Aurelia Butler

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  • 113 Shares189 Views

    in Career Hacks

    Why Are Undergraduates So Excited About Oxford’s Summer Internship?

    When you’re contemplating what kind of internship is best for you, there are a lot of questions you might ask yourself. Is this going to look good on my resume? Will I partake in meaningful work? Will it be enjoyable?

    Your time is precious. Especially those summers during college when you’re setting yourself up for future success. This being the case, it’s natural to have questions like these and wonder if a company is truly able to give you what you want out of an internship.

    Recently, we dove deep for answers. In our conversations with a few current interns at Oxford, one of the leading staffing and consulting companies across North America and Europe, we learned why they chose to work at Oxford and how the company has supported their careers.

    What we learned is that meaningful work, mentoring, the encouragement of future growth, and Oxford’s work-hard-play-hard attitude are all factors that contribute to the appeal of Oxford and its internship program.

    Doing Real Work With Substance

    Lyla Krol, a current intern with Oxford and student at the University of South Carolina, originally thought “interns would do mundane tasks, like printing stuff and going to get copies.” However, this preconception was quickly flipped on its head when Lyla found herself doing work that directly contributed to Oxford’s bottom line like assessing job openings and resumes in order to find matches or assisting account managers in securing sales.

    For Chloee Swartz, who is also a current intern with Oxford and an undergraduate student, working with coworkers, consultants, and cold call recipients who she had never met before helped her grow her skills as a communicator which will benefit her in any and all future opportunities she might embark on.

    While there are plenty of work-related interactions between interns and employees, there were also training and advisory interactions in which interns got the chance to shadow full-time employees to learn a little more about what their jobs are like.

    Shadowing & Mentorship

    The opportunity to follow an experienced professional along in their daily role to find out how to perform a role right and wrong is an invaluable experience. So the fact that Oxford allowed their interns to shadow full-time employees meant a lot.

    For Evan Johnson, a current sales and recruiting intern at Oxford and student at the University of Wisconsin, shadowing full-time employees gave him a better scope of what the company was all about and how all the departments worked together.

    When we spoke with Chloee about what shadowing was like, she explained how they would listen in on recruiting phone calls, and afterward, the recruiter would walk her through the call and how it went, if it was good or bad, and what they could have done better.

    Being able to see what these recruiters’ jobs were like firsthand gave Chloee knowledge that she uses today in her current role. In fact, the knowledge she gained may have even contributed to her receiving the role she is in now.

    Setting You Up For Future Growth

    You may have noticed that Chloee, Evan, and Lyla are all still current interns with Oxford. That’s because they were all given job extensions following their summer internship, an offering that is reserved for the most exceptional candidates but also given out to several of those who participate in the internship.

    Currently, all three of them are working from campus, earning money, and working flexible hours while gaining real experience that they can take with them into their future careers.

    What’s unique about Oxford is that they want you to succeed no matter what, whether that’s with them or somewhere else. When we were chatting with Evan, he mentioned that some employees he interacted with said they would connect him with people in other industries or write a reference letter if he needed it for another job. While it sounds unusual for someone within a company to offer help getting a different job, this just goes to show that Oxford employees truly look out for the interests of one another.

    Work Hard, Play Hard

    Yes, internships and jobs are meant to be something you put a lot of effort and hard work into, but they should also be enjoyable experiences. At least that’s what Oxford thinks.

    In our conversation with Lyla Krol, she spoke about how the community aspect and social integration at Oxford’s Beverly, Massachusetts office made her experience that much better.

    For Evan, those lunches were valuable to him because he got to interact with people he normally wouldn’t be able to interact with. Evan stated that “a lot of the time you wouldn’t really talk to anybody else on other teams because you’re focused on your task at hand. But with those lunch opportunities, we got to network with more of the office which was really beneficial for me.”

    It’s clear that Oxford creates an environment where people can grow not just as professionals, but as people too. They are a company that understands if the place you work is fun and enjoyable, then employees will show up and reciprocate that positivity in their work and daily interactions.

