culture – Agilent Technologies Blog

Happy International Women’s Day!

Russell Lee — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 15:30:10 +0000

March 8 is International Women’s Day. This annual day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

At Agilent, we promote a culture of diversity and inclusion, including gender parity. We have a dedicated Director of D&I who reports directly to the SVP of Human Resources. Our President and CEO, Mike McMullen, has joined other CEOs in signing an executive pledge to support a more inclusive workplace.

And with the arrival of Mala Anand later this month, one third of Agilent’s Board of Directors will be women.

Our efforts are recognized externally. Forbes recently recognized Agilent as one of “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” for 2019.

And website fairygodboss reports that “At Agilent Technologies, women rave about the ‘fantastic culture of trust, respect, and integrity.’”

Happy International Women’s Day, everyone!

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A Gift for You: The Agilent 2019 Calendar

Russell Lee — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 15:00:48 +0000

One of Agilent’s greatest strengths is our people. We succeed thanks to the talent, diversity and innovative ideas of our 14,500 employees around the world.

One way we demonstrate our culture of “One Agilent” is through an internal monthly photo contest for employees, by employees. Photographers of all levels are encouraged to share their different perspectives and creativity. Their only reward is recognition by fellow employees…

… and the Agilent calendar. Once a year, we take a sampling of the best photos – and the stories behind them – and compile them in a downloadable calendar.

We are pleased to share the 2019 calendar with you, our Agilent families and friends.

To download the file, right-click on the link below and save it to your hard drive (“save target as”).

To print the file, open it using Adobe Acrobat. For better printing results, you can bring the file to your local commercial printer. The calendar is optimized for printing on 8.5 x 11 inch (“letter”) paper, printed on both sides.

This blog will take a short break for the rest of December. On behalf of Agilent’s employees all over the world, I wish you a joyous holiday season and a Happy New Year.

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Agilent is recognized as a World’s Best Employer

Russell Lee — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 14:30:40 +0000

For the second year in a row, Agilent has been named by Forbes as one of the World’s Best Employers.

Forbes evaluated the 2,000 largest public and private companies in 58 countries. Employees were asked to evaluate their company (including whether they would recommend it to a friend) and their thoughts about other companies. More than 430,000 global recommendations were analyzed to arrive at the final list.

Agilent’s success stems from our people, who make amazing things happen every day. Our employees enjoy a rich experience that includes a robust employment package that promotes well-being across all aspects of their life: Time away from work, career, finances, and health.

Are you considering Agilent as a career choice? Check us out!

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How to Get a Job at Agilent

Russell Lee — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 14:30:19 +0000

Happy Labor Day, for those of you who celebrate it. Speaking of labor, Job site glassdoor.com has posted an interview with an Agilent hiring manager.

Dennis Episkopos is senior director of Global R&D for Agilent Software and Informatics. He talks about “How to Score an Entry-Level Software Engineering Job, According to an Agilent Hiring Manager.”

“I look for a candidate who is eager to learn new things,” Episkopos says, “who enjoys the challenge of solving complex problems and who can bring different perspectives and background to the team. And personally, I also look for a good sense of humor!”

Episkopos shares his perspectives on career satisfaction, Agilent’s culture, and what he thinks is the best job. (Hint: it’s software engineering.) He also talks about why everyone should come and work at Agilent.

Dennis Episkopos is Agilent senior director of Global R&D for Agilent Software and Informatics

“At Agilent, you’ll be using the latest and greatest technologies,” Episkopos says. “We also offer unique challenges and great growth opportunities. We also offer a flexible work environment.

“Agilent helps our customers make the world a better place. We have a strong culture of innovation, and talented employees who make amazing things happen every day!”

What are you waiting for? Agilent is hiring!

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Agilent CEO Reflects on the Company’s Past and Future

Russell Lee — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 14:30:40 +0000

American Laboratory just published a nice interview with Agilent’s President and CEO, Mike McMullen.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Mike discusses his career of more than 30 years with Agilent and its predecessor, Hewlett-Packard. “After graduating with a degree in economics and finance,” he recalls, “I sought out leading technology firms.

“HP had a culture that encouraged innovation based upon science and engineering.”

