The DN 100

Mergers. Acquisitions. Buyouts. They're driving either growth or downsizing. At least that's the story at two of the country's largest employers of engineers in this year's Design News Top 100 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Perhaps the most notable story is that of Raytheon, which soared from number 13 in 1997 to number 2 on the list this year. The big jump comes as a result of Raytheon's acquisition of Texas Instruments' defense electronics business and Hughes Aircraft.

So what does this mean to engineers? "The hiring outlook is very positive. We are always looking for engineers--both experienced and entry level. Raytheon is on college campuses, interviewing and hiring engineers from top-notch schools," says Bob Murphy, corporate director of staffing. "Last year, Raytheon hired 1,000 new employees."

The scenario is very different at Boeing after its recent merger with McDonnell Douglas--and in spite of its strong, third-place ranking on the DN 100. "Boeing had a very poor financial performance in the past year. In fact, the company recorded its first operating loss for the first time in fifty years," says Peter Conte, manager of public relations.

Not surprisingly, Conte says the hiring outlook at Boeing is "not good." Both the 777 and 747 programs will be reducing production volumes, which means that fewer people will be needed. The company is also looking at what to do about redundancies resulting from the merger with McDonnell Douglas. "Boeing is beginning to reduce its employment level across the board, by as much as 2,800 before the 1999 year end," says Conte.

Despite a positive outlook, Raytheon's Murphy also sees the market beginning to slow. "It's very competitive and everyone is looking for the same skill sets," he says.

Nonetheless, both companies intend to keep recruiting new hires. Despite the down-sizing at Boeing, it will recruit on college campuses because, as Conte puts it, "Its still important to bring in new blood." One skill that Conte and other recruiters say is in high demand across the engineering industry is computer programming. They attribute this to the fact that right now the demand for programmers is higher than the supply.

Matching the market. How can job-seeking engineers capture a top OEM's attention? Boeing's Conte sums up the ideal candidate as having a combination of "attitude and aptitude." Top companies, he says, are always looking for engineers who get along well with people, can operate in a team-based environment, solve problems, and are willing to take on challenges.

And where do companies find good engineers? At General Electric, the recruiting staff uses a number of resources to identify and attract good candidates. "We have our own website, geared to professionals and entry-level recruitments," says Ted Meyer, spokesman for GE. The company also works through OCC, Career Mosiac, and professional recruiting companies.

Boeing's Conte points out that networking is always a good method for finding out what's out there in the market. "But," he says, "engineers shouldn't discount the recruiting campus process because it's a good way to explore the opportunities out there, not just at Boeing, but with any of the companies in the engineering industry."

Even with these resources available, it is the Internet that seems to be evolving into the primary tool for job seekers and seekees alike. "At Raytheon we do a lot of Internet recruiting, as do the applicants themselves, which is great because we want people to research us as much as we research them," says Murphy of Raytheon.

THE DN TOP TEN: THE BIG GUNS DUKE IT OUT

1996

1. Lockheed Martin

2. General Motors

3. Motorola

4. Lucent Technologies

5. Hewlett-Packard

6. Westinghouse

7. General Electric

8. Hughes Electronics

9. McDonnell Douglas

10. Northrop Grumman

1997

1. Motorola

2. Lockheed Martin

3. Boeing

4. General Motors

5. Lucent Technologies

6. McDonnell Douglas

7. General Electric Co. (GE)

8. Hewlett-Packard

9. Northrop Grumman

10. NCR Corp.

1998

1. Lockheed Martin

2. Raytheon

3. Boeing

4. General Motors

5. Motorola

6. Lucent Technologies

7. General Electric Co. (GE)

8. Hewlett Packard

9. Northrop Grumman

10. NCR Corp.