Applying for a Job With a Major Multinational Technology Company

Linkedin sends me updates about jobs. Normally I ignore these, but one recently sparked my interest. This was providing advice for a multinational tech company selling products to educational institutions. At the very least, I thought it would be helpful to go through the process of applying so I could understand what the students I teach to apply for jobs go through.

The last time I applied for a job, it was on paper. This process was fully online. The job description was relatively short, the equivalent of one A4 page. The description of the role was a little vague, and the requirements of applicants broad. You needed a degree in education or computing, plus a nominated number of years experience (the higher the qualification, the fewer years). You then registered interest in an online system. This asked for contact details, and if you were permitted to work in Australia. There was the option of having my CV produced from LinkedIn, which I chose, rather than uploading one (it produced an okay result, and I assume the details were ingested into the company's system).

One confusing aspect was that I could not find anything about my claims to the job. Normally as well as a resume or CV, the applicant would submit the specific evidence of how they met each criterion. My hope is this company, because they have such vague requirements don;t do this. My worry is I missed an upload option somewhere. 

Surprisingly quickly I got "Thank you for your application". There was then n email reminding me to update my "profile". The profile is on the account set up with the application. This again asked for my CV, so I again opted to have it up loaded from LinkedIn. This also asked for my latest qualification. Fortunately my latest qualification is also my highest. This could be a dilemma for someone who did a short course after finishing a higher degree. Also I was asked if I would be willing to relocate. First I ticked "no", given I had applied for an online job. Then I changed this to "Yes", thinking I wouldn't mind doing so, and might seem a bit inflexible if I didn't. It took three attempts to change the "No" to "Yes". 

Learning to be Entrepreneurial in Cambridge

King's College Chapel at Dusk, 
by Tom Worthington 1996

Inger Mewburn, the Thesis Whisperer & ANU Director of Researcher Development, will be speaking on Learning to be Entrepreneurial, Monday 10 July at King's College, University of Cambridge. Professor Mewburn has been researching the  the UK job market, looking at who needs research graduates. There will be a more in depth event the next day, "After Academia? : Connecting with Industries Outside Academia", 11 July. I wish her luck, as I found Cambridge students a very tough audience at my first talk there.

My first visits to Cambridge was to investigate how they interacted with industry. On my return I recommended Canberra adopt a similar approach. That seems to have worked reasonably well, with initiatives such as the Canberra Innovation Network, just next to the Australian National University.

Highest Demand for Digital Technical Skills

According to the ACS (2021), the greatest demands for technology workers are in: 1. Information, Media & Telecommunications (31%); 2. Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (14%), 3. Financial & Insurance Services (11%), 4. Education & Training - Adult, Community & Other Education (9%), and 5. Health Care & Social Assistance (5%). It will be interesting to see if the last two, education and health, increase further, due to the need for systems to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reference

Demand & Impacts on Tech & Digital Skills, An ACS Technical White Paper, The Australian Computer Society, August 2021. URL https://www.acs.org.au/insightsandpublications/reports-publications/demand-impacts-tech-digital-skills.html