Hello Sam (Solar Cycle 5 Team leader and graduate recruited by Solar City~Tom)
from a fellow JobTrain graduate under Tom Huggett.
Congratulations on getting hired as a residential installer with SolarCity. As you're finding out, it's a tough job. I heard about that guy who couldn't take the heat - literally. It's unfortunate but you absolutely have to keep yourself hydrated for your own and others' safety. I've worked on various jobs under downpours, freezing and 115+ degree temperature conditions to list a few. One is at the mercy of the elements as an installer and one should be prepared to face and deal with it. And as you said and as you noticed you will not see any out of shape installers for obvious reasons.
Having also worked in HQ (SolarCity Foster City headquarters) and with those doing the hiring I can share the following for all prospective hires:
1. Review Tom's class notes. Know strings, series, parallel, combiner, inverter, racking, penetrations, etc. You will have a written test before you are interviewed.
2. Be informed about SolarCity. Do your homework about SolarCity and scour www.solarcity.com to learn anything and everything about the company. Know who Pete and Lyndon are. Know where our various warehouse locations are at. Know what jobs we've done in the past. What is the relationship between between SolarCity and Tesla Motors? How many installations did the FosterCity warehouse do last year? It's all in the website.
3. Dress for the job you're applying for. If you're applying for an installer, then dress like a professional installer - long sleeve shirt, Carhartt/Dickies pants etc., boots. Let them know you're ready to work NOW! If one comes in dressed in a 3 piece suit, you might be able to pull it off but this attire is not helping you. And if one shows up in shorts or in some gang banger outfit then you'll be lucky if you get more than a few minutes of interview time.
4. Follow up. After your interview, follow up the next day with Tommie Lia (sic). Let Tommie know that you are interested in the position and find out when he will make a decision - it's usually less than a week after interviews. Patrick Donner is the HR recruiter and is whom 99% of applicants go through but you will not be working with Patrick but with Tommie.
Anyway, the above tips are for those of you still looking to get into solar. As for you, Sam, I'll have to track you down and say hi.
After Tom's instruction in JobTrain, I applied to SolarCity back in July 2008 and landed a commercial installer position. I helped install several commercial jobs throughout California since that time and even did some residential while things were slow in commercial. I also worked in the finance department in HQ for a few months. Now I'm back in the field as a project coordinator for the 3.4MW groundmount job in Tucson that you may have heard about. This is SolarCity's biggest job yet complete with 45,000 modules, 95+ temperatures, rattlesnakes and possibly live ordinances.
All you guys and gals still looking to get in the industry, keep at it. Keep informed about the industry. Don't wait for a job to land on your lap - it won't. So work hard to get one.
Thank you JobTrain and above all thank you Tom for your knowledge, patience and instruction.
-Roberto
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
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