    If this is a company that you could see yourself working for, one that grows and supports your success every step of the way, then check out some of Oxford’s open roles. More

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    in Employer

    How to Nurture Innovation, Strengthen Retention (Use Professional Development)

    If you want to foster employee professional development and growth, it’s essential to begin with a positive and supportive work environment. By providing opportunities for learning, as well as a culture of collaboration and open communication, companies encourage their employees to reach their full potential and become valuable assets to the organization. 

    In this blog, we explore laying the foundation for employee professional development beginning with the hiring process, and ways to create a nurturing environment. To help provide real-world examples and insights, we’ll lean on excerpts from episodes of Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, featuring these experts: 

    Consider growth potential from day one

    Riffat Jaffer shares, “There are so many jobs everyone does. But what are they going to grow into six months or three years from now and how will they add value to your company in the future?”

    Hiring for potential means looking beyond a candidate’s current skills and experience. It’s considering their ability to learn and grow in the role. The specific role you’re hiring for shouldn’t be the bottom line, but rather a starting point to build upon.

    This approach is particularly valuable for businesses ready to invest in their employees and support their professional development. Companies then bring on employees who may not have all the required skills at the time of hire. However, they have the aptitude and willingness to learn and grow.

    Leverage potential to build diversity

    One benefit of hiring for potential is helping companies build diverse and dynamic teams. By considering a candidate’s potential rather than just their existing credentials, businesses bring on employees with a range of backgrounds and perspectives. This contributes to creating a more vibrant and creative work environment and allows for more innovative solutions.

    In a past panel discussion, “An Insider’s Guide to Hiring in Tech,” Nathalie Grandy, formerly with Gem, now Head of Tech Recruiting at Mutiny, shared her insights. She says, “It starts with changing the mindset of what you’re looking for and potentially being open to those nontraditional backgrounds. For us, it’s encouraging hiring managers to think about the 80/20 rule. So 80% existing skill set and 20% coachability.”

    Impact down the line: employee retention

    Another advantage of hiring for potential is helping companies retain top talent. By providing opportunities for learning and growth, businesses support their employees in achieving their career goals and help them feel fulfilled in their roles. This leads to increased job satisfaction and a lower employee turnover rate.

    Riffat explains, “Candidates come in and maybe they’ve not done the job exactly like you want them to do. But they know you trusted them and hired them to do it. They’re willing to give it their all and more than somebody who has done it three times over now.” 

    Take a leap of faith

    Of course, hiring for potential does come with its challenges. For example, it is difficult to accurately assess a candidate’s potential. There is always a certain level of risk involved in bringing on employees who may not have all the required skills at the time of hire. 

    However, with careful consideration and a robust onboarding process, companies can successfully hire for potential and reap the many benefits of supporting employee professional development and growth.

    Riffat says, “Maybe they’re not where we want them to be today but our onboarding and training come in to get candidates where they want to go. Typically, you end up hiring the best candidates when you take a leap of faith.”

    According to Riffat, hiring for potential is all about “being able to partner with the hiring managers and make sure they see potential in a candidate. It also depends a lot on product maturity and if we can afford to give a candidate six months to become what we want.” 

    Build an inclusive environment to foster employee growth

    An inclusive workplace values and respects diversity, and is where all employees feel welcome and supported. By fostering an inclusive workplace, businesses create an environment to support employee development and growth. Here are a few ways to do this:

    1. Establish guiding values to support professional development and growth

    These values must emphasize the importance of providing opportunities for employees to learn and grow in their roles, and support their professional development. By adopting such values, companies create an environment that encourages employees to learn new skills and take on new challenges.

    Anabel Morales echoes this saying, “The key to scaling our culture successfully is equipping our leaders with tools to scale trust, transparency, and inclusion. When we hire managers or promote somebody into a management role, we’re introducing them to our leadership principles and educating them on how to live up those values.”

    2. Encourage open communication and feedback

    Create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas and providing feedback to one another. This helps identify and address any challenges or barriers employees may be facing, and can support their growth and development.

