[27862] in resnet
Re: How to hire students who aren't afraid of IT
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Koerber, Jeff)
Mon Jul 23 13:03:05 2012
Content-Language: en-US
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_000_719B4DBB178C9F45BF38F2602BA125A52CAE7CA7exchmb2towsoned_"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Message-ID: <719B4DBB178C9F45BF38F2602BA125A52CAE7CA7@exch-mb2.towson.edu>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:01:09 +0000
Reply-To: Resnet Forum <RESNET-L@listserv.nd.edu>
From: "Koerber, Jeff" <jkoerber@towson.edu>
To: RESNET-L@listserv.nd.edu
In-Reply-To: <5009822A.50009@ucsc.edu>
--_000_719B4DBB178C9F45BF38F2602BA125A52CAE7CA7exchmb2towsoned_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Usually, someone with great customer service skills genuinely wants to help=
the client and will learn the technical skills required; I don't find the =
reverse to be true often. I try to find students who assist their friends =
and family with basic computer issues and would like to learn more. I have=
a good mixture of computer related majors and others; some of my best emp=
loyees are music and art majors.
My big secret is to place an emphasis on recruiting. I attend all of the U=
niversity job and internship fairs, and I keep their applications active un=
til they graduate (I currently have 269 active applications on file). I re=
fer interested students to our student employment site<http://www.towson.ed=
u/adminfinance/ots/support/scs/studentemployement.asp> where they can lean =
about the position and I emphasize the customer service over technical skil=
ls. They fill out an online application and I flag applications that are w=
orthy of an interview based on completeness, customer service skills, atten=
tion to detail, and technical skills (in that order). Just because they l=
ist a computer related major, I do not assume they have technical skills an=
d I don't really consider programming knowledge as a plus as it doesn't hav=
e anything to do with supporting end users.
Jeff Koerber
Supervisor, Student Computing Services Service Desk & Lab
Towson University
Towson, MD
-----Original Message-----
From: Resnet Forum [mailto:RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Carla Rou=
nds
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 12:07 PM
To: RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [RESNET-L] How to hire students who aren't afraid of IT
Hi Randall,
I agree with you on the "problem solver". Before I rewrote the job descrip=
tion as you see it below all we got was computer science majors applying ..=
. and all men. The key words that opened it up to everyone one was "Abilit=
y to Learn", "we are willing to train the right person"
and "problem solver". Now I get applications from every degree program
that is offered on campus, with over half the applicants not having any tec=
hnical skills. It has really helped to expand our applicant pool ...
I find great individuals every year .. and this year I had close to 1/2 of =
the applicants being women. I am a firm believer that you can teach techni=
cal skills ... you can not teach customer service, only enhance the persons=
ability through training. I have had to let go of some technically talent=
ed individuals because they could not or would not embrace the customer ser=
vice aspect of the job, and they treated both their co-workers and the cust=
omers badly.
FYI ... I had over 80 applicants this year. I would have gotten more
but I closed out the job. We interviewed all 80 of them and hired 25.
This and my returning students (6 total) will be my starting crew in Septem=
ber.
Carla
On 7/19/2012 6:53 PM, Randall C Grimshaw wrote:
> In my humble opinion I agree that listing specific skills can discourage =
applicants. I like the phrase "problem solver" but not "problem solving ski=
lls". If that makes sense to you then you already know where I am going. It=
is a set of mind to like challenges. It is a set of heart to like helping =
others. These are not skills like acting helpful. ...
>
> Randall Grimshaw rgrimsha@syr.edu<mailto:rgrimsha@syr.edu>
> ________________________________________
> From: Resnet Forum [RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Carla
> Rounds [cjrounds@ucsc.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 6:17 PM
> To: RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU<mailto:RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU>
> Subject: Re: How to hire students who aren't afraid of IT
>
> Hi Kim,
>
> This is our job positing:
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This position is a short term appointment beginning in September, and
> lasting approximately 4 weeks. However, individuals selected for this
> position may be invited to remain as an employee of ResNet throughout
> the academic year. Applicants do not need to have all the technical
> skills listed below. We are willing to train the right person(s).
>
> The individual selected for this position will be responsible for
> assisting campus residents with connecting to the campus network,
> troubleshooting network or OS issues, and performing hands on
> technical support on student owned computers.
>
> Individuals selected for this position will be required to arrive 2
> weeks early for the fall quarter and a 3 day of training session, be
> available for work the entire move-in weekend, and be available for
> work the first week of the quarter. If you can not meet these
> requirements, please do not apply.
>
> Technical Skills:
>
> * Ability to problem solve and troubleshoot or learn to troubleshoot
> computer, network, and software related problems.
