Alright, I am applying for my first job as an engineer. This is in the Biotech sector to work on instrumentation for bioasssays. The recruiter says they are looking for someone to “speak the language.” So wtf does that mean? Do they want me to know about arcane acronyms, key phrases? Can someone in the know please explain to a nervous green engineer? Many thanks in advance.
They mean you must be excessively arrogant, and mention you’re an engineer at every possible point in a conversation. 
Hehe. I read that thread searching for similar topics. One thing I do know is that you act excessively arrogant AFTER you get the job. But seriously, are there buzzwords I should know. I recall a manufacturing engineer pulling that crap on me and giving me attitude for not knowing his discipline’s buzzwords.
I don’t know the language in your field, but attitude counts for a lot, probably.
“Why, of course we can build our way out of it. How else?”
Then there’s the Robert Heinlein quote - say, you are a Robert Heinlein fan, aren’t you? - that I nevertheless can’t remember exactly, to the effect that if you can’t express it in numbers, it’s just freaking opinion.
What else?.. Ah, you could try mentioning your favorite Dilbert strips at every opportunity. You’ll at least impress them with your engineer-grade sense of humor.
Well, I am just an engineer in training, but every company, and field has a bunch of acronyms. In fact, I would wager every 5th word out of the mouth of an engineer is an acronym. I assume that they just want someone who won’t constantly say, “Whats that?” after every 5th word.
As an Engineer that is responsible for hiring I have two words: don’t pretend. If you don’t know the lingo, just be your self and look for solutions while asking for definitions. Example:
Bob the interviewer: What if you wanted to detect BCHP in a solution of HCA contaminated with many OGCs? How would you do it?
You: I’m sorry, what do those TLAs (three letter acronyms) stand for?
Bob: oh, BCHP is the Bitchin carbonated Hyper penis and HCA is the Hellatious… <snip>
You: Oh can’t you couple into the vibrational modes of the penis using radiation matching the resonance frequecy of the Orgasmic Gravitational <snip>…
Bob: You really know your stuff from the 4-years of education in biotech, but I can see you are going to have a couple of rough weeks learning the lingo… You’re hired.
No seriously, if you don’t know the lingo, don’t sweat it. Show that you know what you know and if it fits you will be hired. If you pretend, you’ll just look like an idot.
Its also a good idea to read up on the company. Do searches. Do searches using the results of the first searches. Dig. Find the basis of technology the company you want to work for is selling and try to understand the limitations of the technology (in a very fundemental way). Find out why the competition thinks its technology is better.
Sound advice, particularly from Eyer8. You can’t bullshit your way as an engineer (unless you’re the only engineer in the company and everyone else is gullible), and you’ll do your career harm if you try. Don’t be afraid to admit ignorance, unless it’s something you really should know, in which case keep quiet and slope off later to look it up discretely.
A good engineer has to be learning constantly to stay ahead in the game, so make sure you’re always finding gaps to fill. Approach other engineers for their advice on matters - most will be quite flattered, and will be more than pleased to help.
As for engineer talk, I’m not sure if that’s something to be encouraged, but if you must, enthuse about things like cars, gadgets, hi-fi, internets etc., with an emphasis on the technical specs rather than the aesthetics.
But to begin with, go with the advice above and don’t try to BS your way through it, it won’t work.
If you have the knowledge, that’s the important thing. You can always learn the lingo (hey - try asking). It’s possible they need someone who can translate english:techie or at least deal with both sides intelligently.
Don’t try to fake the language. Really, really, don’t try to fake the language. Assuming you are using the terminology correctly while randomly spouting vaguely on-topic buzzwords does not - I repeat not - impress your peers or supervisors with the depth of your knowledge.
Had a co-worker who tried during his rookie year. Fortunately has since (mostly) replaced semi-intelligent guesses with actual knowledge.
I hope you have “The Knack”! http://www.lecb.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/theknack.html
For example, there’s the one strip where Wally has to get rid of some junk, becuse of the Pointy-Haired Boss’s clean desk policy, but union rules forbid him from carrying it himself. So he builds a catapault and flings it all out the window.
Final Wally line: “Like I say, for every problem there’s an engineering solution.”
I love the the other one where Wally asks the PHB if he can work from home one day a week…
Wally: Can I work from home one day a week?
PHB: How will I know you’re working?
Wally: How do you know I’m working when I’m here?
PHB: You’re unhappy, and that’s the same as work.
Wally: What if I design a hideously uncomfortable hat to wear when working at home?
Cut to last panel, Wally in his armchair, laptop on lap, feet on ottoman…and wearing a hat that looks like a C-clamp on his head, and thinking: “The joke’s on him! It isn’t that uncomfortable.”
To the OP: IANAE, but in IT interviews I’ve faced a similar situation. Just be honest about what you know and don’t know; if you’re lucky you might get engaged to look at a real-world problem which for me, as an interviewee, was always the best icebreaker.