    To Anabel, this means “facilitating inclusion and teaching people how to build trust. Leading without micromanaging, asking for feedback, and being a good listener are basic things managers sometimes forget to do.” 

    “The psychological safety piece is also very important. It is something you need in a team to ensure innovation. The last thing you want as a manager is to have a team where everybody just agrees with you. Create an environment where people feel open to speak.”

    3. Explore personal drive and growth

    Provide employees with support and guidance as they explore their personal drive for growth. This might include offering advice and mentorship to help guide their self-reflection as they define their purpose and future goals.

    Sacha Luthi says, “If you look at what success means, it’s very broad. I can make things very complicated as an HR person. Or, I can try to build an environment in which people want to work with you. I don’t want people to work with me because they have to. The true reason is finding the ‘Why are you here?’”

    4. Measure the impact of deficiencies

    There are endless avenues to take when it comes to professional development and growth. So many possibilities might become overwhelming, causing employees to struggle in picking their starting point. As a leader, aid employees in identifying personal development needs to plot their course.

    Reflecting on his own experience, Sacha says, “it took good leaders to see things I was not able to see in myself. You need people along the way who believe in you and build confidence.”

    Encourage self-reflection to measure the impact of deficiencies in order to identify growth opportunities. Sach poses a few questions for individuals to consider: “How do I find out what I’m really good at? What gives me energy? Where is the space for it to be used?”

    “If you are not good at something you should also look at it from a collective perspective. There are other people around you who may jump in or cover the gap, so look at performance and career. We still value and recognize individuals but how do we put those strengths together so the collective output is better?” 

    5. Provide opportunities for learning and development

    The opportunity to continuously learn and tackle new challenges continues to be the number one reason software engineers enter a career in the field. Employers should offer compelling career development opportunities to attract and retain software engineers and ensure they feel adequately challenged in their roles. 

    Based on our survey of software engineers, more than half said it’s important to them their employer provides professional development opportunities. 72.2% reported new challenges and continuous learning most attracted them to a career in software engineering.

    Set the tone for personal growth & professional development in your organization

    If you want to create an environment to encourage employees to develop new skills, cultivate new strengths, and continue the evolution of their careers, build an inclusive workplace and keep growth in mind from the hiring process on. 

    Tune into Hired.com’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me. Hear what top experts have to share about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry today.

    Want to listen to the full episodes featured in this article?

    Editor’s note: at the time of the podcast recording, Anabel was VP of Talent Acquisition, in August of 2022, she became VP, People and Culture. Congrats, Anabel!  More

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    in Employer

    How to Build a Sustainable Tech Talent Acquisition Strategy: A Comprehensive Guide

    About this eBook

    Do you know anyone who’s used “talent acquisition” and “recruiting” interchangeably? Maybe you’ve done it, yourself! While organizations are moving towards a more sustainable talent acquisition strategy, they often confuse talent acquisition with recruitment. This misunderstanding may hamper your process and disrupt progress.

    A sustainable talent acquisition strategy encourages you to maintain a balance between acquiring external and promoting internal talent. A lack of career advancement opportunities is one of the main reasons people quit their jobs. Sometimes, current employees even feel neglected when companies enter the hiring phase.

    Although hiring new talent is important, doing so at the cost of current employees is detrimental to organizational growth and morale. Moreover, if you delegate all resources and money towards recruitment, there’s none left to invest in and retain your employees.

    Hence, a sustainable strategy is a win for all – companies can divide time and resources between current employees and new hiring with proper planning and implementation. While recruiting is essential for gaining employees, it can become a time-intensive and expensive endeavor without a TA strategy.

    Amidst a dynamic labor market, many organizations are exploring talent acquisition avenues to prepare for hiring surges and talent management. To help, we created an eBook to demystify talent sustainability and help organizations incorporate it into talent acquisition strategy.