> * Experience, knowledge, or ability to learn microcomputer operating
> systems (Mac, Windows).
> * Knowledge of, ability to learn or recent experience in using a
> variety of software applications such as, anti-virus software
> configuration, virus and spyware/ad-ware detection and cleaning,
> network troubleshooting, and OS installs/repairs.
> * Experience connecting to the UCSC Residential Network is highly desirab=
le.
>
> General Skills:
>
> * Customer Service Experience highly desirable.
> * Excellent communications skills, both oral and written for working
> with a diverse, professional clientele with varying skill levels.
> * Must be able to work in a professional manner with access to
> confidential and other data types.
> * Ability to learn and absorb new information (both technical and
> procedural) and dispense information to end-users of varying computing
> skills.
> * Ability to work in an extremely busy environment, with frequent
> interruptions and still be able to prioritize.
> * Aptitude to take initiative and work independently and as a team member=
.
> * Would prefer recent related experience in providing technical
> customer support on the phone and in-person.
> * Must be punctual.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> We use fall opening and the two weeks following that to see which new
> students we want to keep for the year. I have a limited number of
> year round positions. All the students that I hire understand that I
> expect them to learn IT Skills. If I have someone that has excellent
> customer service skills but can not do the higher level IT tasks, I
> assign them other tasks for them to do in addition to the lower level
> tech work and keep them on staff. If I have someone strong in
> Technical Skills but they have no customer service skills I will keep
> the customer service person over the tech.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Carla
>
> On 7/19/2012 2:58 PM, Libby Kim wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I've been pondering this a bit since we're starting to create
>> postings for new student positions and would like some guidance from
>> all you fine people at ResNet. :)
>>
>> In the past five years we've swung between the "techs only"
>> recruitment model where we only bring in a few students, to times
>> when we focus solely on customer service which brings in lots of
>> great kids who won't take on tech work. This upcoming year, due to an
>> increased workload, we need to bring in more student workers than
>> usual, and but I can't afford to bring in someone without at least a wi=
llingness to pick up the tech work.
>>
>> I work at a Journalism and Communication school and would love to
>> encourage some of these undergrads to come work for me. The quality
>> of the student population have gone up and they're more tech-savvy
>> now, but many of them turn away from our position because the post
>> mentions "basic troubleshooting skills" and they don't think they have w=
hat it takes.
>>
>> So the question is, what do you state in your job postings? How do
>> you "lure" them in? Do you state specifically that your workers must
>> have technical skills? Do you include phrases like "willing to train"?
>>
>> Thanks for your help.
>>
>>
>> Libby
>>
>> ___________________________________________________
>> You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
>>
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to
>> http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html
>> ___________________________________________________
>
> --
> Carla Rounds
>
> University of California, Santa Cruz
> Santa Cruz, California 95064
>
> cjrounds@ucsc.edu<mailto:cjrounds@ucsc.edu>
> (831) 459-5757
>
> ___________________________________________________
> You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to
> http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html
> ___________________________________________________
>
> ___________________________________________________
> You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to
> http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html
> ___________________________________________________
--
Carla Rounds
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California 95064
cjrounds@ucsc.edu<mailto:cjrounds@ucsc.edu>
(831) 459-5757
___________________________________________________
You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to http://LISTSERV.ND.=
EDU/archives/resnet-l.html
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives,
go to http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html
___________________________________________________
--_000_719B4DBB178C9F45BF38F2602BA125A52CAE7CA7exchmb2towsoned_
Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii"=
>
<meta name=3D"Generator" content=3D"Microsoft Exchange Server">
<!-- converted from rtf -->
<style><!-- .EmailQuote { margin-left: 1pt; padding-left: 4pt; border-left:=
#800000 2px solid; } --></style>
</head>
<body>
<font face=3D"Calibri" size=3D"2"><span style=3D"font-size:11pt;">
<div>Usually, someone with great customer service skills genuinely wants to=
help the client and will learn the technical skills required; I don’=
t find the reverse to be true often. I try to find students who assis=
t their friends and family with basic computer
issues and would like to learn more. I have a good mixture of compute=
r related majors and others; some of my best employees are music and =
art majors.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>My big secret is to place an emphasis on recruiting. I attend al=
l of the University job and internship fairs, and I keep their applications=
active until they graduate (I currently have 269 active applications on fi=
le). I refer interested students to
our <a href=3D"http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/ots/support/scs/studentem=
ployement.asp"><font color=3D"blue"><u>student employment site</u></font></=
a> where they can lean about the position and I emphasize the customer serv=
ice over technical skills. They fill
out an online application and I flag applications that are worthy of an int=
erview based on completeness, customer service skills, attention to detail,=
and technical skills (in that order). Just because they list a=
computer related major, I do not assume they
have technical skills and I don’t really consider programming knowled=
ge as a plus as it doesn’t have anything to do with supporting end us=
ers. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Jeff Koerber</div>
<div>Supervisor, Student Computing Services Service Desk & Lab</div>
<div>Towson University</div>
<div>Towson, MD</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Resnet Forum [<a href=3D"mailto:RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU">mailto:RESN=
ET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU</a>] On Behalf Of Carla Rounds<br>
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 12:07 PM<br>
To: RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU<br>
Subject: Re: [RESNET-L] How to hire students who aren't afraid of IT</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Hi Randall,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I agree with you on the "problem solver". Before I rew=
rote the job description as you see it below all we got was computer scienc=
e majors applying ... and all men. The key words that opened it up to=
everyone one was "Ability to Learn", "we are willing
to train the right person" </div>
<div>and "problem solver". Now I get applications fro=
m every degree program </div>
<div>that is offered on campus, with over half the applicants not having an=
y technical skills. It has really helped to expand our applicant pool=
... </div>
<div>I find great individuals every year .. and this year I had close to 1/=
2 of the applicants being women. I am a firm believer that you can te=
ach technical skills ... you can not teach customer service, only enhance t=
he persons ability through training.
