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I found it difficult to write a general purpose professional statement, so I chose to write one to a specific company, sort of like a cover letter. I plan on actually submitting this, along with my resume, to the company.


Shicheng Guo guo7@purdue.edu 1 (224) 735-1195


Current Address: 2612 Bristlecone Dr. West Lafayette, IN. 47906.

Citizenship: U.S. Citizen 10/11/2011


Dear Recruiter,


I have been searching the ARM website for possible career opportunities for students, and am very interested in both the DFT, and Verification Enablement internship positions open in Austin, Texas. Having previously worked in the semiconductor industry, as well as being almost complete with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering, I have the necessary skills and mindset to solve the problems that these positions are here to solve.

The highest qualification I have is the experience I gained from completing three co-op tours in the Product Development sector of AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). The similarity between what I did there and what I am looking to do at ARM is almost uncanny. While at AMD, I was responsible for writing both test scripts and test tools in Perl and C, something very similar to the job description for the Verification Enablement internship. And one of our team’s closest liaisons? The DFT group right downstairs.

Besides the immense technical knowledge I gained during my tours, my position also gave me the invaluable interpersonal skills that I believe are required not only for the positions I am interested in here at ARM, but for every person who wishes to consider themselves a professional. By simply sitting in on meetings between teams of veteran engineers, I saw that it takes more than technical know-how to succeed in this industry. Just as important is a skill much easier seen than emulated: having the right professional mindset. Being open to new ideas, not being afraid to put forth my own, and never settling for a “good enough” solution are what I consider the most valuable skills I enhanced during employment.

In terms of technical experience, I believe I have every single core qualification needed for these positions. I have a solid understanding of computer architecture, am very experienced in almost every single programming language desired (Perl, Python, C), and am also experienced with VHDL, ASIC and FPGA design implementations and limitations, ASIC fabrication, and scripting/shell/assembly programming. Given the nature of my previous job, I am also knowledgeable of the overall semiconductor product development/design cycle, as well as professional practices and etiquette that only real-world work experience can teach. And of course, any skills that I lack I will quickly and gladly learn.

More details are in the attached resume. Thank you so much for your time and consideration, and I look forward to a possible interview.

Sincerely, Shicheng Guo.

Alumni Liaison

Correspondence Chess Grandmaster and Purdue Alumni

Prof. Dan Fleetwood