Getting a great job in technology and design requires many years of experience, which often means a great deal more than GPA, school attended, or degree gained. In fact, 88% of Austin's technology employers don't see recent college grads as employable. Most want at at least 5+ years experience to even consider a candidate. In in this presentation, I guided 100+ Austin high school students and parents through what kind of skills technology and design employers are looking for. This was part of a larger event where 36 high school students teamed up at the IBM Design studio in Austin, TX for a full weekend of problem solving and learning the IBM Design Thinking process. More details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/high-school-create-a-thon-final-playbackpresentations-tickets-25925542997

1. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

2. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

3. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Setting up the problem:
Austin Tech &
Design Education

4. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
12%
88%
ARE RECENT COLLEGE
GRADS QUALIFIED
TO BE HIRED?
Yes
No
Austin’s Tech Employers:

5. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Austin’s Tech Employers:
42% want employees to have
5+ years of hands on experience

6. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Austin’s Technology Education Gap
Need:
Get students more practical, hands-on
experience while in school
…before entering the workforce

7. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/
friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-
google.html?_r=0&referrer=
College Degree =
Higher Pay:
Universally, you’ll
make more money
with a degree
Where does College Fit In?

8. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedma
n-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=0&referrer=
Degrees Becoming Less Important:
“proportion of people without any college
education at Google has increased over time”
— now as high as 14 percent on some teams.
Where does College Fit In?

9. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
College and Austin Tech Jobs
This might be shocking, but…
“G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores
are worthless. ... We found that they don’t predict anything.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman
-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=0&referrer=
- Laszlo Bock
Senior vice president
People Operations - Google

10. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech
Employers Look For

11. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
01 Cognitive Ability

12. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
01 Cognitive Ability
how well you solve problems
how quickly you learn

13. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
02 Emergent Leadership

14. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
02 Emergent Leadership
Not Traditional Leadership
“were you president of the chess club? Were you
vice president of sales? How quickly did you get
there? We don’t care”

15. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
02 Emergent Leadership
• Quickly identify problems
• Step in to find solution
• Just as quickly, know when to step
back and let others lead

16. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
03 Culture Fit

17. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
03 Culture Fit
Can you work well with us?
More important: Are you different? Bring new ideas?

18. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
04 Humility + Ownership

19. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
04 Humility + Ownership
Find a problem
• Work together to solve it
• Admit when you’re wrong
• Make space for others to contribute
• Embrace failure… learn from it

20. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
4 Skills Tech Employers Look For
“…have a fierce position. They’ll argue like hell.
They’ll be zealots about their point of view. But
then you say, ‘here’s a new fact,’ and they’ll go,
‘Oh, well, that changes things; you’re right.’ ”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-
get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=0&referrer=
04 Humility + Ownership

21. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
What we did at the IBM + Austin Spark League
Create-a-thon

22. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Weekend Mission
Redefine + Redesign High School
Solve the Problem:
Students do not get enough exposure to various fields
and the right experience in those fields to be desirable
to employers when graduating.

23. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

24. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Ice Breakers & Names

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Timeline
Fri Sat Sun

26. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
User Research

27. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

28. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Empathy Maps

29. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

30. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
As-Is & Pain Points

31. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

32. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Big Ideas

33. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

34. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Speaker:
Sam Kapila
Director of Instruction – The Iron Yard

35. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

36. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Eat!
Thanks IBM Design & ChaiOne!

37. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

38. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
First Playback
Hard Deadline @ 5pm!

39. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

40. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Sketch Stories & Prototypes!

41. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

42. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Refine Story + More Prototypes

43. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

44. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

45. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Playbacks: Round 2

46. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

47. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Regroup, Refine, Cleanup.

48. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016

49. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016
Timeline
Fri Sat Sun
Final Playbacks!
Mon

50. Nick Hahn | www.austinsparkleague.com | @SparkLeagueATX Summer 2016