Hiring Entry-Level Employees

From June 11-15, 2001, InformationWeek hosted an online roundtable in its discussion forums, regarding hiring entry-level IT staff. This file, archiving the messages posted during the event, cover such topics as job-hunting skills, survey results about student hiring opportunities, and appropriate technical backgrounds.

Don't miss other discussions with InformationWeek's editors and guest panelists. Learn what's coming in the Listening Post!

The archive has been edited only for spelling and readability.

Title: Welcome
From: Paula Klein
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 11-Jun-01 3:56 PM GMT

Beginning today, our Listening Post welcomes an online discussion on a very timely topic--hiring entry-level IT employees.

It happens that I just got back from my niece's graduation at Dartmouth College this weekend, so this is fresh on my mind. She and some 995 others will leave their [literally] ivy-covered towers for graduate schools or, gulp, the real world of work. They worked hard, played hard, have big ideas and goals. But the big question is this:

As the Class of 2001 steps off the graduation podium and into the cold, hard reality of the current economy, what does the IT job market hold for them? What can and can't they expect to find?

Also, as the hiring employer, what are you looking for from this year's graduates? With the tables turned and a larger talent pool from which to choose, who makes the grade and why?

We have an expert on board to shed light on the topic and answer your questions, too.

Kathy Micken is associate professor of marketing at the Gabelli School of Business, Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. Her team teaches marketing on the Web with a colleague from the computer-information-systems department. They've also published several papers about using the Web to integrate the business school curriculum.

Additionally, Kathy worked with InformationWeek on a just-completed survey about entry-level IT jobs.

Why one more survey? This one goes beyond the obvious qualifications: good oral and written communication skills and the ability to work with others. When you drill down, you find that the needs of desires of employers are not nearly as universal as you might think.

Roger Williams surveyed 209 InformationWeek subscribers, asking what characteristics they most desired in entry-level employees. The university also surveyed readers of Fortune Inc. and three trade publications for a total of 1,585 responses.

