2. ABOUT THE SPEAKER
CAREER BIO
• Mr. Cheng is currently the Vice President and
General Manager of KAMET Manufacturing
Solutions, an international provider of
Engineering, Build to Print and Contract
Manufacturing services, serving the Hi-Tech
Semiconductor, Medical and
Aerospace/Defense Industries. Reporting to
the CEO, he is responsible for all aspects of
growth and profitability of the corporation.
• Mr. Cheng is also an industry Educator and
Consultant working with knowledge brokers like
Gerson Lehrman Group, Coleman
Research, Guidepoint Global, Primary
Insight, and Cognolink educating and
increasing clients’ understanding of technology
and trends in industry.
• During Mr. Cheng’s 15 year tenure at Applied
Materials. He held leadership positions in
Global Production Engineering, Operations
Research, Global Supply Chain
Donald Cheng is an Electrical Management, Regional Total Quality
Engineer professional with a Management and Manufacturing Operations.
During his tenure, Applied Materials delivered
successful career spanning across highest record revenues, implemented global
three industries and progressively sourcing strategies, implemented LEAN
manufacturing and achieved consistent
climbed the ladder in four career improvement in overall performance.
professions. Each time starting as • Prior to Applied Materials, Mr. Cheng spent
an individual contributor and rising over 8 years in the Aerospace & Defense
Industry, most notably at Lockheed Space
the ranks into executive Operations where, as a Systems Engineer, he
management. He is also an designed automated cloud hardware switching
educator, consultant, author, speake systems using knowledge based Artificial
Intelligence heuristics.
r and enjoys the life long journey of • Mr. Cheng holds a Bachelor of Science and
learning. Master of Science degrees in Electrical
Engineering from Florida Institute of
Technology, NAPCEP Certified and has
received numerous awards of excellence from
every industry he has served.
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
3. TALKING POINTS
Every generation of graduates faces
challenges entering into the work
place.
Finding a Job in a Jobless market
only creates fierce competition.
Job seekers need to show distinction
along with breadth and depth of
value.
This is not your father’s job market
anymore.
Job skills now change every 3-4
years.
Career Management is a life long
journey that begins with a direction.
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
4. TALKING POINTS
No matter where you are at in your
career map there are a handful of
concepts that has stood the test of
time and transcends career paths and
industries.
What ever direction you
take, remember to learn and
enjoy the journey along the
way
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
5. THE RESONATING CAREER
The Resonating Career,
Resonate means: is a career
which is harmonious with who you
1. To correspond closely or
are and what your current or
harmoniously with
potential employer needs. The
2. To expand, to intensity, or amplify
result is a mutual success that is
intensified and amplified as you
progress and fine tune your skills.
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
7. THE BUSINESS OF YOU
PREMISE:
You are the CEO of YOU
WHAT IS YOU’s:
Value Add
Passion
Interests
Specialization
Core Competency
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
8. MARKETING YOU
What is your target market(s)?
Do you have a brand image?
Do you have a message?
What is your distinction?
Why hire you?
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
9. BRANDING YOU
Reputationu
8
Characteru
Perceptionu
Ethicsu
Code of
u=1 Conductu
Opinionu
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
10. UTILIZING NETWORKS
Strategic Use Tactical Use
Professional Applying for jobs
Societies online
Professional Job fairs
Organizations Walking in a
Professional resume
networks Asking around
Publishing your Newspaper ads
work Cold calling
Find mentors
Goal Goal
• Building your • Getting hired
credentials & brand
• Attract recruiters
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
12. THE YOU, INC BUSINESS PLAN
Avoid “Analysis Paralysis”
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
13. ANALYSIS PARALYSIS
Plans are a living document
No plan is perfect, but should be well
thought out
Plans are made to be changed, adjust
as needed
Don’t obsess over it, revisit it after a
period of time and look at it with a
fresh pair of eyes
Remember that creation of the plan is
not the end goal
Adopt a continuous improvement over
time approach rather trying to craft
the perfect plan
Execute!, Execute!, Execute!
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
15. TOP GRADING
Top Grading is a
systematic approach to
assessing candidates and
employees alike based on
the overall groups
performance.
“C”- “B”- “A”-
Player Player Player
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
16. TOP GRADING
Companies are dynamic and complex
organisms that change and evolve over
time.
To remain in tune with your employer or
to amplify your impact, you must make
fine tuning to your performance and
approach to remain effective in our
career.
Those who do not, may find themselves
falling into a different player group.
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
17. RESULTS LEAD TO RESONANCE
As part of a company’s organization the “A”
Players and the “B+” Players are in a
unique position to help lead teams to
achieving critical business objectives. Such
results are cumulative and creates an
organizational resonance over time.
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
19. CAREER PITFALLS
Who is my
Career Manager
?
Hope is not a
Strategy nor
does it float
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
20. CAREER PITFALLS
Being a self
fulfilling
prophecy
A little dirty
politics never
hurts anyone
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
21. CAREER PITFALLS
Complacency
breeds
obsolescence
Attitude is
everything
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
22. CAREER PITFALLS
Be aware of
your
surroundings
Sometimes you
need to take
career detours
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
23. CAREER PITFALLS
Not making an
exit plan
No mentors nor
staying
connected
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
24. CAREER WAYPOINTS
Jobs are waypoints in your
career
Wouldn’t it be nice if there
Assess your app for careera year
was an resume once
Ask yourself:
management?
What did you add?
Are you adding results or activities
Have you been doing the same job
for over 3-4 years?
Is there a trend and direction to the
narrative of your resume?
Is the trend pointing you in the
If direction fallen want to of the career
you have you into any go?
pitfalls then learn from them and make
corrective actions
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
25. ARE YOU FEELING LUCKY?
Hope is not a strategy
Luck is not a factor
Fear is not an option
26. ARE YOU PREPARED?
Opportunities
may come
without notice
The next
business
associate you
meet may be
your next boss
Do you have
an elevator
speech?
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
27. THE GLOBAL MARKET
Electronic
Connectivity
has made the
world smaller
Opening up
new markets
and
opportunities
This also means opening up to
global competition
You are no longer “keeping up
with the Joneses”, but also the
Silva’s, Ivanov’s, Patel’s and
Wang’s.
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
28. FINDING YOUR NICHE
Gather market intelligence: stay
abreast of industry trends and
raise awareness of areas of
growth
Know the types of products or
services that are in the market
segment of interest
Perform Supply Chain forensics
Understand the market segments
Know the objectives that are being
served
What are the innovations and
convergences that will create
opportunities
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
29. SUMMARY
Develop the business plan of YOU
Know what your distinctions are
and where you can be of most
value
Success is when Opportunity
meets preparation, so do your
homework
Manage your career
Avoid analysis paralysis and career
pitfalls
Find a mentor and grow your
network
Achieving resonance requires
occasional adjustments to stay in
tune or to amplify
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng
30. MAY YOU RESONATE WITH SUCCESS
The Resonating Career by: Donald Cheng