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Employer Quotes

The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Information Technology (IT)

They are talking about this topic: Experience & Credentials

 

The quotes below are about this issue:
Internships and other forms of practical experience, such as working at a college IT desk or building a program in the candidate's spare time, are highly sought after in new hires.

Employer Quote Region
"Employer 1: Internships are another thing that we look for. If they've done internships at another telecom provider, then that takes them up a notch in our assessment. And they can usually speak about what they did there, what problems they ran into, the products they used, and what they had to deal with. That's invaluable to us if they walk in with those experiences.

Employer 2: And it demonstrates desire. It demonstrates their curiosity to know more about this field. Even if they made less money there or didn't make any money in that internship...versus doing something like driving a truck where they could have made a lot more money.

Employer 3: It also shows us that they're translating their book smarts into meaningful contributions. Translating that into experience or striving to move forward."
Central
"Basically, we're talking about the students getting experience. If we interview somebody, and they're still in college, we realize that they might need a little light on the real world experience and stuff. But the person that comes in with those experiences and you talk to them and they're like, 'Oh, yeah, we ran into this while I was doing this project and this and this...' Then, that's just much more attractive to us because it shows they actually took the initiative to apply their degree. It's not just about learning or getting your four-year degree; it's about actually doing something with it. It's about actually taking that and making a contribution." Central
"Employer 1: The advice I give to students all the time is, 'Do what you're learning in school while you're in school. There are always resources that you have, there are always places to work: IT partners, help desks, etc. Seek out all of these experiences and opportunities while you're going through the program. Don't wait until the end and then say: Well, I'm going to go work somewhere and figure out the trends or whatever. No. Go do something now. Start an open source project. Do something on your own.' Times are completely changed in the last ten years. You can pretty much do anything with just your PC and an internet connection. You can start a business. I mean, the possibilities are endless, but you have to want to do that. So clubs, organizations on campus, there's a lot of opportunities. But it's really just doing now what your career is going to be when you graduate. Start that early. There's no reason you can't do that while you're in school.

Employer 2: I'm going to agree with you one hundred percent there. Because—and some of you who look at applicants might agree or disagree with me—but I'd say that your four-year degree is great and everything, but if I saw that you created this program online that thousands of people use while you're in college, in your spare time, that's awesome. And I think if there's one piece of advice for students it's to be more involved. Whether that's finding a project to do or doing freelance work or even volunteering to help work with collating in other projects. That's a big one. And I think if—I'm not sure how flexible a lot of these IT programs are—but if these programs were really open to recognizing that sort of contribution and can reward the students for doing those kind of programs, I think that'd be great."
Central
"We are a smaller IT organization, and we tend to hire people with some experience because we don't have that big of a computer system." Metro
"We do the same thing with the intern programs." Northeast
"We've gone as far as saying, 'We want to get them even before they're done.' So, building that strong internship program so that some of that training can happen before they finish school. Then, maybe they'll have a little more idea about what they need to do on their own." Northeast
"Question: So, you hire people with two-year degrees directly, but for people with a four-year degree, you want them to have some experience?

Employer: It's not a rule, but it generally seems to follow that pattern. Yes."
Northeast
"Employer 1: We need experience. We need somebody that's turn-key. We draw them in and expect them to run. We can't really afford to train and start from the very beginning.

Question: And do those folks tend to come out of the two-year programs or the four-year programs?

Employer 1: The two-year programs with experience.

Employer 2: We normally require more experience if they have an associate's degree, and maybe a bachelor's degree with no experience.

Question: So, you actually want the opposite? You want experience plus the two-year degree? When you're looking for experience, are you looking for them to have gained a certain skill that they didn't get in the two-year program?

Employer 2: A lot of ours are clinical in nature. So, sometimes the candidate that has a combination of something clinical and something in computer science is a good fit."
Northeast
"As someone who had the opportunity to take an internship, yeah, it does set you apart. And when I was in the classroom I'd say, 'Anything you can do to set yourself apart makes you look that much better in the eyes of employers. It shows that you're self-motivated.' So, again, it's the motivation on the part of the student." Northwest
"When they leave school and they go to apply for that first job and they have an internship on their resume, we're not necessarily looking to see if they got paid or not. But if it says it was an unpaid internship, then they're elevated one more step above the other candidates, for sure, from our perspective." Northwest
"I think an internship should be a requirement. And if the students are not going to go get one, I'll tell you right now, it really reduces their chance at getting employed. We look for that internship every time." Northwest
"The other thing that comes from an employee having prior work experience is that they then appreciate it when they have a good employer. Sometimes people come in the door and they don't have other work experience, so they don't realize how good they've got it." Northwest
"Somebody who has no experience, but has an A+ grade average? I'm taking the person that has the experience every time." Northwest
"Employer: I should mention that co-op and intern-type positions are huge.

Question: So, you want to see at least an internship?

Employer: It certainly helps. It moves you up to the top of the ladder. I also love seeing when somebody's worked a fast food job because, you know, those jobs are tough. We want someone who has worked at jobs that are tough, that are hard, where they don't get paid much, and they have to bust their butt. If you make it through those, that's awesome."
Northwest
"An internship is a chance to test themselves until they find the right niche." Southwest
"Any type of experience within the field certainly counts. Yes. If you have some experience—an internship or whatever—it certainly counts." Southwest
"New hires have to have broader knowledge and experience." Southwest
"Internships give them more breadth, too. They've been exposed to more aspects. The more they're exposed to, the better they are overall." Southwest