    What You’ll Learn

    What constitutes a sustainable talent acquisition strategy in both candidate and employer-driven markets

    Actionable steps to take on the daunting task of building a robust talent pipeline, including 5 questions to answer before making a plan

    Strategies to nurture and engage candidates in the talent pipeline

    A look into the future of tech talent acquisition

    Plus, Why Core Values are Important to Talent Acquisition Strategies

    By integrating your organization’s core values into your talent acquisition strategy, it strengthens your employer brand. This pays dividends in multiple areas including candidate and employee experience. If you need help in this area, we’ve also created resources for both startups and larger enterprise companies. More

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    in Career Hacks

    From Intern to Full-Time: How to Launch Your Career in Capital One’s Early Career Programs

    Whether you’re an undergraduate student seeking your first internship or a graduate adjusting to your first full-time role, we understand navigating professional opportunities can be intimidating.

    Fortunately, associates from Capital One are here to help you with the early stages of your career. From making the most of available resources to stepping out of your comfort zone, find out their tips to help launch your career at Capital One.

    Take Advantage of Resources 

    One of Capital One’s best qualities is that they want to see you succeed and give you the resources to help. They provide resources like interview-prep programs, resume reviews, one-on-one counseling sessions with recruiters, and workshops on a variety of career-development subjects.

    Jesse Gvozdas, a Senior Recruiter at Capital One, spoke about what resources a candidate used to prepare for their application. 

    We also got the chance to talk to, Olutoyin Asubiojo, the HBCU/HSI Partnerships Lead, who shared that recruiters are also available to help. 

    Use the Network!

    Capital One’s resources extend well beyond the application phase. Once associates join the enterprise, they’ll find a network of support among their colleagues.

    We spoke to Judd Babbitt, a graduate of the University of Virginia, former intern, and current Cyber Security Development Program (CSDP) Associate, about how he realized that everyone around him during his internship was there to support him.

    Judd went on to tell us about “skip-level meetings” where interns and associates have a designated recurring time to connect with their boss’s manager to discuss things from goals to current project statuses. These meetings showed Judd how much senior leaders are invested in the growth of his career and within the organization.

    Follow the People, Not the Process

    Judd was not alone in emphasizing the benefits of Capital One’s vast network of associates. Brittany Courtney, Vice President of Product Management, echoed how colleagues helped propel her to a leadership position within the company.

    What Brittany is most passionate about is the idea that prospective candidates and entry-level associates should focus on what they want to learn and finding a mentor.

    Get Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

    Another piece of advice from Capital One associates is perhaps the boldest and most unexpected: Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. As calming as it might feel to feel at ease in a role and not be challenged, it is not the kind of environment where growth prospers. In order to grow professionally, you must expose yourself to new obstacles so that you can reach new milestones.

    “You have to learn how to apply your superpowers in a world that is unfamiliar. Force yourself to reflect periodically and ask, ‘Am I too comfortable here? Where am I not being stretched?”
    Brittany Courtney, Vice President of Product Management

    The idea behind Brittany’s advice is to test yourself whenever possible. She said that Capital One is a place that encourages you to take risks. So never be afraid to shoot your shot and make attempts at greatness!

    Take the Chance

    Are you ready to take the leap and join Capital One? Start exploring full-time careers jobs and internships at Capital One today. More

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    in Employer

    Raise the Bar in 2023: Strategies from Top Employers Winning Tech Talent (VIDEO)

    Need insight to plan your recruiting and hiring strategies for 2023? Watch this on-demand webinar to hear talent acquisition experts from Top Employers Winning Tech Talent discuss key findings and data from Hired’s What Top Tech Employers Do Differently: New Hiring Data to Win in 2023 report. They share strategies for filling open positions with top talent and building a diverse team quickly and efficiently.

    Hear from:

    Hired SVP Marketing, Erica Yamamoto

    Manager, R&D Talent, Tray.io, Reece Batchelor

    Director of Tech Talent, SAP, Tatiana Moraes Nogueira

    Talent Acquisition Manager, Technology, iHeartMedia, Jeff Carr

    Read an excerpt of the conversation here and scroll down to access the full webinar. 

    What are strategies for driving qualified candidates?