I have had to let go of some technically talented individuals because they =
could not or would not embrace the customer service aspect of the job, and =
they treated both their co-workers and the customers badly.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>FYI ... I had over 80 applicants this year. I would have gotten =
more </div>
<div>but I closed out the job. We interviewed all 80 of them an=
d hired 25. </div>
<div>This and my returning students (6 total) will be my starting crew in S=
eptember.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Carla</div>
<div> </div>
<div>On 7/19/2012 6:53 PM, Randall C Grimshaw wrote:</div>
<div>> In my humble opinion I agree that listing specific skills can dis=
courage applicants. I like the phrase "problem solver" but not &q=
uot;problem solving skills". If that makes sense to you then you alrea=
dy know where I am going. It is a set of mind to like challenges.
It is a set of heart to like helping others. These are not skills like acti=
ng helpful. ...</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> Randall Grimshaw <a href=3D"mailto:rgrimsha@syr.edu">rgrimsha@syr=
.edu</a></div>
<div>> ________________________________________</div>
<div>> From: Resnet Forum [RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Carla =
</div>
<div>> Rounds [cjrounds@ucsc.edu]</div>
<div>> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 6:17 PM</div>
<div>> To: <a href=3D"mailto:RESNET-L@LISTSERV.ND.EDU">RESNET-L@LISTSERV=
.ND.EDU</a></div>
<div>> Subject: Re: How to hire students who aren't afraid of IT</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> Hi Kim,</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> This is our job positing:</div>
<div>> -----------------------------------------------------------------=
-----</div>
<div>> -----------------------------------------------------------------=
-----</div>
<div>> ---------------------------------------------------------------</=
div>
<div>></div>
<div>> This position is a short term appointment beginning in September,=
and </div>
<div>> lasting approximately 4 weeks. However, individuals selected for =
this </div>
<div>> position may be invited to remain as an employee of ResNet throug=
hout </div>
<div>> the academic year. Applicants do not need to have all the technic=
al </div>
<div>> skills listed below. We are willing to train the right person(s).=
</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> The individual selected for this position will be responsible for=
</div>
<div>> assisting campus residents with connecting to the campus network,=
</div>
<div>> troubleshooting network or OS issues, and performing hands on </d=
iv>
<div>> technical support on student owned computers.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> Individuals selected for this position will be required to arrive=
2 </div>
<div>> weeks early for the fall quarter and a 3 day of training session,=
be </div>
<div>> available for work the entire move-in weekend, and be available f=
or </div>
<div>> work the first week of the quarter. If you can not meet these </d=
iv>
<div>> requirements, please do not apply.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> Technical Skills:</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> * Ability to problem solve and troubleshoot or learn to troublesh=
oot </div>
<div>> computer, network, and software related problems.</div>
<div>> * Experience, knowledge, or ability to learn microcomputer operat=
ing </div>
<div>> systems (Mac, Windows).</div>
<div>> * Knowledge of, ability to learn or recent experience in using a =
</div>
<div>> variety of software applications such as, anti-virus software </d=
iv>
<div>> configuration, virus and spyware/ad-ware detection and cleaning, =
</div>
<div>> network troubleshooting, and OS installs/repairs.</div>
<div>> * Experience connecting to the UCSC Residential Network is highly=
desirable.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> General Skills:</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> * Customer Service Experience highly desirable.</div>
<div>> * Excellent communications skills, both oral and written for work=
ing </div>
<div>> with a diverse, professional clientele with varying skill levels.=
</div>
<div>> * Must be able to work in a professional manner with access to </=
div>
<div>> confidential and other data types.</div>
<div>> * Ability to learn and absorb new information (both technical and=
</div>
<div>> procedural) and dispense information to end-users of varying comp=
uting </div>
<div>> skills.</div>
<div>> * Ability to work in an extremely busy environment, with frequent=
</div>
<div>> interruptions and still be able to prioritize.</div>
<div>> * Aptitude to take initiative and work independently and as a tea=
m member.</div>
<div>> * Would prefer recent related experience in providing technical <=
/div>
<div>> customer support on the phone and in-person.</div>
<div>> * Must be punctual.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> -----------------------------------------------------------------=
-----</div>
<div>> -----------------------------------------------------------------=
-----</div>
<div>> --------------------------------------------------</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> We use fall opening and the two weeks following that to see which=
new </div>
