The headhunter Anton van Rossum

Anton van Rossum anton.van.rossum@ir-search.nl Anton van Rossum anton.van.rossum@ir-search.nl

Ask the headhunter

M.R. asks: As the R&D manager of a fast-growing semiconductor start-up, I spend a lot of time selecting candidates for my team. These days, we regularly receive very good applications from Iranians but we wonder if it’s wise to hire them. Do you know if they can work on government projects? How do other tech companies deal with this? The headhunter answers: I, too, have noticed the influx of engineers from Iran. At Eindhoven University of Technology alone, there are already 148 employees and 28 students of Iranian descent and I suspect it won’t be different at other technical universities. There are also many engineers from Iran applying to European companies. The level of some universities over there is quite high but the future perspective for engineers isn’t particularly good, so I’ve heard. Due to all trade restrictions, it’s virtually impossible to acquire certain components, software and equipment, which doesn’t make life any easier. In addition, the political and cultural climate isn’t all that pleasant for everyone, and the road west beckons – as it always has.

Since 2006, the UN Security Council has adopted a number of resolutions requiring Iran to cease uranium enrichment for the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These resolutions were increasingly accompanied by restrictive measures to persuade the country to comply with that demand, thereby aggravating worldwide tensions. This has also had consequences for Iranian engineers looking for employment in Europe. B.A. asks: For about  ve years now, I’ve been working as a senior chip engineer at the semiconductor division of a large Korean technology company. I really like it there, although I’ve reached my personal peak in the organization. To move ahead, I really need to speak Korean and that seems impossible with my limited language skills.

Because I’m ready for the next step in my career, I’m talking to an American company in the Netherlands.  ey o er me a challenging role in an interesting technology segment and my enthusiasm is growing every day. We’re currently in the negotiation phase for the contract.

I didn’t have many concerns about the salary. I assumed the company would make me a suitable o er based on my experience, skill set and the cost of living in the Netherlands. To simplify matters, I listed my current income components with the gross and net amounts. All in all, I get a net annual salary of 92,500 euros, including bene ts such as a free furnished apartment, gratuity pay, annual airline tickets to my country of birth and the costs of my daughter’s international school. To my surprise, I received a much lower o er: 80,000 euros per year net (30 percent tax facility), but no apartment and none of the other special bene ts I now have.

I’m trying to convince the company to increase their o er. I’ve sent my contract with my terms of employment, a tax declaration and all calculations, including comparisons of the cost of living in the Netherlands versus Korea, but I’ve not made much progress yet. Perhaps we can canFearing their specialist knowledge will be used for the Iranian missile program, the Dutch government last spring announced an immediate screening of Iranian students and scientists in the Netherlands. The problem with the technology in question, however, is that it involves many specialized areas, such as mechanical engineering, aircraft technology, electrical engineering and (nuclear) physics. Many engineers can thus be labeled as “nuclear”.

Consulting Dutch governmental organizations on what obstacles there are for Iranians wanting to work at technology companies in the Netherlands isn’t very helpful. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) doesn’t concern itself with government regulations in this area and leaves it to the business community. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) doesn’t discriminate between nationalities in its highly skilled migrant procedure – a background check isn’t part of the screening. Inquiries with several large semiconductor companies show Iranians to be blacklisted cel my participation in the pension scheme, which would win me a gross 800 euros per month. What else can I do to convince the company to match my current salary? The headhunter answers: Skipping participation in a collective pension is impossible; it’s mandatory.  e overview you’ve provided shows that your current employer has a very complete package of bene ts to attract and retain top talent. I assume this is one of the reasons why you accepted the o er to work in Korea a few years ago. Now that you’ve reached the ceiling in your career and your child is going to school, you’ll have to judge these ‘golden handcu s’ on their true merits. As you’ve indicated, the social life for you and your partner isn’t very exciting because you don’t speak Korean and life in a city of millions like Seoul will get bored in the long run.

Although it’s quite understandable to take your current salary as the starting point for a possible transfer, you’ll also need to be realistic. I’m not ruling out the possibility that there are companies in Europe that can offer you a higher salary, but you have to  nd them  rst. I’m aware of top You’ll have to judge your ‘golden handcuffs’ on their true merits

In the business world, people are now aware of the problem. Inquiries with several large semiconductor companies show Iranians to be blacklisted, alongside some other nationalities. US-based Cadence, for instance, doesn’t appreciate Iranians coming into contact with its American technology. The same applies to other EDA software providers. These businesses possess a plethora of technologies that can be used in the defense or nuclear industry. That makes it very difficult for Iranian engineers to fulfill a position within the R&D department of a chip company.

It’s quite distressing to see so many Iranian engineers having to deal with this ‘boycott’. After all, only a few people will actually have ‘passed on’ knowledge used in weapons of mass destruction or missile programs. What I hear about Iranian engineers working in the West is that they generally fit very well into Western culture, are highly motivated for their jobs and have good technical skills. salaries at Intel, Broadcom and Qualcomm, but they’re located in much more expensive regions and they’re not in the ‘hiring mood’. Of course, you can  nd companies in Silicon Valley where your qualities certainly would be appreciated, but getting a work visa there is almost impossible.

You’ll have to make a choice, also weighing in the quality of life of your family and your further career in technology. If you choose the money, you’ll have to keep on searching.  ere will be no increase in this bid.

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