More specifically, the research was designed to answer the following three questions.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of our new employees?
What strengths would we prefer to see in new employees?
How do we bridge the gap between the two?We'll be discussing the results throughout the week, but here's a peek:Many survey respondents indicated that they did not hire new college grads either because they were not "business savvy" or because they were not seasoned. Others said new employees have to get up to speed immediately. Innovative thinking and being a self-starter ranked very high; so did confidence, motivation, and flexibility--the stuff you need every day on the job.Given that respondents also indicated that they still had a hard time filling all their job openings--especially in certain key skills--how can new grads get these "soft" skills? Will additional internships do the job? Should computer science majors be required to take business courses? Do computer information systems (or management information systems) majors--who usually graduate with a business degree--have a sufficient technical and theoretical background?It's your turn, let us know what you think...Title: Re: Welcome
From: Andrew Ryan
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 11-Jun-01 7:15 PM GMT
Thread: Welcome The fact many employers will not hire new college grads is certainly not unique to the IT industry--virtually every college student not going to grad school discovers this. But what is the proper amount of "seasoning"? More than one internship? A part-time paying job in that field? A full-time job? How many years in the workplace constitutes enough seasoning? Is there a level of experience most employers can agree is adequate, or does each have his/her own set of requirements? Title: Re: Welcome
From: Jim Keenan
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 11-Jun-01 7:42 PM GMT
Thread: Welcome Major characteristics that I look for in all the people I hire for technical positions, whether entry level or not, often have nothing directly to do with their technical skills.The highest ranked on my list is getting a sense of the person and how close they are to being "Fire and Forget". This means that I'm looking for people who can be given a realistic goal to be achieved by a reasonable deadline; who will be provided with all the technical tools and resources they need; who know when they really don't know something and aren't afraid to let me know so that we can bring them up to speed; who will hit their deadlines on time or early without constant need for management attention that they haven't asked for.The other most important characteristic has more to do with me than with the candidate. Before I even think of hiring someone, I am as clear as I can possibly be about the actual technical skill sets that I am looking for (based on the immediate or foreseen needs) and what it takes to acquire those. This lets me understand whether I can hire someone who has foundational knowledge and "grow" them or whether I have to have someone who can hit the ground sprinting already.I have a positive bias toward technical staff at every level who have one or more areas in which they excel, but who also have a "liberal" background in technology. I have the same kind of bias toward people who love what they do and want to channel some of that love through my organization. Title: Re: Welcome
From: Kathy Micken
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 15-Jun-01 2:43 PM GMT
Thread: Welcome Dawn,
While I've not been involved in any systematic study of prospective employee behavior, there is some anecdotal evidence to support your position. It would also be interesting to know to what extent successful job applicants have been "repacking" their skills in response to the new employment situation.What is your experience with shifts in applicant behaviors? Title: Re: Welcome
From: Dawn
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 15-Jun-01 3:17 AM GMT
Thread: Welcome This is a very timely topic--especially in light of the recent rash of layoffs. Are you noticing that prospective employees are giving more attention to polishing their images--triple checking resumes for typos, dressing more conservatively for interviews, etc.? Is this an area in which you've been involved? Thanks. Title: Re: Welcome
From: Kathy Micken
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 13-Jun-01 10:40 PM GMT
Thread: Welcome Jeremiah,
That's a good question. And like a lot of business question, the answer probably is "it depends."Take the Sutter Health example in Sweat's article. The organization really would like people with experience in the health-care business as well as IT/tech knowledge. But if they can't get the former, they will settle for the latter, as long as the person has some experience (i.e., not a new college grad).What's a new grad to do? As soon as you sign up for an internship in health care, the job opportunities will be more available in some other sector--though with the aging baby boomer population, health care probably is a good bet.What all this means is that applicants (new grads or otherwise) need to know how to package and talk about their experiences and background. Yes, you can code in C++ or Java, but do you also know about (or at least understand) the kinds of business processes you can streamline with this programming ability? That's what employers want to know. Title: Re: Welcome
From: Jeremiah
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 13-Jun-01 12:36 AM GMT
Thread: Welcome I think Kathy is asking the question a lot of us are asking. I have the "intangibles" of gumption--not being afraid to ask when I don't know, confident of skills I have and awareness of those I don't. What I lack is the "technological background." I am currently attending community college in order to acquire a "skill set" that will be recognized as such, but the truth is that all my other knowledge was picked up by "doing it" and attempting in all cases to "do it well."So I want to know not just how you determine whether a person has the "intangibles" but what technical/business skills you really consider important?Good post, though.Title: Re: Welcome (& Inquiring Minds Want To Know)
From: Kathy Micken
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 11-Jun-01 9:01 PM GMT
Thread: Welcome Jim,
You've been reading my mail! Most of the InformationWeek respondents to the survey would agree with you. In their comments they wrote about the need for new employees to have the technology orientation you speak of. Respondents also said that new employees who would "take ownership of their tasks and be proactive and conscientious" were the most valuable. Accordingly, in hiring, they looked for evidence that a person could take on a job, stick with it, ask questions when necessary, but generally "figure it out" with limited supervision.My question for you (and others) is, how do you make this determination in advance? What kinds of experiences do you accept as evidence of this kind of work ethic and inquiring/analytical mindset?Title: More on hiring graduates...
