Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

12 in 2012:

Computer Science

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Introduction

• 12 in 2012 webinar series – 12 top industries of 2012

• January: Hospitality

• February: Computer Science

• March: Human Resources

• April: Healthcare

• May: Law

• June: Entrepreneurship & Business

• July: Finance

• August: Education

• September: Engineering

• October: Retail

• November: Administration

• December: Government

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

About the Moderator

• Tony Morrison

– Cachinko, VP of

Business Development

• Cachinko

– Employer-branded

career application on

Facebook

• Leverage social

networking platforms

• Connect job seekers

and employers

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Introduction

• Computer Science

– Broad application in nearly every sector.

– Boomed in recent years

– 7 of the 19 fastest growing jobs were computer

science-related.

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

About the Panelists

• Professional Job Search

Coach

• Founder of RMesh Associates

• B.S. Industrial Engineering –

Rochester Institute of

Technology

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Renee Mesh

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

About the Panelists

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Dr. Beverly Magda

• Associate Dean, Technology

Management, Georgetown

University

• Ph.D. Systems Engineering,

M.S. Telecommunications

Management, B.S. Computer

& Information Science

• 20 years experience in the

technology field

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com 8

Renee Mesh

How I got here…

• Former Recruiter and Hiring

Manager

• Job Search Coach

• Technical Base, Operations

Minded, Business

Understanding, People

Focused

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Renee Mesh

In my opinion the "hot" jobs in

computer science right now are…

• Mobile HW/SW, Apps, Touchscreen Tech

• UI Design / Website Dev. / eCommerce

• SAAS / Cloud Development

• SDLC, Product Manager, Test and

Release

• Database Admin, yes still

• Legacy system/software upgrades,

transitions

• IT - LAN/WAN and infrastructure architects

• Security (Energy, Medical, Government)

• Sales and customer implementations

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Renee Mesh

• No hard lines

• Know what you’re good at

• Able to articulate

• Ego is in check

• Watch the horizon

• Outside projects

• Grow others

• Commitment to the business

In my opinion, the qualities/skills that are vital for

someone in this industry are…

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Renee Mesh

In my opinion, it is especially valuable

for someone in the computer science

industry to have experience in…

• You can’t be a fit for everything and everyone, so…

• Actual projects and work experience in the field you

are specializing

• If you don’t have it, go get it through

volunteering or internships

• Small start-ups

• Small businesses

• Non-profits

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Dr. Beverly Magda

• Did not take traditional path

• Wanted to major in Sociology

• Looked at IT field as a way to help people

• Reviewed job descriptions for

positions I wanted and learned

those skills

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How I got here…

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Dr. Beverly Magda

• Project/Program Managers

• Mobile/App Development

• Information Security/Information

Assurance/Cybersecurity

• Healthcare IT

In my opinion the "hot" jobs in the

computer science industry right now are…

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Dr. Beverly Magda

• Soft Skills

oPeople skills, Leadership, Negotiation

• Management

oProject, Time, People

• Technical Aptitude

In my opinion, the qualities/skills that are

vital for someone in this industry are…

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Beverly

• Techies that combine computer

science with other disciplines,

such as business, science,

healthcare, etc. have advantages

In my opinion, it is especially valuable

for someone in the computer science

industry to have experience in…

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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Have you worked with job seekers who have been able to get into

a short term contract that later brought them into a full-time gig?

-Renee - As a recruiter…

• Has hired people for contract work

o Work with small start ups – for about 3 months or so

o Get the experience in specific software, learn from other professionals

• For entry level- stay busy while searching

o Volunteer, take on contract, post your resume online where recruiters

and employers will find you

-Beverly

• Non-profits have to meet the same requirements as companies that are for

profit

• While working at non-profits looked for short-contract work

o Often looked for Grad students who did work for college credits

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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What are some of the challenges that the health care industry

will have to overcome in order to implement electronic

patient records and how does that relate to the hot jobs in

this field?

-Beverly

• Standardization is a big issue. The government just revealed last year

what they considered standard for every medical facility and software

companies.

• Collaboration is another issue. Different departments in the hospital

might not be talking to each other.

• As someone in IT, hopefully those gaps can be bridged. Everyone is

concerned with security with their health records, but we’ve been able to

succeed with banks so we should be able to succeed with this.

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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What is the best way to break into the industry and how do you

get noticed?

-(Renee)

• First, be on the hunt.

• Secondly, try to let people find you.

o Have a social media presence and participate in forums.

o Meet up in person.

• In terms of resume/cover letter…

• Showcase the problems that you have been able to solve.

• Make a list, on one side write “why I can’t do this job,” and on the other

side write “why I can do this job.” Whatever you wrote on the “Why I can”

side, that should go in your cover letter for that job.

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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How can you use social media to break into the industry?

-Beverly

• LinkedIn, look at the various groups.

• Using your own network of people.

• Might be out of the norm for Computer Science people, but you have to get

comfortable.

• Set up informational interviews with companies.

• Social groups on Facebook (Ex. DC Tech, DC Social Media, DC Web

Women.)

-Renee

• Follow companies on LinkedIn.

• Join job group communities.

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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Do you feel certifications are important? With or without

experience?

-Beverly

• It depends. You have to decide where you want to head.

o Management or technical? Many students have a mix of both. So it

depends on where you want to be.

• Positions with the Federal Government for example, will look for specific

certifications.

-Renee

• You might have to add the certifications depending on job postings that you

are seeing.

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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What career can you go into where you do not have to do English

or any other Liberal Arts courses? What career can you just do

math and sciences?

-Renee

• Not uncommon to not be as strong at L.A.

o A few Universities just focus on Math and Science (Ex. Full Sail

University in Florida)

• IT is a great field - They have support for students in the areas they might

not be as strong at.

-Beverly

• Being well rounded will help you in the future for your career.

• Look at universities that have schools of Professional Studies, or schools of

Continuing Education

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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Who are some of the top companies in Computer Science?

-Renee

• Companies hiring over 1,000 people in Comp Sci: HP, Lockheed Martin,

Dell, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Accenture, VM World, Intel, GE, Sisco, L3

Communications, Yahoo, Sungard, SAIC, CSC, EA, Sony, Semantic

-Beverly

• Federal jobs, especially in government in health care and security (CNSI,

Mider.)

• Small start ups hiring too (such as DC Tech or DC Social Media people are

constantly posting jobs)

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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Would you consider a job at a major retailer (such as Macy’s or

Target) for a Computer Science job?

-Beverly

• Absolutely, every company (even restaurants) need someone setting up

systems

o setting up programing and logistics and development

• Technology permeates in all areas of an organization

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Q & A

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What are the best forums for a job seeker to make themselves

present and to get noticed by opinion leaders and professionals

in their field?

-Beverly

• Meet ups, networking, informational interviews, conferences in your

specialty area

• For every organization there is an Association and there usually is a

technical part of that.

Contact Tony at amorrison@cachinko.com

Thank you!

For more tips: blog.cachinko.com

Join us for our next “12 in 2012” webinar at:

2 P.M. (EST) March 15, 2012:

12 in 2012: Human Resources

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