WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 music 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.000 Before I get going in the presentation, the first thing I want to do is give 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.000 a couple of thanks. Thanks to Deborah for filming this for me; I really appreciate 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.000 that. Thank you very much Deborah. And Chris, thank you for inviting 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:20.000 me down here. I am thrilled to be here. I've been excited about giving 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.000 this presentation, or really any presentation. Like I've said I'm a 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:28.000 sales guy so sometimes it's hard to shut me up. I also want to give 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.000 thanks to my operations manager, Kirk Bailey, back home. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.000 If it wasn't for Kirk I wouldn't be here today, from the presentation 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.000 standpoint. I had the content but Kirk made it look all 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.000 pretty and funny and all that kind of stuff. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.000 So, Kirk, thank you very much. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.000 So let's get going. This is about 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.000 you. And I'm going to start out 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:60.000 with a pretty much self explanatory slide. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000 The biggest mistakes that keep software engineer grads from 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 getting their first job. Okay? 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 We're at BarCamp, my name's Tony Seminary, IT Motives. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:16.000 You're probably thinking 'who is this guy?' 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.000 Tony Seminary, right? I'm the CEO of IT Motives; we're an 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 IT staffing company up in Portland. I've got twenty years of 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000 technical recruiting experience in the industry. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 I'm a builder of long-term relationships. One of the core 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 values of IT motives is getting to know people 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 not just for the short term, but definitely for the long term. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 You all hopefully will have a long career in technology, software 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.000 development, and we're not going anywhere. It's the foundation 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.000 of who I am today. I absolutely, positively believe 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 in long term relationships, not just professional, but 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:60.000 personally as well. And I'm a pretty 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.000 straight-shooter. I get right to the point. I don't sugar-coat things. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.000 But I do it in a good way, it's not with contention. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.000 But more than anything just to help you and kind of educate you 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.000 on expectations and things of that nature. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:20.000 My story; really quickly, I won't go into it too much. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 I was just like you all, right? Coming out of 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.000 college, looking for your first position. You didn't have any 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:32.000 experience and yet all these employers want people with 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:36.000 experience. So you're in a catch-22. What do you do? 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:40.000 I've been there. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.000 As I'll kind of discuss in this presentation, 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.000 social media has really provided more accessibility 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.000 for folks like yourself to people out in the community. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.000 It's kind of leveled the playing field, and we'll talk about that in a little bit. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:60.000 As a young 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.000 man, when I first came out of college, I didn't really realize 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.000 the power of relationships, and I don't want 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:12.000 you all to make that mistake. That's what we're here for 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.000 today, to really understand more about that, 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.000 and make you more aware of 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 maybe opportunities that are out there that you weren't really privvy to. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.000 I'm going to make some assumptions. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.000 Number one: you're looking for your first 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.000 software engineering position, or you're assumed to be looking for your first 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.000 software engineer position, or maybe it's technology of some kind, maybe IT, 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 but I'm figuring computer science, software engineer. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.000 You're studying CS. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.000 Your resume is ready to go. This is not a resume workshop. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.000 There are other folks that can help you do that. We can actually help you do that. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:60.000 We have templates for that, that we can 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000 provide to you, but it's not a resume workshop. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.000 Kind of as a wink-wink, and it's actually been talked about a little bit here, 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.000 you ideally have some kind of side project that you're 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:16.000 working on to kind of showcase your skills. I think it's very important 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:20.000 to have something like that. And with that, your GitHub account 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.000 is updated so you can show off 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.000 this to other folks. You've visited the 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.000 career center. I want to give a quick plug for career centers. I went to the 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:36.000 career center at UofO when I graduated from college. They were great. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:40.000 They helped me with building my resume; they helped me with 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.000 interview tips, how to dress, 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 connected me to employers, my career goals, my strengths, 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 my weaknesses. Career centers are good things. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 Plus, you're paying for it, right? Part of your tuition. It's a resource here 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:60.000 at WOU. Got the acronym now. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.000 You've talked to folks here. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.000 Chris Brooks and others. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 Some folks moonlight. This isn't just their only 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:16.000 job. Teachers, professors, back in my day 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:20.000 they called it a GTF if you were somewhere in the middle. Graduate Teaching 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.000 Fellow. But you've already been talking to them about your 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.000 current situation. So I'm making those assumptions right here, right now. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.000 You're thinking to yourself, okay, great, 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.000 you're a recruiter. You can help me find a job. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:40.000 You want to keep in mind things 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.000 when you work with a technical recruiter. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.000 Bare minimum, our clients ask us to find people 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.000 with about one to two years of professional experience. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:56.000 Again, I told you I was a straight shooter, right? Not to bring the room down. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:60.000 It's going to be a little 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.000 harder for us to help you with your job search. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.000 Just watch out for folk that tell you 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 otherwise. There are some really, really good recruiters out there. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.000 There are some really bad ones. It's like any industry. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.000 Work with the good ones. But the good ones will probably not give you lip 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.000 service and false hope, and false expectations. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.000 However, there are some exceptions. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.000 Meet our friend Max, and this is his real name. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.000 Last year, Max was just like you. This was his resume 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:40.000 from about a year ago. You can see 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.000 his skills. He was getting ready to graduate in August 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.000 of 2016. About three months prior to that he was ready 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:52.000 to go to work. Look at his activities. Look at his achievements. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:56.000 He was leading student developers. He was a scrum master. He won 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:60.000 a hack-a-thon award. I redacted his GitHub account but his GitHub 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.000 account was clearly on his resume. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:08.000 He had about four different internships. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:12.000 Max is absolutely 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.000 invested in his career. He had two internships at the same time. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.000 That's pretty impressive. And then on top of that, 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.000 if I want to keep gushing over Max, he 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.000 had four different types of roles. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.000 He wasn't just software, he was front-end, 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.000 back-end, dev-ups, and QA. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 By the way, Max, thank you very much for letting me use your resume, too. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 I forgot about that. And on top of that, Max was a tech support at 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.000 PSU. So if you have a resume like 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.000 Max's, I'm not even joking, I want to talk to you right after this. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 I'm serious. We have opportunities. So there are some exceptions. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:60.000 And you know what's interesting? Just talking to everybody, or 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.000 listening to people since I've been here this morning, 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.000 I have a feeling there are some of you that have a similar resume. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.000 It's really great to hear. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:16.000 I say all this because we receive a lot of resumes 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.000 from folks that are just coming out of school, and they haven't really 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.000 done much, and it's like, okay, well you need a side project then, or 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.000 you need something, right? I know it goes back to that catch-22, 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:32.000 but you are your own brand. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.000 Nobody else is going to do that for you. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 Especially in this day and age. So you're saying, okay, 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.000 big deal, I don't 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.000 have a portfolio like Max's. Doesn't even come close. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.000 But yet I'm still getting ready to graduate. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.000 Let me show you how to do this. Let me show you how to go and find that 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:60.000 position. This is kind of where the rubber meets the road. I was going to put 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 a Tesla there, but then I thought it might be a little over the top. I'm not even a 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:08.000 car guy. The key is networking. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:12.000 It is the lifeblood of your career. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:16.000 And not just now, 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:20.000 but once you get your first job, your second, your third, 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.000 your fourth. Yes, we're talking about your first one right now, 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.000 but networking is everything. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.000 You're thinking what's that? What's networking? Seems kind of 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.000 nebulous and, I don't know, a little weird, and my stomach is 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:40.000 kind of starting to turn already. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.000 By Wiki's definition; I'm just kind of paraphrasing: the purpose of 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.000 networking is to help people connect 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 likeminded other people 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.000 and form mutually beneficial business relationships. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:60.000 That's what networking is. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.000 This is like a visual representation of a network. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:08.000 Some of you may have heard of the six degrees of separation 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.000 or maybe the six degrees of Kevin Bacon if you're in Hollywood. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:16.000 Really, all that is is that all living things 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:20.000 are six or fewer steps away from each other. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.000 That's all it is. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.000 Let's go networking. The way you do that is you're going to 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:32.000 these two web apps called Meetup.com and Calagator. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.000 Calagator.org, by the way. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.000 These are your new best friends. