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micram1001
33,833 PointsPeople with enthusiasm that work hard and are open minded are the best to hire.
Not enough people have the right mind set.
Jesus Mendoza
23,288 PointsFunny story, when I got my first job, which was an internship, my boss told me to stop working so fast. I was so exited to apply what I learned in college and about learning new stuff that I worked really fast, so most of the time I was finish with all my tasks and then had nothing else to do for the rest of the day!
Sean Flanagan
33,235 PointsI've never worked in the IT industry before and this could count against me when applying for IT jobs. I've just completed the Ruby track. I've also done HTML, CSS, some JavaScript, Java, a bit of Python and currently I'm doing PHP and C#. I'm hoping these will get me an IT job while I'm still young.
1 Answer
Codin - Codesmite
8,600 PointsI have had a couple of jobs as IT manager and most of the time when hiring, I will not focus on acedemics so much as the persons personality and ability to grow.
Say for example I was hiring for a PHP Backend Developer.
Candidate A: College Degree in Computer Science, couple of years experience in previous roles, doesn't seem to have any drive or push to want to learn more than the job description entails.
Candidate B: Basic high school GCSE, self taught PHP and Web Development, no experience in a proffesional enviroment, regardless of lack of experience and lack of acedemic certification the candidate seems to be very enthusiastic about the role and open to learn anything new the role may require.
9/10 times Candidate B is the one I would pick hands down, you know they are going to put the effort in, they have gone out and taught themselves the skills required for the job, so you know if anytime in the future you require them to expand on their skills they are going to know how on their own incentive, and maybe even flourish with the backing and help from their colleagues or company training.
It's how I got to where I am today myself, I left school at 16 with terrible grades, I taught myself everything I needed to go after the job roles I wanted and made sure to show any potential employers that I was willing to learn and expand on what I already knew by being enthusiastic and proving that I could adapt if required.
I am now 27, I have had 6 job interviews and 5 jobs (so from my own experience it works). I have changed between, IT Support, Network Engineering, Infastructure, Management, Programming and now Back-End Web Development / Marketing.
I started all of these jobs with no qualifications and just the willing to learn.
Sean Flanagan
33,235 PointsSean Flanagan
33,235 PointsI agree that enthusiasm, diligence and open-mindedness are essential personal qualities. Honesty is also important. For instance, if you overstate your potential, and get the job, it'll show when you're called upon to demonstrate your skills firsthand.