Success Story – Itzik Shabtai, Software Tester at Dassault Systemes Ltd. / by Hadas Shimoni
about four months ago 30-year-old itzik shabtai, a mechanical engineer by profession, found his job at dassault systemes israel ltd. via the jobnet site. “as an atudai,” he recalls, referring to a special idf program that allows soldiers to study for a bachelor’s degree prior to military service, “following my bachelor’s degree studies at the technion i served as an expert officer working with vehicles. after my discharge i got a master’s degree in business administration and then got hired at a security company as a hardware integrator.” after working there for a year and a half itzik felt he had maximized his potential and started looking for a new job.
why did you decide to look for a new job?
at my last company i worked with hardware and electronics, but my aim was to work in my area of specialization in college, computer-aided manufacturing (cam). also, my job wasn’t focused so i was handling specific problems in various fields and felt i wasn’t acquiring the practical knowledge and experience that would help me in the future.”
where did you send resumes to?
“based on my previous job searches i knew jobnet to be a convenient, user-friendly site with a range of positions.
while continuing to work at my previous job i sent out my resume in a focused manner via the site and found many suitable positions.”
itzik shabtai with the company logo in the background
which direction did you look in?
“i sent out resumes primarily for mechanical engineering jobs with a focus on cam, which was my bachelor’s degree major. a short time after starting the search process i came across an appealing ad placed by dassault systemes israel that definitely matched my abilities and desires. based on the ad, the job was just right for me, both in terms of my academic background and my goals.”
when you sent in your resume were you familiar with the company?
“i was familiar with the company’s products because i’d been exposed to plm [product lifecycle management] and cam through my college studies and my previous job, but i wasn’t familiar with dassault itself. other companies also contacted me, but i didn’t reach advanced stages of negotiations with them. my first recruitment process in this last job search was at dassault and it took just a few weeks.”
how did the company run the recruitment process?
the recruitment was professional and included a series of interviews. the first interview was held by the cam software integration team leader. then i went to a human resources interview and finally i was interviewed by the qa manager, who primarily evaluated my ambitions and future goals. based on the questions i was asked and the way the process was run i got the impression that it was a quality company managed by quality people with a high level of technological ability. in addition to professional experience they were looking for employees with a broad vision and a lot of love for cam and product lifecycle management.”
on dassault systemes ltd.:
daussalt systemes israel is an israel development center under international software giant dssault, a world leading in 3d and plm solutions.
the development center in israel is where it develops enovia smarteam, which provides solutions for global partnerships in product lifecycle management and is part of the dassault systemes plm line. enovia smarteam has over 6,000 customers around the world manufacturing quality products through a range of management and information-sharing solutions, from the idea phase through the distribution and maintenance phase.
what is plm?
product lifecycle management includes an entire system of computerized tools that serve engineers, designers and product developers in every aspect of the industry, from the concept stage to production, and finally sales and support. it’s an information rich process managed by systems that “know how to communicate” with the various phases in the process, such as two-dimensional and three-dimensional design and planning, managing changes, managing communications with suppliers and customers, transferring information among the various entities involved in the process and more. the process requires company-wide vision for managing business processes, which is a broader kind of vision than information management. plm is considered one of the foundation stones of the modern company data system along with enterprise resource planning, supply chain management and customer relations management.”
what did you like about dassault sytemes?
first of all the company is involved in a contents world closely related to my main area of expertise. i was drawn by the interviewers’ very professional approach and the good chemistry with them that developed during the course of the interviews. before i came to dassault i visited the company website and the more i read about it on the internet, the more i wanted to get hired there and work in that field.”
how did your first days at the company go?
my first day on the job i was received by the team leader, who took me around to meet the other employees. later i met with the human resources manager for an introductory talk. she told me about company guidelines, its organizational structures and its internal internet site. afterwards i met with my staff and was given one-on-one training by each of the staff members, who had received a clear instruction program with specific goals. my training included a comprehensive survey of the software and the day-to-day work processes in the department. also, i’m supposed to take a two-day orientation course for new employees held once a quarter.”
what’s the working environment like?
“as a software tester at dassault systemes israel i belong to a team that’s in charge of testing the integration between the cam programs and the enovia smarteam program. my work group is part of the qa department, which has 30 testers, while the company has a total staff of 200. the work is dynamic, with constant information-sharing – both formal in informal – among the workers, including staff meetings and professional exchanges.”
what kind of company is dassault systemes as a place to work?
“dassault is made up of quality people who excel in their respective fields. there’s a lot of interaction between our staff and the other departments, and every decision is reached with full collaboration. the company also invests a lot in its workers, providing them enrichment through training classes and lectures, both as professionals and individuals. during the quarterly company meetings all of the company workers meet with the ceo and other executives, who present a short survey of company activities and new developments during those months. the company also has a game room with a pool table and a wwii arcade game to let us blow off steam built up during the course of intensive work.”
would you call this a success story?
“definitely. i’m happy i was able to get hired at dassault systemes israel. i’m working with really high-caliber people and feel i have room to grow. many of the employees have developed professionally and advanced to key positions at the company. my goal is to specialize in cam and software testing and to reach a high level of technological aptitude and mastery until i become one of the people who influence decision-making at the company. i’m happy i was lucky enough to find a job that gives me pleasure, in my area of expertise. i’m also proud to be working at an international company with 8,000 employees around the world.”
what advice do you have for jobseekers?
“i think it’s important in life to choose a profession you’re good at and like to do. when you look for work, try to focus your search as much as possible. that increases the chances of getting hired for a position at a company where you’ll be happy, your productivity will be good and you’ll strive to advance.”
noa nafshi-geller, human resources manager at dassault systemes israel, talks about the company’s cooperation with jobnet:
“we’ve been working with jobnet for two years. it serves as our main recruitment source and is unique among job-search sites. our job ads are posted on the site and updated constantly. many quality, dedicated employees like itzik were hired through jobnet, whose site provides us very good and efficient recruitment solutions.”
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