Getting a Foot in the Door of a Tech Job at Training Camp + Draft Day 2018

WTIA recently held the third annual Training Camp + Draft Day, a program put together to help level the playing field for recent graduates from lesser known schools looking to land a job in the tech field. Candidates for the program are chosen from a competitive pool, and after a triple-vetting process, go through a speed interview with our hiring partners to see if they’d be a good fit for their company. The Pacific Science Center hosted Training Camp once again on June 13th, and Galvanize Seattle hosted Draft Day on June 22nd.

Starting in March 2018, a wide range of candidates were nominated into the Training Camp + Draft Day program by instructors from 27 different schools. These schools consisted of smaller colleges, lesser known universities, and coding schools. To reduce bias, we removed the schools candidates attended from their resumes during the evaluation period.

In total, 136 candidates applied, looking at a chance at positions such as Software Developer, SDET, Information Security Analyst, QAE, and Tech Project Manager. We’re proud to report that the demographics of those that applied for the Training Camp + Draft Day program were very diverse. Fifty percent of the candidates were people of color. Three percent were non-bibany or non-gender conforming. Forty percent of the candidates were women.

Training Camp took place at Pacific Science Center’s Discovery Labs, and provided potential Draft Day candidates with interview prep and help with their resumes. 102 individuals attended Training Camp where they received mock interview practice and resume review by 22 tech and HR professionals, known as “coaches.”

During the vetting process to decide who moved on to Draft Day, two mock interviews were conducted by coaches who evaluated each candidate at Training Camp. The candidates who made it past Training Camp were given an opportunity to revise their resume once more. A group of tech professionals then vetted these revised resumes to determine who will advance to Draft Day, based on the candidates’ experience and education as it relates to the positions our Hiring Partners were hiring for.

What was Different in 2018 vs 2017

We switched up a few things for this year’s Training Camp + Draft Day. Students who were invited to participate still received help from two coaches, but they each were distinguished as technical and nontechnical coaches. Technical coaches offered ways to better showcase technical skills for the candidates, while the nontechnical coaches evaluated candidates’ professional aptitude and offered suggestions to improve their resume. There also were a lot more schools that nominated candidates this year; students were referred from 27 schools compared to 15 schools in 2017. Twelve new schools nominated candidates for the first time included Dev Bootcamp, Northeastern University Seattle, Skillspire, and Hahu IT Training Center.

Final Candidates Move on to Draft Day

At Galvanize Seattle, Draft Day was underway. Recruiters and hiring managers from six hiring partners came to interview the candidates, as well as company executives and soft development managers. The hiring partners included Comcast, Tableau, Nordstrom, Boundless, FlowPlay, and University of Washington Foster School of Business. The final candidates were also made up of a diverse crowd: 20% were veterans, 40% were women, and 65% were people of color.

Steve Zaske, one of the 16 candidates invited to attend Draft Day, lamented the difficulty of breaking in to the tech field. ”Looking for a job is stressful. I’ve gained experience anyway I could, learned the latest development libraries and design patterns. But it’s still hard to stand out when your resume is only one in a sea of resumes for an open position,” said Zaske.

Companies that attended Draft Day did so to tap into a whole new pool of candidates, one that typically isn’t found through normal channels. Interviews only lasted seven minutes, but it was enough to get a feel of how the candidates could fit in with each company. Hiring partners were also given five minutes to write down notes to help evaluate candidates better.

We’re excited to report that we’re quickly seeing some great results from Draft Day. Half of the candidates have heard back from the hiring partners. Fourteen out of 16 Draft Day candidates were invited to move forward with on-site interviews– the highest number we’ve ever seen. A total of 31 invitations for interviews were extended to the candidates; a few had invitations from as many as five different companies. Some of the candidates are already interviewing as of this week with Nordstrom. Each company decided to move forward with at least two candidates to fill their open roles.

“I was very excited to see the emails coming into my inbox! As of this afternoon, the fourth and final company has reached out to me with next steps,” said Madeline Wong, another of the 16 Draft Day Candidates. “Everything is moving so quickly; I am very excited, but terrified.”

After the event, Jure Majnaric, Program Manager for Training Camp + Draft Day 2018, was impressed with the volunteers who helped make this event possible. “The volunteers were there, not just because they wanted to help, but they wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, and help people get to the next step,” said Majnaric. As Training Camp + Draft Day continues to result in interviews for the candidates, it shows that it’s possible to get a foot in the door of a tech job you’ve always wanted.

For additional information about Training Camp + Draft Day 2018, check out KING 5’s coverage here: