How did you first hear about BAVC Media?
A friend recommended BAVC Media. For the tech program and non-employed help.
Tell us your BAVC Media story.
I am originally from Barcelona, Catalonia (now Spain). I originally came to the US in 1993 to go to university with an international exchange program. Part of that program required to do an internship in a local company and I found my first job in the corporate communications department of Synopsis in Mountain View. I ended up working for Synopsys and stayed in the US until December 2001. At that moment, I decided to move back to Europe with my US wife and 9 months old son. After 13 years in Spain and having accomplished my goal my family and I decided the move back to the US. Leaving the Bay Area was easy but going back was a huge challenge. My wife and I took the risk of moving back knowing we would have to start from 0 in the US, with no jobs, no place to live, no schools for the children. My wife and kids moved first and I came into the US in Sept. 2015.
The biggest challenge at that moment was finding a job that fit my skills. I worked in High-tech from 1993 to 2001 in the US and in smaller businesses in Europe. I started my own business first and worked as a yacht salesman later on, always handling the marketing and digital responsibilities anywhere I was.
When I started looking for work I knew I wanted to go back to the tech industry but I had a mixed resume with tech, sales, marketing and digital skills. I had never been in an interview process before because I never had the need. My tech skills were a bit obsolete, my sales skills were related to consumer products. Most of the marketing positions required a high level of English writing and being non-native this was always a challenge. I applied for over 200 jobs with no luck in the first two months. I realized I was doing something wrong and I also learned I needed to change my strategy. I needed to polish my web and digital skills, narrow down my job search and be prepared for the interview process.
A friend of mine told about BAVC Media. “They have a good digital program and help unemployed professionals” he said. After doing some research about BAVC Media I found a web certificate program that could help sharpen my skills so I decided to register. At that moment, my situation didn’t fit the TechSF requirements so I had to cover for the cost on my own. It was a big effort but I knew it was an investment I needed to do. My biggest surprise came when I discovered I could attend a series of workshops that would help me get ready for the job search and applications, and for FREE!!
I immediately signed up for all the web certificate classes and all the available workshops starting in November with the goal of finishing by next April. The workshops helped me put together a nice resume, set up a good digital profile, prepared me for phone and face to face interviews, all while I was sharpening my digital/web skills. In January 2016 I got my first part time job at Sandisk and in April a full-time job at VMware.
Thanks BAVC Media for getting me ready for the Bay Area job search race!! It is not easy but you can do it!
Why do you think others should get involved at BAVC Media?
If you are in the job market or need to improve your tech skills BAVC Media has the tools to make it happen.
