Technology students play a crucial part in society, the market, and strengthening our technology. They are the pioneers of tomorrow and must be made to face reality once they graduate. And while schools teach them the skills necessary for their jobs, they need help to learn the essential competencies and lessons to survive the industry.
Thus, as a champion of innovation and technology, Flexisoure IT visited one of the country’s most prominent universities, Adamson University. In this event, students from the faculty of Computer Engineering, Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology were invited to learn relevant techniques for an interview, the actual IT experience, and an Inspirational Talk from our very own CEO, Richard Gross, and COO, Missy Arcenal.
This collaboration aims to inspire the university’s students and give them a sneak peek at how the IT industry in the Philippines and Australia works.
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CEO Inspirational Talk
The ability to do one’s role is necessary for any industry. However, passion for what you want is what leads to success. Just like how Flexisource IT’s CEO, Richard Gross, built the company and what motivated him to start Flexisource IT.
Rich graduated with a Liberal Arts Degree from a university in New York. He later entered a career in Finance on Wall Street. At that time, Rich didn’t have any passion, especially regarding technology. But after he moved to Australia and started working with tech companies, he saw potential.
He started traveling to Asia to find people and found the Philippines as a tremendous prospect. Basically, that’s where he discovered his passion and became successful. He talked to multiple people and built Flexisource IT.
According to him, “Getting a job is one thing. But being successful is done through passion. And you need to find what your passion is.” He added, “Success is passion, and it is whatever you want it to be.”
He also encouraged the students to find what they were passionate about and see where it could take them.
How To Ace An Interview
As graduand, students will undergo multiple interviews to get a job. Being fully prepared for an interview is vital to ensure success and employment. As such, during our visit, our People and Culture Manager, Gladys Punzalan, presented some tips on how one can ace an interview.
- TIP 1 – BP or Be prepared. Gladys mentioned that by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Thus, she advised the students to present themselves properly by dressing appropriately, practicing English and communication, getting some rest, and preparing all necessary documents.
- Tip 2 – RTC or Research the company. She recommended students utilize online platforms like their website and LinkedIn and read about their culture, values, and role.
- Tip 3 – RRJ or Re-read the job.
- Tip 4 – KISS or Keep it short and simple. Gladys said that when interviewed, it’s essential to keep it brief and straightforward. She restated to remember not to go through your resume on each question.
- Tip 5 – MIC or Make it conversational. She suggested that students not use a script. Instead, they should speak from the heart and not be shy to ask questions or clarification.
- Tip 6 – Practice. Finally, Gladys advised students to practice daily with friends and family. Students must search for popular interview questions and list potential answers and interviewers.
IT Journey – Ending with a New Beginning
Graduating leads you to the next stage of your life. After leaving university, opportunities will come in the next few days, and you will be working. But as fresh graduates, you sometimes think you lack the experience necessary to work for a company. And all the knowledge you have is working on the projects you created in school.
However, as one of our pioneer software developers, Jonathan Del Mar, said, “no one is expecting you to be experienced after graduating.” He explained that every professional gain skill as they get more experience.
He even shared that he searched for a solution for each task while working as a junior developer. And as time passed, he eventually did the whole BPO company system. He became an architect and leader in the company.
Today, Mr. Del Mar is one of the best IT practitioners in the country. He became part of the project on Friendster called “Friendster’s flower.” In addition, he joined multiple hackathons in various parts of the world, where he worked with engineers from Google and FB.
Furthermore, he advised that the graduands should just present themselves appropriately and submit to every company they could find. He suggested, “If you get any opportunities to have someone to mentor. Grab any opportunities and reflect on what you wanted to do.”
Open Forum
Before the program’s closing, an open forum was conducted with Flexisource IT guests, developers, and other experts to answer questions from the students. Here are some takeaways from the Q&A
- You need to have the experience to find what you are passionate about.
- Interviewees need to show up an hour before the interview if it is onsite. On the other hand, you should be logged in 15 minutes before the meeting if it’s online.
- You don’t need to be well-versed in everything when applying for a job. Just have the basic knowledge. It will help if you have the skills for the role you are applying for. However, being versed in technical issues is needed to have a specific forte.
- If you want to be an IT professional and are not tech-savvy, then it’s not for you.
Motivational Speech
At the end of the Forum, Flexisource IT COO Missy Arcenal gave a closing speech. She shared her previous experiences in IBM and QBE and how she ended up in the IT sector. Moreover, she advised the graduates to do their best at every job.
Missy reminded them that IT is a well-diversified career with many opportunities. As such, they just need to find their passion. She added, “find where you are good at, whether back or front end. Understand if this is what you want to do.”
Join Us On Our Next University Visit!
Flexisource IT is looking forward to visiting more universities to conduct more university forum in the future. We want to ensure that our future IT practitioners will be ready to be part of the industry. Join us at our next events! Stay tuned for more info.
Pamela is a full-time content writer and a lifelong Philomath. Her previous experience as a research analyst made her passionate about traveling the world and understanding how it works. During her day off, you can often find her indoors, writing stories or oil painting.
