Here’s a quick wrapup of what I learned at Bernie’s Communications Bootcamp:
- Style
Be aware of yours, and consciously reflect theirs when you are trying to impress. Be believable & compelling. Most employers are looking for animated & expressive candidates (even though “amiable drivers” are probably better long-term employees).
- Ask Questions
Be interested (and interesting!) Before a networking event, prepare some open-ended questions that are conversational. Be conscious of “line of thought” when you’re engaging with a potential employer.
- Story
Have a few stories ready that will convey the fact that you’re a genius in a way that’s not too obvious. Describe an incident, have a point, and make sure it’s relevant.
Bernie’s bootcamps really underlined the hidden job market, the fact that it’s “who you know” and “how you present yourself” that is going to get you noticed (and employed). Companies assume you have the technical skills required, but that’s the same as every other candidate. What sets you apart is going to be how you present yourself. Bernie cited this Harvard Business Review article which talks about being able to predict winners of a business plan competition based on their presence & charisma… NOT on the contents of their business plan. Spooky.
Great that lots of SoT2010 students made it to these 2 sessions, huge thanks to Bernie for sharing coaching tips usually reserved for high-flying CEOs! Those of you who weren’t able to make it, I’d highly recommend checking out Bernie’s blog, and watch out for future Summer of Tech bootcamps on the subject of CVs, communication and job interview practice… trust us, this is the stuff that will get you noticed & hopefully employed!!
Here is the video of John Clegg’s talk on “Who wants a career in IT?” at Victoria University on 11th May 2010.
Phew, finally sorted a venue for next Wednesday’s Communication Skills bootcamp:
Here it is: WHS Map
For more info about the bootcamp and to sign up, you need to log into www.summeroftech.co.nz
We haven’t been able to wangle a room at Massey or VUW Design School… but the next best thing is Wellington High School, slap bang in the middle of Massey’s campus!
See you there!
Calling all SoT 2010 students!
If you do one thing to improve your chances of getting hired this summer, the one thing we’d highly recommend is to polish your communication skills. Employers have told us time & again, that they’re looking at attitude first, then tech skills. Making a good first impression is an art not a science, but there’s some stuff we can suggest, and the only way to get good is to practice!
We’re running a communications “bootcamp” on Thursday this week, facilitated by Bernie White from The Moment.
Bernie will take you through some drills designed to help you network and communicate with others. Log in to the SoT site for more info and to rsvp.
Hot on the heels of SoT2010′s launch last week, we’re heading into bootcamp season… tomorrow!
SoT Bootcamps are designed to get students ready for work. Between now and the end of the semester, we’re focusing on the fluffy stuff, CVs, communication skills, and how to launch your Tech career in Wellington. In July, we’ll get into the technical topics.
First up, lunchtime Tuesday is John Clegg’s career talk:
The Job market is tough, getting a job and building a career is a lot harder than ever before. John will tell you want employers are now looking for and what you need to do to get ahead.
He’ll also be talking about the new Summer of Tech and what we’re doing to help you have a job and start your career.
Thursday evening is the world famous “resume smackdown” session. So you think you know how to write a CV that gets noticed? Hear it from a real live employer, you may be surprised, offended, but ultimately attending this workshop will help get you one step closer to a job interview. Trust us, we’ve seen a lot of resumes that go straight into the trash, so make sure its not yours.
FYI these sessions are open to ALL SoT students – yes, these first couple are being held at VUW but students from elsewhere are very welcome!
Summer of Tech 2010 – what’s it all about?
You may have heard of Summer of Code – we’ve been placing ICT students in paid summer jobs for 4 years. This year, we’re going a bit bigger, opening up opportunities for other roles.
Here’s a quick summary of the kinds of jobs we’ll have listed on the website in July/August:
- Code (software developers, web app’s, coding etc)
- Engineering (Software, Network, Mechatronics etc)
- Business Analysis (information systems, architecture, IT analysis etc)
- Design (Industrial, Digital Media, Interaction Design, UX etc)
Jobs will be for this summer, i.e. from mid-November 2010 until mid-February 2011. Before then, we’ll help you get profiled, meet & greet potential employers, and go through a “speed interview” and selection process. Our aim is to maximise the number of students placed in jobs. It will be competitive, as much as we’d love to guarantee everyone a job, it’s up to the companies who they hire at the end of the day. We’ll do our best to equip you with the skills to give you the best shot.
Here’s some more information about what’s happening next:
Online Profile
Between now and the end of June, you have time to complete your online profile before we let companies see it. We’ll be running Bootcamps designed to help spruce up your CVs & portfolios. We’ll also be asking you to complete a “Skills Matrix” for each of the streams you’ve enrolled in. All this combines to give companies a really good understanding of your skills, experience, and whether you’re a match for them. If you have any questions as you fill this out, please get in touch via
You can start right now by filling in your contact & degree info, uploading a photo, and having a crack at the 2 paragraphs outlining your “relevant interests” and “why you should hire me”.
(also… our apologies if you’ve encountered error messages on the site in the last couple of days – we just went live on Wednesday so still ironing out a few bugs! Hang in there, please bear with us while we get it sorted!)
Bootcamps
Starting next week, we’ll be running a series of “Bootcamps” designed to help you get jobs. During May, we’re focusing on career topics, including CV-writing and job interview skills. In the past, companies have told us that it’s first impressions that REALLY count, so we strongly recommend you attend these sessions if you can. Because we’re working across a number of campuses, you might need to travel a bit to participate in some of these. We will do our best to hold Bootcamps at VUW, Massey and WelTec campuses, but we are not able to do everything everywhere. If we’re holding something at a different place to where you normally attend class, you’re still VERY welcome to attend our Bootcamps! We are not part of any university or polytech, and we encourage you to come along to any topic that interests you!
To find out about the Bootcamps, and to register to attend, you’ll need to log into the Summer of Tech site. Along the top menu bar, you’ll see an “Events” tab. That’s where you’ll find info about all the upcoming Bootcamps, then later on the Meet & Greet and Interviews. I’ll probably email you too.
We try really hard to have Bootcamps at times that suit most people. They’re going to be a mixture of lunchtimes & evenings. They’ll last around 2 hours, and we’ll provide a bit of food & drink to fuel your learning. They’re free to attend, but space will be limited. Please register early, and if you do register but change your mind, please make sure you cancel your registration so that someone else has the opportunity to sign up.
Finally…
The Summer of Tech website is the go-to place for information about the programme. We’ll be posting “Notices” to you via the site, so please check in regularly! We’ll let you know about the first few bootcamps via email too, just to get you into the swing of things, but after that, the main tool to find out about events and updates is the website.
Thanks for signing up for Summer of Tech 2010 (incorporating Summer of Code, Summer of Engineering, Summer of Design and Summer of Business Analysis!!).
Good luck, and we hope this is a great opportunity to kick start your career, in Wellington.
Cheers from
Ruth & the Summer of Tech Team (Raja & Cath & John & a bunch of other cool people we’ll introduce you to, soon!)
2010 Edition of Summer of Code is almost ready.
Come see us at Massey (Wellington Campus) in the main Foyer at lunchtime on the 5th of May or Victoria Career Fair on May 6th and May 7th in the MacLaurin Foyer booth #15.
More details soon…