Here’s something i emailed to Fairchild Semiconductor Malaysia for some enquires about  working opportunities in Semiconductor industries recently:

The answers were provided by Mr Yip Heng Keong from Fairchild Semiconductor Malaysia:

Dear  Lik Shun.

I will try to answer your questions as precise  as possible.

1) Considering the current retrenchment rate and economic downturn, how (as in what way) will this condition affect intern intakes and also permanent employees hiring activities.

Ans:  Permanent employees hiring are put on hold at the moment pending changes in the business environment.  As for interns intake ,  we are not making changes as the cost incured is relatively low and it’s part of company’s social responsibility.

2)  I’ve heard countless stories from people telling me that many of the factories especially semicon industries are closing down or putting their manufacturing on hold. Some even ask their employees to take a long period of unpaid leave. What are the main driving forces or reason behind this?

Ans:  Like many other industry ( automotive, oil, construction etc),  semiconductor manufacturing goes thru a cyclical business environment (every  few years) and it’s affected by supply and demand.  Seminconductor has been around for > 35 years in Malaysia and remain the 3rd largest (after oil and palm oil) revenue earner for the country.  The actions taken by some of the companies is to mitigate the down turn so that they can evolve lean and more productive when the business returns.

3) What kind of employees are the semiconductor industries looking for to be part of the company? University Result? Communication skill? Leadership qualities etc.? Which of them are priority.

Ans:  As I’ve shared earlier,  semiconductor industry can absorbed multi discpline graduates as the manufacturing process is very complex.  The minimal requirement is an honour degree ( CGPA > 3.0) but most important of all it’s the willingness to learn and right attitude.  A strong ablility to communicate in english is an added advantage.

4) If I am a fresh graduate who wishes to work in the semicon industries in the recession period, what should I do to increase my chances of getting myself employed in this dire straits.
Ans:  Even during a downturn,  semiconductor company will still be hiring fresh graduate. This will give fresh graduate a longer and easier learn curve to acquire the skills.  The industry will not evaluate you on how much you know about the process.  Some common questions includes.
a)  Semiconductor general knowledge( company names,  product type (microprocessor,  flash memory e tc) and application ( with market segment).
b)  Study related topic includes material properties,  how is this data collected and why is the data ( modulus, Tg, CTE  etc) important to the semiconductor industry and it’s application.
c)  Soft skills, leadership quality, independant and the passion to learn new things and most important of all  CONFIDENCE.
d)  Do not try to oversell and say how much you know.  Good interviewer can see thru this very easily.

Hope this information will help.

Best Regards
Yip HengKeong

Fairchild Semiconductor (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Package Development Manager
Bayan Lepas FIZ
11900 Penang, Malaysia
Tel:   6-04 850 2388 (DID)
Fax:  6-04 644 3700
Mobile: 6-012 472 1508