    Tatiana Moraes Nogueira, Director of Tech Talent, SAP

    We invest a lot in preparing our interviewers to really understand what we are and how we are interviewing. What are the qualifications that we’re looking for in these candidates? We are always prioritizing candidate experience on top of everything. Transparency is a big thing for us. We are fast in providing feedback and we provide full feedback to our candidates.

    That is definitely something that always brings us more and more candidates. Whoever applied in the past understands why they were or were not approved. Then they go and work on the skills we wanted them to have and they can reapply. 

    We also are very strong on flex work. SAP is a company committed to employee experience first. SAP is a people-first company. We definitely communicate very broadly that some roles are going to be remote while some others need a bit more in-person time. SAP has amazing offices throughout the US and Canada. We are looking for people to be in the office maybe two or three times a week and we communicate this flex work approach in terms of hours, location, and days of the week.

    Flex work for us means you can accommodate your working hours around your projects and personal life. We also have a big returnship program. We are allowing people who have been away from work for over a year and a half to come back to the workforce. All these things are elevating our brand and allowing us to continue attracting the best talent out there.

    Reece Batchelor, Manager, R&D Talent, Tray.io

    Naturally, being a smaller company, we rely heavily on outbound strategies to attract talent. We do take quite an aggressive approach to this. We target 100 new messages per week. Hired is a great tool for us. 

    We also use a tool called Gem for messaging sequencing. At Tray, we don’t just staff emails out either. We try to get really personalized – not just ‘I see you work at X company.’ I’m talking about really calling out things on people’s LinkedIn profiles, including work they’ve done and blog posts they may have written too. 

    We’ve also looked at a lot of data on our outbound messaging to see what’s working and what’s not. 

    There are two real changes we’ve made recently. One is keeping our messages short, sweet, and to the point. No one has time to read lengthy emails. We’re just trying to hit what people want to know, which is why we are reaching out to them and what’s in it for them. Those are the two points we’re really trying to hit. 

    Secondly, we like hitting and tackling the elephant in the room, which is job security. It’s top of mind for everyone. We’re quite fortunate as we’ve done funding a couple of months ago, so we call that out in our messaging. 

    But what’s different now from maybe 12 months ago is we’re not saying we’ve done a round of funding and are in hyper-growth mode because that scares people. It’s all about how this is now sustainable and why joining Tray gives you the security you’re ultimately looking for. 

    Jeff Carr

    Automation is the name of the game. We try to automate as much as we can. We start with a lot of market data trends and share them with our executives, VPs, and hiring managers. This includes where these market trends are with compensation, the available workforce, what the time-to-fill is across the technology industry, and what you can expect as candidates move through the process. 

    We try to keep everything as efficient as possible. We do weekly meetings with the managers to keep communication feedback between the recruiter, candidate, and hiring manager as tight as possible in the process. 

    We’ve even adopted a tool for scheduling interviews. It’s taking the manual process out of the pattern to where everything is automatically shared with the candidate and hiring manager. That’s probably given each team member at least five hours back in their day.

    Showing the value proposition of where automation can help. Additionally, metrics and data points help keep everybody aligned on where process improvement is and where opportunities are for it. Any automation you can add to your process adds a lot of value back to the recruiting team members, candidates, and hiring manager.

    Related: Get Internal Approval for Recruiting Tools: A Step-by-Step Playbook 

    Watch the full collaborative panel discussion to discover: 

    Top strategies to increase interview response and acceptance rates 

    Why and how salary transparency increases equity and efficiency in hiring funnels

    Why tracking time-to-fill is only part of the story

    Ways to drive organizational innovation  More

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    How to Improve Job Security During an Economic Downturn: Career Advice for Recruiters

    An economic downturn is a notably difficult time for job security for recruiters. Open positions can become scarce to the point where the search for talent may halt. Hiring freezes inherently restrict recruiters and talent acquisition leaders from being able to fulfill their usual duties.  

    “Recruiters need growing businesses to fulfill their function. To deal with this, we need to understand what the reality is. That can give us the right foundation to strategize around staying in the game,” says Recruiting Brainfood’s Curator, Hung Lee, in a past episode of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast. 