You don’t happen to have a link to that strip, do you? Or can tell me which Dilbert book it’s in?
I had almost that same conversation with someone a few months ago…
The best advice given here so far is this: DO NOT BULLSHIT. You’re going to get called on it, you will not get away with it, you will infuriate the other engineers.
Don’t bullshit on the resume either. A couple of jobs ago my boss pulled me into his office and asked me for my opinion on a resume. I got about half way through it and without looking up I told him that this guy was an obvious bullshit artist. I looked up to see a big grin on my his face. He said that that was what he thought too but that the guy was a friend of the general manager and he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t being anti-biased.
Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know about something or don’t know much about something when asked about a topic.
When it is something that you do know, point out how it relates or sort of relates to something that you have done in school or at a previous job.
Study everything that you can about the company. We have the internet now, there is zero excuse for not being fully aware of the company and its products before the interview. This should take no more than an hour or two and it will put you ahead of the pack if there is competition for the job.
No, sorry, not right at hand. But I’ll poke around dilbert.com in the next day or two and see if I can dredge it up.
And I left out the last PHB line before the end, where he says, “Well, OK, but it has to be really uncomfortable.”
This bears repeating.
Since you’re quoting a recruiter on this we need to take it with a grain of salt. Recruiters are notorious for tossing around buzzwords and attempting to speak to subjects they do not know when fielding canidates. Personally I wouldn’t put too much stock in the comment.
Typically what this would mean to me would be that they are looking for someone who can bridge the gap between the uber-geek engineer and the layman managers, clients and sales folks. That means they aren’t expecting you enter the interview with an encyclopedic knowledge of the acronyms and lingo, but instead capable of taking information, understanding and processing it, then being able to regurgitate it in plain speech to someone else.
They aren’t likely to turn you away if you don’t have all the terminology. In my expereince the lingo at the university level almost always outstrips that at the corporate level anyways. What they really are looking for someone who can digest the information and communicate and apply it, and most importantly, ask the right questions.
Don’t stress over it. The recruiter won’t know more than you, that’s for certain, and neither will the HR drone you will probably meet first. Take a little time to bone up on the main concepts the job is likely to require. Ask as many questions as possible preceeding the interviews. Visit the company website and investigate the web for discussions of the software/tools they are apt to use. Just come in with an idea of what is going on around you, don’t bullshit, and if something stumps you don’t be afraid to ask for elaboration. Obviously shrugging your shoulders and saying “I don’t know” isn’t the way to go, but if you illustrate an ability to learn and wrap you mind around unfamiliar concepts they’ll be perfectly happy to have you.
Thanks for the replies. I feel more at ease at the expectations. oh yes and instead of BSing I will quote Heinlein and reference Dilbert when I can.
“If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.” – The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
While I have to concur with the “do not bullshit” contingent, I feel it only fair to note that many of the managers I’ve served under have been complete bullshiters and have advanced more to their credit for generating plausible (to senior executives) bullshit than any technical skills would do them. Nonetheless, bullshitting in any position that requires actual output is a bad idea. You should have at least a vague notion of what you’re talking about before you start spouting off nonsense.
Omniscient has it right; use your analytical background, combined with a willingness to learn new things outside your nominal field, to impress interviewers regarding your ability to handle the job. The important part is your ability to make sense of and integrate new information; the actual “domain knowledge” is less important than your ability to put things together in a logical construction.
My specific advice: read up on the field, make a list of the relevent buzzwords and acronyms, and have a basic idea of what you’re talking about. Don’t blaze your way through unfamiliar concepts–be willing to ask, “How does that work, exactly?”–but at the same time, don’t stop every conversation with demands to define every term. Write down unfamiliar terms and research them when you can; you’ll absorb more than you realize, particularly if you’ve already a good basis in science.
It’s a balancing act, but it’s one that has allowed me to become a “rocketry engineer”, despite the fact that I’m a simple BSME with minors in physics and math. And yet, I’m the go-to-guy when it comes to such diverses topics as orbital ballistics, organic chemistry, Unix system administration, celestial navigation, information theory, and Python coding. Frankly, I’m worth more to my employer than any three random PhDs, based on my ability to make generalized assessments of complex systems. (My talent in making complex ideas coherent to non-technical persons doesn’t hurt, either. Communication skills are paramount, even in strictly technical environments.)
In short, don’t be afraid to admit ignorance, but don’t sell yourself short in your ability to learn and absorb material, either.
Good luck to you,
Stranger
I agree with the no bullshit advice, but if I were you I’d get me to a library and start reading the trade rags in your field. Though some of the content is thinly disguised advertising, if you get familiar with the terms there (and they’re good at defining them) you’ll have a good start - and you’ll also see what people are really doing.
Reading papers is good also, but it is hard to tell which are realistic and which will never work.
And good luck.