Job seekers make their 3-minute pitch to interviewers
3-MINUTE INTERVIEWS WITH COMPANIES SEEKING TECH TALENT
Source Toad was one of 7 companies interviewing candidates
UPTOWN TAMPA – Tampa !p (Innovation Partnership) hosted several of the area’s top tech and software companies and about three dozen job seekers – mostly recent graduates of the TechHire program and LaunchCode women’s Code Camp -at a speed hiring event on September 26th.
Similar to speed dating, the speed hire process allows both the interviewee and interviewer to assess the potential match of candidate and company. It also exposes the applicant to a large number of hiring companies in a short time frame, thereby maximizing the chance of finding a job. Interviews lasted 3 minutes, so candidates focused on concisely presenting their qualifications and honed their 30-second “elevator speeches” during the event.
Tech evangelist, Tracy Ingram, works with Tampa !p on the TechHire grant and came up with the idea for the event as a way to help job candidates regardless of whether or not they landed a job on the spot. “Some of the most brilliant minds in computer programming have a difficult time expressing themselves in person. Hopefully an exercise like this will help them develop some skills that will help them along their career path moving forward.”
The interviews were held in the Tampa !p office in University Mall. While candidates awaited their interviews, attendees visited AMRoC Fab Lab, also in the mall, where they networked; received advice on resume building; and heard tips from Topher Morrison, a professional speaking trainer and expert on the subject of developing a great elevator pitch.
Among participating companies were 3D Musketeers, Chase, Entangle Media,Hire Copilot, Launch Code, NetSynergy Virtual Solutions, and Source Toad. At the end of the two-hour speed-hire event, Interviewers walked away with a few candidates they plan to contact for further conversations that may lead to jobs for some of the event’s attendees.
Tampa !p partners with CareerSource Tampa Bay on the TechHire program. TechHire is a federal grant that connects underrepresented and overlooked job-seekers lacking traditional qualifications and credentials to tech careers. Funds provide for the accelerated training, certifications, and paid work experience opportunities to young adults between the ages of 17 and 29, as well as front line workers in healthcare and IT occupations.
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