Secrets From a Tech Recruiter: Umme Rahman

Developing applications, coding and programming? You do that in your free time and that makes you exactly the type of technical go-getter we’re looking for. If you’re looking to join our team as a software engineer, we’ve uncovered some recruiting secrets below to help you stand out to our talent acquisition team, as well as some points to avoid. Read what Umme Rahman from our talent aquisition team has to say.

“Don’t come to the interview and jump right into salary. That doesn’t show me a candidate who really wants this particular software engineering job. I’m looking for someone who’s eager to come onboard and grow with Verizon over the long term.” — Umme Rahman, Talent Acquisition

Some other tips (and turnoffs) from our talent acquisition team:

• Tailor your specific tech skills to the available position. UNIX aces and Web service whizzes, apply away. But if you’re vying for a data-path software engineering job, we want to know that’s the job you want to do and can do. Be sure to share examples of your work.
• Focus on the work, not the job title. Don’t be overly focused on the title as soon as you walk in the door. We encourage career progression, but don’t immediately ask when you’ll be promoted or tell us who you’d prefer to report to. Channel that motivation into navigating complex frameworks, not into a preoccupation with instant advancement.
• Don’t just tell us how much you love Linux—show us. Open up about your passion for open source; impress us with your enthusiasm about embedded connectivity. Show us examples of programming you do on the side, blog posts you’ve written—anything to illustrate a passion for tech that transcends the time clock.
• Keep in touch and stay informed. You want to keep the conversation going, even after you’ve aced the interview. Keep your LinkedIn profile current and connect with our recruiters, hiring managers and software engineering specialists. You’ll stay on top of who’s mastering what module, highlight everything you know about HTML and HTTP, and learn how you can add to the conversation.