Opportunity@Work / TechHire

A short presentation for the Opportunity@Work design sprint team to raise awareness of issues faced by non-traditional technical people as they hunt for their first technical job.

1. Dev Education & Opportunity@Work Jeff Casimir / @j3 / Turing.io
2. Prequel 
 2003-2009 Maya Angelou PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMPUS
3. Version 0 
 2009-2012
4. Version 1 
 2012
5. Version 2 
 2013-2014
6. Version 3 
 2014-Present
8. 150 Graduates 
 in 2015
9. 150 Jobs 
 in 2015?
11. Hiring companies…
12. • Willing to take risks • Long runway • Progressive developers • Engineering > HR
13. HR is risk-averse Engineering is risk-tolerant
14. Companies with an 
 HR shield interview 5% of applicants
15. Warm introductions to engineering results in 75% interviews 35% job offers
16. Without credentials,
 HR doesn’t have the tools to evaluate technical talent.
17. So…Certification?
18. Certifications are
 universally despised
 and easily gamed

19. The best teams have a
 well-structured process for
 evaluating skills

20. Can we help?
21. • Case Studies • Process Exemplars • Pre-Testing • Reporting Transparency
22. case studies Humanize the story Empathize with concerns Demonstrate results
23. process exemplars Set expectations Document best practices Suggest rather than mandate
24. pre-testing Defers process development Lowers perceived risk Broadens marketability
25. reporting transparency Increases confidence Lowers noise Builds trust
27. • Case Studies • Process Exemplars • Pre-Testing • Reporting Transparency Dev Education & Opportunity@Work Jeff Casimir / @j3 / Turing.io