Less than 3 years ago, I was at university, about to take the leap into the world of work, full of completely different ideas to the ones I currently hold. I went through the job search phase and a year into this new phase, a lot of “truths” that I had grown up with came crashing down on me. Now it’s my turn to attract talent to i2U, and if I were to look back, this is what I would say to myself if I wanted to join i2U.
DROP THE NOTES AND LEARN.
One of the mantras that we have internalised the most throughout our educational career is the idea that “the better your grades, the better job you will have”. A company will not hire you because of your grades, and if there are companies that do, it is a poor strategy to differentiate you as a student, since the vast majority choose to do so.
Getting good grades is good, you learn and demonstrate a range of skills, but if we focus exclusively on that aspect at university, we are missing out on great opportunities. It’s a time to meet all kinds of people, to sign up for different activities outside the classroom, to get involved in the projects that come up and to be passionate about what you like. It’s a stage full of opportunities that you are usually able to appreciate once you’ve been there.
It is a time to get to know each other and for that, the best thing we can do is to face new scenarios. Discover new hobbies, discover the world you’ll be facing and maybe you’ll find some subjects you’re passionate about.
LUCK DOES NOT COME ALONE
I think that my “academic” interests were awakened late and to speed up the process, I would recommend that I look beyond the classroom. I would tell myself to get closer to the world of work, to find out what an engineer does on a day-to-day basis, to take part in non-curricular activities and, above all, to break down the barriers that we impose on ourselves. We are not aware of how many interesting doors surround us in our daily lives, we are just experts at making excuses: how many interesting conversations, just by knocking on the door we see every day, how many interesting people to meet just by saying hello, how many opportunities to discover just by saying yes!
THE BEST JOB OFFERS WILL NOT COME YOUR WAY.
The concept of having a better job is changing. It used to be directly related to salary. Now, the best job opportunities include flexible working hours and location, profit sharing, results-oriented work, transparency… and many times, these job offers are not even advertised. In order to attract differential people, differential processes are also sought. Therefore, to access them, the important thing is not to have a brilliant career but to have the creativity to be noticed. Differentiate yourself.
Back to the present, i2U would love to keep adding people to the project who share our philosophy, especially people with programming skills. For that, we are not interested in your CV, we prefer you to tell us your story, how you have grown, how you think… Get to know us, maybe we are the ones who don’t fit your vision. It would be a big mistake to be working in a place you don’t like, don’t you think?
So, if you think it might be a good opportunity, contact us for a coffee, a day at our offices or whatever you can think of. The worst that can happen is that we invite you for a coffee, the best? Who knows.
