ALBANY — The local job market is extremely tight these days as the Capital Region’s unemployment rate is hovering just above 3 percent.
That means that job applicants have lots of leverage over those doing the hiring, especially in the technology, manufacturing and healthcare fields where expertise is a requirement. That dynamic drives up salaries and makes companies spend a lot of time and expense to hire the workers they want.
But that doesn’t mean that prospective workers, especially those new to the job market — or those who haven’t tested the waters in a while — are ready to go through the hiring process.
One of the local organizations trying to tackle this problem is CanCode Communities, an Albany nonprofit that trains people for software coding jobs and also teaches digital literacy courses aimed at under-served populations. The software jobs that students train for often pay above-average salaries of more than $100,000 a year, and most students qualify for grants to offset tuition, which is $1,950 per course.
Microsoft, which has a robust volunteering program for its employees, is partnering with CanCode Communities, previously known as Albany CanCode. Participating employees work as “interviewing mentors” who help CanCode students and alumni prep for job interviews, including by conducting mock interviews that last about 20 minutes.
CanCode Communities holds 12-week courses on software and computer programming that are designed to ready non-traditional students or the under-employed for careers in software programming, a skill that isn’t commonly taught in traditional high schools or liberal arts colleges.
CanCode Communities founder Annmarie Lanesey says that many of CanCode’s students are either new to the job market or haven’t had to do a job interview in years.
And the COVID-19 pandemic changed how job interviews take place — often now they are done virtually, which requires different skills than job interviews in the past, which were almost always in-person.
“Interviewing online is new to most people over the past couple of years,” Lanesey said during an interview with the Times Union held over the Microsoft Teams app. “It (the program) really does help us shift into this mindset.”
That means knowing how to use common virtual meeting software like Teams and knowing how to dress and what backgrounds to use.
But the most important thing to learn may be the “elevator pitch,” which is a short and snappy description of yourself and why you would make a good employee for a company, says Kyle Bisnett, a senior product manager with Microsoft who lives in the Capital Region.
“Telling your story,” Bisnett explains.
Microsoft employees have signed up to provide about 60 mock interviews for CanCode students and alumni, including for students enrolled in more general digital literacy programs.
Bisnett says he and his fellow volunteers try to push students during the mock interviews — but not too hard.
“Our approach has been very light-handed,” Bisnett said, calling the program a “safe space” where students can learn without pressure and can direct the process. “What do our students want to get out of this? Is it a few challenging questions?”
Bisnett says that it’s even more important for the job applicant to ask questions about the company and what the culture is like. That is especially important in a job market where people can expect multiple job offers from companies that want them to start right away.
“You are interviewing the company doing the job interview,” Bisnett added.
Read More:Microsoft helps newly minted computer coders prep for job market
2022-10-20 19:04:20