Mike talks about Agilent’s 50+ year industry leadership, and why he believes the company will continue to be at the forefront of serving customers. “Automation, reliability, and ease of use will all continue to improve. The Internet of Things will come, which should improve data quality and decision support.

“We plan to lead the state-of-the art as these develop.”

Mike also shares what he believes makes Agilent a special company. “Culture is the most important factor in our success. We focus on creating a workplace that encourages personal growth, innovation, and risk-taking.

“As president, I see protecting the HP/Agilent culture as one of my top priorities.”

You can read the entire interview here.

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What Does Agilent Do? Watch and Find Out!

Russell Lee — Thu, 24 May 2018 14:30:13 +0000

The Agilent Careers team recently posted a YouTube video about “Working at Agilent.”

What does Agilent do? This two-minute video does a great job of showing you, as well as highlighting our cool technologies and employee-centric culture.

If you look closely, you will see a couple quick shots of blog posts!

The Agilent YouTube channel features several videos about working in various regions and organizations throughout the company.

Want to join the Agilent team? Search and apply for career opportunities here!

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Agilent’s “World Cup” Competition

Russell Lee — Tue, 15 May 2018 14:30:22 +0000

Besides offering industry-leading technologies, Agilent also has a strong employee culture. A great example is the “Agilent European Football Championship.” (That’s “soccer” for us Americans.)

This annual match-up began in 2016, when Agilent employees from Torino, Italy, travelled 375 miles north to take on their hosts in Waldbronn, Germany. Teams were made up of employees from different divisions, including human resources, research and development, marketing and production. Players included managers, office employees and production workers. The Germans emerged victorious (6-4), and Waldbronn accepted Torino’s invitation to play in Italy the following year.

The 2017 championship match introduced a third team, as employees from the United Kingdom gathered 16 of their finest to represent queen and country. That year the Italians came out on top, besting second-place Germany 3-1.

This past weekend, four teams competed in Manchester for the 2018 championship. Germany, Italy and the UK were joined by newcomer Spain. In a thrilling final match between Germany and the UK, the Germans needed a win to top the league, while the UK needed only a draw. In the end it finished 1-1. UK won overall!

Agilent funded the event, while travel costs were shared by the company and the participating employees themselves.

“Whether you were on the team with the final highest score or not, you are all winners in my book,” says CEO Mike McMullen.

“It’s a remarkable demonstration of teamwork, friendly rivalry and passionate sporting achievement, and above all terrific fun,” says UK Country General Manager Neil Rees. “Agilent is proud to help sponsor the event. It’s what makes Agilent such a great place to work.”

Do you have what it takes to win? Come and join the Agilent team!

The 2018 Agilent European Football Championship teams from Germany, Italy, UK and Spain

Thanks to Agilent UK employee players Jonathan Yates (pictured at the top stretching for the ball) and Rob Wills for their help with today’s post!

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The Power of Diversity

Russell Lee — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 17:03:33 +0000

A recent study by the University of Michigan highlights the value of biological diversity.

Researchers studied biofuels derived from algae as a possible alternative to fossil fuels. They wondered whether using a variety of different algal species would increase or decrease production.

In a single closed environment, more species of algae tended to decrease biocrude production. This is due to competition among the various species.

But in a natural outdoor environment, more species of algae tended to increase production. This is because a natural environment has variations in temperature and irradiance that can lead to crop failure. Different species of algae have different strengths, and a diverse mix of species helps ensure overall survival.

“Species diversity has the potential to stabilize biocrude production over time,” the researchers conclude, “particularly in the presence of environmental temperature variability.”

This study reinforces the value of diversity in Earth’s biological ecosystem. But these same principles apply to the scientific research community as well, where diversity can help increase the production of ideas and breakthroughs.

“Diversity goes to the heart of how to do research and innovation effectively,” says Scientific American. “When we have to work with people who are not like ourselves, we tend to prepare more thoroughly and work harder to marshal our arguments, and we do better work as a result.”

At Agilent, we value a diverse and global workforce. Every day, our success depends on the different ideas and perspectives that our employees bring to the work environment.

“Agilent teams are richly diverse in global cultural perspectives, individual knowledge and experience,” says Agilent CEO Mike McMullen. “Our values form the foundation of how we work with customers, suppliers and competitors.”

