Reaching New Talent at Local Colleges

Have you ever heard the saying, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it?” Throughout my time with the company over the past four years, I have watched AvePoint double in size from 700 employees to more than 1,400. As a Talent Acquisition Specialist, my role is not just to ensure we continue this type of growth, but to ensure our growth continues to be strategic and impactful. One way AvePoint does this is by focusing on what already exists: our own extended network. At our global headquarters in Jersey City, NJ, we have more than 20 alumni on staff from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). NJIT has been the source of a significant number of AvePoint staff who have made valuable contributions to the organization as a whole. So, of course, it makes sense to continue to engage aspiring new talent coming up through the school. Last month, we visited the NJIT campus twice. Once for their Fall Career Fair and the other for an information session. We have been regular attendees at NJIT’s Career Fair for years now, but the information session was our first ever at the school. This allowed us to bring in members of our team to present on a topic that was of particular interest to the students while sharing career advice with all who attended. Presenters included members of our product management team, including NJIT alumni Chief Technology Officer George Petrou, Senior Product Manager Shyam Oza, and Product Manager Terrence Orpilla, as well as Vice President of Global Account Product Management John Hodges. The presentation focused on cloud technology, sharing insights on how it relates to the enterprise collaboration industry as well as the students’ lives and careers. The room was very engaged and we fielded questions throughout the entire presentation. [caption id="attachment_3760" align="alignnone" width="720"] Product Manager Shyam Oza explains how cloud technology impacts students' every day lives.[/caption] The presenters loved interacting with students from their alma mater – explaining their own career paths and giving advice to a room of ambitious listeners. Oza, as an NJIT alumnus, was able to relate the work he does on our product management team to the courses and projects the students are currently working on in school. He explained why it’s critical to fully formulate an idea and support it with factual evidence before you present it, and also advised students to take rejection in stride. As he put it: Your boss may reject an idea, but that doesn’t mean he or she is shutting you down personally – just the specific idea. [caption id="attachment_3761" align="alignnone" width="770"] VP of Global Account Product Management John Hodges discusses the cloud in the enterprise.[/caption] I personally enjoyed articulating specific characteristics we look for in candidates at AvePoint that don’t appear on a resume – from the ability to pitch a business case to the propensity to remain curious and research-oriented in an industry jam-packed with information. The students walked away with valuable insights they can use as they prepare for graduation and begin their careers. In light of the event’s success, we’ve already planned another NJIT session for spring 2015 on the topic of mobile technology in the enterprise. For more on that and other AvePoint Careers events, be sure to follow us on Twitter. As AvePoint grows and expands, we will continue to build relationships with reputable universities near our regional offices. These university relationships are important as we continue to grow our network of ambitious and talented team members that help set our company apart as the global leader it is today. Interested in joining our team? Watch the video below for more about working at AvePoint, and visit the AvePoint Careers page for all of our current job openings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL-q3KTTaJg