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.000 Meetup is interesting. Meetup has everything 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.000 on Meetup. Any interest you have. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.000 If you love the Seahawks, there's a Meetup for that. You can go hang out 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:56.000 with your friends and go watch games on Sundays. If you want to study 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:60.000 giant centipedes in Guatemala, there's probably a Meetup for it. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.000 If you want to create one, you can do that too. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.000 In the spirit of this discussion, we're talking about the 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.000 technology meetups that you want to be going to. DevOps, QA, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.000 scholajava, DACR, 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.000 you name it. They're out there. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.000 Calagator is a little bit different but similar. Calagator is 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.000 kind of more of a Portland-based thing. It was created by developers in 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.000 Portland, and it's mostly an aggregate of all the 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.000 tech Meetups in Portland. So, for the most part, everything that's on 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:40.000 Calagator is probably going to be on Meetup, and not always, and not 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.000 exactly vise versa either. Between these two 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.000 web apps, this is where you will build your network. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.000 Very simply, just a quick series of slides: 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.000 Meetup.com, you type in tech you get all of these different 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:60.000 Meetups. Chick tech, women who code, 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.000 Portland Reach JS. You just go to Chick tech, 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.000 and it takes you to PDX women in tech, 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.000 you go and RSVP right there. There's a wait list, like tomorrow night they're 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:16.000 having a dinner somewhere in Portland if you scroll down. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:20.000 With that one you have to 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.000 put yourself on the waitlist and hopefully other folks may fall 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.000 off and then you get to go. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:32.000 So, very simply, that's how you kind of 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:36.000 scroll through the Meetups and the Meetup pages. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.000 User groups. Same thing, it's networking. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.000 It was interesting, I heard Daryll up here talk on the panel; he's like, 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.000 I don't even know if they use the word 'user groups' anymore. Yeah, they 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:52.000 probably don't too much but I kind of still do. I guess I'm more analog than 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:56.000 digital. Essentially, that's where you build your network. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:60.000 They are people just like you. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 It's typically a particular kind of technology. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:08.000 If you're going to the react Meetup, you're probably not going to learn too much 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:12.000 about Angular, and vice versa. Anybody can join. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:16.000 Very open, very inclusive. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.000 All have regular meetings, to give a plug to the 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.000 have their meetings in Hillsboro. They meet the first 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.000 Tuesday of every month at 6:30. It's typically 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:36.000 the Hawthorne Farm 2 campus 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.000 at Intel in Hillsboro. So, most of them, it's pretty 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.000 consistent when they're going to meet, so you can kind of set your calendar 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.000 accordingly. They tend to be in the larger cities. Portland metro, 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.000 Salem, Eugene. There is actually 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.000 an ag-tech meetup in Inedependence. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:60.000 Anybody know that? 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.000 I think they are meeting sometime this month. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:08.000 It's actually going to be in Salem, but I believe they've met in 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.000 Independence before, right? Right next door to where you guys 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.000 are currently living, or going to school. Here's kind of a 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.000 sample: if they start at 6:30, 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 I would suggest getting there at about 5:45. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:28.000 About 45 minutes early. You might say, why? 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:32.000 The reason is, you kind of get there, you get your bearings, you kind of 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.000 just relax, you have something 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.000 to eat, and then about 6:00 is when people 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.000 typically start rolling in for a 6:30 networking event. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:48.000 You just start bumping into folks, introducing yourself, and just talking to people. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.000 That's all you're doing. You're making friends. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.000 About 6:30 they do the introductions and announcements. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:60.000 Maybe the next meet-up, when that's going to happen. Other meetups 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 that are similar, they'll plug those meet-ups. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.000 Employers will go there and stand up and say, hi, I'm Tony from 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.000 XYZ company, I'm looking for software engineers, come find 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:16.000 me afterwards if you're interested. So that's a great opportunity 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:20.000 for you to go to that person afterwards and introduce yourself, right? 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.000 Conversely, you can stand up and say, 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.000 hi, I'm Tony, I'm a recent grad from Western Oregon University, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.000 software engineer, computer science, looking for my first 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 opportunity; if anybody has any leads here in the audience, I'd love to 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:40.000 talk to you. Typically the presentations go for about an hour. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.000 It's on the topic that's on the meet-up. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.000 They finish up at about 8:00 and then a lot of times folks just kind of 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:52.000 congregate there in the venue area. They'll go up to the presenter and 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.000 talk to them and ask questions. Other people continue to mix and mingle. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:60.000 There's some really good networking that goes on there, plus there are a lot 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.000 fewer people at that time, because a lot of folks, when the presentation's 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:08.000 done, they go straight home. They just head out the door. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.000 Sometimes the networking is at a bar. They may go to 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.000 a local pub and they announce that typically and say, hey, afterwards 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:20.000 we're going to down to Kells or wherever for a beverage 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.000 and you're all welcome to join. That's also a pretty good place to go 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:28.000 just to bump elbows with folks, and you don't even have to imbibe. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:32.000 I don't drink. Just get a Coke or a SevenUp, 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.000 or something like that. That's kind of like the sample 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.000 schedule of what a meet-up user group kind of looks like. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 It goes by so fast, too. Before you know it, 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000 it's two and a half hours and it's time to go home. So what happens 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.000 at these user group meetings? Like I said, you get to meet 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.000 people just like you. I've been to user group meetings. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:60.000 There's one out there called the Young Professionals of Portland. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.000 Great meet-up, nothing wrong with it as a user group, but there are so many 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:08.000 people from all different walks of life. When you walk into a meet-up 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.000 from a tech meet-up, it's someone probably just like you, or maybe a recruiter. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.000 That's not a bad thing either. Yeah, you get to eat pizza. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.000 There's always food at meet-ups typically. That's the culture in Portland. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Yes, there is vegetarian and even gluten-free sometimes. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.000 Like I mentioned, great opportunity for job leads. You can 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.000 collect people's contact information. Just ask them and say, I'm in the market. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:36.000 We'll do a quick roleplay and I'll just show you how it's done. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:40.000 And actually going back to that one, a lot of folks 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.000 these days have business cards. Just simply ask them for their business 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:48.000 card. And on top of that, you're there to learn, right? 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:52.000 Sure, you might be going there to network, and to try to find your first 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:56.000 position, but it's also an opportunity for you to kind of learn 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:60.000 more about whatever Angular2 is doing, or whatever the case may be, 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 and put some more stuff in your tool-belt, so to speak. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.000 So let me kind of show you how this all works. I think this is the point where 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.000 Chris comes up, but let me double-check. This is. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:20.000 So Chris and I are going to simulate a really quick 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.000 roleplay. I am going to be like you all. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:28.000 Probably someone that doesn't have your first professional experience yet. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:32.000 So I'm a new recent college grad, looking for my first 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.000 position. Chris is going to be roleplaying as a 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.000 software engineer in the industry, has experience. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.000 Just imagine we're at a networking event. There are a bunch of people 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.000 around, and all of a sudden, I just kind of bump into him, right? 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.000 I've never been here before. I'm just trying to make connections and 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.000 meet new people. -Where do you work? -I don't, I'm looking for my first 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.000 position. I'm a recent college grad from Western Oregon University. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.000 I have a computer science degree. I was told by this 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000 one guy to go do networking so here I am. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.000 learn about it? -I'm here to learn about it. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:32.000 I do like more of the front end for the software development. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.000 I'm certainly open to being a full stack developer or even a back end developer. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:40.000 I think I have a better 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.000 visual line so the front end is kind of the better thing for me. But, yeah, I'm 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:48.000 just trying to learn more about Angular. -Good, so what kind of 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.000 things did you study there? I don't know much about WOU's program. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:60.000 data, algorithms. It's a pretty good program. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.000 Some really good teachers there, by the way. Really good teachers. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:08.000 How about you? What do you do? -I'm a 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.000 back end engineer for Intel, so I'm working on some of the 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:16.000 data center stuff that they're doing. -Oh, okay. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.000 undergrad, but let me introduce you to Jan 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:28.000 over here, because I know she might be looking for some entry-level 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:32.000 folks. -Yeah, sure. Do you have a card? -Yeah, I do. -Fantastic. Okay, cool. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.000 you say you're a back end engineer, but you're here at Angular, so 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.000 are you trying to move towards the front end? -You know, I'm always 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.000 just trying to get aware of new technologies and new things coming down, 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.000 and I was downtown anyway, so I thought that this would be a good place to visit. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:60.000 if nothing else, we can maybe just connect on LinkdIn, too. Thank you 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.000 very much. -Sure -You might be thinking 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.000 that we make it look easy, but that's really all it is. Most 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.000 people, when you go to those network events and just introduce 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.000 yourself, they're super friendly. They want to help. We're 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:20.000 Oregonians, and if you're not an Oregonian, 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.000 you'll probably get assimilated into the niceness of Oregon, right? 