    Leaning on Hung’s insights, let’s dive into how recruiters can protect their own careers during tough times.

    4 ways to strengthen job security and how recruiters can distinguish themselves during an economic downturn

    Expert: Recruiting Brainfood Curator, Hung Lee 

    1. Invest in yourself

    Hung recommends recruiters start by taking the time to expand their skill set. He says, “Upskilling is definitely something recruiters need to do. It is a great time to upskill yourself in areas you could improve… Look at the skills you may have neglected due to operational overload now that you have some capacity.”

    There are a number of free resources “teaching you how to source candidates, do employer branding, copywriting, analytics, and more.”

    Related: Explore workshops and events from our partner, General Assembly

    2. Think ahead to create job security as a recruiter

    While upskilling is critical, Hung says “it would be very wrong to spend 100% of your time doing that because however skilled you may be, you also need to get busy positioning yourself to get opportunities when they emerge. I recommend recruiters think about: Am I in the right market for the near, mid, and long term future?” 

    Following a crisis or recession, “a lot of these industries will certainly come back in a very different form which is often smaller in terms of absolute manpower. That has a knock-on effect for recruiters so think about what industries are going to grow and where the new demand will emerge. Recruiters have to be agile and able to port into growing industries — not hang on to ones that will probably die.”

    3. Apply your recruiting skills to the job search

    “I advise recruiters to apply what they do to themselves. We often apply skills externally and never internally for our own needs — but recruiters need to do that.” 

    “If I’m prospecting as a third-party recruiter for a client base or market to trade in, I would be very sensitive to which markets will grow compared to those likely to shrink. Essentially, recruiters need to apply exactly the same methods and mentality to the job search.” 

    “I think it would be wrong to look for available recruiter jobs and only that. The right thing to do is look at industry sectors you anticipate to grow. Get yourself positioned in those places, build networks there, build contacts, and do the research.”

    “Find yourself on fertile ground. You don’t need to be the best recruiter in the world. If you’re swimming against the tide, you have to be an amazing swimmer. If you’re swimming with the tide you could use a float device and make it to the other side.”

    “Recruiters have native skills directly applicable to jobseeking. You know how to source, retrieve information, research, do a cold open, document, and promote. All of those things need to come together.” 

    “We rarely have our own dog food but in this case, we have to chow down. Think: How would I do this if I was recruiting for a customer or market mapping for a prospect? Engaging in the job search is a very interesting demonstration of the skills, processes, and mindsets you can apply from the job of recruiting.”

    4. Stand out by fostering meaningful connections 

    While traditional routes of applying for a job through a post are legitimate, Hung urges recruiters to pursue less conventional methods too.

    “As a hiring manager I would be more impressed with an explanation involving deep research from analytics, tracking of funding, or some information gathering a recruiter would typically do. With that, you provide evidence of how you would do the job. This mentality will not only help you generate opportunities, but convert them as a result of the techniques you employed to find it.”

    Source for companies with the same precision you source for candidates. 

    “In other words, when we default to jobseeking, we forget the recruiter, or the crude animal in us. We shouldn’t just default to what’s available. Maybe 10% of your time should be applying for jobs and 90% should be doing investigative work to source hidden opportunities and find other ways to connect with the hiring manager.” 

    “Remember the market flipped on us. This is now a candidate-rich market for recruiters. If I was recruiting for a recruiter and I put a job out, I’ll be flooded with candidates. Therefore, as I get more applications, I spend less time on them. In turn, every application has to be closer and closer to the ideal person I’ve imagined.” 

    Hung encourages recruiters to be thoughtful in starting a conversation and demonstrating existing recruiting skills. 

    Focus your efforts wisely

    “Simple mathematics means your chances of being that person will generally be slim. You should go and apply but it shouldn’t be the dominant activity for you as a jobseeker. Instead, do what you have been doing as a recruiter. Treat your job search as the process of gathering information about the best options out there, then figuring out a way to engage with them.”

