Help me brainstorm; giving a speech to a group of IT students.

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General Questions and Comments

I was hoping the MT forums could help me out a bit.

I have been asked to give a talk to a group of 50 new, and about to graduate students at a vocational IT school from the point of view of a hiring manager.

Are there any kernels of truth you would want to pass on to these students?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

--Augie

Submitted by G.R. Regas on Monday March 7th, 2011 1:13 pm

 I've spoken to groups of students in the past (although not specifically IT focused students).  Given their current situation, finding a job is ever-present on their mind.  I try to focus on three keys that they can think about during that phase:

  • Networking (the MT way) is not cheating, it's how a lot of jobs get filled.  I find that some students feel badly about activating and using a network.  Maybe it's because they don't feel like they add a lot of value back into their network, or they have some form of call reluctance, or they don't feel right leveraging friends of the family/parents/etc.  I always talk about how important a network is.  I reinforce the give, give, give mentality, and I give them my phone number and e-mail address and let them know that I will help them any way I can (I'm always surprised how few call/e-mail).  The ones that do call, I always do an "informational interview" with them and give feedback.  Then, assuming that they are, or work to become, a good interviewee with the right qualifications to back it up, I will leverage my network any way I can to assist them.
  • Attitude over aptitude.  I really try hard to talk about what impresses me in an interview for an entry level position.  How a person conducts themselves, how they engage others, how they talk about themselves and their experiences tells a hiring manager a lot about whether or not they can become a strong contributor.  When you're hiring someone straight out of school, you know the person isn't going to walk in on day one and be a strong contributor, you are planning to invest in training that person so I'm most interested in making sure that the person is a learner, curious, capable of seeing the forest through the trees, and identifying cultural fit.
  • Working with people is not optional.  I speak to them from my own experience.  I am not, by nature a people-person.  Physically and emotionally I could do without human contact for days.  Professionally, I cannot accomplish anything by myself.  I talk about my strategies for this - one-on-ones, opting for in-person contact followed by phone and last resort e-mail, walk arounds, using lunch/activities, etc.

Then I like to throw in a 4th bonus point - get hired, deliver great results, and keep your head up with regards to career development, opportunities, networking, etc.  If you wait until you need these things, it will be too late.
 
Thanks,
G.R.

Submitted by Gwen Pearson on Monday March 7th, 2011 1:21 pm

Everything Regas14 Said!!
Especially the networking part--many students think that if it isn't online, the job doesn't exist.  They spend way too much time searching classifieds and too little time developing their network.

Submitted by Mark Horstman on Monday March 7th, 2011 5:18 pm

...of what I end my talks to students with.  I know they want to know about getting hired, but I try to stress that there's more to life than that.
While Still In School:
- Create lasting relationships
- Reading: your most powerful development tool
- Don't choose a job based on money
-Start Minding Your Manners
     - Introductions, Conversation, Meals, Technology, And Names
Starting a Career
- Create AND MAINTAIN lasting relationships
- Forget about school and grad school
- Turn off the TV and read
- Show up early, stay late, be quiet, and work hard
- Serve, serve, serve
- Ask questions to move forward
- Keep your resume current
- become a genuinely nice person
- Save 10-20% of your salary
Forging a Life
-Family First: that means on your calendar too
- Create, maintain AND SHARE lasting realtionships
- Management is boring, unsexy, unpretty, and powerful
- Beware the three ring circus
- Set a genuinely nice example
 
What do hiring managers want?
A smiling, friendly demeanor.
A suit and other accoutrement associated with professional and reasonable grooming.
Crisp communication.  Clear preparation on answers to questions you know are coming.
Evidence of rehearsing.
HUNGER.
Mark

Submitted by stephenbooth_uk on Tuesday March 8th, 2011 3:54 am

 A years ago I had to do something similar at my Alma mater.  I put the details on my web site.
The core point I tried to address, the question I asked, was "If you had to address a group of recent graduates or final year students on job hunting what would be the one thing you would want them to remember and take away with them.", here are the links:

There might be something useful there.
Stephen
--
Skype: stephenbooth_uk  | DiSC: 6137
"Start with the customer and work backwards, not with the tools and work forwards" - James Womack
 

Submitted by August Schwer on Tuesday March 8th, 2011 6:55 pm

 Thank you so much for all the great input, that really got the ideas flowing -- I have about four pages of ideas now! Thanks so much all!
 
--Augie

Submitted by luke terry on Sunday November 3rd, 2013 11:07 pm

 I'm not sure how I stumbled across this, but thanks for this post.
As a new professional, these are all recommendations I can use to help shape my career.
Thanks again