Agilent does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including race, age, gender, or religion. Under Mike’s leadership, our 12,500 employees around the world have refreshed our company’s culture with a simple phrase: “One Agilent.”

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The First Woman in Space (It’s Not Who You Think!)

Russell Lee — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 14:30:48 +0000

Who is considered the first woman in space? Did you think of Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova? Or American astronaut Sally Ride?

What if I told you it was someone else? And that this woman accomplished her feat in 1934 – more than 80 years ago?

American Jeannette Piccard was the first licensed female balloon pilot in the U.S. She hoped to become the first woman to reach the Earth’s stratosphere, but met with considerable resistance. “The National Geographic Society would have nothing to do with sending a woman – a mother – in a balloon into danger,” she said. Dow Chemical even asked her to take the company’s logo off of her balloon gondola.

Finally, on October 23, 1934 – four months after getting her pilot’s license – Piccard flew her balloon over Lake Erie, accompanied by her husband and a pet turtle. The balloon attained a record-setting height of 57,579 feet – 10.9 miles – putting the couple into Earth’s stratosphere.

The press declared Piccard “the first woman in space,” and she held this altitude record for almost three decades. In the 1964, Piccard became a consultant to the director of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame.

But that’s not all.

In 1975, at the age of 79, Jeannette Piccard was ordained as the first female priest in the Episcopal Church. When the head of the church tried to dissuade her from ordination, Piccard declared, “Sonny, I’m old enough to have changed your nappies.”

Being ordained fulfilled a childhood dream that Piccard had shared with her mother at the age of 11. “When I said I wanted to be a priest, poor darling, she burst into tears and ran out of the room,” Piccard said of her mother. “That was the only time I saw my Victorian mother run.” Piccard served as a priest until her death at the age of 86.

Her granddaughter (also an Episcopalian priest) said of her grandmother, “She wanted to expand the idea of what a respectable lady could do.”

Today, Agilent proudly values diversity in its workforce, and supports initiatives that advance women in technology. The company and its employees actively participate in industry groups such as the Society of Women Engineers and the Association for Women in Science.

Today’s blog post topic was suggested by Agilent employee Jim Hollenhorst. Not only did Jim meet Jeannette Piccard (she was 75 and he was in High School), he asked for – and received – an autographed piece of her original 1934 balloon!

Jim Hollenhorst’s souvenir

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A Face Behind the Blog

Russell Lee — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 14:30:58 +0000

Hi, I’m Juliana. I am the Global Communications and Public Affairs summer intern here at Agilent, and have written a number of the blog posts you’ve been reading over the past couple months. It’s now time for me to head back to college for my final semester and leave my comfy cubicle at Agilent’s Santa Clara campus.

This summer was a whirlwind. I could go on for paragraphs about all the opportunities I received, but I’m going to give a few highlights. I helped the Community Outreach team with Family Innovation Day. I wrote for and contributed to Agilent’s internal newsletter (including one entire issue completely on my own). I assisted with a global committee working to refresh Agilent’s brand promise and culture. I even got to work with Agilent’s CEO on some of his executive quotes! Ultimately, I felt extremely lucky as I got to do all of my favorite things in a fast-paced and inspiring environment: writing, editing, brainstorming and event management.

What I admired most about Agilent is the team-centered culture here. Everyone on my team was incredibly supportive, inviting me to sit in on every meeting and trusting me with every project possible. Other employees and interns made my experience all the more amazing. Each person I reached out to took time to meet me for coffee, talk on the phone, and answer questions about their life experiences that led them to Agilent.

Agilent is heavily invested in its intern program as an opportunity to train the next generation of workers. Beyond this, the program improves local communities by giving students the dual opportunity to work in a corporate environment and sharpen their skills on real-world projects. It specifically benefits interns because it presents an opportunity for close mentorship, meaningful and challenging work, and the creation of a community with other interns and campus hires through events, executive speaker talks and site tours.

I could not feel luckier to have been given the opportunity to go through the Agilent Intern Program. I have learned so much about Agilent, about communications, and about myself as I prepare to graduate college and enter the ever-terrifying “real world”. Thank you for reading my posts this summer!