From: be503@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jacob Richman)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Computer Jobs in Israel (long)
Date: 18 Nov 1992 12:43:11 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: be503@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jacob Richman)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Long posting on Computer job hunting in Israel.

>From: westes@sti.com (Will Estes)
>Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
>Subject: Looking For Windows Programmers In Israel

>This may seem like an off-the-wall question, but I am hoping that
>someone who reads this note will be able to point me to either Microsoft
>Windows programmers, or firms that specialize in Windows programming, in
>Israel.  I have a friend who will emigrate to Israel in February of 1993
>and he is a talented programmer.  I would like better for him than to
>end up sweeping floors.

>Can someone tell me what is the general condition of the job market for
>microcomputer programmers in Israel today?  Email references to any specific 
>individuals or firms are appreciated.  Please courtesy copy your response
>to me by mail.

>Will Estes             Internet: westes@netcom.com

Will,
Shalom. First of all your questions are good and I am posting the answer to 
the whole forum because this may help others that are contemplating Aliyah. 
This is not a FLAME but the line "I would like better for him than to end up 
sweeping floors" DOES NOT apply to the computer field in Israel. There are 
just as many or even more computer jobs posted in the newspapers every week, 
then any country I know (percent of job listings to the size of the
population). I cut out the ads every week so I am not taking a wild guess 
here. There are people you may know in the computer field that may be 
temporary un-employed but that could be because of their qualifications. 
I used the word temporary as an example of Russian programmers who have made 
aliyah. A majority of the Russian programmers have degrees in math 
(statistics) or electronics. Their programming experience is usually very 
narrow so almost all of them (at least in Jerusalem) take a 3-6 month course 
at the open university to give them a broader base of knowledge. Many of them 
get jobs but it takes time (including the language barrier). The ones that 
do not, usually do not know how to job hunt in a "westernized country" or 
they just give up because of lack of encouragement. A few weeks ago two of 
the people I meet with found jobs after a relatively long search. We met 
almost every other week for a few months and it paid off. One was a financial 
programmer from Brazil, the second a mainframe programmer from Russia. Both 
wre not in the "hot" fields in computers but they found jobs in any case.
     Let me switch to programmers from the USA, UK or other Anglo-Saxon 
countries.  Programmers from these countries have a great advantage in Israel 
over everyone else. Employers know that their experience is on a good level 
for Israel. In many cases even better. However the computer programming field 
is very diverse and it sometimes takes 3-5 months to match your 
qualifications with an open position. The "Hot" fields are an exception. 
Some examples only (there are more) of hot fileds are:
Unix programming, Windows programming, "C", "C++", network management,
communications, real time "C" programming, etc.....
Do not panic out there. There are plenty of Cobol and other language jobs in 
Israel but the world is down-sizing and the pc base in Israel is expanding 
just like the rest of the countries.
Here are some (not all) job hunting tips for the potential Oleh/Olah or 
Israel resident:

1. Your resume can be in Hebrew or English. Most places can read English. 
   If they can not then you probably do not want to work for them. 
   (just a joke :-)  )

2. Your short (around 10 line) cover letter should be in Hebrew.  Although 
   Israelis can read English, the clerk in human resources who reviews the 
   resumes for the first "cut" will want to know: who you are, what is your 
   experience (1-2 line summary of resume), what you are looking for or what 
   you are willing to do, and why they should hire you.
   (not too much BS here, it may backfire on you and end up in the archives)
   The clerk in human resources will not read your whole resume carefully. 
   He/she probably searches for key word or phrases and his/her English is 
   not 100% This accompanying letter should be short not a megillah. 
   You have your resume for that.

3.  Do not expect a phone call or letter from an Israeli employer while you 
    are not physically in the country. Do not bother to send resumes here 
    if you are not making Aliyah within 1-2 months. This is a subjective 
    opinion but I think 95% of the employers will not wait around and keep 
    a position open for you while you are shopping for a dual voltage TV
    set in lower Manhatten (or wherever). If you are planning to make Aliyah 
    ONLY IF you have a job offer in hand while you are still overseas then I 
    would say you are probably not going to make Aliyah (there are exceptions 
    but the old excuse: "I am not going to make Aliyah until I have a job 
    does not wash". I am sure you have a friend or two that tried Aliyah, 
    could not find a job and left the country but I know more that found a 
    job and stayed and are happy :-)
    If you send a resume and cover letter to Israel right before Aliyah, 
    make sure there is an Israeli phone number or address where you can be 
    reached.

4.  DO NOT RELY ON PERSONNEL AGENCIES. There are some good ones but most 
    do not know a Vax from a pc. You will have to do most of the legwork 
    yourself.

5.   Most jobs get posted internally before hitting the newspapers. If you 
     have an inside track (protectzeeah) thats good but it does not guarentee 
     a job. It may guarentee an interview. Do not look for programming jobs 
     in the English newspapers. You may find a few but that is not the place. 
     Friday's Yediot and Maariv (back of financial sections) and toward the
     back of Kol Hair (or other city local paper) is where the box ads are. 
     Some ads overlap between these papers but some do not. Check all. 
     You will be amazed on how many computer ads there are. If you do not 
     see your type of ad WAIT. Every few  weeks there is a spurt of new types 
     of ads and there is a job out there for you.

6.   If you send an ad to a known company (not just a POB) look them up in 
     the telephone book and call the personnel department 10 days after you 
     sent the ad. Simply ask in hebrew: "Did you get my resume?" They will 
     probably say call back tomorrow until they find it. 
     You should / must CALL BACK TOMORROW!.

