ProMatch Testimonials

My name is Zhaomei Feng, an Electrical Engineer. I got an offer from Space Systems/Loral as an Engineering specialist. I’ll start working this coming Monday. Do you know how I got this job? From here, from our ProMatchers. I had been applying for many jobs online, and it was like black hole, I never heard back. One day I shared my frustration with my success team members, they encouraged me to ask for connections during the ProMatch meeting. I did. I got two connections, one is from Mark Yelencich, and another one is from Joy Tani. They both quickly introduced me to their connections and forwarded my resume. Especially, Mark Yelencich’s friend Joe agreed to meet me at a coffee shop and spent a whole hour with me, so patient and helpful. He not only answered my questions, but also pointed out I should apply for a better position in a different group instead. He volunteered to pass my resume to the related hiring director, and soon I got a phone interview from this hiring director. Thanks to the telephone interview workshop, I passed the phone interview. Then during the on-site phone interview, I fired my PSR machine gun and it worked. I got an offer.

In summary, networking, networking and networking. Also, go to the workshops and practice your PSRs.

Thanks a lot, Mark Yelencich. I also want to thank Joy Tani and my success team members: Pam, Ed, Keith, Kevin, Nancy and Mary ann. Thanks also to my PSR team members.

And special thanks Bob, Connie and Rosie for forming such an amazing organization. I owe so much to ProMatch, I hope someday I can pay back.

Zhaomei Feng

I am a 2010 alum of ProMatch in Sunnyvale. I came into ProMatch after a massive re-structuring at Sun Microsystems in the Fall of 2009. I was able to sharpen my interviewing, public speaking and resume writing skills at ProMatch through interactions with other professionals from Silicon Valley. As a volunteer run non-profit organization it is impressive to see the depth and breadth of contacts that the ProMatch staff Connie, Bob, and Rosie have accumulated over the years with key decision makers at Silicon Valley employers. ProMatch is an invaluable community oriented non-profit organization and I highly recommend their continued existence in training the future workforce of Silicon Valley.

Srikanth Sundararajan

I was urged into ProMatch by ProMatch Alumni’s that I met in Success Team. They all had high praises and warning “Be ready to give of yourself and your talents don’t forget the job search.”

My approach was to get as much from ProMatch and give as much to ProMatch as possible while still maintain full focus with other Job search and support organizations that I was already involved with.

I was fortunate being placed in the Networking Team, going in had strengths with Social Media and LinkedIn a smattering of Face to Face networking. Since I ended up as Co-Lead and Co–Facilitating Networking Fundamentals, Power Networking, Social Media and LinkedIn in Depth there was a lot on my plate. Also took full advantage of the other workshops the other teams provided.

I definitely received a lot from ProMatch not just the advanced skills but energy and many new friends.

I may have timed out with an excess number of service hours but I never let the time there interfere with my prime goal finding a job. With-in a month of timing out I landed my “perfect” contract job though networking!

Could I have found a job sooner? I did have a few interviews while I was there, silly companies selected someone else. My job field Human Resources has not been in high demand HR and HRIS are usually the first to disappear not being a money maker for companies and they run on a very thin string. Just recently they are breaking open. When I accepted the contract I was also on short list and in interviews for 3 other positions all found through networking.

ProMatch honed my skills, provided energy and encouragement. Many thanks to Connie, Bob, Rosie, and all the ProMatchers I met and got to know. Would have to say this is the Best of the Best.

Michelle Klink

ProMatch provided a structure to my week, several useful connections for my job search, an opportunity to facilitate/co-facilitate pre-promatch workshop, and to develop many excellent friendships. Thanks.

Anupam Goyal, Ph.D.

I started attending ProMatch months after I started my job search. So many days and months lost. Joining ProMatch gave my job search a boost. The workshops sharpened my skills and the weekly presentations elevated my spirit. The support of other ProMatch members is great and I got to meet a great group of people, some of which became my friends and I'm sure to keep in-touch with in the future.

The support of Connie, Bob and Rosie is amazing. They give the entire organization the support, guidance and spirit it needs. I recommended joining ProMatch to many people I've met a long the way who have lost their jobs, and I hear positive reactions everywhere I go. I hope you keep up this organization and support which is highly needed.

Beatrice Zelenko

The attitude at ProMatch and the professional presentations were a great source of inspiration to me. Being able to network with so many people who were highly motivated to achieve success and were willing to share their knowledge and their own contacts was invaluable. A long job search is difficult and it is very hard to maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity and rejection. ProMatchers help to overcome that feeling of impossibility.

Tom Connelly

“The obvious benefits of ProMatch are the great training classes and networking. It also gave me inspiration, a workplace to go to, a stable base to start from, all sorts of knowledge and advice I hadn't realized I needed until I joined ProMatch (everything from PC maintenance to salary negotiation skills), and generally helped me avoid sinking into lethargy and depression. It's a fantastic program and I've strongly recommended it to many high-tech friends who have been laid off.”

Doug Debs

“The ProMatch organization is a unique organization, in that it runs itself on a cadre of a group of excellent volunteers guided and driven by a few dedicated NOVA employees. I found that the organization provided people with an excellent base for networking and learning new and useful job search skills. I found my job by networking with a technician who worked for me thirteen years ago, and leveraging my background at working with the Nordic countries.”

Sarosh Patel