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:28.000 So it's really, really easy. You just kind of bump into those kind of 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:32.000 folks, introduce yourself, ask smart questions, 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.000 ask for their business card. Nothing to it. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.000 So then, what do you do after this? 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.000 Imagine that Chris and I just had that discussion, 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:48.000 presentation's now over, what's next? 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.000 Reach out to Chris and the people like Chris that you met. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.000 And do it within 24 hours. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:60.000 It's kind of my own little rule; you want to be 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.000 memorable, and, no offense, but people 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:08.000 are easy to forget sometimes. Right? 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:12.000 If you hit Chris up within 24 hours, chances are he's going to 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 say, 'okay. I remember this guy, Tony. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.000 Simply thank Chris for his time. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.000 Be courteous, be polite. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.000 Send Chris your current resume. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000 Yes, he said that he didn't have any positions, or they don't hire 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.000 recent college grads much at Intel, but you never know. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:40.000 Plus, wanted to 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.000 refer me to Pam. So he'll take my resume, 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.000 and hopefully send it to her. If you feel comfortable, 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.000 ask Chris to get a cup of coffee. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.000 Call it an informational interview; whatever the jargon is. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:60.000 Just say, 'Chris, I'd love to get to know you a little bit better. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.000 Be genuine on that. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.000 But also, 'could you maybe give me some career advice? You know, I'm trying 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:12.000 to get into the industry. What's it really like being a software engineer? 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:16.000 We get taught a lot of theory at WOU. Now I'm 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:20.000 coming into the practical part of this, so I'd really like to know a little more 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.000 about what it's like every day. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.000 And be sure to connect with Chris on LinkdIn. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.000 LinkdIn, if you're not familiar with it, is like Facebook but for the business world. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.000 It is a super powerful tool. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.000 A lot of people get found. You want to be found. You want to connect 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.000 with people on LinkdIn. Once you connect with someone and they accept it, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.000 then 99% of the time you're going to have their 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:52.000 email address by going to their profile once they've accepted your connection. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.000 It'll show contact information. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:60.000 So in the event that Chris doesn't 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.000 give me a business card, or I don't get his contact information, but he 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 was friendly enough, type in Chris at Intel and go 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.000 find him. I know that sometimes we're taught to 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:16.000 all be humble and all that, and you don't want to 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:20.000 seem pushy...and no, you don't. But this 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.000 is your career you're talking about, and this is your first position. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:28.000 It's important. Make the follow-up. Make that happen. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.000 I might need your help, Chris, just because I need to use this keyboard. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:36.000 But we're going to do a couple of quick live demos on Meetup and 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:40.000 Calagator. Has anybody here 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.000 not signed up on Meetup? I need a volunteer. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:48.000 Okay, you. You're not signed up? Can we get you 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.000 signed up? Okay, is that cool? You can just... 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.000 That's cool. We'll get you a 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:60.000 password and everything. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.000 We need some Jeopardy music or something. I feel like I'm 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.000 Alex Trubec up here. There's the Independence 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:12.000 Ag Tech meetup. Chris, can you click on that? 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:16.000 Some of these meetups you can just join instantly. 'Join us. 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.000 Why don't you click that and see if it'll let him join. Okay, you're in! 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.000 Now, very simply, all you have to do is just 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.000 hit 'yes' if you're going. -Guess where you're going to be on May 18th. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:32.000 laughter 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.000 There you go, Mike Parker! -Do you want to bring a friend? -Oh yeah, Paige 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.000 will join me. -Alright, Paige and Mike, there we go! Okay! 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.000 The nice thing about this, too, is that if you go to the export 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.000 button - I'm big on the whole calendar thing - you can 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.000 download it to your calendar, whatever one you use. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:60.000 automatically show up there? I think mine does that. -I'm a Windows guy, sorry. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.000 I'm the one-percenter. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.000 Maybe two-percenter. -So this actually sounds really cool. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:16.000 Actually I think they typically meet in Independence 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:20.000 but I guess this one's in Salem. How about Calagator.org? 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.000 Por favor. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:32.000 Just a slew of networking events. Look at all those. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:36.000 Anything you could think of, technically, it is 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:40.000 here. They do Saturday ones. Hack-a-thons. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.000 Again, most of them are free. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:48.000 You've got pizza, you've got like-minded people. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000 You've got nice people. You've got experienced people. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.000 If you lived in Portland, you could be at a networking event every single night of the week. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:60.000 Easily. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.000 There are ones that I've wanted to go to two or three on the same night. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:08.000 I just can't clone myself, right? Thank you, sir. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.000 Okay, so we've kind of done a little demo here. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:16.000 Mike, thank you for letting me sign you up. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.000 Let's just talk about things you might be thinking about. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.000 It can be a little bit scary, going into a room full of 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:28.000 a hundred people that are perfectly good strangers. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:32.000 Hey, for someone like me, that's a 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.000 little unnerving at times. I get it. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.000 Take a buddy. Mike is taking Paige. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.000 This'll prove to be a good networking event for him. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:48.000 I know it's his first one because he didn't have a Meetup account until 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.000 five minutes ago. So that is the very thing to 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.000 do; it doesn't matter if it's a friend, if it's a significant other, 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:60.000 if it's a fellow student or software engineer. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.000 It doesn't matter; take somebody else when you first start going 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.000 out if you think you need to. You may not need to. If you want to go 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:12.000 solo, that's fine. But if it helps you, then 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.000 do that. That person will be there just for moral support. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:20.000 There will be times when you're going to have that 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.000 awkwardness where you've talked to somebody, they move on, 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:28.000 and then you're just kind of sitting there like 'nobody's talking to me. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.000 You're just going like this, 'I feel really weird, I'm starting to sweat a little bit. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.000 Okay, I'm going to check my phone... 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Take a friend. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.000 The byproduct of going to these 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:48.000 user group networking events or whatever you want to call them; it increases 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.000 your communication skills. Your soft skills. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:56.000 It's huge in this day and age. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:60.000 It's very, very important. If I can describe Portland's 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.000 software development community in one word, I would use the word 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.000 collaboration, or collaborative. When I go and 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.000 talk to clients and they ask for software engineers, 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.000 they're like, give me someone that can play nice in the sandbox, 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:20.000 works well with others, easy to talk to, 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.000 empathetic, can see 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:28.000 from somebody else's point of view. It's so, so important. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:32.000 It will help you out, just from that standpoint alone. The other 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:36.000 byproduct is that you're going to make friends. I've been doing networking 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.000 seemingly forever, and when I first met Chris, he was 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.000 not even an acquaintance; it was just the first time. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.000 I was just getting to know him. But over the long term, Chris is a close 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.000 friend. It happens. That's the nice thing about going out there. And then when you 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.000 continually go, then you see some of the same people over and over 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:60.000 and over. They become part of your circle, your community, 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.000 the tribe, I heard it said earlier. Man, I would 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.000 say this over and over and over if you let me. I said it a little bit. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000 Imagine you've gotten your first position. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:16.000 Kind of futuristic. Don't stop networking! 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:20.000 You're one bad day away from losing your job. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.000 That's the reality of it, and it's going to happen. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:28.000 You're going to get laid off. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.000 You're going to get fired. You're going to quit. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 It's going to happen. This is the world we live in. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 You want that network fresh and also you 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.000 continually learn. We have this one client that actually 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:48.000 used to ask us, when we would submit resumes, where 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.000 did you meet this person? Did you meet them at a networking event? 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.000 Because if we did, that resume went a little 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:60.000 bit closer to the top of the pile. Because in his opinion, 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.000 people that go to networking events 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:08.000 are a little bit more invested in their career. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:12.000 It's not easy work, going to this. You work a full day 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:16.000 and then you're saying three more hours of work? 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:20.000 Okay, maybe there's pizza, maybe there's beer, but that's the last thing I want 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.000 to do. I want to go home and lay on the couch and watch Sports Center. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:28.000 Or whatever. Reruns of Law and Order. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:32.000 That's what I do actually. But it's like, you've got to keep 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:36.000 that network fresh. That's the reality. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.000 One last thing I'm going to leave you with, and this is kind of an 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.000 offer, if you will. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.000 My team goes out and networks like mad. We're out almost 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 every night of the week at some event. 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.000 DevOps, QA, whatever. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:60.000 IT, whatever. We're there. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.000 We're a presence. I go out to them. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.000 I extend the invitation to any of you. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.000 If you want to go and you see me on the RSVP, 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.000 hit me up. You've got my contact information. Say, 'Tony, 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:20.000 I heard you speak at WOU, I'm going to 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.000 wherever. I'll be happy to be 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:28.000 the person who is there for you. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.000 The plus-one. Your buddy. That's right. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.000 I'll be your buddy. And I will happily introduce you to other people. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:40.000 No problem. At IT motives we're open networkers. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000 We want to get you folks 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:48.000 into the ecosystem, as we call it. We're there to help you. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:52.000 We may not be able to directly help you, but we can indirectly help you. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.000 We know a lot of people. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:60.000 And if I'm not going, and you are, let me know. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.000 I'll ping one of my recruiters. They have the same mentality 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:08.000 as I do. They're there to help and share and further your career. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:12.000 So if I'm not going, 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.000 ping me if you are. I'll put you in touch with somebody else on my team. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.000 They'll do the same exact thing that I would have done for you. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.000 Any questions or comments? I know I just 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:28.000 gave you a lot, and I know that it's probably 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 a little bit out of your comfort zone, 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.000 and that's okay. That's okay. I've always been told 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.000 uncomfortable, that's where growth happens. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:56.000 for the graduates here at WOU - and I know it's similar across 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:60.000 most graduates - but I know at least here at 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.000 Western we have a little bit more of an applied program, 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 and so as 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:12.000 a recruiter, talking to potential 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.000 employers, how do we really showcase those 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 projects that we've worked on. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.000 We've worked on more teams, maybe, than some of the other 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:28.000 programs. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:32.000 I think there's a group of us here that are working on a Mozilla 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:36.000 project right now, and so we're working in the field but we're still seen 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:40.000 as the fresh recruits, maybe we have a lot 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.000 of theory, but not necessarily 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:48.000 any actual experience even though we've worked to develop that. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:52.000 In just talking face to face, how should 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 we present that as knowledge without saying 'hey, I just graduated, 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:60.000 I must know everything,' and coming across that way? 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.000 It's not personal experience, is it 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:12.000 considered professional experience, what they're doing? - I think it's 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:16.000 similar to some advice I've given to some people in this room. 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:20.000 You talk about projects that you've worked on, and you kind of 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.000 distance yourself a little bit from whether it's paid or school. 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 And you focus on the work that you did and what the 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:32.000 outcomes and lessons learned were, in your resume. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.000 If you can attach yourself to a Mozilla project, especially if you 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:40.000 have publicly visible evidence for that, that's good. 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.000 It's kind of similar to what you saw with Max's resume up there. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.000 You start to look a little more like that, where it's like, okay, 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 this is a new grad but look what they've done. So I think 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:56.000 you have to have that. 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:60.000 In the competitive playing field right now, I think you have 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.000 to be able to talk about projects and not just skills that you've learned. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:08.000 And focusing on the teams that you've been involved with, what your role has 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.000 been on those teams, and for those of you that are just at the tail end, 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:16.000 don't be afraid to 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:20.000 really talk about those things that you're doing, even if it doesn't sound important 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.000 to you or significant enough, focus on that teamwork. For those of you that 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:28.000 might be a little newer in the process, seek those things out while you're here. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:32.000 Look for other opportunities. If you start going to meetups now, 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:36.000 you might find opportunities to do some of that before you even get out of here, 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:40.000 because then it's one more thing in your inventory. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000 So what I usually say is that you don't need to say whether it's professional or 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:48.000 school, you just say projects. That would be a good heading and you talk about 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:52.000 the things that you've done there. -That makes perfect sense. Thank you, Chris. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:56.000 I think one thing I would mention...what's your name? -Chris. -Oh! 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:60.000 Alright. One thing I would mention, Chris, is - 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.000 this is kind of on topic, just a little bit, and 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:08.000 a little bit off topic - but when you're interviewing for a position, 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:12.000 we have this one client. I know him so well. One of the 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:16.000 kiss of deaths for an interview is saying 'this is what we did. 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:20.000 You keep talking high-level, like what the group did. They want to know what 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.000 you did. What was your role? Kind of what Chris just said. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.000 So keep that in mind when you're out there talking to folks. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:32.000 Be specific and also be honest about what your role was. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:36.000 You can create your own experience 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:40.000 if you don't have it. I was talking to Nathan 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.000 and Corbin, or, no, it was Luis. Is he here? 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.000 There he is. You can create your own experience, right? If you don't 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:52.000 have it and people want it, how do you get it? Everybody's talked 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.000 about it here. You've got to have a portfolio. I'm not saying necessarily 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:60.000 like Max's, although that would be nice, but at least 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.000 something. To have a computer science degree, 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:08.000 and nothing else, no projects, 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:12.000 no GitHub, no internships, 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:16.000 it's going to be tougher. That's the reality of it. 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:20.000 You've got to want it. You've got to be invested in your career. 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.000 This is part of it. 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:28.000 Again, I didn't get any questions so I feel like there's like a 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:36.000 to talk to a bunch of strangers. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:40.000 But that's one of the ways, that's a really common way to 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.000 go out and find positions. Yes, sir. 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.000 they're looking for in potential employees, and I've heard through the rest 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:56.000 of the day about projects and personal relationships. 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:60.000 Is there any other part of a potential 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.000 employee that interviewers are currently looking for? Maybe something that's 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:08.000 not quite anything we've talked about here today? 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:12.000 Something a little smaller or more niche. - Meaning like 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:16.000 what else they might be looking for? -Yeah. -Hmm... 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:20.000 Well... 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.000 I guess I'd say... 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:28.000 I think the soft skills. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.000 And I think the passion. Again, talking to clients 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000 all the time: 'I want someone that's passionate, and I want someone that's 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:40.000 collaborative. But they really want that. Everybody wants that. 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.000 Are you that? They'll figure it out pretty quickly in the interview, if you 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.000 are or if you're not. The way you say things, and how you 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:52.000 say them. If you worked on a team 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:56.000 here's a big one. 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:60.000 You worked together in a group, right, Chris? How did you 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.000 resolve conflict? 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:12.000 conclusion and the next day it didn't matter 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:16.000 how intensely we argued. It was the next day. 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:20.000 We moved on and moved forward with the project. 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:28.000 the same client that the kiss of death is talking about 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:32.000 you as part of the group, whereas they want to know specifically what you've 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:36.000 done. The other one is when you say, 'well, I've never had conflict. 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:40.000 Or, 'I've never had a failed project. You're a little young, maybe, to 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.000 have failed projects, but conflict is across 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:48.000 all ages, right? And so, if you say, 'no, I've never had 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:52.000 a conflict,' or when you get experience that you've never had a failed project, 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:56.000 they're going to say, 'well, either you've never taken a chance or your absolutely 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:60.000 lying to me. So either way, 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.000 I'm not interested in it. -If I were interviewing you, what I would say next 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:08.000 would be 'tell me about it. Tell me an example. 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:12.000 That conflict on a team, 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:16.000 you're probably going to get that question. Somebody will ask you 00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:20.000 and you should have practiced a narrative and a story of an exact 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.000 example of what happened, how you contributed to resolving it, 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:28.000 and what life was like after that, and how that improved the team dynamic. 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:32.000 Not speaking in abstract, like 'when we had problems we talked about it. 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:36.000 No, give me the exact story. Tell me, what was the conflict? 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.000 What was your position on it. Were feelings hurt? 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.000 Did you have to go buy pizza for somebody? That narrative and those 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:48.000 details are what they want. They want to see that. They want to hear 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:52.000 that, and the best way to be prepared for that is to 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:56.000 write that out ahead of time. Get those stories ready. 00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:60.000 I think you need three to five stories. Find three to five stories that you have 00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.000 ready to tell, related to your experiences working on those projects. 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:12.000 if we take it back to this, you think on your feet when you're at 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:16.000 a networking event. You kind of go in with an idea of 'okay, I need to be 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:20.000 thinking about what I'm going to say and how I'll say it. I don't want to sound 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.000 stupid, don't want to put my foot in my mouth,' which is what I 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 do a lot anyway. It's so important. 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:32.000 I'll say it one last time and then I'll close here. Don't stop 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.000 doing it. It's easy to get lazy 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.000 and complacent or 'yeah, I've got a job now, I don't need to go to 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.000 AgTech anymore, and I don't want to. 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:48.000 Especially if you take someone, then they're kind of holding you accountable 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:52.000 too. It's like, 'hey, where are you at? You know, I worked all day. 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.000 That was amazing. -Thank you. 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:08.000 applause, music 00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:11.000 music