    “If you do this in the right way, you may catch the opportunity before it becomes public and you might even short-circuit the entire process. Let’s not forget in a candidate-rich market, generally, an employer does not want to advertise the job because it brings a massive applicant flow problem. Ideally, someone wanders in and solves my problem — be that person. Recruiters have the skills to do it. They just have to switch to their usual mentality and put it in a new context.” 

    Related: Job Searching? Online Networking Strategies to Get you Started 

    At the heart of great teams

    Fortune recently called out tech layoffs hitting HR teams especially hard. Experts warn that companies viewing talent-focused roles as far from profit-earning for the organization may be dangerous in the long run. When the economy bounces back, companies that cut recruitment or DEI risk will need to reassemble and may struggle to keep up with competitors after losing this foundational aspect.

    Recruiters are at the heart of building and maintaining great teams. Showcase the value you bring.

    Want more insights just for recruiters?

    Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping recruitment and talent acquisition—straight from top experts themselves. More

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    in Career Hacks

    From Opera Singer to Analyst: Find Your Dream Job with Springboard

    What are you supposed to do when the career you’ve been working your whole life for is no longer an option? For Hastings Reeves, this was a very real circumstance when quarantine hit.

    Having received his bachelor’s degree in music performance and his master’s in vocal pedagogy, Hastings had all intentions of becoming an opera singer. However, with performance venues and theaters shuddered due to the pandemic, that was no longer a possibility. Additionally, Hastings had a three-year-old daughter to take care of which made this a situation where he needed a certain kind of job. But first, he needed the know-how.

    When Hastings came across Springboard, a virtual learning platform that offers comprehensive, mentor-led boot camps in software engineering, data science, UI/UX design, cybersecurity, tech sales, and more, he knew that it was his ticket to a thriving career.

    Today, Hastings works as a Business Intelligence Analyst at a company that suits him perfectly. Recently, we got to chat with Hastings regarding his experience at Springboard and how it helped him get to where he is today.

    The Circumstances

    When Hastings came to terms with the career transition he needed to make, he knew what he wanted to do but not necessarily where to do it.

    With a natural affinity for math, Hastings was drawn to coding and knew he wanted to do something with data and numbers. Additionally, Hastings needed something that would allow him to take care of his daughter when needed.

    Naturally, the Data Science boot camp with its advanced curriculum and flexible hours was a perfect fit.

    The Curriculum & Coaching

    Powered by some of the leading schools of thought and professionals across the industry, the curriculum and coaching at Springboard rivals that which you might find at universities. 

    During his time with Springboard, Hastings learned how to build machine-learning models, explored new and complex coding techniques, and began to gain skills that are being employed at some of the highest levels of the data science industry today. As Hastings said, “pivoting from standing in front of a panel and singing arias to a career in data science is not an easy transition.” 

    Luckily, the curriculum at Springboard was backed up by incredible coaching to help make that transition possible. In our conversation, Hastings reflected back on the relationship he had with his mentor, AJ Sanchez.

    The Contract

    One of the biggest draws at Springboard is their job guarantee. After Hastings completed his boot camp and earned his Data Science Fellow accreditation, he was paired with a career coach who helped him locate a job.

    Hastings met with his career coach bi-weekly after graduation all the way up to the point where he signed a contract. While Hastings got several offers, he chose to wait for the one he really wanted. One that paid well, allowed him to work remote, and enabled him to grow within the company.

    Eventually, after 18 months of hard work doing something he had never done before, Hastings finally got an offer he liked from a company called Velocity Global. It was a day that will stay with him forever.

    Quarantine wasn’t kind to anyone but when it came to Hastings’ situation, things were certainly dire. Luckily, Springboard offered the lifeboat he needed to learn a new trade and find a new career path. This January, Hastings will be celebrating the one-year anniversary for the business analyst role he found through Springboard. 

    If you’ve been waiting to break into an industry, make 2023 the year you do it. Start browsing all of Springboard’s boot camps today and start building your career toward success. More