DURHAM – RTP Career Services, a career coaching and resume writing firm that aims to help people in tech and engineering seeking to make a change in their careers, kicked off a new event series Tuesday night with prospects and executives with companies meeting to discuss job possibilities.
More than 80 people showed up at the “Job Seeking in Tech” event with execs from Red Hat, Lenovo and SAS on hand. Smashing Boxes served as host.
Sarah Williams, the founder of RTP Career Services, spoke with WRAL TechWire about the event and her goals. She says networking can help job seekers find employment.
Sarah Williams, left, moderates a panel discussion with Jessica McNulty of SAS, BIll Fowles of Redhat and Jasmine Ward of Lenovo.
“The quickest way to land your next opportunity in tech is to access what’s called the hidden job market. The hidden job market is essentially knowing job opportunities before they are posted,” Williams explained.
“The only way to accomplish this is to build a solid network so you can constantly stay in the know when jobs become available.”
Williams moderated the event, saying such events can help tech workers expand their horizons.
“People often categorize software engineers as introverts or shy,” she explained. “Even if you see yourself as an introvert you can still use that to your advantage. Introverts are known for going deep in conversation not necessarily wide in their reach when networking.
“Therefore when networking find a few people in the room and a commonality you share, then use your introvert power to go deep about things that actually interest you and matter to you.”
Taylor Homes, a recent Momentum Learning graduate, is among the crowd at the RTP Career Services event.
Williams also said job seekers should expand their skill sets.
“If your experience in tech is limited or you’re looking to build new skills consider doing a hackathon or asking the company you work for to allow you to do a bridge project with another department or team,” she pointed out.
“You may even consider volunteering. Never allow limited experience or perceived weaknesses to stop you from getting to the next level in your career. You can always find ways to develop new skills and strengthen your weaknesses.”
Asked why she is doing the events, Williams offered several reasons.
“Tech and engineering professionals are some of the brightest and most brilliant minds in companies but sometimes they can lack soft skills to get them to the next level in their career. I’ve always been passionate about helping people unlock their potential and gain access to information that can drive their career forward,” she explained.
“RTP Career Services mission is to not just be a company offering services but to be immersed in helping the tech community understand the best practices of landing a job and managing a career. This will be accomplished by connecting them to people, companies and resources that can help them get to the next level in their career.”
