Jobs with Global
Some of you have asked me about how to get jobs, especially with global companies as you have read in my blog that many are recruiting software people oversea. Getting a job with global companies is a lot more than just having the right skills; there are a number of things that you must be prepared to maximize your chances of getting the job. Following are some advices that you may want to consider.
1) Education
A computer science or software engineering degree is necessary for an oversea software career. Most global companies require at least a bachelor degree from well established universities that they are familiar with. A good university with strong global connection is very important for global works. Some universities do collaborate with foreign universities on program exchange, faculty exchange or having their programs based on well known foreign universities' programs which are positive in the eyes of global companies. Please remember that the degree is only a key to open the employment door, not as a guarantee for a job. Your education does not end with the degree but just the beginning. If you wish to remain competitive and advancing your career, especially in a global working environment you need to constantly improve your skills, and keep up with the trend in technology. There are several professional training courses to improve your skills that you may need as the traditional academic education may not be good enough. Due to high competition, qualifications alone will not get you jobs but you will need to add to your education with the demonstration of a skills and a willingness to continue learning new things.
2) Experience
You may have degrees but the experience will be a major factor in getting you jobs. Today many jobs require number of years of 'experience', which may seem difficult to graduated students who spend all the time in school. My recommendation to students is to find part time jobs or internships in the industry while you still attending schools. If you lack experience, you need to cover the gap by stating to your employer that you can demonstrate your skills during the interview or bring with you a sample of your works. For example, you have designed and supported your school website, maintain day to day update - such experiences will illustrate your skills to potential employers.
3) Foreign languages
To work for global company, you need at least be fluently in one foreign language. Without good foreign language skill, your chance is probably zero as there are so many candidates. Of course, it depends on the company and where you will work that you should know certain language. If you apply to work for Japanese company then you need to know Japanese but in my opinion, English would probably is the best because it is being used almost everywhere. A good command of English can open so many opportunities for you and allow you to work in so many places around the world and it is also easy to transfer from one company to other.
4) Knowledge and skills: If you are asked to come in for an interview, you must be prepared. You must think about the job that you are applying and ask yourself whether you have done this kind of work before? If you are applying for a programming job, ask yourself what kind of programming languages that this job required? How many languages do you know? Think about your accomplishments in the context of this particular job. For example, you have written a two thousand line of code in C++ for a school assignment. Maybe you have written a series of query language for the school database to organize student records etc. Basically most global companies will use following categories in determine whether a candidate fits their job requirements:
a) Functional skill: what you know about software development (programming, testing, analysis, or project management etc.) These are skills mostly taught in school.
b) Domain expertise: Special domain areas or how well and how quickly you learn about the problems and are able to solve problems. These are your capabilities that come with the application of your knowledge.
c) Tools and technology: what tools and technology you know. For example: Eclipse, Ruby, Java, C#, and Unix etc.
d) Experiences: How long have you been doing software works, they assume that you have been working for a while. For example: ERP, CRM, database, data warehouse, financial transactions, and computing security etc.
You also need to think of the qualities, preferences, and non-technical skills you want to show to your employer about your capabilities. Maybe you are great at managing a school activity. Maybe you are good in teaming with others to create websites. Maybe you are very good at out of school activities such as camping, charity activities, or working with community for special festivals. Most global companies are looking for a “Total person” NOT just technical person so any extra activities that you do outside school activities is always a positive thing. You must think about many things that you have done successfully.
There are questions that many global companies asked that you could be prepared in advance. (I collected these questions from many students who told me about their experiences as I mentored them for jobs) For example: the question "Why do you want to work here?" (This is the question about how well prepared you are. Of course you should know something about the company that you are applying. So my advice is to do some research about the company. NEVER answer: I like your company, I need a job and I will work hard for you. That's means you know nothing about them and obviously they may think: “Since you do not care to look up about us, you know nothing about our company then why do I care about you”.
A better answer could be like this: "I understand that you are well known in XYZ domain area and you have several projects that are on going" (You want to make sure that you know something about the company and you have a similar thing in mind). You may take the first step in explaining your capabilities by saying "I have worked on a small project in school that use XYZ technology that you may find interesting" (Now you have a chance to explain a little bit about the school project that use XYZ but do NOT go into too much technical detail) You may then say: "I really enjoyed this part of the work." (By saying this, you can explain your role, how the project proceeded, what happened, and how you succeeded).
What you are doing is to take the interviewer to a journey with you as you are convincing the company about your skills, your capabilities, and your goal. You should keep your answer short and concise so the interviewer will have chance to evaluate you and asking you more questions. If the interviewer likes you, the next question would probably be like this: "That is very good so tell me about your strengths and weaknesses." (This is a question about quality as the interviewer is evaluated whether to give you the job or not so keep the answer short because there is a trick here) You have few minutes to explain your best such as: “I love XYZ and I wish that I could do more but most school projects are small, I wish that I could work on larger project so I can learn more about XYZ”. (You have a chance to explain about the XYZ area which is the global company's domain area and express that you want to learn more)
The trick is the interviewer may asks, "That was a strength; now tell me about your weakness?" (Do NOT fall into the trap by saying something negative. So many students make mistake here. You should turn a negative into a positive as one of your strengths). My favorite answer is "As a software person, I love to do software works and sometimes I work too hard. My weakness is I work too much and forget about the time." (Imagine what the interviewer thinks: This person a good technical and he is working very hard – what else could I find someone who work like that for the company).
4) Confidence
This is perhaps the hardest thing to many software students, but confidence is a great skill to have during a job interview. I know that most software people are basically introverts, although they have skills but do not know how to convey their thoughts clearly. Confidence does not mean you have to know everything but it does mean that you should not panic when come across a question or subject that you are unfamiliar. If you do not know, be honest but tell the employer that you are willing to learn new things. Do NOT be arrogant as you do not want your employer think that you are challenging them. You need to be polite but still confident in what you can bring to the company and that means you must be prepared.
A good preparation means that you are sincere, passion about your prospect to work for a global company and usually it will show in the interview. If the interviewer sees that you are willing to discuss about a particular subject, and polite to them when you answer in a concise manner then they probably give you positive points. They know that most graduated students do not have experiences as they never expect that you be an expert in the subject area. That will comes with time so your attitude, your preparedness as well as your extra-curricular activities, such as students' activities, school newspapers, charity works will give an impressive image and help distinguishing you from others.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