From: Paula Klein
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 11-Jun-01 7:22 PM GMTFor more anecdotes, examples, and best practices about the Class of 2001, check out our feature story:
Reality Check For New Grads and our Work/Life column. Also, there's a story about making the most of your interns at: www.informationweek.com [need story URL?]Title: Re: More on hiring graduates...
From: Scott Wilkins
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 11-Jun-01 7:52 PM GMT
Thread: More on hiring graduates... In these belt-tightening times we (employers) are looking for more than just skill sets from our employees. Projects at this time have to meet return-on-investment guidelines before budgets are approved. Therefore, while the new grads may have the latest skill sets, it's more likely [a company would] employ the 10-year veteran with a wealth of business experience and a proven technology skill set than the graduating senior. Furthermore, with the economic downturn, it's becoming easier to find that person and cheaper to bring him/her on. Title: Re: More on hiring graduates...
From: Yvette Ullom
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 15-Jun-01 6:43 PM GMT
Thread: More on hiring graduates... When considering a candidate for this type of position, it is essential that candidates have a business knowledge relative to the type of software they will be asked to maintain or develop. As the former president of a national software user group, I know first-hand how time-consuming it can be communicating business concepts that should already be understood. Title: Re: More on hiring graduates...
From: Kathy Micken
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 15-Jun-01 2:52 PM GMT
Thread: More on hiring graduates...Barbara
, Thanks for the support! You are so right about IT and marketing speaking different languages.What do you think businesses and educational institutions can do to help cross the chasm? By the way, I think we'll put your post at the top of our syllabus next year! Title: Re: More on hiring graduates...
From: Barbara Wellnitz
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 15-Jun-01 1:07 PM GMT
Thread: More on hiring graduates... People with a broader perspective are always more desirable employees, I believe. And, they have greater opportunities for advancement as their careers progress. Without a broader perspective, what happens if they change their minds about what they want to do? I have a client that evaluates Web-site efficiency for very large companies that sell products online or offer financial services online. It's always difficult, they say, to get the IT people to understand that having all the "bells and whistles" doesn't necessarily make a site one that customers will return to. Marketing types seem to understand this, but the two departments often have difficulty resolving their different mindsets because they speak different languages!When I used to hire a lot of recent graduates, I almost always found that those who had a broader education were ultimately the most successful ones, in terms of taking on additional assignments that led to career advancement. Title: Re: Catch-22, need to know business
From: Laurence Wagner
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 13-Jun-01 10:52 PM GMT
Thread: More on hiring graduates... I believe the requirement for a recent graduate to know a given business is both unrealistic and unnecessary. I am a generalist, and early in my career those willing to higher a generalist found it a pleasure that I was willing to program their systems exactly as they required them to run, and not argue about what they and I had learned in school vs. on the job with the business processes.In virtually every case, I was viewed as a godsend. My ability to deliver systems and components to spec, or modify them without argument in a timely fashion garnered much respect. Then when I did have opinions to offer from what I was learning during the course of my work, others valued my ideas, and in some cases found I was very insightful and provided excellent novel solutions. Be careful you are not showing off your knowledge when you say a new employee "does not have the right stuff."The ability to listen, understand, and work independently are huge skills, and should be the top priority. Hitting the ground running with a given skill set does not matter much if the other three are lacking.My background? Problem solving and research.
Course of study? B.S. mathematics, minors in history and German.
Teamwork? Four-year member of university rowing team. Title: Re: More on hiring graduates...
From: Kathy Micken
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 12-Jun-01 9:30 PM GMT
Thread: More on hiring graduates... Your comment about internships is well taken. Several majors within the Gabelli School of Business at Roger Williams University do require an internship and the others highly recommend it. The wisdom of your advice is underscored by the survey results. Because employers have an opportunity to hire a "perfect" candidate, we were interested in the kinds of trade-offs they make. We asked a series of questions presenting hypothetical candidates with different skills and abilities. One asked whether respondents would be more likely to hire a candidate with great reviews from her/his internship supervisor, but who only had mediocre grades. Or, would they be more likely to hire a candidate with outstanding grades, but who had no internship experience? InformationWeek respondents overwhelmingly (85%) would prefer the candidate with internship experience.Title: Re: More on hiring graduates...
From: Ray Keller
E-Mail: [email protected]
Date: 12-Jun-01 7:50 PM GMT Thread: More on hiring graduates... You are of course correct in aspiring to train students to look at the big picture. Because computer-information-systems skills have become so valuable in the marketplace, and because of the making of young millionaires over night, one can easily believe that technical aptitude is the only means to an end. This is obviously not a new problem; engineers and accountants have historically been considered good techies, not good businessmen. As the dot-com craze works its way out, more students will recognize the need to understand other disciplines. In recent years I engaged a half a dozen IT and accounting interns. Each found the experience invaluable, and each one was offered a full-time position upon graduation. I strongly advocate that Roger Williams University actively support Intern programs.Go on to the 2nd part of this Roundtable.