What is your mission as a company?
We solve complex challenges, advance scientific discovery and deliver innovative solutions that help our customers keep people safe.
What is your company culture?
At the core of Lockheed Martin’s culture are inclusivity, support, and growth. To promote the sharing of ideas, we foster an inclusive work environment that encourages differences and big-picture thinking. Our Core Values are fundamental to who we are and what we do.
Do What’s Right: Being worthy of our customers’ trust is our top priority. To this end, we adhere to the highest ethical standards, abide by the laws of every country in which we do business, and strive to be responsible corporate citizens.
Respect Others: Our success depends on the ability of our talented, skilled employees to function as a tightly integrated team. We embrace diversity and respect each other, our customers, our partners, and the suppliers we interact with.
Perform With Excellence: The missions our customers rely on us to carry out are every bit as important to us as they are to them, and we approach every challenge determined to succeed.
What are your recommendations for seeking mentorship and support in the workplace
Seek out someone that you admire professionally who aligns with your professional goals and aspirations as well as your values. At Lockheed Martin we have formal and informal mentoring programs that support our employees in their career development. Lockheed Martin also has Business Resource Groups or (BRG’s) that are formed based on the primary dimensions of diversity and are open for any employee to join. These BRGs are an excellent place to find community, support, and mentorship.
How do I ask for help as a professional?
One of the most important things to understand when beginning your career is that your colleagues, more often than not, are happy to help you and do not expect you to know everything at the get-go. That being said, helpful steps to follow would be:
- Try to solve the problem on your own first, through searches, reading through reference documents, and testing out theories.
- It is important to not spend too much time on this step, give yourself a time limit
- Determine the best person to ask, often you will have a “Buddy” or a go-to resource, but the best person to ask may be a technical expert that you are aware of
- Take into consideration how quickly you need an answer and be considerate of other’s work loads and schedules
- Ask your question either in-person, over the phone, or in an email, taking into consideration how quickly you need an answer and the other persons availability
- Be specific in your question and wording to get the desired answer
- TAKE NOTES – it is critical to take notes on the problem and the solution to refer back to next time you encounter this issue.
- Consider outlines, flowcharts, or step-by-step instructions
- Save your notes somewhere you will be able to find them, stay organized
What is one piece of advice that you would give to your college-aged self?
Do not be afraid to ask questions when you don’t know something, but also be confident in what you do know and the skills that you bring to the table. The beginning of a professional career can be an uncomfortable time as you navigate a new workplace and learn just how much you actually don’t know. While there are proper support systems in place to help you, it can feel frustrating having to learn so much at once. During these times it is important to remember what you do know and why you were hired for that position. You bring valuable skills and insight to your team and you should not be afraid to provide input and contribute meaningfully just because you are still learning.
How can my Auburn Engineering education best prepare me for the world of work?
Take advantage of as many of the opportunities that are provided to you as possible. Join student organizations and clubs, design teams, and get involved in research if you are able. Professional student organizations like SWE, ASME, SHPE, ACM, NSBE, etc. will help you develop essential skills that will be helpful both in college and in your career. In addition, any chance that you have to work in groups or teams that simulate work environments will be key to your success in the professional industry.
If you were to hire someone to work with you today, what factors would be most important in your hiring decision and why?
Large factors in hiring decisions for early career individuals include the following:
- Practical application of skills and knowledge – where, when, and how have you used the skills that you list on your resume, in either work, project, or personal experience?
- Desire to grow and learn – do you want to learn and apply new skills, are you looking to grow in your professional career, what are your aspirations?
- Experience working in teams or groups – navigating differences in work and communication styles, problem solving, ability to work cross-functionally
What types of experiences, paid employment, or otherwise, would you most strongly recommend?
We always recommend co-oping as the BEST method to prepare for employment after graduation. The traditional 3 term co-op rotation allows a student to switch back and forth between classroom and industrial setting gaining new perspective after each semester. By the last work term these student have typically earned enough responsibility to function as an entry level engineer. We like to offer these students job opportunities before returning to school for their senior year.
Any sort of experience that will give you the chance to exercise practical application of the skills and concepts you are learning in classes will be highly beneficial. The most common would be involvement in student design or research teams and obtaining relevant industry internships/co-ops. However, if those opportunities are not available, consider beginning your own personal design projects or research to showcase your application of skills and concepts.
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