7.   There are lists of computer companies that work in your field (or use 
     your computer and programming languages). Even if they have not placed 
     ads lately you should send to them. You never know when the lead 
     programmer may quit for a better job and your resume will be on the 
     employer's desk at the right momoent :-)
     Your mission Jim is to find those lists and send to each company.

8.   If you are straight out of school Israel is like any other country: 
     It is very hard work to land your first job. Be prepared for a long 
     (4-5 month) search. However, lately there are companies that take in 
     non-experienced computer people because of new training incentatvies 
     given to them from the government. 

9.   If you were a senior project leader (or other high level position) you 
     may have to take a lower position job until you prove your capabilities 
     to your new employer. This can be frustrating but thems the breaks. 
     Once you prove yourself or once you have a year or two Israeli 
     experience on your resume then life usually becomes better.

10.  Now to the $64,000. dollar question: MONEY ?
     Is that why you made Aliyah? Is that the Zionist dream? Is that all 
     that matters in life?
     I guess it is an important question after all :-)
     You may not like the kind of answer I am going to give you.
      A. About 5 weeks ago an Oleh with 2-3 years finanacial experience 
	 started a job at Betuach Leumi (national insurance fund) and I 
	 think he started around 2000 shekels plus allowances. They are 
	 giving him a 3-6 month course in Tel-Aviv to learn Sapians.
	 He was searching for the right job for 3 months after he did Ulpan 
	 and studied for half a year in yeshiva. He is very happy.
      B. About two months ago my friend's brother from NY made Aliyah. He 
	 called me and I gave him a list of comanies that were looking for 
	 his type of experience.
	 Within two weeks he accepted a job from many offers. 
	 He is making around 6000(gross).
      C. Three examples from my own experience eight years ago when I made 
	 Aliyah from NY:
	  1. I was offered a job as an EDP auditor for the state of Israel. I 
	     was thrilled because I felt this was a great job: investigating 
	     the computer systems of the government companies. I could fix 
	     up things. I can work for ISRAEL. Wow! They offered me 
	     under 1000 shekels to start and my rent was $300.
	  2. A bakery in Jerusalem needed an assist manager for the PDP 
	     operations. After 2 interviews and a five hour psycometric 
	     (mis-spelled) test in Tel-Aviv 
	     (aptitude test - no computer stuff asked) we came down to money. 
	     It was one of my first interviews so I asked for half of my USA 
	     salary. He said he will get back to me. Never did. I found out 
	     a few weeks later that I asked for more money then he was making.
	  3. I had three months of interviews at Intel. On the first 
	     interview I was asked to fill out a form which asked all kinds 
	     of basic questions like: name and address of last employers, 
	      Name and address of elementary school, references, etc..
	      Note: Get one of these forms and write down all the answers 
		    before you go to any interview. All forms ask about the 
		    same questions and if you are in a waiting room there is 
		    no reason why you can not take out your prepared answers 
		    and copy them. It would be nice if you can answer and 
		    write in Hebrew (however English is ok for new Olim in 
		    most cases). Note #2: Learn Hebrew. It helps.
		    Back to the money. There was a line for expected salary. 
		    In retrospect I would say to leave this open or write 
		    "flexible" and let your interviewer try to pinpoint you.
		     They probably will not raise the issue unless they want 
		     to hire you. I wrote a conservative figure. In the end 
		     they offered me more and I spent 7 years there. I 
		     switched jobs to a different company this past June.
	    
	    Bottom line on MONEY: 
	    It varies. Government pays a lot less but you can pick up 
		       experience if you need it and there are some nice 
		       fringe benefits.
		       A salary does not cover the extras in government jobs 
		       like:
		       clothing allowance, car allowance, tenure,ect..
		       Most government offices today do not hire you 
		       directly but use a consulting firm instead. Salaries
		       are also hirer.
		       In private companies: Keren Heshtalmut, Betuach 
		       menahalim, subsidizded lunches, transportation to and 
		       from work (some companies), 13th salary etc...
		       can be 20-30 percent over your gross salary. 
		       Negotiate when possible. You MAY get use of a car if 
		       your job is in sales or support. On the other hand 
		       some sales jobs require a car from you.

11.  Talk to as many people in your field. People outside of the computer 
     field including good aliyah groups will probably not know what is 
     going on in the computer field. They may assume it is like any other 
     field. It is not. Also do not take the word of one person as the whole 
     ball of wax. This includes me! Ask around to get a good picture and 
     make sure you know where the person is comming from.

Well, this has been a long post but it does not include everything. 
Call this a mini FAQ on computer jobs in Israel. Maybe some aliyah 
organization will pick up on it and expand it. Every Sunday night I 
cut out all the computer ads and sit with Olim to review them.
I once posted to this group one weekend's ads. It took me 5 hours 
to type it. Sorry but this is a non-paying hobby of mine and not a 
full time job. I have infrequent mail access at freenet so please 
do not send me mail like: "I have experience in XXX, what companies
should I contact". Due to my infrequent access I apologize to those 
that have sent me questions that I could not answer. When you get to 
Israel you can look me up in the Jerusalem phone book or Ma'Aleh Adumim 
phone book. I will be happy to meet with anyone that wants to, schedules 
permitting. I keep all the past ads of company/hardware/software for 
reference. The best hours to reach me are from 10:00 Pm - Midnight.

Shalom and good luck,
Jacob Richman

PS This message may be re-posted to other BBS's or forums but without changes. 
-- 
Jacob Richman
Ma'Aleh Adumim
Israel
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish