Success Story – Ilan Gavrieli, Standardization Engineer, VeriFone / Hadas Shimoni

for the past 13 years ilan gavrieli, an electronics and electrical engineer by profession, worked at a large, established high-tech company where he specialized in standardization and acquired experience in production and planning processes and conducting standardization testing for developed products. two months ago ilan found a job as a standardization engineer at verifone through the jobnet site.

"i've been involved in electronics since the age of 14. i studied at the ort singalovsky technology high school. i did my military service in the air force as a communications technician and navigator. after my discharge i completed my studies in electronic engineer at tel aviv university. i encountered standardization engineering for the first time at comverse and fell in love with the field right away."

what does it mean to be a standardization engineer?
"the job of standardization engineer is essentially to take products in the final stages of production and conduct a series of tests based on set standards at labs in israel and abroad, and to obtain the right approvals.
the standards testing process carried out primarily in developed countries (the us, canada, eu countries, east asia, etc.) is mandatory and vital for the sale of the products. as part of my job at verifone i deal with standards testing of communications products."

ilan gavrieli at the verifone offices

where did you work before you came to verifone?
"for the past six months i was working as a subcontractor at a large high-tech company, nokia siemens networks, as a standardization engineer, supporting another standardization engineer who belonged to the organization, and during this period together we advanced three complex projects. i was hired as a temporary backup and was told in advance that at the end of six months if they were unable to hire me at the company as a regular employee i would have to stop working and look for a job elsewhere."

why did you agree to be hired as a temporary employee?
"i wasn't working at the time and that was the only available position for a standardization engineer. also, i had hoped to get hired at the company at the end of the six months. even though i was commuting from kfar saba to binyamina on two trains each way, and even though i was working at least 10 hours a day, i really enjoyed it. at the end of the process, after the standardization projections had been successfully completed, i was notified there was no opening for a standardization engineer. as soon as i received the dismissal notice i started looking for work."

did you encounter problems looking for a job as a standardization engineer?
"definitely. it's a rare and unique job that's considered very problematic for jobseekers. the number of jobs advertised in this field is very scant, so there aren't many job openings in the high-tech world for standardization engineers. at verifone, for instance, i'm the only standardization engineer."

how many standardization engineers are there in israel, according to your estimate?
"i would say in the israeli high-tech market there are about 30 standardization engineers."

where did you look for suitable positions?
"i looked for jobs throughout the israeli electronics market, primarily through job-search sites and placement companies specializing in electronics. i focused on looking for a specific job and area of expertise – development engineer of telephony interfaces or standardization engineer. unlike the placement companies, where the response was meager, on jobnet i found a job for a standardization engineer, since this type of position appears once every six months on average."

so how did you eventually find yourself at verifone?
"i looked for jobs on the jobnet site based on keywords. after entering the words "standardization engineer" two jobs were displayed, one at verifone and the other belonged to a personnel company that had advertised the same position. one day after sending in my resume i received a call from the human resources department and i was called in for an interview. the recruitment process went relatively quickly – about three weeks. i started work at verifone one day after finishing my temporary job at nokia."

recruitment manager osnat lebhar-tal on verifone:
"verifone is an international company involved in the development, production and marketing of clearing systems for reading credit cards and smart cards based on advanced technology. the company provides innovative hardware and software solutions and services that allow businesses in israel and abroad manage electronic payment systems and money transfers efficiently and with maximal security. the company currently has over 2,000 employees around the world and sells its products to over 110 countries. the verifone israel offices are located in rosh ha'ayin and have 600 people manning the development labs, the operations and production departments and the service and sales center. this site is verifone's largest facility.

how helpful to you is your cooperation with the jobnet site?
"our cooperation with jobnet is longstanding and stable, and has been going on for about five years now. as a high-tech company we're a large and successful company in the world and our presence on the site makes us one of the well-known high-tech companies in israel. if you're there [i.e. on jobnet] you're on the map. and in terms of access to quality jobseekers, jobnet is one of the most attractive sites available."

did a lot of candidates come via jobnet for your standardization engineer job?
"it was a very hard position to man. the job profile made it hard for us to find a suitable candidate because the position is so narrow, uncommon and specialized. we contacted placement companies and tried through employee referrals, but eventually we found our solution through jobnet. the site provided us with a tool that allowed direct access to candidates without an intermediary and screening. every candidate who appeared suitable was called in for an interview. i can attest that the match really was successful."

ilan, what did the company's recruitment process consist of?
"the first professional interview was conducted by the quality assurance manager of the company's development department in israel, and afterwards i was interviewed by the development manager, followed by a personality interview with human resources. i was also interviewed by phone by verifone's global quality manager, calling from the us."

as the only standardization engineer at verifone, how were you broken in?
"i didn't have a formal breaking-in period because the previous standardization engineer left a month before i was hired. therefore i learned the work processes independently over a short period of time. i had already worked as a standardization engineer with standards labs in israel and abroad and i had ties with standards personnel, standards authorities and other key figures, all of whom helped me settle into my job at verifone smoothly and quickly."

what kind of company is verifone in terms of its character and the atmosphere?
"the work environment at the company is warm and pleasant. unlike other high-tech companies where i found employees were clearly expected to work overtime, verifone is definitely less demanding and believes in doing work in a proper and balanced manner. this is a company that respects its workers and tries to accommodate their needs. the atmosphere is informal, down-to-earth and without rigid hierarchy. the interpersonal relations are excellent and there's a lot of helpful cooperation among employees."

what's distinctive about your job?
"the job is multifaceted and requires an ability to take charge. although the work is independent, it's coordinated with and fully supported by the development staff. i'm involved in several areas simultaneously, both in developing products and engineering, and work with people in israel and abroad. my job is unique in that every problem related to standardization, whether at the level of marketing, development or engineering, is directed to me. as part of my job i have the full trust of management."

in conclusion, would you say you're happy you were hired to work at verifone?
"i'm glad for the opportunity i've been given and definitely consider mine to be a big success story. i was hired for a job with a lot of potential from a professional standpoint, a job that offers room for initiative and individual creativity. i take part in all of the meetings related to the development of the new products, my opinions are taken into account and processes are advanced based on my requests. i constantly try to improve the existing standardization processes, making them more efficient and professional. i'm also happy to be a part of verifone, which is a firmly established, stable company."

what advice can you offer other jobseekers?
"over the years i've acquired a lot of experience in job-hunting. i recommend jobseekers use all available means and opportunities available to them, especially placement companies and job-search websites like jobnet."

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for the hebrew article