<div>> students we want to keep for the year. I have a limited num=
ber of </div>
<div>> year round positions. All the students that I hire understa=
nd that I </div>
<div>> expect them to learn IT Skills. If I have someone that has =
excellent </div>
<div>> customer service skills but can not do the higher level IT tasks,=
I </div>
<div>> assign them other tasks for them to do in addition to the lower l=
evel </div>
<div>> tech work and keep them on staff. If I have someone strong =
in </div>
<div>> Technical Skills but they have no customer service skills I will =
keep </div>
<div>> the customer service person over the tech.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> Hope this helps.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> Carla</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> On 7/19/2012 2:58 PM, Libby Kim wrote:</div>
<div>>> Hi all,</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> I've been pondering this a bit since we're starting to create=
</div>
<div>>> postings for new student positions and would like some guidan=
ce from </div>
<div>>> all you fine people at ResNet. :)</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> In the past five years we've swung between the "techs on=
ly" </div>
<div>>> recruitment model where we only bring in a few students, to t=
imes </div>
<div>>> when we focus solely on customer service which brings in lots=
of </div>
<div>>> great kids who won't take on tech work. This upcoming year, d=
ue to an </div>
<div>>> increased workload, we need to bring in more student workers =
than </div>
<div>>> usual, and but I can't afford to bring in someone witho=
ut at least a willingness to pick up the tech work.</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> I work at a Journalism and Communication school and would lov=
e to </div>
<div>>> encourage some of these undergrads to come work for me. The q=
uality </div>
<div>>> of the student population have gone up and they're more tech-=
savvy </div>
<div>>> now, but many of them turn away from our position because the=
post </div>
<div>>> mentions "basic troubleshooting skills" and they do=
n't think they have what it takes.</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> So the question is, what do you state in your job postings? H=
ow do </div>
<div>>> you "lure" them in? Do you state specifically that =
your workers must </div>
<div>>> have technical skills? Do you include phrases like "will=
ing to train"?</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> Thanks for your help.</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> Libby</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> ___________________________________________________</div>
<div>>> You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.</div>
<div>>></div>
<div>>> To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to </div=
>
<div>>> <a href=3D"http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html">htt=
p://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html</a></div>
<div>>> ___________________________________________________</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> --</div>
<div>> Carla Rounds</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> University of California, Santa Cruz</div>
<div>> Santa Cruz, California 95064</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> <a href=3D"mailto:cjrounds@ucsc.edu">cjrounds@ucsc.edu</a></div>
<div>> (831) 459-5757</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> ___________________________________________________</div>
<div>> You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to </div>
<div>> <a href=3D"http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html">http://=
LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html</a></div>
<div>> ___________________________________________________</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> ___________________________________________________</div>
<div>> You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.</div>
<div>></div>
<div>> To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to </div>
<div>> <a href=3D"http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html">http://=
LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html</a></div>
<div>> ___________________________________________________</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>--</div>
<div>Carla Rounds</div>
<div> </div>
<div>University of California, Santa Cruz</div>
<div>Santa Cruz, California 95064</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href=3D"mailto:cjrounds@ucsc.edu">cjrounds@ucsc.edu</a></div>
<div>(831) 459-5757</div>
<div> </div>
<div>___________________________________________________</div>
<div>You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives, go to <a href=3D"htt=
p://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html">http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives=
/resnet-l.html</a></div>
<div>___________________________________________________</div>
<div> </div>
</span></font>
</body>
</html>
___________________________________________________
You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
<p>
To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives,
go to http://LISTSERV.ND.EDU/archives/resnet-l.html
___________________________________________________
--_000_719B4DBB178C9F45BF38F2602BA125A52CAE7CA7exchmb2towsoned_--
