exactly what it is right now," he said, "but hopefully, later on, I'll figure it out. And if I enjoy it, then sure, I'll stick with it."
Although several students said they found the lecture beneficial, some said they wished Roelandts would have focused more on engineering and what to do after graduation.
"I was hoping to get a bit of information about who his competition is, who he sees there, but he obviously wouldn't go there when I asked," said Joshua Hogan, a junior mechanical engineering major. "The question was put to him about graduating - what to look for in a company, how to move into either graduate studies or going straight to work. I wish he would of just kind of focused more on that."
Roelandts said 25 to 30 percent of Xilinx engineers are former SJSU students, and he offers summer internships at Xilinx to give students a taste of the high-tech world.
"It's very good for both the company and the student because the student can see what it really is to work in the company, but the company also appreciates what they can do," he said. "It gives you a step ahead when you join: You know already the people; you know what to do."
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